The second edition of this guide offers a readable, comprehensive summary of everything a parent or teacher would want to know about raising and educating a deaf child. It covers topics ranging from what it means to be deaf to the many ways that the environments of home and school can influence a deaf child's chances for success in academic and social circles. The new edition provides expanded coverage of cochlear implants, spoken language, mental health, and educational issues relating to deaf children enrolled in integrated and separate settings. Marschark makes sense of the most current educational and scientific literature, and also talks to deaf children, their parents, and deaf adults about what is important to them. Raising and Educating a Deaf Child is not a "how to" book or one with all the "right" answers for raising a deaf child; rather, it is a guide through the conflicting suggestions and programs for raising deaf children, as well as the likely implications of taking one direction or the other.
This text is intended primarily for parents but should also be of interest to teachers and related professionals. It addresses both practical and theoretical issues related to the development and education of deaf children. It considers these areas largely from a sign bilingual perspective.
A mother whose child has had a cochlear implant tells Laura Mauldin why enrollment in the sign language program at her daughter’s school is plummeting: “The majority of parents want their kids to talk.” Some parents, however, feel very differently, because “curing” deafness with cochlear implants is uncertain, difficult, and freighted with judgment about what is normal, acceptable, and right. Made to Hear sensitively and thoroughly considers the structure and culture of the systems we have built to make deaf children hear. Based on accounts of and interviews with families who adopt the cochlear implant for their deaf children, this book describes the experiences of mothers as they navigate the health care system, their interactions with the professionals who work with them, and the influence of neuroscience on the process. Though Mauldin explains the politics surrounding the issue, her focus is not on the controversy of whether to have a cochlear implant but on the long-term, multiyear undertaking of implantation. Her study provides a nuanced view of a social context in which science, technology, and medicine are trusted to vanquish disability—and in which mothers are expected to use these tools. Made to Hear reveals that implantation has the central goal of controlling the development of the deaf child’s brain by boosting synapses for spoken language and inhibiting those for sign language, placing the politics of neuroscience front and center. Examining the consequences of cochlear implant technology for professionals and parents of deaf children, Made to Hear shows how certain neuroscientific claims about neuroplasticity, deafness, and language are deployed to encourage compliance with medical technology.
New edition available: Sounds Like Home: Growing Up Black and Deaf in the South, 20th Anniversary Edition, ISBN 978-1-944838-58-4 Features a new introduction by scholars Joseph Hill and Carolyn McCaskill Mary Herring Wright's memoir adds an important dimension to the current literature in that it is a story by and about an African American deaf child. The author recounts her experiences growing up as a deaf person in Iron Mine, North Carolina, from the 1920s through the 1940s. Her story is unique and historically significant because it provides valuable descriptive information about the faculty and staff of the North Carolina school for Black deaf and blind students from the perspective of a student as well as a student teacher. In addition, this engrossing narrative contains details about the curriculum, which included a week-long Black History celebration where students learned about important Blacks such as Madame Walker, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and George Washington Carver. It also describes the physical facilities as well as the changes in those facilities over the years. In addition, Sounds Like Home occurs over a period of time that covers two major events in American history, the Depression and World War II. Wright's account is one of enduring faith, perseverance, and optimism. Her keen observations will serve as a source of inspiration for others who are challenged in their own ways by life's obstacles.
There is a robust body of knowledge suggesting that early language and literacy experiences significantly impact on future academic achievement. In contrast, relatively little has been written with respect to the early literacy development and experiences of deaf children. In Early Literacy Development in Deaf Children, Connie Mayer and Beverly J. Trezek seek to fill this gap by providing an in-depth exploration of how young deaf children learn to read and write, identifying the foundational knowledge, abilities, and skills that are fundamental to this process. They provide an overview of the latest research and present a model of early literacy development to guide their discussion on topics such as teaching reading and writing, curriculum and interventions, bilingualism, and assessment. Throughout, they concentrate on the ways in which young learners with hearing loss are similar to, or different from, their hearing age peers and the consequent implications for research and practice. Their discussion is wide-reaching, as they focus on children from various cultural and linguistic backgrounds, those with additional disabilities and hearing losses ranging from mild to profound, and those using a range of communication modalities and amplification technologies, including cochlear implants. With the implementation of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening and advancements in hearing technologies that have heightened both the emphasis on literacy development in the early years and the importance of these years in the ultimate development of age-appropriate reading and reading outcomes, this timely text addresses a topic that has thus far eluded the field.
The focus of this international text is on innovative practices for preparing teachers to work in inclusive classrooms and schools around the world. The book considers themes including social and political challenges regarding teacher education, and innovative approaches to teacher training.
Debates about methods of supporting language development and academic skills of deaf or hard-of-hearing children have waxed and waned for more than 100 years: Will using sign language interfere with learning to use spoken language or does it offer optimal access to communication for deaf children? Does placement in classrooms with mostly hearing children enhance or impede academic and social-emotional development? Will cochlear implants or other assistive listening devices provide deaf children with sufficient input for age-appropriate reading abilities? Are traditional methods of classroom teaching effective for deaf and hard-of-hearing students? Although there is a wealth of evidence with regard to each of these issues, too often, decisions on how to best support deaf and hard-of-hearing children in developing language and academic skills are made based on incorrect or incomplete information. No matter how well-intentioned, decisions grounded in opinions, beliefs, or value judgments are insufficient to guide practice. Instead, we need to take advantage of relevant, emerging research concerning best practices and outcomes in educating deaf and hard-of-hearing learners. In this critical evaluation of what we know and what we do not know about educating deaf and hard-of-hearing students, the authors examine a wide range of educational settings and research methods that have guided deaf education in recent years--or should. The book provides a focus for future educational and research efforts, and aims to promote optimal support for deaf and hard-of-hearing learners of all ages. Co-authored by two of the most respected leaders in the field, this book summarizes and evaluates research findings across multiple disciplines pertaining to the raising and educating of deaf children, providing a comprehensive but concise record of the successes, failures, and unanswered questions in deaf education. A readily accessible and invaluable source for teachers, university students, and other professionals, Evidence-Based Practice in Educating Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students encourages readers to reconsider assumptions and delve more deeply into what we really know about deaf and hard-of-hearing children, their patterns of development, and their lifelong learning.
