A mother of a hearing-impaired two year old offers examples of utilizing siblings (who have learned sign language) to foster the language development and socialization of the younger child. (DB)

Written to help parents and children recognize the importance of communication, this publication provides guidelines for parenting children from infancy through adolescence. Initially, discussion focuses on issues related to the nature of communication, parenting, good parenting, infancy, toddlers, and school-age children. Subsequent discussion…

This digest uses a question-and-answer format to address issues that parents should consider when thinking about the total communication (TC) approach for a child who is deaf or hard of hearing. Total communication is explained as the use of any/all modes of communication (manual, oral, auditory, and written) depending on the needs of the child.…

This digest discusses hearing loss in children. Topics covered include: (1) the causes of hearing loss and the three major types of hearing losses, conductive loss, sensorineural loss, and central auditory processing disorder; (2) the federal definitions of "deaf" (hearing loss which adversely affects educational performance and which is…

A literature-based rationale for teaching American Sign Language (ASL) as the primary language system for deaf children elaborates on the following points: Sign languages are visual-manual; spoken languages are oral-aural. Competency in a first language tremendously increases a person's ability to learn a second language. Deaf children have not…