by David Bareford

Created on: January 28, 2007   Last Updated: May 12, 2007

Educating the Deaf Child

The doctor returns the diagnosis: your child is deaf or significantly hard of hearing. Suddenly, your world becomes a whirlwind of audiologists, speech therapists, and hearing specialists. Decisions confront you regarding assistive listening devices, cochlear implant surgery, rehabilitation programs, and speechreading classes. A larger question looms as well: how will your child get the education he or she deserves?

Before you make snap decisions that could profoundly impact your child's future: step back. Breathe. Though you may feel overwhelmed because you know almost nothing about deafness, you shouldn't feel alone. Of the estimated 21 million Americans who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, 90% were born to parents with normal hearing, people like you who also experienced confusion, shock, a sense of loss, and even anger at this unexpected turn of events.

As a parent, you naturally want what is best for your child. It's imperative, then, that you explore all the options, not simply the ones that seem most expedient or that are presented the most emphatically.

Understanding Perspectives on Deafness
Deafness is a complex issue, and people have differing viewpoints about it. If you only expose yourself to a single perception of deafness, you will be unnecessarily limiting your child's options. Two major schools of thought are prevalent: the medical perspective, and the Deaf cultural perspective.

The Medical Perspective
Since a medical practitioner probably provided the first confirmation of your child's deafness, it is likely that the medical, or pathological, perspective was presented first. In this mode of thinking, deafness is a disability to be mitigated, by whatever means possible. The ability to hear is "normal," and deafness or hearing loss is a dysfunction that should be corrected. The majority "hearing" society reinforces this view with its labels for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing: disabled, hearing-impaired, handicapped. The focus of this perspective is on the ears that cannot hear, and on the steps to make the deaf child as "normal" as possible.

Deaf Cultural Perspective
A dramatically different perspective on hearing loss is found in the Deaf community. Deafness is not viewed as a disability, since a deaf person can communicate fully, receive a complete education, and live a normal, productive life. In the words of I. King Jordan, president of Gallaudet University (the world's only liberal arts college for the Deaf), "Deaf people can do

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