Helping Children Who Are Deaf: Family and Community Support for Children Who Do Not Hear Well (Early Assistance Series for Children With Disabilities)

Children who are deaf need extra help learning either a spoken or sign language, so that they can develop their thinking, learn to communicate, solve problems, and explore and interact with the world. Helping Children Who Are Deaf supports parents and other caregivers in building the communication skills of babies and young children. Packed with activities on how to foster language learning through both sign and oral approaches, this groundbreaking book explains ways to adapt activities and exercises for both a child's specific abilities and needs, and a family's unique circumstances. The book also explores how deafness affects a child's ability to learn language, as well as develop mentally and socially. Developed in partnership with families of children who are deaf or cannot hear well, community-based disability organizations, deaf adults, teachers, health workers and other experts in over 17 countries, Helping Children Who Are Deaf is practical, accessible and appropriate across varied conditions and cultures. Topics include: how to assess hearing loss, education for hearing-impaired children,causes of deafness, how to work on the social skills of a deaf child,support for parents and caregivers, and how communities can work together to help deaf children. Contents 6 1 Hearing difficulties and communication 11 2 Children who cannot hear well need help early 23 3 Guidelines for teaching language 31 4 Basic communication skills 43 5 What can your child hear? 57 6 Listening skills 69 7 Choosing and learning a language 77 8 Learning to use a sign language 95 9 Learning to use a spoken language 115 10 Social skills 131 11 Working together to help children who are deaf 149 12 Education 161 13 Preventing child sexual abuse 177 14 Support for parents and caregivers 189 15 Why children lose their hearing and what we can do 201 Appendix A Hearing aids 229 Appendix B Cochlear implants and hearing 237 Child development charts 241 Where to get more information 249 Front matter,Helping Children Who Are Deaf,Publication This resource offers information, explanations, suggestions, examples, and ideas to help those working with children who are deaf or cannot hear well to communicate to the best of their abilities. The text explains how to teach both spoken and sign language, and it was developed with the aid of parents, teachers, deaf adults, health care workers, educators, and other experts from 17 countries, making the information and activities useful and applicable across cultures. For parents, caregivers, health care workers, rehabilitation workers, and educators. No subject index. Annotation © 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR