Parenting a child with a cochlear implant: a critical incident study

This study aimed to describe and categorize the attributes that parents of young children with cochlear implants (CIs) consider as facilitating their parental coping experience. I interviewed 15 hearing mothers and 13 hearing fathers (including 12 married couples) whose children had CIs, using the critical incident technique that asked parents to describe significant incidents (observable behaviors, thoughts, feelings) that facilitated their parenting experience. A total of 430 critical incidents were documented and sorted into 20 categories. Further analyses supported the suggested categorical system's validity and reliability. Results indicated various sources of influence on parents' coping experience, associated with social contextual aspects (e.g., professionals' support, sharing experience with others, family's/friends' consistent involvement, intervention services), with the parent himself or herself (e.g., taking action, personal resources, incorporating deafness into daily life), and with the child (e.g., child characteristics, identifying progress and success). The current research substantiates the soundness of implementing early intervention models such as the developmental system model (Guralnick, 2001) and the support approach to early intervention (McWilliam & Scott, 2001), which coincide with ecological theory and recognize that families need various combinations of resources, social support, information, and services to help them address the stressors associated with parenting in general and parenting a child with special needs in particular.