The book strives to contextualize the changes that have occurred to date in this relatively young field and looks to the future of cochlear implantation in children. In the 15 years since the FDA approval of cochlear implants for children, there have been numerous technology advances as well as changes in candidacy criteria. Implantation has been extended to additional populations, including children presenting with cognitive challenges or children who come from homes in which there is a spoken language other than English. The drive to earlier and earlier implantation has resulted in a whole new community of professionals who need information about children and cochlear implants: the early interventionists. Years of data collection have yielded important information about performance trends in all children who use the device. The book also addresses these issues.

Thoroughly updated for its Second Edition, this book provides an in-depth discussion on prosthetic restoration of hearing via implantation. The text succinctly discusses the scientific principles behind cochlear implants, examines the latest technology, and offers practical advice on how to assess candidates, how to implant the devices, and what rehabilitation is most effective. The authors thoroughly examine the outcomes of cochlear implantation, the impact on the patient's quality of life, the benefits in relation to the costs, and the implications of cochlear implants for language and speech acquisition and childhood education.

Every year, more students with cochlear implants and other special needs are included in general education classrooms. Teachers and other school-based professionals should have opportunities for professional development to facilitate effective involvement of implanted children in their school. Implanted children need to be in the "least restrictive environment," where they feel comfortable communicating with their peers to facilitate development of age-appropriate skills and behaviors. Chapter III of this thesis is a guide to equip teachers with important information on the cochlear implant. It includes the most up-to-date research and useful techniques to help children with implants acquire language and be successful in the academic arena and in the community. The guide is designed to enhance professionals' understanding of children with cochlear implants and, in turn, positively impact the education of these students.

A mother whose child has had a cochlear implant tells Laura Mauldin why enrollment in the sign language program at her daughter’s school is plummeting: “The majority of parents want their kids to talk.” Some parents, however, feel very differently, because “curing” deafness with cochlear implants is uncertain, difficult, and freighted with judgment about what is normal, acceptable, and right. Made to Hear sensitively and thoroughly considers the structure and culture of the systems we have built to make deaf children hear. Based on accounts of and interviews with families who adopt the cochlear implant for their deaf children, this book describes the experiences of mothers as they navigate the health care system, their interactions with the professionals who work with them, and the influence of neuroscience on the process. Though Mauldin explains the politics surrounding the issue, her focus is not on the controversy of whether to have a cochlear implant but on the long-term, multiyear undertaking of implantation. Her study provides a nuanced view of a social context in which science, technology, and medicine are trusted to vanquish disability—and in which mothers are expected to use these tools. Made to Hear reveals that implantation has the central goal of controlling the development of the deaf child’s brain by boosting synapses for spoken language and inhibiting those for sign language, placing the politics of neuroscience front and center. Examining the consequences of cochlear implant technology for professionals and parents of deaf children, Made to Hear shows how certain neuroscientific claims about neuroplasticity, deafness, and language are deployed to encourage compliance with medical technology.

They also detail their children's experiences with the implants after surgery, and their progress with language acquisition and in school.".

Offers a guide to cochlear implanation for parents, including discussion of the evaluation process, device options, surgical procedure, and device maintenance.