Deaf Children in China

In general, Callaway finds that there are few groups or institutions providing support to parents of deaf children in China. Almost all parents are left to their own devices upon diagnosis. As a result, most of them spend vast amounts of money that they don't have searching for a "cure" rather than investing in hearing aids or learning sign language. It was encouraging, however, to read of the existence of preschools for the deaf, and that some schools for the deaf in China use a form of signed Chinese as the medium of instruction rather than sticking to a purely oral/aural method. A very disturbing fact that Callaway points out is that the third leading cause of deafness in China is entirely preventable, namely deafness due to ototoxic drugs- -inappropriately prescribed antibiotics. Callaway found little evidence of a strong Deaf culture in China such as found in many Western countries. She hypothesizes that the lack of Deaf culture may be more likely in a homogenous society like China. Personally, I think that the explanation for the lack of evidence of a Deaf culture may be more closely linked with a long-standing educational tradition for the deaf and acceptance of sign language. It would be interesting to explore these ideas in a society such as the UAE which is highly heterogeneous but does not have a long history of deaf education.


Excellent first hand information   June 19, 2000
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This book provides detailed background information on family life and child rearing in China, as well as a full description of the development of services for deaf children in this heavily populated and vast country. The core of the book consists of interviews with parents of deaf children, followed by extensive information from letters written by parents from all over China. These convey the parents' main concerns in trying to do the best for their children. Overall the book is very readable and informative.