Ah… the controversy’s flame continues burning strong… The Toledo Blade reports, “The family stopped at a fast-food restaurant and encountered students from a New York school for the deaf. They took one look at Nino’s [cochlear] implant and started signing feverishly with the help of their interpreter. They assailed Mrs. Russo for choosing the implant for her son. But she was having difficulty conversing with them because of the signing.”
Again, I say, it’s the person’s choice as the mother says, “At this point he has no desire to learn [ASL].” I understand the deaf culture’s concern the culture will vanish as every child gets an implant. The majority of the world is hearing and the ability to communicate makes life easier. When a person who doesn’t know English and moves to the US, he will struggle until he has some command of the language. The same applies for the deaf.
The line about “People with implants usually experience less fatigue,” is true. When I attended a few conferences, I barely made it through the last day or so. It was then I learned that lipreading and communicating the way I do is more tiring than for the average person. [Resource: Eddie ]