When working as a teacher of deaf students, Melissa Herzig's school was a magnet high school just five minutes from the border of Mexico, where 95 percent of the students were Latinos. The deaf students' experiences with languages may involve using American Sign Language (ASL), a sign language they may have learned in their home country,…

Parent-to-parent support is vital for parents of all children, but, of course, it is especially vital for parents who have deaf or hard of hearing children. Without the support of other parents, those with deaf and hard of hearing children can easily feel isolated, confused, and alone. Once they meet each other, however, those same parents feel…

Obtaining appropriate special education and related services to establish the best educational environment--academically and socially--has not only been challenging but also downright daunting. The decisions the author has made supporting his children, 6-year-old James who is deaf and 12-year-old Miia who is hard of hearing, are, in part, derived…

Child First is a national campaign to ensure that deaf children have their right to language recognized and fulfilled regardless of which educational method is specified in the Individualized Education Program (IEP). Whether the child's family embraces American Sign Language (ASL), speech reading, a system of signs that encodes English, or a…

In this article Megan Mathisen, a teacher of deaf and hard of hearing children at St. Anne Grade School in St. Anne, Illinois, describes her work with two boys in second grade and one boy in fifth grade who at the beginning of the school year had reading and language delays. After working with them, her second grade boys are now on grade level and…

Since the early 1990s, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved cochlear implants for deaf and hard of hearing children, the number of children who have cochlear implants has increased in mainstream settings. Recent research suggests that these students, like their deaf and hard of hearing peers without implants who use sign language,…

During the past few years, the teachers and staff at Kendall Demonstration Elementary School (KDES) have reviewed research to identify factors that positively impact language development for deaf and hard of hearing children, and established language and communication practices to reflect what they have learned. Based on the research, which…

The California School for the Deaf (CSD), Fremont, is a deaf-centered bilingual program. CSD's approach to curriculum development, instructional pedagogy, and assessment integrates best practices in deaf education, bilingual education, and general education. The goals of the program are outlined in the Expected School-wide Learning Results which…

A visit to any classroom at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (WPSD) or The Scranton School for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children reveals a host of amazing things--all at the same time. Visitors see dedicated and passionate teachers presenting engaging and relevant material. They see an all-inclusive communication environment, where…

Revolutions can happen in different ways. About six years ago, a very particular type of revolution began in a cluster of rooms on the main campus of Gallaudet University. There, a handful of individuals began a "quiet revolution" guided by an overarching passionate mission to conduct groundbreaking science that would have widespread benefits for…

The Texas School for the Deaf (TSD) has two missions. One is to provide educational services to deaf and hard of hearing students and their families on the Austin campus--this is the traditional, face-to-face, center-based service model. The other is to serve as a resource center for the state, providing information, referral, programs, and…

In the fall of 2008, the authors began team teaching in a bilingual American Sign Language (ASL)/English classroom. They faced the same challenge teachers everywhere face: a new year with new goals and a classroom of students with diverse learning needs. This article discusses how the authors address students' language needs in a bilingual ASL and…

In the author's role as a teacher trainer, her goal is for future teachers of the deaf to have a more solid foundation. From her own personal teaching experiences, in her observations of effective reading teachers, and with support from current literature, the author has compiled a list of strategies that will help teachers using a bimodal…

The Kansas State School for the Deaf (KSD) is a bilingual school where American Sign Language (ASL) and English are used equally in the classroom and dormitory as the languages of instruction and communication. As a result, KSD has been part of bilingual education training through the Center for ASL/English Bilingual Education and Research…

To assist parents with deaf or hard of hearing children who may need help supporting their child's learning, the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind developed Family Literacy Packs. These literacy packs, available to families within the state of Colorado, provide fun, interactive activities that help parents support their children's…