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The idea that deaf people can be studied as a ‘without language’ group has been rightly dismissed as inaccurate. However, a slightly different misconception took its place. Braden (1994) argues that many researchers still assume ‘that language and audition are the only critical factors associated with deafness’ (p. 7). This assumption has also been shown to be inaccurate and no longer tenable. We are now more aware of additional factors that distinguish deaf and hearing people, many of which are discussed elsewhere in this book (see Chapters 1.1, 2.1, 2.2). This greater awareness has led to advances in our understanding of deaf children’s cognitive processes, while at the same time making the description of those processes an even more complex task than was once thought.
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