Raising and Educating a Deaf Child: A Comprehensive Guide to the Choices, Controversies, and Decisions Faced by Parents and Educators

by Marc Marschark

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190643522
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	11/30/2017
Edition description:	Comprehens
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	1480L (what's this?)

About the Author

Marc Marschark is a Professor at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, a college of Rochester Institute of Technology, where he directs the Center for Education Research Partnerships. His primary interest is in relations among language, learning, and cognition; current research focuses on such relations among deaf children and adults in formal and informal educational settings.

Table of Contents

Preface

Chapter 1: A Deaf Child in the Family

Chapter 2: Practical Aspects of Being Deaf

Chapter 3: Communication With Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children

Chapter 4: Early Interactions: The Roots of Childhood

Chapter 5: Language Development and Language Use

Chapter 6: Going to School

Chapter 7: Learning to Read and Write

Chapter 8: How Deaf Children Learn (and Why They Sometimes Don't)

Chapter 9: Living in the Real World

Chapter 10: Where Do We Go From Here?

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Ashley Gaal Flagge, Ph.D., Au.D.(University of South Alabama)
Description: For parents of children with hearing impairment, the options can be overwhelming and opinions and well-meaning advice are plentiful. This is a much-needed update of a book that deals with hearing loss in children, an often controversial topic that has seen many changes over the years as technology and educational law have revolutionized the way that deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children are educated and communicate. The second edition was published over 10 years ago in 2007.
Purpose: The purpose, according to the author, is to give an updated overview of the communicative and educational options that are available to deaf and hard of hearing children and their families, as well as to openly discuss some of the more controversial issues surrounding this population, using research evidence to support claims. This book aims to address these issues and guide parents and educators to make decisions based on the most updated data available. Cochlear implant technology and educational inclusivity have drastically changed the views and models for raising and educating DHH children, and it is easy for parents to become overwhelmed in the face of many decisions and opinions. The author does an excellent job of addressing many of the major controversies and laying out the available research evidence, impartially addressing all sides of many of these issues.
Audience: The book is written primarily for parents and teachers of DHH children. It aims to help parents examine all sides of issues surrounding communication and education of their hearing impaired child, and meets this goal well. The author is a professor at the National Technical Institute of the Deaf and has written two prior editions. He states that he himself has had to overcome some of his previously held beliefs about teaching deaf students, and realizes, based on his own experience and in his dealing with parents of these students, the difficulties inherent in many of the decisions that face parents of DHH children.
Features: The book starts with a brief overview of the content and the reasons for the updated edition. It then lays out more foundational knowledge for parents and educators about the physiology of hearing and causes of hearing loss, the technology of cochlear implants and other hearing assistive technologies and how they work, and the different communication modes available for DHH children. The book then begins dissecting some of the more controversial components of language and literacy learning and education for the hearing impaired child. The book includes a significant amount of research, although it is not always immediately cited, and aims to give a comprehensive view of education and communication options to parents and educators of DHH children. Each chapter concludes with a further reading list for those interested. The book concludes with a chapter entitled "Living in the Real World," which discusses the relationships and interactions of DHH children as they grow into adulthood, as well as other significant issues often surrounding these children as they grow (e.g., mental health, social maturity). There is a comprehensive index at the end of the book and a section of footnote explanations divided by chapter.
Assessment: The world is changing, and we are all trying to learn how to function and live with the change. These growing pains are perhaps nowhere more apparent than in the deaf and hard of hearing pediatric community and the issues parents encounter as they try not only to make sense of their child's hearing status, but also to navigate the multitude of decisions suddenly facing them. This is an excellent update that is helpful for parents and educators, and would be a good addition to a professional library of anyone dealing with pediatric deaf or hard of hearing populations.

Doody's Review Service

"Marc Marschark has once again contributed valuable literature to the field of deaf education...he points out that every child is different and that every method works for some, but nothing works for everyone, based on analyses of up-to-date research studies. He reminds us that the most important and earliest teachers are (or should be) the parent(s). Marschark destroys some myths and provides understandable explanations of technical, linguistic, and cultural topics. His treatment of cochlear implants is comprehensive, and he gives a needed view of the Least Restrictive Environment as it applies uniquely to Deaf and Hard of Hearing learners. This book is a valuable tool for both parents and educators in making intelligent decisions for all deaf learners, starting with the earliest possible age."
-David S. Martin, Professor/Dean Emeritus, Gallaudet University, Washington, DC

From the Publisher