Alone in the Mainstream: Looking Back on Public School as a Deaf or Hard of Hearing Child

In 1975, federal legislation initiated drastic changes in the education of deaf and hard of hearing children. Public Law 94-142, later known as IDEA, proposed to provide the “Least Restrictive Environment” for all such children. In the years since, advocates for deaf and hard of hearing children have raised the alarm that mainstream educational settings can cause language and social deprivation for these children.

In Alone in the Mainstream, author Gina A. Oliva documents her experience as ...