b o o k     r e v i e w s

Marilyn Cassidy works at the Gallaudet Regional Center at Ohlone College in Fremont, California, and is the mother of seven children, including one deaf son, and grandmother of two deaf and two hearing grandchildren.

The three most important needs for deaf and hard of hearing babies are:

• Communication
• Communication
• Communication

Unlike the old real estate tale where the three most important factors for selling homes are "location, location, location," this is not a joke. Communication is the birthright of every human baby; it is how we know each other, and how we let others know who we are. When I am asked about methodology for teaching deaf children, my response is that I support any method that provides total access in communication. Whether at home or school, communication should be 100%.

Parents of hearing infants begin talking to their children (if they haven't before) in the delivery room. (I should know; I've been there 11 times--seven times to deliver my own children and four times (so far) as my grandchildren arrived.) We tell our newborn babies how beautiful they are, and how happy we are that they finally arrived.

When children are deaf and parents are hearing, our connection becomes primarily visual and sometimes an assist is needed to facilitate communication. Here are some materials that I wish I'd had 26 years ago--when my deaf son was born and I began my journey as a parent and grandparent of deaf children.

American Sign Language Basics for Hearing Parents of Deaf Children
Jess Freeman King and Jan Kelley King
Butte Publications
Hillsboro, Oregon

Here is a comfortable tool to help parents begin communicating with their newly identified deaf or hard of hearing child. It includes a workbook and two videotapes. The setting is a family living room and the activities outlined make learning a family event. Good advice is offered: Parents are encouraged to meet and become involved with Deaf people. This is critical because the tape does not have the animation of a true ASL conversation. My experience has taught me that after you've learned the basics, you can't beat interacting with deaf adults for continuing your education. Parents need to actively seek out any and all resources for real-life contact. I sought out employment in a Deaf environment to improve my signing.

Kid-Friendly Parenting with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children
Daria Medwid and Denise Chapman Weston
Gallaudet University Press
Washington, D.C.

This is fantastic--a practical guide with easy to follow activities for accomplishing a multitude of learning for both the child and his or her family. Parents everywhere ask the same basic questions about their children, focusing on communicating and managing behavior. Information is presented about Deaf culture and the family's place within the culture.

The activities are excellent. For example, an activity from the section discussing communication reads: "Activity #2--No Talking Aloud; Materials--a meal; Age--6-12 years; Vocabulary/Concepts--voice off, communication & communication breakdown."

The dinner table is often the place where the deaf child feels left out of the hearing family's conversation, thus this activity--which occurs during a meal--is especially well placed. Further it helps everyone understand better visual/gestural communication and what happens when it breaks down. Ask older children to prepare the meal and decide what they want to have. Have your whole family eat together and clean up. Remember, no voice or signs. Make sure you maintain your sense of humor. After the meal, ask each family member to describe how he or she felt while unable to communicate clearly.

The Silent Garden Raising Your Deaf Child
by Paul Ogden
Gallaudet University Press
Washington, D.C.

This is another book I recommend to parents "just starting out." Paul Ogden, professor of Deaf Studies at California State University at Northridge who was born deaf, does a wonderful job of explaining different methods of communication and emphasizing the need for communication immediately on identification of a deaf or hard of hearing baby. Ogden shares his own experiences as a Deaf man and presents examples of several families, noting how they made decisions and where the decisions have led them.

Parents of older deaf and hard of hearing children provide valuable insights for parents just starting out. It is so important for parents to look at their children as future well-rounded adults, and make the decisions necessary to help create those adults. There is so much more to this than speech or lip reading skill! Total access--to family, friends, and educational setting--should be the goal for every deaf and hard of hearing child.