Raising and Educating a Deaf Child

by Marschark, Marc

• ISBN13: 9780195094671
• ISBN10: 0195094670
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1997-04-17
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Over 90% of all deaf children are born to hearing parents. For most of these mothers and fathers, their own child is the first deaf person they have ever met. Raising a child who can hear is a challenging and difficult task, but raising a deaf child can seem like an overwhelming responsibility, especially with the mass of conflicting information and advice offered by professionals and well-meaning friends and family members. In Raising and Educating a Deaf Child , Marc Marschark offers parents and teachers a readable and comprehensive summary including everything a parent would want to know about growing up deaf. Parents of a deaf child, like the parents of any child, want to know the answers to some apparently straightforward questions, such as "What kind of school will provide my child with the best education?" "What language experience is best for my child, sign or speech?" "Will my child be able to get a good job?" Marschark addresses these questions and more, with topics ranging from what it means to be deaf and the uniqueness of Deaf culture to the medical causes of early hearing loss, from technological aids for the deaf such as TTYs and cochlear implants to the educational and social opportunities available to deaf children. He describes the many ways that the environment of home and school can influence a deaf child's chances for success in both academic and social circles. Above all, he emphasizes the need for early detection of hearing loss and the importance of being able to communicate with deaf children from a very early age, recommending that all parents of deaf children learn sign language and use it often. This is not a "how to" book or one with all the "right" answers for raising a deaf child. This is a guide through the many conflicting suggestions and programs for raising deaf children, as well as the likely implications of taking one direction or the other. A leading researcher himself, Marschark makes sense of the most current educational and scientific literature, including his own recent research, and talks to deaf children, their parents, and deaf adults about what is important to them. The result is a readable and enlightening survey of what we know about the language, social, and intellectual development of deaf children, and what educational and practical issues face them and their families. Parents of deaf children can and should make their own decisions, based on what is right for their family and for their child. Armed with Raising and Educating a Deaf Child , parents will have access to the bets information available, allowing them to make informed decisions for their child.

Author Biography

About the Author:
Marc Marschark is Director of the Center for Research, Teaching, and Learning at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, a college of Rochester Institute of Technology. A professor and research psychologist, his books include Relations of Language and Thought: The view from sign language and deaf children (1997), Psychological Development of Deaf Children (1993) and Psychological Perspectives on Deafness (1993).

Table of Contents

Foreword	xvii
Sandy Harvey
1. A Deaf Child in the Family	3	(18)
A View from Within	6	(2)
A Deaf Child in the Family	8	(3)
The Importance of Language	11	(2)
Hearing Loss as Pathology? Differences versus Deficiencies	13	(2)
Family Adjustment to Early Childhood Hearing Loss	15	(3)
Summary	18	(3)
2. Practical Aspects of Being Deaf	21	(25)
In the Lands of the Deaf	21	(1)
Describing the Deaf Population	22	(3)
Causes and Consequences of Early Hearing Loss	25	(5)
Early Identification of Hearing Losses	30	(1)
Technological Tools for Deaf People	31	(6)
Hearing Aids and Related Technology	37	(4)
The Cultural Context of Being Deaf	41	(1)
Summary	42	(4)
3. Communicating with Deaf Children	46	(26)
Availability of Language for Deaf Children	47	(3)
Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sign Language	50	(11)
Artificial Speech and Sign Systems Taught to Deaf Children	61	(6)
Speech Training and Speech Assessment	67	(2)
Summary	69	(3)
4. Early Interactions: The Roots of Childhood	72	(15)
Origins of Socials Relations	73	(3)
Accepting Childhood Deafness	76	(3)
Attachment: Mother and Child Reunion	79	(2)
Looking Beyond the Earliest Relationships	81	(3)
Summary	84	(3)
5. Language Development	87	(22)
Do Deaf Babies Babble?	88	(3)
Gestures and Signs	91	(2)
First Signs, First Words	93	(4)
Does Learning to Sign Affect Learning to Speak?	97	(2)
Putting It All Together	99	(6)
Summary	105	(4)
6. Going to School	109	(24)
Educating Deaf Children	110	(1)
Legal Issues Confronting the Education of Deaf Children	111	(2)
Educational Program Alternatives	113	(7)
Academic Support Services	120	(4)
Educational Implications of Alternative School Placements	124	(3)
Psychological Implications of Alternative School Placements	127	(2)
Summary	129	(4)
7. Learning to Read and Write	133	(18)
What is Reading?	135	(3)
What Makes Some Deaf Children (but Not Others) Good Readers?	138	(7)
Deaf Children's Writing	145	(2)
The Impact of Social and Emotional Factors on Literacy	147	(1)
Summary	148	(3)
8. Intelligence, Achievement, and Creativity	151	(16)
Understanding Intelligence	151	(2)
Language and Thought	153	(2)
Confounding Factors in Intelligence	155	(3)
Striving for Success	158	(2)
Creativity and Flexibility	160	(5)
Summary	165	(2)
9. Deaf Children to Deaf Adults	167	(18)
Personality and Emotional Growth during the School Years	168	(3)
Living with Parents and Peers	171	(2)
Influences of Brothers and Sisters	173	(2)
Understanding the Feelings and Values of Others	175	(2)
Mental Health in Deaf Children and Deaf Adults	177	(5)
Summary	182	(3)
10. We Do We Go from Here?	185	(6)
Being a Parent of a Deaf Child	187	(4)
Glossary	191	(6)
Information Sources and Organizations Serving Deaf Children	197	(18)
Suggested Readings	215	(6)
Everyday Signs	221	(10)
Index	231