Abstract
Although the theoretical and practical significance of studying language development in blind children is well documented (Fraiberg, 1977; Urwin, 1978; Mulford, 1988), a number of methodological issues make this field challenging to researchers. This section identifies such issues and the ways they have been handled since the 1940’s. In particular: concerns surrounding the comparison of language functioning between blind and sighted groups; the difficulties in comparing outcomes between different studies; the way theoretical frameworks and techniques used with sighted children have been applied to the study of blind children; and the issues around establishing knowledge about patterns of language development from studies based on small samples. Ways in which future developments in methodology may best advance knowledge about language acquisition in blind children are discussed.
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Norgate, S.H. (1997). Research Methods for Studying the Language of Blind Children. In: Hornberger, N.H., Corson, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Language and Education. Encyclopedia of Language and Education, vol 8. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4535-0_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4535-0_16
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