HEARING RESEARCH CAREER-DEVELOPMENT FOR DEAF STUDENTS

One goal of the Americans with Disabilities Act is to enhance access t o career opportunities for individuals with hearing loss. Hearing-impa ired professionals are woefully underrepresented among the cadre of sc ientists currently involved in hearing and deafness research. Informat ion was obtained by questionnaire from 190 consecutive attendees (13 t hrough 17 years of age) at a summer program for gifted hearing-impaire d adolescents regarding career goals, attitudes toward academic and ex tracurricular activities, educational placement, primary communication modality, and parental hearing status. A follow-up questionnaire comp leted by 80 of these youth, presently attending college, provided comp arison data regarding type of college attended and academic major. Mal es were significantly more likely to select majors in mathematics and science-related disciplines. The percentage of college attendees major ing in the sciences was much lower than the percentage of high school students who aspired to a scientific career. Strategies for attracting qualified hearing-impaired students into science majors should includ e educational efforts directed at students, parents, and academic advi sors.