Introduction

Give an overview of deaf educational opportunities in your chosen country. This does not have to be your own country, but should be one where you have access to a good range of documents and academic sources. Critically discuss theories of language development in relation to deaf children (See for example King, Baillie, Tomasello).

Country study

Discuss the process of ascertaining deafness in this country and what proportion of children experiencing childhood deafness you estimate this covers. Which children are missed out and why?

Discuss the concept of informed choice for parents and how far these principles can be applied in this country.

Discuss the pathway which families follow when their child is diagnosed as deaf.

What are the chances of receiving an appropriate hearing aid, a cochlear implant, and / or access to sign language tuition in the early years. Highlight examples of good practice and evaluate why they are successful using your reading.

What views do organisations of deaf people or parents of deaf children hold about early years language development of deaf children in this country?

Are there any language-less children in this country? Where are they and what are the consequences for the children (use Mayberry’s work)?

Using your knowledge of the infrastructure of this country, which people do you think need further information about deaf children’s early language acquisition, which tools would be most appropriate for them to use to examine progress and which early years approaches do you think would be most likely to lead to fluent language(s) being developed by the age of 5.

Recommendations

What recommendations would you make to the Education Ministry of this country about how to provide an infrastructure which would allow early ascertainment, informed choice and language-rich environments in the early years for deaf children? Take into account the resources available to the country.

Self evaluation

Evaluate the changes that have occurred in your thinking about inclusive and special education as a result of studying this course.

Appendices

These are not essential, but you may have some examples of approaches, materials or assessments which you want to refer to in the body of your assignment. Keep them brief and relevant.