In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

I Selected Topics of Interest: 1992 Introduction 1. Parent-Infant Education in Schools for Deaf Children: Before and After PL 99-457 2. A Profile of Family Education/Early Intervention Services at the Maryland School for the Deaf 3. Hearing Parents and Deaf Children: Some Perspectives on Sign Communication and Service Delivery 4. The Role of Parents in Developing Visual Turn-Taking in Their Young Deaf Children Selected Topics of Interest: 1992 INTRODUCTION This year marks the centennial of formalized infant education for hearing-impaired children in the United States— with the first school specifically for deaf children "before they are of School Age" established in Pennsylvania in 1892 (Rinehart, 1933) and listed in the American Annals ofDeaf'Directory Issue of that year (Fay, 1892). One hundred years later, 95% of reporting schools for deaf children are providing educational services for preschool children, with the majority of new programs added between 1950 and 1980 (Craig, 1992, this volume). Most recently, the federal government has focused national attention on education for infants and toddlers with disabilities, and for their parents, with the passage of PL 99-457 in 1986. Honoring this little-recognized centennial in the education for deaf infants, and recognizing the potential impact of the more recent federal mandates of 99-457, the editors have chosen Parent-Infant Education as the "Selected Topic of Interest" for the 1992 Reference Issue of the American Annals of the Deaf. This same topic was selected for the 1983 Reference Issue, and the articles included then provide a reference point for the current issue. The first two articles included in this volume provide data on the growth of parent-infant programming, especially in the recent decades. The first, "Parent-Infant Education in Schools for Deaf Children: Before and After PL 99-457," presents the results of a survey of parent-infant education in schools for deaf children nationwide and is a follow-up of a CEASD special project, surveying the same schools in 1982. The second article, "A Profile of Family Education/ Early Intervention Services at the Maryland School for the Deaf," provides a record of demographic and program changes in one school's parent-infant population and services from 1969 to 1992. The next two articles provide information and data on parent-child interactions and the implications of these data for parent-infant programming. The first of these, "Hearing Parents and Deaf Children: Some Perspectives on Sign Communication and Service Delivery," reports on a survey of hearing parents of deaf children and their perceptions re: the use of sign communication with these children, relating these results to the need for family-focused services. The last article, "Parents' Role in the Development of Visual Turn-taking in Young Deaf Children," then addresses a facet of hearing parent and deaf child interaction that is frequently overlooked — the visual attention shifts required when parent and child are communicating (visually) about something which also demands a careful visual focus, such as pictures in a book. Consistent with the theme of these articles, the summary data following the Schools and Classes section will conclude with a demographic analysis of "Hearing Impaired Children Under Age 6: Data from the Annual Survey of Hearing Impaired Children and Youth." These five articles together, including both demographic data and programming considerations, provide complementary reference points for the second century of parent-infant education, now beginning in 1992. William N. Craig and Helen B. Craig Editors, Reference Issue The "Selected Topics of Interest" was initiated as a section of the Annals Reference Issue in April 1974 as a means of providing additional statistical and reference-type data on current focal concerns. An index of articles published from 1974 to 1984 is provided in the April 1984 Reference Issue. 68 AAD/REFERENCE 1992 Vol. 137, No. 2 ...

pdf

Share