Deaf Characters In Picture Books

The purpose of the study is was to analyze illustrations linked to pathological and cultural relevance of deafness of 20 children books targeted at ages 4-8 years old. The Results of the study were compared to the results of previous studies that analyzed text in children’s picture books. The study also examined whether or not the illustrations match or a mismatch to the written text messages about deaf characters in picture books. The results of the study showed that the illustrations did not represent deaf characters from a cultural standpoint. Parallel to the results of the text studies, illustrations in the picture books present deaf characters as having a disability or a pathological condition that should be fixed by medical procedures …show more content…
In order to narrow down the eligibility the following criteria was used: at least one deaf character had to be the a central character, the book had to be fictional, the deaf character could not have any other disabilities and the book had to target 4-8 year olds. Limitations acknowledged were that analyses couldn’t interpret the quality of the books and the influence of the messages on deaf or hearing children.
There’s a growing concern that deaf children often grow up with a limited number of Deaf role models, which increases the likelihood of developing negative beliefs about Deaf culture and themselves at young ages. Picture books are very influential in how children begin to learn to understand others from various backgrounds and cultures that are different from their own. Words and illustrations in children’s books are used to as a resource to for children to develop their own identities and become aware of them selves. As we know ”d” deaf refers to the state of people being unable to hear and “D” Deaf refers to people who are acknowledged as part of the Deaf community. Positive aspects of Deaf ness seem to lack in picture books based on the results of the