Raising and Educating a Deaf Child

A guide for parents, teachers and other professionals involved with deaf children on a day-to-day basis. Topics covered include practical aspects of being deaf, communicating with the deaf, language development and learning to read and write.

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Parents of a deaf child, like the parents of any child who has special needs, wants answers to what seem to be some simple and straightforward questions like What kind of school is best? and Will my child be able to get a good job?. Regrettably, these questions are not as simple as they appear, and parents sometimes get contradictory information from professionals who are supposed to have the answers. Growing up Deaf answers some of these questions, while also providing a readable and comprehensive examination of deafness. Marc Marschark provides a survey of what we currently know about the language, social, and intellectual development of deaf children, and extensively considers the educational and practical issues confronting them and their families, He argues the need to accept the many differences among deaf children and between deaf and hearing children without viewing these differences as deficiencies of disabilities that need to be "corrected". This book focuses on broad issues, such as alternatives for effective communication, the importance of diverse social experiences, and the need for consistency in parenting.
Growing Up Deaf challenges our assumptions about what deaf children can and cannot do and explores new avenues to allow them to reach their potentials.