Alone in the Mainstream

About “Alone in the Mainstream”

Gina Oliva wrote Alone in the Mainstream to share her experience as a hard of hearing child in a hearing school. In 1955, she did not realize she was different until she failed to react when the teacher played piano to signal an activity. She could not hear the music, and this made her feel isolated. She was the only hard of hearing student in her school and struggled to communicate with her classmates. Oliva conducted the Solitary Mainstream Project, a survey of deaf and hard of hearing adults who attended public schools. She combined her personal story with the survey responses and compared them with research on deaf students in public schools. Her findings showed that hearing teachers often lacked knowledge about hearing loss and underestimated deaf students. The book includes memories from many individuals who had similar experiences. Alone in the Mainstream highlights the importance of communication and peer support for deaf and hard of hearing students. It was published in 2004.