ABSTRACT
In this chapter we look at the social development of deaf children and young people, both within their families and in their relationships with their peers. For deaf children and their families there are a number of issues with implications for education. These include the impact of diagnosis of deafness on the family and the subsequent language and communication choices that are made within the family. Patterns of interaction and family relationships are important, not simply in terms of the immediate family, parents and siblings, but also those relationships with the extended family, including grandparents. While educational decisions about school placement that are made for deaf pupils will often focus on those aspects that are specifically educational such as access to the curriculum, their relationship with peers is also significant for the pupils’ experience of the educational process. Later as the deaf young person leaves school for work or college, their transition will be effected by social factors as well as educational attainment.
