ABSTRACT
Most deaf children are born into hearing families where no other member of the family is deaf. It is unlikely that the parents will know much about the problems and difficulties of prelingually deaf people, or even have experienced deafness first hand, other than the deafness of an elderly person who has gone deaf with age and has totally different problems. This chapter looks at the guidance that is currently given, and the change in the content of the advice over the past 20 years. It examines the implicit assumptions behind the notions of giving guidance and the values underlying the actual structure and content of the advice. The chapter also looks at the situation of advising parents of deaf children as a way of illustrating some of the problems that arise in putting research into practice. It considers the relationship between research and practice.
