These contributions notwithstanding, the blooming interest in deaf children's psychological development seems to be lacking in theoretical discussions concerning the complex interactions of language, cognitive, and social development. Looking back to some of the developmental classics of 1973, those of Bloom, Bowerman, Brown, E. Clark, Nelson, and Slobin, one cannot help but wonder why the study of deaf children has taken such an unnecessarily narrow perspective.

One possible answer lies in the recent funding-driven or zeitgeist-driven move toward investigator and investigation specialization and away from theory. Alternatively, although perhaps not unrelated, is what appears to be tacit acceptance of the assumption that the nature of development is essentially the same for deaf and hearing children. From this view, there is no need for theorizing about deafness and development, at least in the broad sense of looking for unique rules and regularities underlying deaf children's development: Deaf children should follow exactly the same developmental course for the same reasons as hearing children, even if there are some slight developmental delays or differences due to the peripheral (i.e., sensory) differences between the two groups.

Although this latter position is tempting, it may not be correct. True, suggestions of behavioral and cognitive differences between deaf and hearing children have sometimes been accepted too hastily and all too often interpreted as indicating that deaf children generally are deficient relative to hearing peers. At the same time, however, there are a variety of well-documented differences between deaf and hearing children in language, cognitive, and social domains that undoubtedly have important implications for development. . .

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