Paul Ogden, The Silent Garden: Raising Your Deaf Child (1996)

This was the first book put into our hands after learning about our toddler's deafness. We will be forever grateful that we found this tool for navigating the maddening world of options in lifestyles and education. Ogden struck us as consistently fair and accurate about the issues and alternatives that parents of deaf children face and perhaps that is why his book seems to be so respected by those across the wide spectrum of perspectives. Ogden immediately gave us as parents a common vocabulary for discussing our child's situation instead of relegating mom to talking about the things only she had learned with dad meanwhile talking only about the things he had learned. In brief, I can't imagine the parents of a deaf child not benefiting immediately and enormously from this book. 

Susan Schwartz, Choices in Deafness: Parents' Guide to Communications Options (1996)

Second only to Paul Ogden's Silent Garden (that treats of a broader range of issues than does Choices) this is the most balanced and readable book specifically dealing with deaf education and communications options that we (hearing parents of profoundly deaf toddler) have yet found. There is a very good mix of professional articles and actual parental stories, recently supplemented by updates from the children themselves, now mostly grown. This is the only book of its kind that we have seen that provides actual audiograms for most students/subjects, something hearing parents MUST have in order to relate the stories in Choices to THEIR kids' situation. (I only wish AIDED audiograms had been consistently included as well, since those are nearly as important as basic audiograms.) I don't suggest tinkering with success, but I do think somewhat more information on the failure rates for given options should have been given, since it is far too easy for us as parents to imagine OUR child as being the successful student portrayed in each section, thus short-changing the down-side risks of each option. Also, it might have been nice if a few more stories of deaf people who didn't live in Maryland at some point in their life could have been included. That's hardly a real criticism, though, and I conclude by recommending this book highly.

Thomas Spradley, Deaf Like Me (1985)

Over 90% of deaf children in the US have hearing parents, and perhaps the first thing those parents learn is that the single word "deaf" is unable to convey the wide range of hearing losses lumped under the term "deaf", and with that, the consequently wide range of options that Deaf people have for approaching life. Since each person's story is so unique, though, it is all the more wonderful that the Spradley family was able to tell the highly individualistic story of their deaf daughter Lynn (now a young adult) in such way that it holds the interest of, and teaches valuable lessons to, the families of other deaf children, regardless of their particular situation. Curious how one family can learn things about itself while reading the story of another family, but that's what happened with us. This more "humane" book is also welcome break from the reams of more technical reading that most hearing parents must plow through as part of helping their deaf children. I recommend this book warmly.