Decision Of Heather's Parents example essay topic

"Abuse" and Cochlear Implants In the movie, Sound and Fury, one is introduced to Heather, a young deaf girl trapped between a rivaling inter family tension, where in her grandparents reason that her parents are concurring with a type of physical abuse by denying their daughter a cochlear implant; a device which would allow Heather the potential to hear. The parents of Heather, being deaf themselves, are by no means abusive when they made their decision to decline Heather of receiving a cochlear implant. Abuse is the physical and mental harm that is inflicted upon a person. In this situation, this understanding of abuse does not apply in that the decision Heather's parents made a decision which was thoughtfully crafted, weighed out and considered so that their daughter would be sheltered from any harm that would result. One cannot be quick to label Heather's parents as being "abusive" until the logic behind the decision is compiled and analyzed. The decision of Heather's parents was based upon medical research of Cochlear Implants, the need to maintain the deaf culture within the family and the experiences they have been exposed because of being deaf.

The National Institute of Deafness and other Communication Disorders defines a Cochlear Implant as "a small, complex electronic device that is surgically implanted within the skin situated behind the ear that can help to provide a sense of sound to a person profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing (NIDCD)". Although this sounds like a Cochlear Implant can be a miracle worker, Heather's parents found that a Cochlear Implant may not be effective for everyone. The implant is most effective when implanted at youth before language develops or immediately after having a hearing loss of which a person had exposure to language (Zak). Heather, still being young did have the possibility of proper language development.

In order for a cochlear implant to be most successful, Heather would need consistent exposure to verbal speech. However, seeing that her family is deaf, she would have to use sign language to communicate with them, thus not developing her language skills to her full potential. On the other hand, if her family were not deaf, the possibility for a success rate would be higher because she would have constant exposure to verbal speech both at home and at therapy. Understanding that cochlear implants might not be successful in Heather case, one can better understand the reasoning for her parent's decision. The second issue that Heather parent's weighed was the ability to maintain the deaf culture within the family. One realization that Heather's parents had to understand is that by having a Cochlear Implant, Heather would have to refrain from the use of sign language in order to develop skills in grasping the language.

At this time, the story introduces Shelby, a young girl born deaf and had a Cochlear Implant. Shelby to them has no deaf identity in that she is not familiar with the use of sign language. Sign language has a long history that has developed its own culture. People that are deaf have taken their disability and Jacqueline Oricchio have made a way of life from it. Sassy, a free lance writer, talks about the sense of deaf culture in one of her articles arguing " being deaf is like being any other culture, the deaf have developed their own language and celebrate the norms and values set by deaf remodels ("Sassy "Writings)". Thinking about deafness as being a part of a culture rather than a disability, one can further understand why Heather's parents would not want their daughter to lose part of it by receiving a Cochlear Implant.

This is similar to the way most parents would not want their children to lose touch with any culture that have been practiced in their own families. This is not in any means abusive to want your child to share in your families' way of life. Lastly, one must consider the parents own personal experiences of being raised as deaf. Without any argument, one must realize that not being able to hear may limit someone's ability to succeed in the academic or workforce, especially when deaf people are viewed as being disabled and limited in their ability to succeed. Many statistics and studies support this argument. Statistics from Gallaudet Research Institute analyzed a sample group of nine hundred and twenty six deaf students between the ages of seventeen and eighteen and found that their reading level was equivalent to those of fourth grade hearing students, who took the same test (Sound and Fury).

Despite this fact, there are some success stories. These are partly due to deaf individuals ambition as well as laws to aid deaf individuals. Laws that were passed in the mid 1970's gave children Jacqueline Oricchio with special needs, such as deafness, "equal and appropriate education" within the public school system (Sound and Fury). Heather's parents are two of the many deaf people that have become successful despite their disability. Heather's parents both have well paying jobs and live comfortably. Heather's father even mentioned that he is one of the top employees working at his company.

With ambition, it is possible to succeed even with a disability. For example, one can look at the past Miss America, Heather Whitestone. She became deaf due to an adverse reaction to a diphtheria pertussis-tetanus shot. Heather Whitestone claimed, "being Miss America was an opportunity to teach the world about deaf people and that deaf people can speak too". Even though Heather's parents from Sound and Fury, did not give their daughter a cochlear implant they did not limit the chance of their daughter to have an opportunity to be successful.

They moved away from their old neighborhood to a deaf community in Virginia. This community has a large population of deaf people with an excellent school system. Heather would be able to get educated in a way that would help her succeed. The school having experience in educating deaf children, will allow Heather to associate with similar deaf children and provide her the assisted technology needed to maximize her potential.

In conclusion, once we have analyzed the reasons behind why Heather's parents did not give Heather a cochlear implant one can understand how they were truly not abusive. They made their decision carefully just like any loving parents would do. Furthermore, Heather's potential would be jeopardized due to her parent's deaf culture and her age. Heather with ambition and support from her family will allow her to succeed far better than what a cochlear implant will offer. Every person finds their own meaning and value to a situation just like, a painting's meaning can change from the artist, the viewer, to the critic. To make an unbiased opinion a person should understand each meaning of the picture.

In Heather's case, each side of the story should be looked at before making a decision of saying a person's view point is wrong or abusive.

Bibliography

Healthy Hearing. Interview with Heather Whitestone. 12 September 2002.
22 October 2002 NIDCD.
Cochlear Implants. 24 September. 2002 "Sassy "Writings.
I'm Proud to Be Deaf. 24 September 2002.
Sound and Fury. Deaf Culture. 22 October 2002 Zak, Omer.
Cochlear Implants. 03 Feburary 1996.
24 September 2002.