Counseling Parents of Hearing-Impaired Children (review)

Abstract

Reviews The sound filmstrip takes approximately 10 minutes to view. A written program guide is included for quick reference. This program would be excellent for students, inservice training for regular classroom teachers, teachers' aides, or parents. Brenda Swain La Cosse, M.A., M.Ed. Oakland, Calif. 94610 Counseling Parents of Hearing-Impaired Children, David Luterman, D.Ed., 193 pp., $9.95, Little Brown and Company, 34 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. 02106, 1981. Traditionally in the field of special education, research and program development have been child-centered. The needs of parents have been relegated to second place or overlooked entirely. This book by David Luterman is a welcomed contribution to the literature. He writes in a lucid style, sharing anecdotes from his 13 years of experience as the director of a parent-centered nursery for hearing-impaired youngsters at Emerson College in Boston. It is evident the author has grappled firsthand with the awesome mission of guiding parents through the early, critical stages in the deaf child's life. The book opens with a discussion of the parent 's mourning reaction to a child's deafness and the professional's role in dealing with it. This is followed by a survey of the principal counseling strategies currently in vogue. The recurrent theme of the book is that group process can be a powerfully positive agent for support , education, and attitudinal change with parents. There are concrete suggestions for the development of parent education programs as well as structured exercises for leaders of parent groups. The two final chapters address the impact of deafness upon family relations and the parent's role in the educational process. Luterman advocates a humanistic approach to parent counseling. He calls for a "quiet revolution " in the field of special education through which parents are accorded what is rightfully theirs—direct involvement in the major decisions affecting the lives of their deaf children. Louis L. Aymard, Jr., Ph.D. Psychologist Arnold-Severn Center 4 Evergreen Road, Suite IA Severna Park, Md. 21146 Personal Pronoun Photo Book, Bonita Harmon Peck, 47 pp., $7.50 less educational discounts, The Interstate Printers and Publishers, Inc., 19-27 North Jackson Street, Danville, IU. 61832, 1981. The design of THE PERSONAL PRONOUN BOOK may be useful in assisting clinicians because of the format; however, it is my opinion that the book does not provide enough stimulating or motivating exercises to reach the desired objectives. I feel that much supplemental material would be essential if appropriate learning is desired. In addition, the pictures are not appealing, very repetitious, and quite boring . This book would be more appropriately used with some multihandicapped students, preparatory and elementary age students due to the interest levels presented. Students would move very quickly through the book, and I do not feel internalization of the material would be achieved. The cost of this book seems extremely high. The same objectives could be created as a class project using the experience story approach with a camera, whereby, the students would be generating their own sentences for learning pronouns at a more conservative price. Sally Ann Martin, M.Ed. Louisiana School for the Deaf P.O. Box 3074 Baton Rouge, La. 70821 Interpreter Training: The State of the Art, Carol Yoke, Ed., 64 pp., $4.00, The National Academy, Gallaudet College, Washington, D.C. 20002, 1979. This document was developed from a conference of instructors and administrators of interpreter training programs. It covers the interpreter , the interpreter trainer, policy and administration, and research completed and needed. It also includes an indexed list of materials used in interpreter training and an annotated bibliography of over 100 publications for interpreter trainees. This book represents an up-to-date statement of what has been done, what is being done, and what should be done in the field of interpreter training. It is recommended reading for everyone concerned with the training of interpreters for the deaf. Hugh T. Prickett, Ed. D. Western Maryland College Westminister, Md. 21157 990 A.A.O. ¡December 1981 ...