Skylar Mitchell, aged 10 months, had an important operation earlier this year and now her “ears” match her brother’s. Skylar’s mum Sophie tells of her daughter receiving cochlear implants and having them switched on the next day so she could hear. Both Skylar and her brother Oscar are profoundly deaf. Oscar, aged two, received his own cochlear implants at five months.
Both children’s implants were provided by the Southern Cochlear Implant Programme (SCIP). “It was a shock when we found out that Oscar was Deaf,” recalls dad Robbie, who, like Sophie, is hearing. “We don’t have any Deaf family members.” Soon afterwards, the Mitchells decided to proceed with cochlear implant surgery for their son. And they began to learn New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) as a family.
These days, Oscar can hear and talk well. “His conversation will be the same as any hearing child because he got the cochlear implants at such a young age,” Robbie says. The family spoke while visiting Christchurch from their home in Ashburton. “Ducks,” Oscar called out. “Yay!” He sprinted in the ducks’ direction – but his parents called his name, and he ran back. “Oscar is learning two languages at the moment: spoken English and sign language,” Sophie says. “Oscar is Deaf, and if he can sign, he can be part of the Deaf community.” Sophie and Robbie were, understandably, nervous about Skylar’s operation. Cuts were made behind Skylar’s ears to insert the internal components of the implant. “But the complications that can happen in cochlear implant surgery are so minimal,” Robbie says.
The surgery went without a hitch, and the next morning Skylar was as smiley as ever. That afternoon, the Mitchell family met audiologist Pip Wilding at the SCIP clinic. Pip attached Skylar’s “ears” and switched the processors on. Sophie and Robbie gently called their daughter’s name. She peered around. Could she hear them? Pip clapped lightly, and Skylar’s eyes darted in her direction. Her parents made approving sounds – and Skylar beamed. It’s clear her new ears were working. Oscar came over to touch his sister’s speech processors. “Just like yours,” Robbie says. Skylar burbled away to her brother, and Dad joked: “Now we have two babies that like the sound of their own voice.”
A week later, the Mitchells were home waiting for their NZSL teacher – Debra Jamieson, from Deaf Aotearoa. They’ve had a lesson a week since discovering Oscar was Deaf, and he’s learning fast. He pointed to a toy tractor and signed ‘Grandad’s tractor.’ “It’s cool,” Sophie says (and signs), “to see Oscar signing and talking.” “It’s great that they have cochlear implants, but we’re always going to need sign with our kids,” Robbie says. “We just try to make it part of our everyday life.”
Photo credit: Frank Films