To improve balance skills of deaf students, teachers should first determine the student's present level of functioning, decide on developmentally appropriate activities, and then arrange activities so the child progresses sequentially. (CL)

Five issues regarding the introduction of interpreters to the classroom are addressed: access to interpreters; training of interpreters for educational settings; the role of educational interpreters; the interpreting code of ethics; and regular evaluation. (CL)

Guidelines are offered for helping deaf children understand and cope with death. Implications for children under 3 to 10 and over are noted. Counseling suggestions are listed for helping bereaved children. (CL)

The trend toward increasing numbers of deaf students in college and postsecondary programs is illustrated in statistics, and typical support services in postsecondary programs are cited. (CL)

To be effective in communicating diagnoses to parents of hearing impaired children, audiologists must understand parental feelings and be able to estimate parents' readiness to receive clinical findings. (CL)

A series of lessons is presented which are designed to help deaf six-, seven-, and eight-year-olds develop a more positive self-image by comparing themselves with hearing persons and discovering that they share more similarities than differences. (CB)

The article reviews a study of interactions among deaf children, their parents and teachers which points out the need for developing early and ongoing contact with the deaf community. It is stressed that English and American Sign Language be given equal status in the classroom. (CL)

Suggestions are made for encouraging conversation skills in the deaf child at the family dinner table. Among suggestions to families are to use dinnertime to catch up on each other's news, make the physical environment pleasant, use modes of communication accessible to the deaf child, and be responsive to the deaf child. (DB)

Suggestions are presented for planning a successful dramatic production by adolescent deaf students. Suggestions deal with script selection, stage direction, scenery, props, costumes, use of American Sign Language rather than signed English, and the need for all actors' signed lines to be visible to the entire audience. (JDD)

Examples are given of ways in which deaf adults, parents of deaf children, and schools can cooperate to provide better educational and community services. (CL)

Two scenes are presented from a longer one-act (nine scene) play about the history of deaf Americans. The scenes relate the misbeliefs and suspicions among early Americans about the deaf and the founding of the first American school for the deaf by Thomas Gallaudet. (CB)

The responsibilities borne by deaf students, interpreters, classroom teachers, and deaf education teachers which are necessary for mainstreaming to succeed are enumerated. A meeting among all parties early in the school year to review their respective roles and the compilation of a written summary for future reference can promote success. (VW)

The three major sign language systems (American Sign Language, Pidgin Sign English, and Manual English) are compared in table form. A brief description of each language highlights salient points that parents of deaf children need to understand. (DB)

An assessment strategy uses pretests and posttests to assess deaf students' pre-independent, semi-independent, and independent living skills. The one-on-one assessment technique allows evaluators (and subsequently teachers) to tailor learning activities to the specific needs of the individual student. (CB)

Health education can become an integral part of deaf students' lives through an interdisciplinary approach beginning at an early age and continuing through college, with focus shifting from basic information, theoretical perspectives, and practical ideas for health maintenance. (CL)