This article investigates the basis for the frequently reported statement that ten percent of deaf persons are born to families with one or more deaf parents. The prevalence of deaf children born to deaf parents (deaf-of-deaf) is important because it is often cited when describing linguistic and educational advantages, along with social and cultural differences, associated with deaf children born to deaf parents compared to deaf children of hearing parents. This analysis provides a current estimate for the distribution of parental hearing status among deaf and hard of hearing students in United States using data from the Annual Survey of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children and Youth (1999�2000). This is the first national estimate that fully utilizes the distinction between children having deaf parents and hard of hearing parents, as well as hearing parents. The authors propose that the key demographic to report, other than that the overwhelming majority of deaf and hard of hearing students have hearing parents, is whether the child has one or two deaf parents. The annual survey findings indicate that less than five percent of deaf and hard of hearing students receiving special education are known to have at least one deaf parent, which is less than half of the presumed ten percent. Reasons for the difference between the present and previous estimates are suggested.

This article traces the sources of the estimates of the number of American Sign Language users in the United States. A variety of claims can be found in the literature and on the Internet, some of which have been shown to be unfounded but continue to be cited. In our search for the sources of the various (mis)understandings, we have found that all of the data-based estimates of the number of people who use ASL in the United States have their origin in a single study published in the early 1970s, which inquired about signing in general and not ASL use in particular. There has been neither subsequent research to update these estimates nor any specific study of ASL use. The article concludes with a call to action to rectify this problem.

This paper investigates the importance of knowing whether or not deaf and hard-of-hearing students have one or more deaf or hard-of-hearing parents. As noted by Mitchell and Karchmer (2004), deaf and hard-of-hearing school-age children and youth in the United States with at least one parent identified as "hearing impaired" are nearly evenly split between having at least one deaf parent and having at least one hard-of-hearing parent. However, there is no literature on the importance, if any, of this distinction. Findings from the investigation reported herein suggest that the distinction between having a deaf versus a hard-of-hearing parent is quite substantial, particularly as it pertains to the use of signing in the home. Further, signing in the home, which is reliably predicted by parental hearing status, is a significant predictor of the school setting in which the student is currently placed and the instructional use of signing in the classroom. Limitations related to the available measure of parental hearing status are discussed.

On average, deaf and hard of hearing school-age children who have deaf or hard of hearing parents differ from those who have hearing- only parents in their signing experiences at home and school, as well as in their degree of hearing loss. The findings reported here, based on an analysis of data from the 2001�2002 Annual Survey of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children and Youth, indicate that having at least one deaf parent is the most powerful indicator of the likelihood that the student is in a home where signing is used regularly and in a classroom where signing is a primary mode of communication used for instruction. Having just one hard of hearing parent (and no deaf parent) greatly reduces the likelihood that the child is receiving instruction in sign language or regularly signs at home. Parental hearing status is also associated with the child�s degree of hearing loss, however; understanding the relationship between parental hearing status and signing experiences must thus be tempered by the fact that the physiological imperative for visual communication is frequently a result of genetic inheritance.

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