Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education 1:1 1996
© 1996 Oxford University Press
Kitchen Notes, "the Grapevine", and Other Writing in Childhood
National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology
In semistructured interviews, 20 men and women (10 deaf and 10 hearing) between the ages of 18 and 28 recalled instances of instrumental, social, and expressive writing from their childhood. In contrast to earlier research, we found that instrumental writing occurred as frequently between deaf children and their hearing parents as between deaf children and their deaf parents and that all homes with a deaf family member had telecommunication devices for the deaf (TTYs). Whereas all respondents engaged in some form of social writing, deaf respondents did less personal or expressive writing than their hearing peers. Implications for literacy instruction and further research are that (a) teachers should take advantage of the writing experience that students bring to the classroom, (b) writing should be used as a tool for learning and classroom communication, and (c) the effects of experience, genre, school setting, and technology on the writing of deaf students should be examined.
Correspondence should be tent to John Albertini, National Technical Institute for the Deaf Rochester Institute of Technology, 52 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623-5604 (fax: 716-475-6500; e-mail: JAANCR{at}RITVAXEDU).