ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we summarize and offer theoretical and clinical interpretations of findings from various analyses of mother and infant behaviors during face-to-face interactions in the first year of life. These results are based on a longitudinal study of deaf and hearing mothers and infants carried out at Gallaudet University beginning in 1988 under the leadership of Dr. Kathryn Meadow-Orlans. Having worked and published in the field of childhood deafness for many years, Dr. Meadow-Orlans recognized the need for greater understanding of the needs and capabilities of deaf infants in order for early interventionists and caregivers to provide the most appropriate environments for these children. In addition, she was aware of the importance of including deaf parents in such investigations in order to gain insights about their natural strategies for interacting with deaf children to optimize visual attention and to maintain communication
without relying primarily on vocalizations for this purpose. This resulted in funding for one of the largest studies to date comparing mother-infant dyads in all four hearing status combinations and included gathering observational and interview data over the first 18 months of the child’s life (see MacTurk, Meadow-Orlans, Koester, & Spencer, 1993, for a complete description of design and methodology).
