Parents and their deaf child: their perceptions three years after cochlear implantation

Parents of 30 consecutively implanted children who were born deaf or deafened under the age of three years completed an open-format schedule under 17 headings used as prompts. Their responses took the form of free text scripts of unrestricted length, completed three years after implantation. Rigorous content analysis of the scripts using illuminative research methods led to a framework which underpins this report. The areas covered include: child's functioning, parental implications, family implications, educational liaison, influences on progress, the process of implantation, future needs, and advice given by parents to others. This report describes the content of the scripts supported by quotations in an attempt to convey the richness of the text responses and to describe the experience of cochlear implantation from the family perspective. It covers the issues of the child's functioning, the implications for parents and wider family, and parental views on the process of implantation itself. The three most common issues raised by parents to arise from the analysis were those of increased confidence linked with developing communication abilities, the value of liaison between the cochlear implant centre and local educational services and the importance of continuing specialist support from the cochlear implant centre, particularly to manage any technical difficulties. Copyright © 2002 Whurr Publishers Ltd.