The Sudbury Catholic District School Board sponsored a workshop recently for teachers, educational support staff, and parents on the educational implications for children who have received cochlear implants. A cochlear implant is an electronic device that functions as a sensory aid, converting mechanical sound energy into a coded electric stimulus that directly stimulates the remaining auditory nerves. Part of the cochlear implant is surgically implanted into the cochlea which is in the inner ear, and the remaining part is worn externally.

The cochlear implant provides partial hearing: it does not return the hearing to normal or “cure” deafness. It is important for health care professionals to determine if the person would benefit from a properly fitted hearing aid or from a cochlear implant. There are criteria that must be met prior to considering this kind of surgery for a deaf person.

The workshop which was held on May 16th at the Education Centre was well attended by educational staff and community partners. The presenters included: Mary Lynn Fenesse, Audiologist with the Cochlear Implant Program at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Sharon McLaughlin, Educational Resource Teacher with the E.C. Drury Provincial School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Joanne Vincent and Darlene Laferriere, Speech Language Pathologists who have developed expertise in auditory-verbal therapy, and Linda Cecutti, Itinerant Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing with the Rainbow District School Board.