Saying Goodbye 31 October 2005
Posted by pretty_percusso in Her Characters....add a comment
…is part of life. Mr. Pisit left the Canossian Percussion Band due to his personal reasons: going for his eyes’ operations in Thailand. Moreover, his whole family is waiting for him.
Last Saturday, Mr. Pisit had his last day with the band. They gave him a farewell card, showing that they miss him… I had something to tell him but instead, I signed on the card.
I’m not sure if Mr. Pisit is reading here:
“Dear Mr. Pisit,
I’m sorry that I didn’t know that last Saturday was your last day with the band although I knew about your departure from Mr. Teow two weeks ago.
Anyway, knowing you is my greatest pleasure. At the same time, I appreciate that you taught me the tips of conducting. And even, you helped me with the software installation – Finale 2005. Your gestures were truly memorable: you learnt a simple sign language (alphabets) from me. I was very delighted to do so. (I wish that if a hearing guy happens to be my future boyfriend, he will be like you with a BIG heart – learning sign language and helping the Deaf community.)
Before I sign off, I would like to say a BIG thanks to you again for everything. I wish you all the best to your endeavours and hope to keep in touch with you always.
Perspectives on Cochlear Implants 19 October 2005
Posted by pretty_percusso in Her Characters....add a comment
This topic on cochlear implants has been leading to alot of discussions (or gossips) among the Deaf Community in Singapore. Everyone has their perspectives on cochlear implants. As for me, I’m not biased against these cochlear implants. I only know that whoever makes choices, has to bear these consequences WITHOUT having any regrets.
Putting myself in their shoes, I can be able to understand how they feel when they first discover their children have their profound deafness, even though I’m single, looking for true love.
The parents of the profoundly deaf children are usually at total loss. They tend to worry alot and it cannot be helped. Of course, they will be provided with alot of news and advices from the hospitals only. Speech therapy (AVT), communication modes, school education, other costs, so on.. This is a common scenario that I can only imagine.
But somehow, I’m disappointed.. The parents are only able to get these news and advices from the hearing side. They haven’t heard other perspectives from the deaf side. Still, I strongly feel that they should do their own research with their OPEN minds. And, they should know since these profoundly deaf children are very unique, they should spend more time with them. Not only time but love needs to be dedicated to them.
As for me, I ‘m not the one of cochlear implants. I’m deaf, only wearing hearing aids all the way since very young. Thanks to my strong character, talents and people around me, I’m able to speak well. So far, there has been no problems in communicating with hearing people.
And thanks to some Deaf leaders in Singapore and some exposure from the World Federation of the Deaf youth camp, I managed to have a strong self-identity for myself: I consider myself to be a Big D in this Deaf Community. I’m very glad to be able to contribute to this better community.
Before I was brought to the SADeaf, I knew nothing about Deafness and other issues. Therefore, I was unable to fight for Deaf rights. I always thought that I’m a Hearing Impaired. I dared not to sign in front of people everywhere. All the way, I talked like a normal person.. In the end, I was often frustrated when most of the people didn’t understand me. (After being exposed, I understood why they didn’t understand me. It was just that I talked TOO fast and that’s, I was over-confident, with a belief that I was like the normal people do.)
I still remember that moment when one of the Deaf leaders shot me a question, “What term do I belong to?” In my reply, I was astonished and I told her that I’m Hearing Impaired. She questioned me on these terms related to the self-identity. I was speechless and from there, I made some research on this.
I continued to integrate with the Deaf leaders and others. Learnt alot of things that I had never come across. After some time, I began to build my self-identity and I’m now proud to call myself a Deaf person.
Well, it’s better to be late than nothing. Still, I’m with the Deaf Community and I feel happier to be able to contribute to it. You know the rest…
=======================================================
Oct 19, 2005: Cochlear implants may see net savings to society
In the light of the controversy over the value of extreme treatments for the severely impaired, the article on cochlear implants was very timely (‘At $42,000, implant is too costly for most deaf kids’; ST, Oct 14).
Most new treatments are associated with both an improvement in quality of life, as well as an increase in overall cost. Cost-effectiveness analysis is therefore critical for any health organisation, government agencies in particular, in the determination of funding priorities.
The cost-utility of cochlear implants has been examined extensively over 10 years. When this treatment was examined in children with profound deafness living in a Western society (JAMA, Vol. 284 No. 7, Aug 16, 2000), an interesting finding was a net savings to society of US$53,198 per child.
In the local context, the Ministry of Health’s four years of data will permit a review of this dramatic finding.
Cochlear implantation may result in a net savings to society through reduced special-education costs, increased earnings through improved education and reduced time-off by parents.
Although the direct cost of this surgery may seem steep, the subsequent indirect cost that society bears is likely to be even higher if profound deafness is left untreated in children.
Even discounting issues of equity and compassion, it would therefore seem rational for state funds to be allocated to subsidising such interventions by the ministry in selected individuals, as relatively few treatments have been demonstrated to actually reduce societal costs.
Indeed, the policy on subsidy allocation should be examined properly in the light of objective data on cost-utility. Benchmarking against routine high-tech interventions such as invasive heart procedures, implants for joints, dialysis and chemotherapy would be essential in this exercise.
Finally, my only stake in this discussion is a belief that today’s children will grow up in a global society where communication will be critical to prosperity. If this intervention can maximise Singapore’s economic competitive- ness while reducing overall costs to society, it would be in our national interest to ensure that those who would benefit from this procedure receive it.
Dr Tan Min-Han
Oct 19, 2005: Implants are definitely not for everyone
I REFER to the article, ‘At $42,000, implant is too costly for most deaf kids’ (ST, Oct 14), in which it was reported that the Ministry of Health had ended a trial subsidy which had helped families cover up to 80 per cent of the cochlear-implant costs.
For many families, the costs of education and services – tests, hearing aids, interpreter services, and special education – for their deaf child can add up, even without implants. Also, these resources are not easy to acquire, which makes life even harder for hearing parents.
Our Government needs to shine the light on minority groups such as this, not just in terms of financial subsidies, but also socially and culturally.
In the past four years, I have worked actively in New York City as an advocate for the deaf. I interpret, teach sign language, and also work with social workers who investigate cases of child neglect and abuse in families with deaf children.
What most hearing people don’t know is that there is a vibrant deaf culture among the community. Culture is inextricably linked with language and it is so, too, with the deaf, who use sign language to communicate. There is deaf arts, deaf literature, deaf theatre.
For this reason, there are many families who do not wish for their children to be implanted. Cochlear implantation is an irreversible, invasive surgery that is commonly performed on babies from as early as one year old because the earlier the surgery, the easier the assimilation into our hearing world.
But it needs to be pointed out that an implant does not actually allow the child to ‘hear’. It will not turn a deaf child into a hearing one. It simply allows the brain to receive signals sent from a processor (part of the external implant) to a magnet (internal part) that feeds those signals. Much time still needs to be put in, in terms of aural-therapy hours, before the child can learn to ‘hear’, or ’speak’.
Many times, the implanted child or adult still has to depend on lip-reading skills, context, and some sign language to communicate effectively.
As a result of being disappointed, many of my deaf friends finally disconnected their implants and continued on in the silent world, despite years of therapy.
Implants are definitely not for everyone. Deaf parents with deaf children, for example, would not want them for their children. For them, and others with multi-generational deaf members, deafness is a culture and a way of life that they accept, and celebrate. The more extreme members of this community actually consider cochlear implants a form of ‘cultural genocide’.
What many of these members of the community advocate is individual choice. Let the deaf child decide on his own, when he comes of age. Till then, by implanting him, parents are robbing him of an opportunity to discover his deaf identity.
As a hearing person who’s deeply involved in the culture of the deaf, I urge all parents to first learn more about what is at stake, before making the decision for their child.
Yen Feng
People’s Choices 5 October 2005
Posted by pretty_percusso in Her Characters....add a comment
“…the main issue seems to be the degradation of Deaf culture in S’pore as an inevitable result of mainstreaming as opposed to the idea of mainstreaming…”
I totally agree with Cheryl’s tag.
Well, I only know that everything people do is their choices. No one is perfect! When they make their choices, they must know their consequences well and they need to accept whatever outcome it will be. Whatever it is, they need to face any problems bravely and solve them slowly. Once they decide to give everything up, they will forever be total failures and their lives may be meaningless.
Choices on Communication
In Singapore, four different communication approaches are mostly used: Natural-Auditory Oral (NAO), Auditory-Verbal Therapy (AVT), Total Communication (TC) and Sign Language.
- NAO : Learning to Read Lips and Speak.
This teaches children to do these things: Talk. Use their hearing as much as they can. Read lips. Use other clues to understand what people are saying.
Children will either have hearing aids or cochlear implants. These are important in NAO because they help children hear as much as possible. They may go to public schools. They may also go to schools for the deaf that use oralism. Eventually, they may go to mainstream schools.
- AVT : Learning to Use the Residual Hearing.
This teaches children to do these things: Use whatever (residual) hearing they have. Listen. Instead of lipreading, children learn to listen. Speak. By listening to other people, children can learn to speak better.
Children will see an AV therapist every week and each visit lasts about an hour. They use hearing aids or other listening devices every day. They practice listening and speaking at home.
- TC : Learning to Speak and Sign at the Same Time (Called Simultaneous Communication or simcom).
A child who is taught using total communication may learn many skills: Listening by using what hearing she has left. Communicating with sign language. Talking. Getting her ideas across with gestures and body language. Understanding others through reading lips, listening and/or sign language.
TC gives children the tools they need to understand others. They also learn how to be understood at a very young age. TC makes communicating less frustrating. TC helps children learn by giving them language.
- Sign Language : Using Hand Movements, Facial Expressions and Body Posture to communicate.
Sign language is not univeral, meaning there are different sign languages derived from different country’s cultures and languages. For example, American Sign Language (ASL), Japanese Sign Language (JSL), British Sign Language (BSL), so on..
In Singapore, some sign language systems are mostly used: Signing Exact English (SEE2), American Signed English (Contact Signing), Native Sign Language (NSL), and Gestures.
When raising deaf kids, it’s all about parents’ choices in the first place. Parents want the best of everything for their kids. It’s highly understandable since Singapore is a very competitive society. Indeed, they will mostly send their kids to different mainstream schools, provided that they MUST spend a plenty of their time with their kids. This will lead to their kids’ future on how well they can integrate into the society.
No matter what communication choices the parents have for their Deaf children or the Deaf youths use in their daily lives, they must learn to live with their handicap. Self-acceptance is all that matters the most. If they cannot accept their deafness into their lives, they may have their problems integrating into the society. Even though they accept their handicap, they need to know about deafness well. Without this knowledge, they will have their similar problems again with the society. They may not take stride in deafness and they may go back to square one.
Also, they need the most important thing: Support from family. As the saying goes on “Blood is thicker than Water”, the family support is always there for them. Sometimes, their close friends may help alot.
I wrote the earlier blog because of the Singapore Education System. Clearly, the MOE strongly encourages the children to know more about Singapore through the Social Studies in a such broad way of instilling Singaporean pride into themselves.
This makes me realise that in Singapore, the younger Deaf community needs Deaf education in terms of history, development, culture and language. With this appropriate education, I’m very certain that they will be able to contribute even more and better to the society. And, this will lead to more Deaf leaders and perhaps, there will be more Deaf youth role models of their different fields such as Arts & Culture, Community & Services, Entrepreneurship, Science & Technology, and Sports & Adventure.
