CHAPTER 1Hearing as the Basis of Development of Spoken Language   "The earlier and more efficiently we can allow a child access to meaningful sound with subsequent direction of the child's attention to sound, the better opportunity that child will have to develop spoken language, reading and academic skills." (Robertson & Flexer, 2000, p. 7) Due to advances in audiological equipment and techniques, as well as in medical science, it is now a realistic aim to enable almost all children with a hear -- CHAPTER 2Factors That Detract From the Use of Hearing   Abnormal Visual Cues In many programs there still exist habits dating from pre-hearing-aid days and these need to be avoided, for example: Exaggerated mouth movements of the adult Exaggerated facial expressions Deliberately drawing attention to the lips-"Watch" instead of "Listen" Touching the child instead of calling the name to get attention Use of abnormal gestures or sign language Exaggerated body language that encourages watching rathe -- CHAPTER 3Laying the Foundations of Language Through Daily Living   Children who are hearing impaired now have access to sound. Combine that with their innate capacity to learn spoken language and they are able to go through the same main language learning stages as children with normal hearing. The challenge for those working with children who have a hearing loss is to be convinced of this as they study the environments in which children with normal hearing develop language and then to provide t.

CHAPTER 4 Parent Guidance   "It can't be said enough-early intervention is critical." (Robertson & Flexer, 2000) Hearing loss in young children has long been recognized as a challenge for parents to face alone. In an attempt to address this, early intervention programs have been established in many places around the world, but at the beginning of the 21st century, one cannot claim that there is equal access to these programs for all who need them. In some developing countries, there is little or -- CHAPTER 5 Lessons Learned Worldwide From Observation of Interaction of Adults With Children Who Have a Hearing Loss   "We consider that hearing children are usually in an ideal language learning situation and that these are exactly the conditions which must be provided for a hearing impaired child if he is going to use language confidently." (Wood et al., 1986) Over the course of 20 years of international work, it has been possible to collect many samples of adults (parents and professionals) in -- CHAPTER 6 Educational Placement   "Inclusion has been acclaimed as a force for renewing schools and the route to building more inclusive and equitable societies." (Lim & Tan, 2004) This chapter is based on the author's personal experience in developing inclusion programs. However, it by no means covers the full variety of such programs worldwide. Wherever reference is made to a specific program, the corresponding country is mentioned. Several areas already covered in this book are considered in.

CHAPTER 7The Way Forward   "Under normal circumstances, spoken language is the key to the full realization of human potential." (Boothroyd, 2000) The motivation for this book came from over 50 years of practice in the education of hearing-impaired children around the world. Its findings have been based on five kinds of experience: A solid foundation of experience with normally hearing children in the early stages of language development and early education Hands-on work with children suffering f.