DEDICATIONfor the parents of cochlear implant children.May we, as audiologists, better understand your journey in our pursuit of service excellence.
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DECLARATIONI, Jennifer Lynne Perold, hereby declare that the work on which this thesis is based is my original work (except where acknowledgements indicate otherwise), and that neither the whole work nor any part of it has been, is being, or is to be submitted for another degree in this or any other university.I empower the University of Cape Town to reproduce for the purpose of research either the whole or any portion of the contents in any manner whatsoever.
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ABSTRACTThere is a paucity of research examining the expectations of parents whose children have received a cochlear implant. The process of implantation is fraught with expectations, and in order to ensure continued parental interest and motivation, it is important to have insight into and w1derstanding of these expectations, as well as the factors which influence them. This study aimed to investigate the pre-and post implant expectations of mothers whose children had received a cochlear implant, as well as the possibility of changes in their expectations with duration of cochlear implant use. It also aimed to examine satisfaction of mothers with the cochlear implant, and the influence this had on expectations. A qualitative research methodology was used in the form of in-depth interviews. Eight mothers of prelingually deafened children who had not yet started formal schooling were interviewed. The data obtained from the mothers was transcribed verbatim and then analysed according to a detailed qualitative analysis procedure. Important findings emerged which detailed the changing expectations based either on hope or knowledge over time. These expectations were influenced by many variables, including the mothers ' response to the deafness of the child (i.e. the grief reaction), anxiety and stress, performance outcomes, satisfaction, and expectations of others, including family and friends. Numerous theoretical and clinical implications emerged from these findings, including the dynamic nature of expectations, as well as the impact these have on the importance of ongoing counselling of mothers whose children use cochlear implants. (Powers, 1996) In recent years cochlear implants have proven to be an effective and reliable method of treatment in both postlingually deaf adults and children, and congenital and prelingually deaf children who are unable to obtain meaningful benefit from conventional amplification (Lenarz, 1998 (1996), who found that although a group of prelingually deafened adults (who had been implanted as adults and are generally not considered good candidates for implantation) performed poorly on traditional speech perception tests, they were highly satisfied with the device and used it regularly. Vidas, Hassan and Parnes (1992) found that performance for children in structured settings (i.e. testing and therapy sessions) was not in agreement with performance in unstructured set...