Two brothers each living with their families in New York, Peter Artinian and his brother Chris are divided over the use of the Cochlear implant that allows deaf children to hear. Each has a child they are considering for the operation. Chris and Mary, both hearing (although she has deaf parents), have a 1 year-old son Peter who is the one out of a pair of twins born deaf. Peter and his wife are both deaf with three deaf children, one of whom is a 4 ½ year-old girl named Heather who asks about undergoing the surgery. Peter and Chris were born to hearing parents who both support the operation for their grandchildren, while Mary's parents are against the procedure.
Click here to see the rest of this review...
The debate pits grandparent against grandparent, grandparent against children, brother against brother, sister-in-law against sister-in-law, etc. as to what is best for the children and where does the need for hearing supersede the views and emotions of the deaf community. With footage of schools for the deaf and for the hearing, educational experts, speech and language therapists, and doctors there is a wealth of information about the devise and it's degree of success in young children. What the film uncovers is the difficult and troubling lack of understanding shown on both sides of the argument in what proves to be a passionate and politically charged topic.
The review of this Movie prepared by David Fletcher
