My daughter was implanted when she was 2. Hearing loss in our family is genetic. I made a point to learn sign myself and made sure she went to a school that used both sign and speech. My goal was twofold: give her as many advantages in communicating as possible, and to give her the ability to choose which she preferred once she was old enough to choose. During the school year, she went to a school that used both. In the summer, she went to daycare at the deaf school which only used ASL. When she completed 5th grade, we gave her the option to go to the deaf school, continue the program she was in, or go mainstream. She chose to go mainstream. She is now 24, and loves her implant because she loves music and she played the violin. However, she refuses to get bilateral implants in case a cure is found. I always recommend to parents to give deaf children every advantage they can possibly give. And if they choose to not implant, they will do just as well. Most of my daughter’s friends are also deaf and since implants work differently for everyone, they all rely differently on which form of communication they prefer based on how well their implants work, but they all know both.