A World without Words: The Social Construction of Children Born Deaf and Blind (Health Society And Policy) [Paperback]

David Goode (Author)

Book Description

Series: Health Society And Policy | Publication Date: June 29, 1994

During the Rubella Syndrome epidemic of the 1960s, many children were born deaf, blind, and mentally disabled. David Goode has devoted his life and career to understanding such people's world, a world without words, but not, the author confirms, one without communication. This book is the result of his studies of two children with congenital deaf-blindness and mental retardation. Goode spent countless hours observing, teaching, and playing with Christina, who had been institutionalized since age six, and Bianca, who remained in the care of her parents. He also observed the girls' parents, school, and medical environments, exploring the unique communication practices sometimes so subtle they are imperceptible to outsiders that family and health care workers create to facilitate innumerable every day situations."A World Without Words" presents moving and convincing evidence that human beings both with and without formal language can understand and communicate with each other in many ways. Through various experiments in such unconventional forms of communication as playing guitar, mimicking, and body movements like jumping, swinging, and rocking, Goode established an understanding of these children on their own terms. He discovered a spectrum of non-formal language through which these children create their own set of symbols within their own reality, and accommodate and maximize the sensory resources they do have. Ultimately, he suggests, it is impractical to attempt to interpret these children's behaviors using ideas about normal behavior of the hearing and seeing world. David Goode is the Coordinator of the Program in Developmental Disabilities and teaches sociology at the College of Staten Island, City University of New York.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"David Goode's work is unique and his thinking original and deep. It is some of the best in the sociology of disability." --Robert Bogdan, Syracuse University

From the Publisher

Exploring communication with children born deaf-blind

Co-winner of the John Horton Cooley Book Award, Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 261 pages
• Publisher: Temple University Press (June 29, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566392160
• ISBN-13: 978-1566392167
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #417,675 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars deaf blind, February 29, 2000

By 

"petergoode" - See all my reviews

This review is from: A World without Words: The Social Construction of Children Born Deaf and Blind (Health Society And Policy) (Paperback)

Informative book about children with deaf-blindness caused by rubella syndrome, it is also quite touching and accessible to readers unaccustomed to reading sociology. It is an intimate look into the institutions of the 1970s and the lives of these affected children and their families.