Two educators who are also parents of deaf children offer positive advice and encouragement on helping children adapt to deafness. They show how problems related to deafness can be overcome so that the child interacts as a social and intellectual equal with children who can hear. The authors recommend what is called bimodal communication -- that is, having the child, parents, and other non-deaf family members learn American Sign Language as a first step in normal communication. Though admitting that this approach is controversial, they are personally convinced that bimodal use of signed and spoken English allows the deaf child's communciation ability to grow and vocabulary to blossom. The book also offers much good general advice on parenting, stressing that deaf and hearing children are more alike than they are different.

Deaf children are not hearing children who can't hear, and having a deaf child is not analogous to having a hearing child who can't hear. Beyond any specific effects of hearing loss, deaf children are far more diverse than their hearing age-mates. A lack of access to language, limited incidental learning and social interactions, as well as the possibility of secondary disabilities, mean that deaf children face a variety of challenges in language, social, and academic domains. In recent years, technological innovations such as digital hearing aids and cochlear implants have improved hearing and the possibility of spoken language for many deaf learners, but parents, teachers, and other professionals are just now coming to recognize the cognitive, experiential, and social-emotional differences between deaf and hearing children. Sign languages and schools and programs for deaf learners thus remain an important part of the continuum of services needed for this population. Understanding the unique strengths and needs of deaf children is the key. Now in its third edition, Marc Marschark's Raising and Educating a Deaf Child, which has helped a countless number of families, offers a comprehensively clear, evidence-based guide to the choices, controversies, and decisions faced by parents and teachers of deaf children today.

This sensitive guide is firm support in helping parents make their difficult choices.

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.

A step-by-step guide for parents of children ages 3-12.

Discusses parenting skills and problem-solving techniques for parents of deaf and hearing-impaired children.