Deaf Children and their Families

The republication of a study originally entitled The Deaf Child and his Family which was a landmark in the study of early deafness. This republication, including the addition of a new introduction, coincides with the publication of Dr Gregory's follow-up longitudinal study of the same cohort of families in Deaf Young People and their Families. This is the republication of a study originally entitled The Deaf Child and his Family which was a landmark in the study of early deafness. Dr Gregory's work, based on interviews with 122 mothers of deaf children under the age of six years, parallels that already done with hearing children and investigates with the same methodology the ways in which deaf children develop, change and are changed by their home and their wider environment. The book describes the everyday life of young deaf children and their families, looks at the deaf child's activities and their daily routine and considers the support and advice given to the parents during the child's early years. This republication, and the addition of a new introduction, coincides with the publication of Dr Gregory's follow-up longitudinal study of the same cohort of families in Deaf Young People and their Families.

This work aims to take "disablement" out of the experience of children and their families. It focuses on deaf children and uses a valuable combination of what families say and discussions of topical issues about how disabling issues can be avoided. First Published in 1996. The study makes an important contribution to newly emerging participative research methodologies in that it places the parents' view of the world at the centre of the analysis and in so doing, articulates the kinds of changes they think are necessary to improve the quality of life for their families and themselves. Due to an application of a social model, the book is important not just to families with deaf children and the professionals who work with them but to anyone who has an interest in disability issues.