Children are now being implanted at the age of two and sometimes younger, since research has shown that earlier implantation gives a child a greater chance of comprehensive speech development. This means that parents will often be faced with a difficult decision soon after the initial diagnosis of deafness is made. Also, this decision has to be made by the parents without their child s consent. To wait until a child is old enough to make their own decision would be too late to be of much use to the child in acquiring useful hearing and speech. Having decided to undergo assessment for a cochlear implant, parents of a deaf child may then be faced with the possibility of diagnosis of dual sensory impairment.
Some hospitals routinely perform visual screening as part of the assessment process.
This may include tests which can detect abnormalities of the retina symptomatic of conditions such as Usher syndrome. Parents may then be told that their child has an abnormality which while not affecting their vision at the time of diagnosis, and probably for many years to come, will ultimately lead to visual impairment of a progressive nature which cannot be corrected. The devastating impact this may have on those parents can only be understood if the situation is considered as a whole. A painful waiting game Medical opinion considers that early diagnosis of dual sensory impairment is always a good thing. The parents can then make informed decisions about educational choices, and it may help them to decide whether to give a child a cochlear implant.