sound and fury6years later pt3

(Peter)
We have six kids!

Five with cochlear implants. And the kids

all sign and talk to each other.

They have speech therapy together.

They have a lot of fun.

(speech therapist)
Did you leave your bicycle outside?

All right, we're gonna play Simon Says.

You ready? Simon says touch your shoulders.

Simon says touch your head.

Simon says touch your shoulders.

Clap your hands.

Remember, only if I say Simon says,

then you do it. Look at Timothy. He

didn't do it. Look, look at Heather.

She didn't do it. OK, ready?

Simon says touch your nose.

Everybody got it? Yep, good!

OK, Heather, your turn now.

Timothy, turn around now.

Listen to Heather. And don't do anything

difficult. Just do Simon says, and let's

see what they understand. OK,

everybody listen. One, two, three!

Simon says jump.

(therapist)
OK, do you know what happened?

You said "chump." You didn't say "jjjump."

All right, try two more times.

C.J. so far is the winner.

He got one already.

(Heather)
Simon says clap your hands.

(therapist)
Very good, very good.

Simon says stop.

(therapist)
Simon says stop. OK, go ahead.

Simon says turn around.

(therapist)
Timothy got it! Very good!

(cheering)

(therapist)
You want a chance? OK, let's try it!

Simon says touch -- your -- nose.

Very -- yay! They got that!

Very good, Timothy. Good speech, good speech.

(Timothy)
Sam, sah ...

Simon says.

(Timothy)
Simon says hug Nanny.

Hug Nanny! Very good, C.J.!

Hug Nanny! He said --

(therapist)
Michael, who wrecked the game yesterday?

Everybody!

Everybody wrecked it? Uh-oh.

(Nita)
WIth Heather and all the kids doing so

well with their implants, I thought

Well, I'll get one too! My husband said,

What for? You don't need that.

You're too old for that. You don't talk.

Speech isn't for you. But I wanted

to do it to support Heather.

(doctor)
When Nita told me that she also

would like an implant, my expectations

were really very limited. However, when I

discussed it with Nita, and I explained

to her what I felt realistic expectations

were, to my surprise, she elected to have

the implant, because she wanted to hear.

(Nita)
I got the cochlear implant, and when

I was switched on, I was so excited.

I could hear things.

So many different sounds. So I understand

what Heather is experiencing, and I can

relate to what she's going through.

My fear was that Nita would receive some

benefits from an implant, but since she

had been deaf her whole life,

the type of benefits she would get

would be relatively restricted.

My expectation was that she would learn

to hear with the implant, and it would

allow her to improve her communication

skills as far as receiving information,

but it was very questionable whether she

would develop clear,

understandable speech.

(conversations about someone learning ASL)

Maybe I should have implanted Heather when

she was one or two, but I didn't

understand what was happening.

The cochlear implant was so new, the deaf

culture was in an uproar over it,

pressuring us, and there was so much

confusion. But now there's sign,

and talking, and communication among my

nephews and Heather, and we have such a

close family now. That was my goal.

I wanted to have the Artinian family

back together again.

(Marianne)
Anyway, as I started to say,

which I'm sure I'll be interrupted again,

that it's special that Erin is here today

because actually, Erin, you are probably

Heather's first close hearing friend.

Am I correct? Am I correct?

(yeah)

If Erin was here maybe five years ago,

she'd be, what's going on? Everybody

would be signing, there'd be no talking.

Sometimes in disabilities I think

people are afraid of change,

and you have to be honest:

the cochlear implant does change

their world tremendously. Don't forget,

they were brought up with hearing nothing,

but I think they realize I wasn't trying

to destroy their deaf culture. I was

really there because I love them and

am concerned about them.

It's tough. When you can't communicate,

you're in a little boxed world,

and you can't get out.

And I think they finally realized I didn't

want this with my grandchildren.

Without you, I wouldn't have gotten a

cochlear implant.

(Marianne)
Oh, thank you. I'm a tough lady.

(Marianne)
I'm happy. And I'm happy,

I'm really happy that you feel that way,

because -- you made me very happy,

to say that. We had our differences,

and we had our tough times, but we're

still family. Even you, we like.

The more the deaf culture and the hearing

world understand each other, then

the better we can support each other

and co-exist. If the two worlds don't work

together, everything falls apart.

Look at my family. My wife and kids are

all deaf, and my parents are hearing.

And for three years we were separated.

And now we're back together, and it's

better. We like the hearing world and

the deaf world back together.

We support each other.

(music)

(Marianne)
These children, they're not going to be

limited. They can make choices, they can

make choices of what college to go to.

Maybe they don't want to go to college,

and if they do, that's fine too. But they

have the choice. They'll have a choice

of what career to go into, and not just

be limited in everything they do.

Or where they live, or who they marry,

that sort of thing.

So to watch this unfold in front of me,

and to watch these children develop,

after this implant, it's a gift.

(yelling, running)

Come on, Heather! Yeahh!! Good job!

(Heather)
Is she retiring?

(Marianne)
She's not retiring, but she's taking

a maternity leave. Do you know what

- that means?
- No.

A maternity leave's when you're having a

baby, and you're going to stay home.

(Heather)
How long?

(Marianne)
You take like three months, or

six months if you can. You don't lose any

benefits at work, they still hold your

insurance for you, that sort of thing.

So it's called like a maternity leave.

- Cool!
- Yeah, cool.

Maybe someday you'll even have a baby,

you never know. God forbid!

What sports did Grandpa play?

Grandpa? Grandpa loved to play football.

(Heather)
What did he do?

(Marianne)
I think he was a ... a right end?

Does that sound right, a right end,

or something? Anyway, I'll tell you

another funny story. This was way before

you were born, and your father was ...

(music)

(male voice)
Major funding for this program

comes from Cochlear Americas.

Additional funding from

The Children's Hearing Institute

and other concerned individuals.

For more information about Sound and Fury

and Sound and Fury: Six Years Later,

please go to aronsonfilms.com