摘要：Most Deaf children are born to hearing parents, who have little to no experience with Deaf people, their language, or their culture. These parents struggle with how to raise a Deaf infant who responds primarily to visual rather than auditory information. A program called Deaf Mentors was developed to connect these hearing families with a Deaf adult who is trained in how to effectively help parents learn visual strategies and if desired sign language to facilitate early language acquisition. This study, using a grounded theory methodology, investigated the perceptions of hearing families who had a Deaf Mentor. Results found that these Deaf Mentors helped families create a context that provided the Keys to a High Quality of Life for Deaf Children. Importantly, the program provided a new perspective that allowed families to understand that their Deaf child was different but not broken.
关键词：Deaf Mentor;Deaf Crit;Early Intervention;Medical &Socio-Cultural Perspectives;Grounded Theory
