Abstract
Educational intervention for deaf people has a long history but it is a history that is dominated by the notion of deficit. The growing trend in the literature on deaf people is to recognise that they are not deficient but form a cultural and linguistic minority group that deserves appropriate educational programs. Deaf people report great frustration with their experiences of schooling as they have invariably been treated as intellectually inferior. Yet, a significant number of deaf people are gifted and have had the double hurdle of overcoming their deafness in a hearing world and an education service that does not meet their needs. This paper explores the educational experiences of gifted deaf people in a preliminary attempt to develop appropriate identification measures and educational provisions for such individuals. The conclusions presented are based on extensive interviews with a number of gifted deaf adults. Deaf interviewers were utilised to collect the required data in a more culturally sensitive and relevant manner.
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