Cognition, Education, and Deafness: Directions for Research and Instruction

Foreword

Foreword Our country has a well-deserved reputation for a broad range of achievements , including the resolution of many economic and social ills. In recent decades programs for the handicapped have been the fortunate target of some of this Yankee ingenuity. Compared with other health, social, and educational problems, however, hearing impairment has not received an equitable level of attention. Over the years, no problem affecting such a large portion of the population has received such a small share of our nation's research dollars or of its remediation efforts. Fortunately, researchers and practitioners in a number of fields have "discovered" deafness as an interesting and fruitful area of investigation. Our knowledge about cognition and deafness has burgeoned (comparatively speaking, at least) in recent years. The International Symposium on Cognition, Education, and Deafness, which provided the stage from which prominent researchers and practitioners could present their work and viewpoints, and this volume, which represents the results of that symposium , are especially timely. Thanks are due primarily to Professor Clarence Williams who, more than 2 years ago, planted and nourished the seed from which this work grew. His untimely death halfway through the planning process, though tragic, served to harden the resolve of others on the task force to make the symposium and this report an extraordinary success. This book represents the range of diversity in the field. Although no claims are made with regard to its completeness, it does provide the best summary to date of state-of-the-art information on topics related to cognition and deafness. The volume comes highly recommended as a veritable treasure to the serious student and to the practicing professional concerned about helping deaf persons help themselves by developing a greater portion of their cognitive potential. Gallaudet University Washington, D.C. Doin Hicks xi ...