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EDITORIAL The Seventeenth International Congress on Education of the Deaf (ICED) The 17th International Congress on Education of the Deaf, which was completed in August of this year in Rochester, New York, was simultaneously an indication of how far education of the deaf has progressed in the last century and of how far we have to go in the century to come. By all measures, the Congress was a resounding success. The program, organized around 12 major topics selected by the program committee, included 108 sessions, with a total of more than 400 individual presentations, panels, and symposia provided by in excess of 600 participants. Almost half of the estimated 1,300 attendees were presenters, panelists, co-authors, and chairpersons. The level of participation was unprecedented. The amount of international participation was high, with presenters from 56 countries and six continents. In addition to spoken English, Japanese, and Spanish, for the first time since the initial Congress in Paris in 1878, a sign language— American Sign Language—was one of the official languages of the Congress. The influence of deaf leaders was pervasive throughout the Congress and included members of the International Program Committee, the National Program Committee, and plenary speakers. The Grand Finale speaker was Dr. Robert Davila, a distinguished deaf professional who is Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in the U.S. Department of Education, which may be the most important position in special education in the world. The spirit of international cooperation was demonstrated by an informal meeting of the editors of journals and other publications related to deafness from several countries , including the United States, Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Mexico, and the Soviet Union. The United States was represented by the editors of the Annals and the Volta Review. We were able to discuss our missions, share common problems, pose solutions, and explore possibilities for future collaboration and information sharing. The acceptance of sign communication and the participation of deaf leaders in the 17th Congress stands in stark contrast to the 2nd International Congress on Education in Milan, Italy, in 1880. At that Congress, more than half of the participants came from one country—Italy—and the United States was the only non-European country represented. None of the active participants was deaf. It was at the Milan Congress that formal resolutions agreeing on the superiority of oral instruction over the use of signs alone or the simultaneous use of signs and speech were approved. The first two resolutions adopted in Milan were: The Conference, considering the uncontestable superiority of speech over signs, (a) for restoring deaf mutes to social life, and (b) forgiving them greater facility for language, declares that the method of articulation should have preference over that of signs in instruction for education of the deaf and dumb. Considering that the simultaneous use of signs and speech has the disadvantage of injuring speech and lipreading and precision of ideas, the Convention declares that the oral method ought to be preferred. One can only speculate on what the authors of the Milan resolutions would have thought if they had attended the Rochester Congress of 1990 and observed the large number of deaf presenters using a variety of sign systems and sign languages as well as the ubiquitous presence of interpreters at all the gatherings. Certainly the field has come a long way in its acceptance of diversity of communication styles and modes. Still, deaf children continue to lag in academic achievement compared to hearing children, and deaf adults have not achieved economic parity with their hearing counterparts in any country. The problems faced in developing nations are enormous, and progress everywhere is measured in small increments. The task in education of the deaf remains formidable in spite of the impressive gains. The chairpersons of the 17th Congress, E. Ross Stuckless of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf and Doin E. Hicks of Gallaudet University, should be applauded for their efforts and for the success of the Rochester Congress. There is every indication that the 18th Congress in Tel Aviv in 1995 will build and expand upon this success. Donald F. Moores Editor Vol. 135, No. 4 AAD 273 ...

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