To learn how Chinese parents raise their deaf children, Alison Callaway conducted extensive research in the city of Nanjing in 1994. There, she interviewed the parents of 26 deaf children while also carefully analyzing a large collection of letters written by other parents to the supervisor of the nursery school that was the center of her research. She also made fact-finding visits to several other schools and programs for deaf preschoolers, and had discussions with teachers, administrators, and staff members. Also, through detailed background analysis, she was able to enhance her interpretations with a balanced assessment of the cultural influences in China, such as the role of the family and the government's one-child policy. The results of her study form the remarkable body of information presented in Deaf Children in China.

Callaway also compared data on English mothers of deaf children to her research, which reveals the differences between Western and Chinese parents, who rely upon grandparents to help them and who frequently search for medical cures. Yet, she also discovered that many issues cross cultures and contexts, especially the problems of achieving early diagnosis and intervention for all deaf children, and optimizing early development of language in deaf children of hearing parents. Her pioneering work will fascinate and enlighten readers invested in the development of deaf children for years to come.