More than 150 parents and students gathered at Queen's Park on Oct. 19 to push for provincewide standards for services for hearing-impaired children.
The group behind the protest is the new Alliance for Children Who are Hard of Hearing and Deaf.
It wants Ontario to pay for deaf children to have cochlear implants in both ears, instead of one. The tiny electronic devices are inserted into the inner ear to allow the deaf to detect sound.
The group said having just one implant is like giving a double amputee just one prosthetic leg, or giving someone eyeglasses for one eye. It estimates the extra implants would cost Ontario an extra $1 million a year.
James Borer, the leader of the group, told CBC News that it wants to work with the province to improve the services for hearing-impaired children and their families.
"We were worried at the beginning that we wouldn't get much reception, but we've met with a number of ministers this morning," Borer said.
About 5,000 Ontario children have some degree of hearing loss.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Canadian parents lobby for Ontario to cover cochlear implants
From CBC in Canada:
