John Bench is the author of Communication Skills in Hearing-Impaired Children, published by Wiley.

• Preface General prefaceAcknowledgementsChapter 1 The nature of human communicationCommunication skills as skillsReferential and sociolinguistic approaches to communicationCommunication in practical contexts - pragmaticsBiological abilities and learned accomplishmentsThe interplay of perceptual, cognitive and linguistic processes Oracy and literacyCommunication problems of hearing-impaired childrenChapter 2 Early assessment and interventionSensitive periodsInstances of extreme deprivationEarly and late assessment of hearing impairmentEarly versus late interventionConclusionChapter 3 The speech reception of hearing-impaired childrenHearing aids, cochlear implants and vibrotactile aidsAuditory perception of speech by hearing-impaired children Clinical and practical applicationsPerception of connected speechConclusion: need for clarification of objectivesEnhancement of the intelligibility of perceived speechSpeechreadingChapter 4 The produced speech of hearing-impaired childrenDeaf speechSpeech trainingSpeech training aidsIntelligibility of the produced speech of hearing-impaired childrenConclusionChapter 5 Hearing impairment and manual communicationManual communication Natural language of the deafManual systems other than sign language Sign languageTotal communicationChapter 6 Hearing impairment and literacy skillsReading WritingConcluding remarks: reading and writingChapter 7 Hearing impairment and cognitionCognitive skills Cognition and hearing impairment Some cognitive aspects of signGeneral conclusion on hearing impaiment and cognitionMetaprocessesCentral auditory dysfunctionConclusionChapter 8 Individual and social aspectsPsychopathologyPsychological aspectsSocial aspectsPragmaticsChapter 9 Management of the hearing-impaired childSome milestonesPractical issues affecting managementOptions for parents with deaf childrenChapter 10 Concluding commentsGlossaryReferencesIndex