It restored Sara's hearing, but the novelty of hearing made her temporarily speechless. We went out to dinner with the family, and Sara wanted a straw. Her eyes lit up because she had heard her own voice. It was amazing. Despite all the benefits of cochlear implants, they are controversial within the deaf community.
Critics say cochlear implants rob hearing-impaired individuals of their unique culture.
Both Zachary and Sara attend Pershing Park Elementary School on Fort Hood, where they are in the same class for deaf children, and they both have regular appointments with Scott and White speech therapists, who help them hone their listening and speaking skills while learning to use their implants. Sara's speech is easily understood, because she was a hearing and speaking child before implants. Zachary, on the other hand, is just now developing his speaking skills. We can tell that he is processing sounds now. It is wonderful.