Eradicating Deafness?

'Schmidt (Univ. of Goettingen Medical Center) documents the historical attempts to eradicate deafness genes through coercive and restrictive measures including marriage counseling and family planning practices in order to achieve normalization, as well as the 20th-century embrace of biodiversity and of being Deaf as a situation entailing cultural/linguistic differences. In 1977 this reviewer sat in McCay Vernon's psychology class alongside Deaf classmates, whom he asked to reflect on their etiologies and family histories. Vernon's respect for Deaf culture and sign language informed his research in genetics and his genetic counseling practice, which aimed to provide self-knowledge as well as psychological and emotional support. Vernon's work, among others cited in this book, led the historic shift in perceptions, paradigms, and terminology about being Deaf, redirecting genetics research and genetic counseling. Prior to this shift, perceptions about genetics and deafness followed a pathological/curative paradigm. But the new sociocultural perspective surfaced and embraced both signing as a cultural practice and population diversity as a norm. Previously used terms, e.g., risks have now shifted to chances, reducing the blame and stigma of this disability. Genetic counseling now supports the client in deciding which services to use, which decision to take, and what is considered a pathological condition, along with providing access to appropriate information.' --J. F. Andrews, emerita, Lamar University Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals. Reprinted with permission from Choice Reviews. All rights reserved. Copyright by the American Library Association. '[...] this valuable work stands out in its nuanced exploration of the in-between places.' Social History of Medicine 'A masterful study of the history of genetic deafness research, Eradicating Deafness? exemplifies how new historical perspectives can be developed by merging disability history with the history of science.' European Journal for the History of Medicine and Health -- .