As the practice of mainstreaming deaf and hard of hearing children into general classrooms continues to proliferate, the performances of these students becomes critical. Deaf Children in Public Schools assesses the progress of three second-grade deaf students to demonstrate the importance of placement, context, and language in their development. Ramsey points out that these deaf children were placed in two different environments, with the general population of hearing students, and separately with other deaf and hard of hearing children. Her incisive study reveals that although both settings were ostensibly educational, inclusion in the general population was done to comply with the law, not to establish specific goals for the deaf children. In contrast, self-contained classes for deaf and hard of hearing children were designed especially to concentrate upon their particular learning needs. Deaf Children in Public Schools also demonstrates that the key educational element of language development cannot be achieved in a social vacuum, which deaf children face in the real isolation of the mainstream classroom. Based upon these insights, Deaf Children in Public Schools follows the deaf students in school to consider three questions regarding the merit of language study without social interaction or cultural access, the meaning of context in relation to their educational success, and the benefits of the perception of the setting as the context rather than as a place. The intricate answers found in this cohesive book offer educators, scholars, and parents a remarkable stage for assessing and enhancing the educational context for the deaf children within their purview.

The author describes her life and experiences as the only deaf child in her public schools.

"Great for parents or someone who teaches the deaf, is entering the field of audiology, or is unfamiliar with hearing loss." —Roberta Agar-Jacobsen, Teacher of the Deaf, Tacoma Public Schools, WA "The way the many complexities of speech are discussed, explained, and addressed is very reader-friendly, easy to understand, and accessible." —Sherilyn Renner, Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Bozeman Public Schools, MT "I have a student who is hard of hearing: How do I assist the student in speaking?" As a result of IDEA 2004 and NCLB, more and more students with hearing loss are being educated alongside their hearing peers, making teachers and service professionals responsible for helping to fulfill their educational needs. Written by experts in the field, Helping Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students to Use Spoken Language provides educators and novice practitioners with the knowledge and skills in spoken language development to meet the needs of students who are deaf or hard of hearing. The authors′ model of auditory, speech, and language development has been used successfully with the deaf and hard of hearing population, in training preservice teachers, and in workshops and presentations for practicing professionals. This essential resource introduces the authors′ developmental model and addresses: Creative and scientific ways of interacting with children with hearing loss to develop spoken communication Effective approaches, techniques, and strategies for working with children in the primary grades Techniques for imparting social and academic information while children are learning to communicate This authoritative reference gives teachers the confidence to provide students with a well-prepared, intensely stimulating environment to foster the natural emergence of spoken language.

A concise guide explains the current research on the development of deaf children, urges the importance of communication with deaf children by sign language as early as possible, and provides information on resources for the deaf and their parents. UP.

This transcript of a Congressional hearing deals with the effectiveness of education for deaf students at the local and state levels, in the context of the reauthorization of the Education of the Deaf Act. This Act provides for, among other things, the establishment of a study commission which concluded in 1988 that the education for persons who are deaf is unacceptably unsatisfactory. Prepared and oral statements from the following people are included: deaf high school and college students in both integrated and special school settings; an administrator of the National Association of the Deaf; special school administrators; a North Carolina state education administrator; and a college professor. (DB)