Oliver Cochlear Implant Activation 12/2006

[BionicGeekChic]

Wow! That is so amazing! I'm happy for you made a decide for your boys to hear with bilateral cochlear implants. I has a cochlear implant and love it. I can't believe that Deaf culture attacked on you over implanted your babies. That is so wrong! I don't like the word Audism made from Gallaudet University. It's very insulting. The anti-CI from deafhood will be regret big time. Keep it up for your boys with bilateral CIs. God blessing you guys! :-)

[hstg98]

So amazing- I'm instantly just so happy for him, and your whole family! What a total cutie! I have seen so many of these videos, and they are all just amazing! I honestly don't understand any "controversy" over the decision to get CI's. Perhaps if those who are against it had something to compare to total silence, they could understand the choice. You've given your sons another sense, what could possibly be wrong with that??? Congratulations!

[britturk123]

GO OLIVER ,WHAT A HANDSOME CUTE YOUNG MAN I HOPE HE GETS EVERY GOOD THING HE WANTS FROM LIFE GOD BLESS.

[GoldenBlood0]

happy for oliver

[wilmane1]

To the detractors, who seem to struggle with the written word in spewing their bigoted, hateful vitriol - whatever support people may have found for your so-called stance previously, is rapidly being eroded by your rudeness and foul manners. Grow up please, and keep your jealousy to yourselves. Kwilinski - you have done a wonderful thing , and I wish you and your family all the best.

[wilmane1]

Hi Kwilinski - What an amazing video - and what a wonderful gift to be able to give your child. Well done! He is so adorable, and you can see the joy in his eyes when he hears those sounds...so moving!

[nomilktoday2]

What a relaxed child! I would be so terrified at first but he barely reacts.

[vampgirl55555]

they are so cute haha :) its ad that they were both deaf though but its so great they can now hear :)

[cokerainbows]

i just came across this vid...very cute boy :)....i actually don't understand why people are against this? if this is done when a child is young it allows them to live a normal life, to speak to hear everything around them...why is that bad? science is improving, people should embrace it, it now gives us more choices.

[dubaipete]

Congratulations little Oliver! I have seen several videos of implant activations. All very very moving, and a credit to science and the dedicated people behind this technology. Oliver is clearly a bright and healthy child, born with a hearing impediment; but an impediment no longer. Well done.

[Kwilinski]

@dubaipete

You are correct-- no impediment here! Again today, a person commented on his clear articulation and vocabulary. This person had no idea that he was born deaf, btw. At 4, he's a real chatterbox!

[Kwilinski]

We added our older son's activation, also, to our video collection on youtube. He is now 9 and is a hearing, speaking, happy, educated, reading, TV-watching (no captions), phone-calling, typical kid! Enjoy!

[Kwilinski]

NOTE: If you want to use profanity, we won't approve your comment. Though we do take note of the evil behind it, and remember it.

[eliseypoo]

This was beautiful, thank you for sharing this! mrtokitime, doesn't understand the beneficial actions of giving a child the chance to hear for the first time. It is hard for people without some form of higher education to understand the positive impact that you made on his life. It isn't saying being deaf is wrong, but rather encouraging giving an opportunity to live your life to the fullest.

[Mornington66]

These videos are fantastic, and thank you for posting this one.

Makes me cry with happiness.

[LynxChan]

Kwilinski, as the parent of a (now hearing *^_^*) child, can you tell me how common this awful prejudice is? I've been looking at a lot of cochlear implant videos because they're so wonderful and emotional, and I'm really shocked to see how many people seem to think that by giving a child one of their senses you are doing something bad!! It would be like telling a parent not to give a double amputee baby legs! Is this a common perception? It just seems to unbelievable!

Congrats you your baby :)

[Kwilinski]

@LynxChan , In the general population, you find almost entirely positive response-- it's an OBVIOUSLY beneficial device!  But we get rude comments almost weekly, which we used to delete. Now, my thought is that they should be ashamed of themselves, so I post it. Those in the extremist camp are not rational nor kindly. They pretend to care about deaf kids, when all they really want is to maintain the same way of life they had-- even if it was difficult.

[LynxChan]

@Kwilinski hmm I suppose its just a backlash that goes too far. I think its fine to encourage people to feel good about themselves and make them strong in the face of discriminatory treatment, but its one thing to say "I deserve to be treated with respect" and another to say "There's nothing to cure and if you think so than YOU lack respect". I remember the story of two deaf women looking for a deaf sperm donor to have a deaf baby on purpose! That goes WAY too far for me.

Cheers.

[jtelling]

great video! the genuine smile on his face when he hears sounds for the first time is contagious! plus, his hair is pretty rad :)

[Luky1Jay]

haha what a cutie, hes like "what the hell was that? ohh, keys!!"

[chaosgone]

What a wonderful gift you have given your child!

[mrtokitime]

OMG Where is that baby's empowering? That make me what to cry so bad, its like you are telling that baby, being deaf are wrong and he have to hear and be part of hearing world. He's innocent. Implants are for older people that enable to make its own decision if want to be part of hearing world, then its fine, but parents implant baby up without enable to have its own empowering, it just plain WRONG and very SICK, SO audism. I am praying for him. You are sick.

[Kwilinski]

Thank you for validating our choice. We are so proud of Oliver's language skills. He is a happy, hearing, speaking kid. Do you think that being able to see with your eyes and believing that is a good thing... is "visualism?" Cochlear implants do not work for adults who have not had the privilege of hearing in childhood. Not implanting him would be just like failing to take him for annual eye exams, dental care and so on. Fortunately, you are not his parent. God answered OUR prayers.

[missedagain]

@mrtokitime The hearing world? Are you insane? The entire world is hearing, your ears are not some unnecessary device.

Any parent who would wilfully handicap their own child doesn't deserve to have children.

[handmiadenofgod]

@mrtokitime Why? Because they wanted to give their child an easier life that could be experienced more richly? There is nothing wrong with the deaf, but I'm sure that most of them would like to have the sense of hearing.  If I were to go blind I would want to see. I am certain that Oliver will thank his parents for what they did when he grows older.

[krazykatkitty]

Very Cute, Best wishes for him in the future

[hallmeg83]

Cute robot... *sniffle*

Please tell him his mommy and daddy are sick assholes.

[kingcrimson234]

WOW that is one ugly kid! you should just have the implant removed and save him from hearing everybody telling him how ugly he is.

[Kwilinski]

It's clear how much love the Deaf Culture has for deaf children. Thanks for validating our choice!

[youharlotyou]

@kingcrimson234 Perhaps you have bad vision. This baby is absolutely beautiful. How ignorant and cruel you are to say those things.

Congrats, I see this was in 2006. I hope he is doing absolutely wonderful and congrats!

[annanstee]

@kingcrimson234

You are an ass.

Oliver, you are gorgeous.

[beckadelica]

As a hearing individual, I cried when I watched this. Not because I think deafness is the worst thing that can happen to a person, nor because the hearing have better lives than the deaf, or that hearing is superior to not being able to hear. I cried because that baby experienced something that none of us can remember. Cochlear implant patients hear at a time when their brains are developed and they know something amazing happened. To us, it would be like a person appearing out of thin air!

[Kwilinski]

deafgagirl, you wouldn't say it like that unless you had a wish that we would discover something horrible down the road. The risks of CI implantation are extremely low. We know all about it, but the reality is that this is an outpatient surgery which does not result in ANY long term difficulties in those who have had them for decades!

A baby doesn't learn ASL in a vacuum. A baby in a family which has never learned ASL would be held back-- the family wouldn't be able to teach it.

[deafgagirl]

I only hope that when your boy gets older that it will not hurt him later on in his life. The reason I say this is because there are RISK involved and I am sure you are fully aware of that.

I don't agree with it because that takes away the true meaning of who he is when he was born, baby or adult.... And as for ASL.. ASL in babies are fast learners than are of adults.

[Pinkybead]

Deafgagirl, You have to accept with people who have cochlear implants. Just respect them! You can't change people to do. Just let CI user be happy to hear a sound world. ASL and Deaf culture always do brainwash to everyone to stop wear CI or not use voice. CI is not an ETHICAL period. You don't need to be judge on everyone. Just respect people's choice for a new life! Deal with it!

[tyan081200]

If your don't mind me asking, was your son by chance diagnosed with Auditory Neuropathy? My son is four years old and was recenlty diagnosed in which CI are looking like our only option. It is so hard seeing him in preschool and get frustrated when trying to communicate with other children. Knowing that your son has been given the gift of hearing gives me hope. May god bless you! I believe that this is a wonderful gift to give your child.

[Kwilinski]

Neither of my boys had AN, but there are lots of kids with cochlear implants who have had AN! I suggest you get on the yahoo group CI circle, because there are a bunch of parents who have more experience with AN and CIs. It can be very successful. My boys do not struggle at all, and kids with AN should have the same opportunities to hear that any other hearing impaired child has. Good luck, and let me know if yu need any more help!

[Kwilinski]

I thought it would be helpful to add an update for those who don't know us. Oliver graduated from Auditory Verbal Therapy at age 2. At 2 1/2 he is ahead of his same aged peers, expressively and receptively. He uses long sentences, can hear excellently, and will be fully mainstreamed in preschool without any additional support. Not only is his life easier with cochlear implants, but everyone else benefits-- the family, community and friends.

[icyfrezsh]

you suck! you would suck less if you teach him how to sign asl not how to talk (or support that if u want but b sure u put asl in his life! for the sake of deaf people and himself!)

[Kwilinski]

Thanks for showing how kind some Deaf Culture extremists are. What a thoughtful expression of your personal views. How sweet of you to be happy for Oliver, that he can hear.  Thanks for thinking of others and not just about yourself.

[icyfrezsh]

hey just to let you know not most deaf people or hearing supporters of deaf show their disagreement in negative manners.

im curious do you plan to learn how to sign? or do you already know how?

[Kwilinski]

Well, you did certainly show your disagreement in a negative manner.

We are not native signing people and we have raised our sons in our native language so that they could learn complex thought patterns. Our 7 year old was on par with hearing peers expressively and receptively by age 2. Oliver is doing great in his language acquisition, as well.

"You suck" is not a very nice way for you to show your view. We've blocked dozens of comments like yours and worse.

[Wojcikgr]

Deaf individuals are perfectly capable of "complex thought patterns." If ASL is so simple, as you insinuate, why don't you learn it for your baby and support him the way he was born?

[Kwilinski]

I never insinuated that ASL is simple. In reality it is so complex that no parent who is new to it could ever learn it fast enough to do justice to the language growth of a baby/todder-- that's my point. Besides-- most of the world uses spoken language. Our kids were born with just as much capability to learn speech as any other child. So they did. Without a shared language with their parents, our kids would NOT learn a language with complexity.

[Maximusstriker]

what is deaf culture, why do some people not want people to regain their hearing... r they religious? Is it like how people are against stem-cell development?

[Kwilinski]

You will have to read about it, but basically it is those who share experiences based on sign language. They do not believe they are disabled, so of course there is no need to hear. Some think we are wrong to allow our kids to hear. Or, they think we are evil for primarily or entirely using speech with them. They disregard the fact that the entire extended family and social network of the child uses speech, and that it makes life so much easier for them.

[Maximusstriker]

yeah, thanks mate... What a bunch of losers... prolly jealous they didnt get implants. Bunch of fags. I cant wait until sum1 invents a bionic eye, being blind must be the worst thing...

[lornaeley]

this video was great its a joy to be able to share this with you. forget the negative comments parents who are trying to make the hard decision whether or not to get their child implanted appreciate things like this.

[Kwilinski]

Thanks! I hope we have provided lots of help. I have many more videos that I need to get up on youtube when I get the time!

[sammwa713]

Simply amazing...Adorable baby, too! God bless.

[MannK05]

Wow, that's great choice for that baby boy. =)

I know more and more deaf babies (or toddlers) will have a CI because of we have the best technical things today. It will lead them to communcation with their families more easier, their lives will get better, and go on if you know what I mean. ;) Sadly, it'll not great news to my Deaf community because of, in the future, the rate of CI users will grower and grower in future. Oh, well.. That's life.

By the way, your baby is so cute! =D

[Kwilinski]

Thanks, and I appreciate you looking at how it will improve his life despite the fact that it may impact your community by reducing those who are a part of the Deaf community (who use primarily ASL). Hopefully more and more people will realize that it is an ideal choice for little kids who have their entire lives ahead of them, and can now communicate with the general population.

[MannK05]

Indeed, it is what you try do the best for little Oliver. =) It will be (so) easy if somebody else creates a new technical thing instead of hearing aids or CIs. Like, a technical device for translation and languages or something else. Well, if you know what I am talking about. Heh. =)

[BArcher83]

I am a long-term CI-user, and there are few greater inventions! I'm about to graduate from audiology and look forward to seeing many more switch-ons as a CI specialist. I'm familiar with the DeafRead site - they're a bunch of pathetic cranks.

[Kwilinski]

Thanks! :-) My dad is looking at being an adult CI user sometime in the next few years, and it's always great to hear of happy adult users. I hope to add more video of the boys when we get our camera syncing with our computer again. I hope to continue encouraging other parents by showing what the CI can do! I also appreciate your support regarding deafread. That was an eye opening experience but I choose to believe that they are in the minority in their animosity and intentions.

[BArcher83]

I'm from Australia, and even here we've encountered their bigotry. I work with a lady who was a delegate to the recent AGB conference, which the Deafread people protested. If you go to their site, they would have you believe that they are the victims, but their behaviour was so obnoxious that the security started throwing them out on sight! I respect their right to a different opinion (as much as I disagree with it), but I don't respect their behaviour.

[choasethegreat]

It's absolutely amazing. It almost brought a tear to my eye. I can't even imagine discovering a new sense organ that you didn't even know existed.

[ryanwilliams479]

i have a cochlear implant hope mines gonna be good

[panayou]

He is beautiful and blessed with courageous and strong parents. Looking forward to hearing all about both boys progress.

[angierenae2001]

I'd just like to offer my support as a fellow mom of a deaf child. My son is now 10 years old and will receive his CI this summer. Only other parents of deaf children can possibly understand the difficulty we parents face in making such major decisions that are not the norm for others. Your child is beautiful and will grow beautifully. Take care!

[Kwilinski]

Thanks, and let us know if we can offer any help as you head down the CI path. It's been a wonderful thing for our boys. And we've also met some later implanted kids that are fully enjoying their newfound hearing. Thanks for your support. You should post your son's activation when you videotape it! It's a fun thing to watch. Amy

[jakobslove]

Thanks for sharing your experience. My 14 month old was implanted bilaterally at 9 months old. I know we made the best decision to implant each day I see Jake smile at the sound of his sister's laughter when he is not facing her or the way his eyes light up when we call his name. The babbling of ma ma da da that is priceles...:)Congrats on your success!

[lilolmexyz123]

Cochlear implants are such a wonderful miracle! Looking forward to seeing future videos of Oliver's progress.

[Kwilinski]

By the way, if you are looking at this because some woman named Kathy posted it on Deafread, know this-- we are not sure who this person was, and we did not post it. We will not entertain rude comments by those who disagree with our decisions as parents, and we maintain this video to help other parents on a similar road. Thanks! Amy

[wanha1989]

What a great video. Thanks for sharing this. Our daughter has bilateral implants and we are so thankful for this technology for her.

[vbnbama]

Wow, what a great way to educate people. We chose to take full advantage of the technology today as well, I have two deaf CI children as well.

[jgolowin]

Love the video of Oliver! It is such a joy to watch children hear for the first time. What a blessing!

Looking forward to the day I can post a similar video of Drew.

Take care.

[mamasavage]

Thank you for sharing your son's activations. The videos are a very useful tool to others considering cochlear implants.

[garythesquirrel]

Thank you for posting this, it's great to see! =)

[vamp666babe]

Awesome stuff - a miracle!

[lucretus]

The CI is a great decision for the success of your child! We did the same 8 years ago and are thankful that we did!

[Kwilinski]

Thanks!  We also have a 6 year old who has bilateral cochlear implants. His second activation is on youtube, if you're interested. It has been a wonderful decision.

[Run4ny]

Pretty cool.