Celebration 2009

From Cochlear Implant Online:

“I feel like I’m winning an Emmy award,” said Tyler Wagner, one of the Graeme Clark Scholarship winner.  I can totally understand his feeling because I remember the moment when I accepted the Graeme Clark Scholarship two years ago.  It was a moment to celebrate the obstacles that my family and I have overcome, and to give a tremendous gratitude to Graeme Clark who has made an immeasurable difference in my life.  I know that all the other winners felt the same way as they thanked numerous people who made a difference in their lives and spoke about their overcoming obstacles.  Also, Dr. Peters, a cochlear implant surgeon from Texas, made some great statements that I could not agree with more.  He said that when he first started implanting children in the late 80’s and early 90’s, he and other physicians were unsure of their outcomes, including social cognition, their language, and their ability to hear and to speak, as they grow up and when they become adults because they were growing up with the technology.  He explained that it’s very different for children to receive cochlear implants than adults because adults’ brains were already wired to hear as they grew up with hearing, whereas the brains of prelingually deaf children had to learn to be wired to hear, but with a cochlear implant.  Dr. Peters said that seeing deaf children who received cochlear implants at a young age in the late 80’s and early 90’s and who are now adults, including the Graeme Clark Scholarship winners, he can attest that the outcomes have surpassed their expectations, and they can thrive and lead a rich life.  His comments were so true because when my parents first went to NYU in 1989 to learn about cochlear implants, they were told by their physicians that all they could guarantee was that I would be able to hear environmental sounds.  In those days, my parents and the physicians had absolutely no idea what to expect for me as a cochlear implant user.  They didn’t even know if I would at least able able to learn to hear and speak English.  They just chose to get a cochlear implant so that I could at least hear environmental sounds.  However, the technology has been far beyond a miracle for all of us.  Many of these adults who grew up with cochlear implants not only went on to learn to hear and to speak, but also to achieve many incredible things.

Emily Fustos

Heather Page

Alison Marinelli

Grayson Swaim

Tyler Wagner

Click here to view the biography about each of the winners.