Ethics, Deafness, and New Medical Technologies
University of Education, Heidelberg
National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology
In the last 50 years, several new technologies have become enormously important within the Deaf community and have helped significantly to improve deaf people's lives in a hearing world. Current public attention and admiration, however, seems unduly focused on medical technologies that promise to solve "the problem" of being deaf. One reason for this interest, we argue, is the public's preoccupation with deafness as a disability and promises that technological breakthroughs such as the cochlear implant will "cure" deafness. Pressure on parents to make quick and early decisions and lack of adequate information about alternatives often leave them unprepared for the consequences of these decisions. To allow deaf individuals and their families to make better informed decisions about their lives and their futures, we argue finally that professionals who interact with these families adopt inclusive and individualizing ethics.
Correspondence should be sent to John A. Albertini, Department of Research, National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology, 96 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623-5604 (e-mail: jaancr{at}rit.edu).
Received June 28, 2004; revised December 1, 2004; accepted December 4, 2004
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  S. R. Easterbrooks Knowledge and Skills for Teachers of Individuals Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing: Advanced Set Development Communication Disorders Quarterly, November 1, 2008; 30(1): 37 - 48. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Hyde and D. Power Some Ethical Dimensions of Cochlear Implantation for Deaf Children and Their Families J. Deaf Stud. Deaf Educ., January 1, 2006; 11(1): 102 - 111. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|