Success from the start? Exploring early relationships between the families of deaf children and professionals

Using evidence from a study of families living on a low income bringing up deaf children, this paper discusses the relationships between professionals such as teachers of deaf children or speech and language therapists with parents and families. By looking at the tools often used as part of these encounters we unpack some of the hidden assumptions in the activities, monitoring and ‘work’ to be done by the parents in the home. There is good evidence of the approaches which are the most effective for supporting the development of interaction and languages. Much less attention has focused on the relationship between the family and the professionals. The competencies approach of preparing for intercultural encounter is challenged by a more equal exploratory approach.