Profound, prelingual nonsyndromic deafness maps to chromosome 10q21 and is caused by a novel missense mutation in the Usher syndrome type IF gene PCDH15.

Science.gov (United States)

Doucette, Lance; Merner, Nancy D; Cooke, Sandra; Ives, Elizabeth; Galutira, Dante; Walsh, Vanessa; Walsh, Tom; MacLaren, Linda; Cater, Tracey; Fernandez, Bridget; Green, Jane S; Wilcox, Edward R; Shotland, Lawrence I; Shotland, Larry; Li, Xiaoyan Cindy; Li, X C; Lee, Ming; King, Mary-Claire; Young, Terry-Lynn

2009-05-01

We studied a consanguineous family (Family A) from the island of Newfoundland with an autosomal recessive form of prelingual, profound, nonsyndromic sensorineural hearing loss. A genome-wide scan mapped the deafness trait to 10q21-22 (max LOD score of 4.0; D10S196) and fine mapping revealed a 16 Mb ancestral haplotype in deaf relatives. The PCDH15 gene was mapped within the critical region and was an interesting candidate because truncating mutations cause Usher syndrome type IF (USH1F) and two missense mutations have been previously associated with isolated deafness (DFNB23). Sequencing of the PCDH15 gene revealed 33 sequencing variants. Three of these variants were homozygous exclusively in deaf siblings but only one of them was not seen in ethnically matched controls. This novel c.1583 T>A transversion predicts an amino-acid substitution of a valine with an aspartic acid at codon 528 (V528D). Like the two DFNB23 mutations, the V528D mutation in Family A occurs in a highly conserved extracellular cadherin (EC) domain of PCDH15 and is predicted to be more deleterious than the previously identified DFNB23 missense mutations (R134G and G262D). Physical assessment, vestibular and visual function testing in deaf adults ruled out syndromic deafness because of Usher syndrome. This study validates the DFNB23 designation and supports the hypothesis that missense mutations in conserved motifs of PCDH15 cause nonsyndromic hearing loss. This emerging genotype-phenotype correlation in USH1F is similar to that in several other USH1 genes and cautions against a prognosis of a dual sensory loss in deaf children found to be homozygous for hypomorphic mutations at the USH1F locus.

Knowledge of display rules in prelingually deaf and hearing children.

Science.gov (United States)

Hosie, J A; Russell, P A; Gray, C D; Scott, C; Hunter, N; Banks, J S; Macaulay, M C

2000-03-01

Deaf children of elementary and secondary school age participated in a study designed to examine their understanding of display rules, the principles governing the expression and concealment of emotion in social situations. The results showed that deaf children's knowledge of display rules, as measured by their reported concealment of emotion, was comparable to that of hearing children of the same age. However, deaf children were less likely to report that they would conceal happiness and anger. They were also less likely to produce reasons for concealing emotion and a smaller proportion of their reasons were prosocial, that is, relating to the feelings of others. The results suggest that the understanding of display rules (which function to protect the feelings of other people) may develop more gradually in deaf children raised in a spoken language environment than it does in hearing children.

Ira Hirsh and oral deaf education: The role of audition in language development

Science.gov (United States)

Geers, Ann

2002-05-01

Prior to the 1960s, the teaching of speech to deaf children consisted primarily of instruction in lip reading and tactile perception accompanied by imitative exercises in speech sound production. Hirsh came to Central Institute for the Deaf with an interest in discovering the auditory capabilities of normal-hearing listeners. This interest led him to speculate that more normal speech development could be encouraged in deaf children by maximizing use of their limited residual hearing. Following the tradition of Max Goldstein, Edith Whetnall, and Dennis Fry, Hirsh gave scientific validity to the use of amplified speech as the primary avenue to oral language development in prelingually deaf children. This ``auditory approach,'' combined with an emphasis on early intervention, formed the basis for auditory-oral education as we know it today. This presentation will examine how the speech perception, language, and reading skills of prelingually deaf children have changed as a result of improvements in auditory technology that have occurred over the past 30 years. Current data from children using cochlear implants will be compared with data collected earlier from children with profound hearing loss who used hearing aids. [Work supported by NIH.

Evaluation of glucose metabolic abnormality in postlingually deaf patients using F-18-FDG positron emission tomography and statistical parametric mapping

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Lee, Jae Sung; Lee, Dong Soo; Oh, Seung Ha; Kim, Chong Sun; Park, Kwang Suk; Chung, June Key; Lee, Myung Chul [College of Medicine, Seoul National Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2000-07-01

We have previously reported the prognostic relevance of cross-modal cortical plasticity in prelingual deaf patients revealed by F-18-FDG PET and SPM analysis. In this study, we investigated metabolic abnormality in postlingual deaf patients, whose clinical features are different from prelingual deafness. Nine postlingual deaf patients (age: 30.5 {+-}14.0) were performed on F-18-FDG brain PET. We compared their PET images with those of age-matched 20 normal controls (age: 27.1 {+-}8.6), and performed correlation analysis to investigate the relationship between glucose metabolism and deaf duration using SPM99. Glucose metabolism of deaf patients was significantly (p<0.05, corrected) decreased in both anterior cingulate, inferior frontal cortices, and superior temporal cortices, and left hippocampus. Metabolism in both superior temporal cortices and association area in inferior parietal cortices showed significant (p<0.01, uncorrected) positive correlation with deaf duration. Decreased metabolism in hippocampus accompanied with hypometabolism in auditory related areas can be explained by recent finding of anatomical connectivity between them, and may be the evidence indicating their functional connectivity. Metabolism recovery in auditory cortex after long deaf duration suggests that cortical plasticity takes place also in postlingual deafness.

Evaluation of glucose metabolic abnormality in postlingually deaf patients using F-18-FDG positron emission tomography and statistical parametric mapping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Jae Sung; Lee, Dong Soo; Oh, Seung Ha; Kim, Chong Sun; Park, Kwang Suk; Chung, June Key; Lee, Myung Chul

2000-01-01

We have previously reported the prognostic relevance of cross-modal cortical plasticity in prelingual deaf patients revealed by F-18-FDG PET and SPM analysis. In this study, we investigated metabolic abnormality in postlingual deaf patients, whose clinical features are different from prelingual deafness. Nine postlingual deaf patients (age: 30.5 ±14.0) were performed on F-18-FDG brain PET. We compared their PET images with those of age-matched 20 normal controls (age: 27.1 ±8.6), and performed correlation analysis to investigate the relationship between glucose metabolism and deaf duration using SPM99. Glucose metabolism of deaf patients was significantly (p<0.05, corrected) decreased in both anterior cingulate, inferior frontal cortices, and superior temporal cortices, and left hippocampus. Metabolism in both superior temporal cortices and association area in inferior parietal cortices showed significant (p<0.01, uncorrected) positive correlation with deaf duration. Decreased metabolism in hippocampus accompanied with hypometabolism in auditory related areas can be explained by recent finding of anatomical connectivity between them, and may be the evidence indicating their functional connectivity. Metabolism recovery in auditory cortex after long deaf duration suggests that cortical plasticity takes place also in postlingual deafness

Auditory access, language access, and implicit sequence learning in deaf children.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Matthew L; Eigsti, Inge-Marie; Bortfeld, Heather; Lillo-Martin, Diane

2018-05-01

Developmental psychology plays a central role in shaping evidence-based best practices for prelingually deaf children. The Auditory Scaffolding Hypothesis (Conway et al., 2009) asserts that a lack of auditory stimulation in deaf children leads to impoverished implicit sequence learning abilities, measured via an artificial grammar learning (AGL) task. However, prior research is confounded by a lack of both auditory and language input. The current study examines implicit learning in deaf children who were (Deaf native signers) or were not (oral cochlear implant users) exposed to language from birth, and in hearing children, using both AGL and Serial Reaction Time (SRT) tasks. Neither deaf nor hearing children across the three groups show evidence of implicit learning on the AGL task, but all three groups show robust implicit learning on the SRT task. These findings argue against the Auditory Scaffolding Hypothesis, and suggest that implicit sequence learning may be resilient to both auditory and language deprivation, within the tested limits. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/EeqfQqlVHLI [Correction added on 07 August 2017, after first online publication: The video abstract link was added.]. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Language Development in the First Year of Life: What Deaf Children Might Be Missing Before Cochlear Implantation.

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Levine, Dani; Strother-Garcia, Kristina; Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick; Hirsh-Pasek, Kathy

2016-02-01

Language development is a multifaceted, dynamic process involving the discovery of complex patterns, and the refinement of native language competencies in the context of communicative interactions. This process is already advanced by the end of the first year of life for hearing children, but prelingually deaf children who initially lack a language model may miss critical experiences during this early window. The purpose of this review is twofold. First, we examine the published literature on language development during the first 12 months in typically developing children. Second, we use this literature to inform our understanding of the language outcomes of prelingually deaf children who receive cochlear implants (CIs), and therefore language input, either before or after the first year. During the first 12 months, typically developing infants exhibit advances in speech segmentation, word learning, syntax acquisition, and communication, both verbal and nonverbal. Infants and their caregivers coconstruct a communication foundation during this time, supporting continued language growth. The language outcomes of hearing children are robustly predicted by their experiences and acquired competencies during the first year; yet these predictive links are absent among prelingually deaf infants lacking a language model (i.e., those without exposure to sign). For deaf infants who receive a CI, implantation timing is crucial. Children receiving CIs before 12 months frequently catch up with their typically developing peers, whereas those receiving CIs later do not. Explanations for the language difficulties of late-implanted children are discussed.

Epidemiología de la pérdida auditiva neurosensorial pre-lingual en un centro de atención a niños de Bogotá, Colombia entre 1997 y 2008

OpenAIRE

Claudia Talero-Gutiérrez; Liliana Romero; Irma Carvajalino; Milciades Ibáñez

2011-01-01

Introduction: Hearing loss is a frequent problem in childhood with an incidence of about one case per 1000 births. Control of deafness should be aimed at prevention and early diagnosis in efforts to provide appropriate treatment and stimulate adequate communication in children affected. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of different etiologies among deaf children with a diagnosis of prelingual sensorineural hearing loss referred to the Fundación CINDA in Bogotá, Colo...

Long-Term Speech and Language Outcomes in Prelingually Deaf Children, Adolescents and Young Adults Who Received Cochlear Implants in Childhood

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Ruffin, Chad V.; Kronenberger, William G.; Colson, Bethany G.; Henning, Shirley C.; Pisoni, David B.

2013-01-01

This study investigated long-term speech and language outcomes in 51 prelingually deaf children, adolescents, and young adults who received cochlear implants (CIs) prior to 7 years of age and used their implants for at least 7 years. Average speech perception scores were similar to those found in prior research with other samples of experienced CI users. Mean language test scores were lower than norm-referenced scores from nationally representative normal-hearing, typically-developing samples, although a majority of the CI users scored within one standard deviation of the normative mean or higher on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Fourth Edition (63%) and Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, Fourth Edition (69%). Speech perception scores were negatively associated with a meningitic etiology of hearing loss, older age at implantation, poorer pre-implant unaided pure tone average thresholds, lower family income, and the use of Total Communication. Users of CIs for 15 years or more were more likely to have these characteristics and were more likely to score lower on measures of speech perception compared to users of CIs for 14 years or less. The aggregation of these risk factors in the > 15 years of CI use subgroup accounts for their lower speech perception scores and may stem from more conservative CI candidacy criteria in use at the beginning of pediatric cochlear implantation. PMID:23988907

Rehabilitation of deaf persons with cochlear implants; Rehabilitation Hoergeschaedigter mit Cochlearimplantaten

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Gstoettner, W.; Hamzavi, J. [Universitaetsklinik fuer Hals-Nasen-Ohrenheilkunde, Wien (Austria); Czerny, C. [Universitaetsklinik fuer Radiologie, Wien (Austria)

1997-12-01

In the last decade, the rehabilitation of postlingually deaf adults and prelingually deaf children with cochlear implants has been established as a treatment of deafness. The technological development of the implant devices and improvement of the surgical technique have led to a considerable increase of hearing performance during the last years. The postlingually deaf adults are able to use the telephone and may be integrated in their original job. Prelingually deaf children can even visit normal schools after cochlear implantation and hearing rehabilitation training. In order to preoperatively establish the state of the cochlear, radiological diagnosis of the temporal bone is necessary. High resolution computerized tomography imaging of the temporal bone with coronar and axial 1 mm slices and MRI with thin slice technique (three dimensional, T2 weighted turbo-spinecho sequence with 0.7 mm slices) have proved to be valuable according to our experience. Furthermore a postoperative synoptical X-ray, in a modified Chausse III projection, offers good information about the position of the implant and insertion of the stimulating electrode into the cochlea. (orig.) [Deutsch] In der letzten Dekade hat sich der operative Einsatz von Cochlearimplantaten fuer die Rehabilitation taubgeborener Kinder und ertaubter Erwachsenen als erfolgreiche Therapie etabliert. Durch technische Weiterentwicklung der Implantatsysteme und Verbesserung der Operationstechnik konnten in den letzten Jahren die Hoerleistungen der Patienten deutlich verbessert werden. Postlingual ertaubte Erwachsene koennen nun oftmals wieder ins Berufsleben eingegliedert werden und praelingual ertaubte Kinder koennen regulaere Schulen besuchen. Im Rahmen der Voruntersuchung fuer die Cochlearimplantation ist die radiologische Felsenbeindiagnostik von besonderer Bedeutung. Hochaufloesendes CT des Felsenbeins in koronaren und axialen Ebenen mit 1 mm Schichtdicke und MRT in Duennschichttechnik (dreidimensionale, T2

Sarcasm and Advanced Theory of Mind Understanding in Children and Adults with Prelingual Deafness

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O'Reilly, Karin; Peterson, Candida C.; Wellman, Henry M.

2014-01-01

Two studies addressed key theoretical debates in theory of mind (ToM) development by comparing (a) deaf native signers (n = 18), (b) deaf late signers (n = 59), and (c) age-matched hearing persons (n = 74) in childhood (Study 1: n = 81) and adulthood (Study 2: n = 70) on tests of first- and second-order false belief and conversational sarcasm.…

Amplitude Modulation Detection and Speech Recognition in Late-Implanted Prelingually and Postlingually Deafened Cochlear Implant Users.

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De Ruiter, Anke M; Debruyne, Joke A; Chenault, Michelene N; Francart, Tom; Brokx, Jan P L

2015-01-01

Many late-implanted prelingually deafened cochlear implant (CI) patients struggle to obtain open-set speech understanding. Because it is known that low-frequency temporal-envelope information contains important cues for speech understanding, the goal of this study was to compare the temporal-envelope processing abilities of late-implanted prelingually and postlingually deafened CI users. Furthermore, the possible relation between temporal processing abilities and speech recognition performances was investigated. Amplitude modulation detection thresholds were obtained in eight prelingually and 18 postlingually deafened CI users, by means of a sinusoidally modulated broadband noise carrier, presented through a loudspeaker to the CI user's clinical device. Thresholds were determined with a two-down-one-up three-interval oddity adaptive procedure, at seven modulation frequencies. Phoneme recognition (consonant-nucleus-consonant [CNC]) scores (percentage correct at 65 dB SPL) were gathered for all CI users. For the prelingually deafened group, scores on two additional speech tests were obtained: (1) a closed-set monosyllable-trochee-spondee test (percentage correct scores at 65 dB SPL on word recognition and categorization of the suprasegmental word patterns), and (2) a speech tracking test (number of correctly repeated words per minute) with texts specifically designed for this population. The prelingually deafened CI users had a significantly lower sensitivity to amplitude modulations than the postlingually deafened CI users, and the attenuation rate of their temporal modulation transfer function (TMTF) was greater. None of the prelingually deafened CI users were able to detect modulations at 150 and 200 Hz. High and significant correlations were found between the results on the amplitude modulation detection test and CNC phoneme scores, for the entire group of CI users. In the prelingually deafened group, CNC phoneme scores, word scores on the monosyllable

Marital Quality in Deaf-Deaf and Deaf-Hearing Marriages

OpenAIRE

Mosier, Anthony G.

1999-01-01

The purpose of this study was to assess similarities and differences in marital adjustment between Deaf-Deaf and Deaf-hearing married couples. In examining marital adjustment, Spanier's Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS) was translated from English to American Sign Language (ASL) and administered to 30 Deaf-Deaf and 22 Deaf-hearing couple respondents. Although there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups. Deaf-Deaf couples tended to have higher marital adj...

GROUP OF HEARING MOTHERS OF DEAF CHILDREN: INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE REPORT

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Rafaela Fava de Quevedo

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This experience report describes a group phenomenon, based upon a case study of a group of hearing mothers of deaf children. The weekly group, in operation for over three years, provides support for families with deaf children. At first, observations were made in the group for a subsequent analysis of the data and act on interventions. Categories containing the main features that emerged in the group were created in order to discuss the content found. The categories addressed by mothers included: independence/autonomy of the child; adolescence and sexuality; discovery of deafness and reorganization of family dynamics; and matters beyond the group goal. As for the categories related to the group process there are: resistance; containing function of the coordinator; transfer; interventions in the group field. The results lead to understanding the group as a facilitator and as a necessary support for the participants. Before that, interventions were carried out to expand the space for reflection offered by the group, which provides adaptations to the different situations experienced by the participants.

Consonant and Vowel Identification in Cochlear Implant Users Measured by Nonsense Words: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

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Rødvik, Arne Kirkhorn; von Koss Torkildsen, Janne; Wie, Ona Bø; Storaker, Marit Aarvaag; Silvola, Juha Tapio

2018-04-17

The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to establish a baseline of the vowel and consonant identification scores in prelingually and postlingually deaf users of multichannel cochlear implants (CIs) tested with consonant-vowel-consonant and vowel-consonant-vowel nonsense syllables. Six electronic databases were searched for peer-reviewed articles reporting consonant and vowel identification scores in CI users measured by nonsense words. Relevant studies were independently assessed and screened by 2 reviewers. Consonant and vowel identification scores were presented in forest plots and compared between studies in a meta-analysis. Forty-seven articles with 50 studies, including 647 participants, thereof 581 postlingually deaf and 66 prelingually deaf, met the inclusion criteria of this study. The mean performance on vowel identification tasks for the postlingually deaf CI users was 76.8% (N = 5), which was higher than the mean performance for the prelingually deaf CI users (67.7%; N = 1). The mean performance on consonant identification tasks for the postlingually deaf CI users was higher (58.4%; N = 44) than for the prelingually deaf CI users (46.7%; N = 6). The most common consonant confusions were found between those with same manner of articulation (/k/ as /t/, /m/ as /n/, and /p/ as /t/). The mean performance on consonant identification tasks for the prelingually and postlingually deaf CI users was found. There were no statistically significant differences between the scores for prelingually and postlingually deaf CI users. The consonants that were incorrectly identified were typically confused with other consonants with the same acoustic properties, namely, voicing, duration, nasality, and silent gaps. A univariate metaregression model, although not statistically significant, indicated that duration of implant use in postlingually deaf adults predict a substantial portion of their consonant identification ability. As there is no ceiling

Benefits of simultaneous bilateral cochlear implantation on verbal reasoning skills in prelingually deaf children

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jacobs, Evi; Langereis, Margreet C.; Frijns, Johan H. M.; Free, Rolien H.; Goedegebure, Andre; Smits, Cas; Stokroos, Robert J.; Ariens-Meijer, Saskia A. M.; Mylanus, Emmanuel A. M.; Vermeulen, Anneke M.

2016-01-01

Background: Impaired auditory speech perception abilities in deaf children with hearing aids compromised their verbal intelligence enormously. The availability of unilateral cochlear implantation (Cl) auditory speech perception and spoken vocabulary enabled them to reach near ageappropriate levels.

Benefits of simultaneous bilateral cochlear implantation on verbal reasoning skills in prelingually deaf children

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jacobs, E.; Langereis, M.C.; Frijns, J.H.; Free, R.H.; Goedegebure, A.; Smits, C.; Stokroos, R.J.; Ariens-Meijer, S.A.; Mylanus, E.A.M.; Vermeulen, A.M.J.

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: Impaired auditory speech perception abilities in deaf children with hearing aids compromised their verbal intelligence enormously. The availability of unilateral cochlear implantation (CI) auditory speech perception and spoken vocabulary enabled them to reach near ageappropriate levels.

Audiovisual speech perception at various presentation levels in Mandarin-speaking adults with cochlear implants.

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Shu-Yu Liu

Full Text Available (1 To evaluate the recognition of words, phonemes and lexical tones in audiovisual (AV and auditory-only (AO modes in Mandarin-speaking adults with cochlear implants (CIs; (2 to understand the effect of presentation levels on AV speech perception; (3 to learn the effect of hearing experience on AV speech perception.Thirteen deaf adults (age = 29.1±13.5 years; 8 male, 5 female who had used CIs for >6 months and 10 normal-hearing (NH adults participated in this study. Seven of them were prelingually deaf, and 6 postlingually deaf. The Mandarin Monosyllablic Word Recognition Test was used to assess recognition of words, phonemes and lexical tones in AV and AO conditions at 3 presentation levels: speech detection threshold (SDT, speech recognition threshold (SRT and 10 dB SL (re:SRT.The prelingual group had better phoneme recognition in the AV mode than in the AO mode at SDT and SRT (both p = 0.016, and so did the NH group at SDT (p = 0.004. Mode difference was not noted in the postlingual group. None of the groups had significantly different tone recognition in the 2 modes. The prelingual and postlingual groups had significantly better phoneme and tone recognition than the NH one at SDT in the AO mode (p = 0.016 and p = 0.002 for phonemes; p = 0.001 and p<0.001 for tones but were outperformed by the NH group at 10 dB SL (re:SRT in both modes (both p<0.001 for phonemes; p<0.001 and p = 0.002 for tones. The recognition scores had a significant correlation with group with age and sex controlled (p<0.001.Visual input may help prelingually deaf implantees to recognize phonemes but may not augment Mandarin tone recognition. The effect of presentation level seems minimal on CI users' AV perception. This indicates special considerations in developing audiological assessment protocols and rehabilitation strategies for implantees who speak tonal languages.

Musical Methods for Little Digital Ears — Musical Learning with Preschool Cochlear Implant Users

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Bjørn; Hardgrove Hansen, Roberta; Beyer, Karen

2010-01-01

was measured objectively at the beginning and end of the intervention period. For a musical performance reference, test data were collected from a group of normally hearing peers. Results: The children in the music group outperformed the controls in all tests. Their musical discrimination abilities improved......Prelingually deaf children who receive cochlear implants (CI) early can successfully develop age-appropriate language skills provided sufficient intervention measures are initiated. However, little is known about the music perception and enjoyment of these children, though the enhanced development...... in the central auditory system in early-implanted children may benefit music processing. We hypothesized that early-implanted, prelingually deaf children with CI’s, who were exposed to group-oriented music learning activities, would increase their music discrimination skills and — as a potential near transfer...

Acoustic properties of vocal singing in prelingually-deafened children with cochlear implants or hearing aids.

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Mao, Yitao; Zhang, Mengchao; Nutter, Heather; Zhang, Yijing; Zhou, Qixin; Liu, Qiaoyun; Wu, Weijing; Xie, Dinghua; Xu, Li

2013-11-01

The purpose of the present study was to investigate vocal singing performance of hearing-impaired children with cochlear implants (CI) and hearing aids (HA) as well as to evaluate the relationship between demographic factors of those hearing-impaired children and their singing ability. Thirty-seven prelingually-deafened children with CIs and 31 prelingually-deafened children with HAs, and 37 normal-hearing (NH) children participated in the study. The fundamental frequencies (F0) of each note in the recorded songs were extracted and the duration of each sung note was measured. Five metrics were used to evaluate the pitch-related and rhythm-based aspects of singing accuracy. Children with CIs and HAs showed significantly poorer performance in either the pitch-based assessments or the rhythm-based measure than the NH children. No significant differences were seen between the CI and HA groups in all of these measures except for the mean deviation of the pitch intervals. For both hearing-impaired groups, length of device use was significantly correlated with singing accuracy. There is a marked deficit in vocal singing ability either in pitch or rhythm accuracy in a majority of prelingually-deafened children who have received CIs or fitted with HAs. Although an increased length of device use might facilitate singing performance to some extent, the chance for the hearing-impaired children fitted with either HAs or CIs to reach high proficiency in singing is quite slim. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Detection of Deafness-Causing Mutations in the Greek Mitochondrial Genome

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Haris Kokotas

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Mitochondrion harbors its own DNA, known as mtDNA, encoding certain essential components of the mitochondrial respiratory chain and protein synthesis apparatus. mtDNA mutations have an impact on cellular ATP production and many of them are undoubtedly a factor that contributes to sensorineural deafness, including both syndromic and non-syndromic forms. Hot spot regions for deafness mutations are the MTRNR1 gene, encoding the 12S rRNA, the MTTS1 gene, encoding the tRNA for Ser(UCN, and the MTTL1 gene, encoding the tRNA for Leu(UUR. We investigated the impact of mtDNA mutations in the Greek hearing impaired population, by testing a cohort of 513 patients suffering from childhood onset prelingual or postlingual, bilateral, sensorineural, syndromic or non-syndromic hearing loss of any degree for six mitochondrial variants previously associated with deafness. Screening involved the MTRNR1 961delT/insC and A1555G mutations, the MTTL1 A3243G mutation, and the MTTS1 A7445G, 7472insC and T7510C mutations. Although two patients were tested positive for the A1555G mutation, we failed to identify any subject carrying the 961delT/insC, A3243G, A7445G, 7472insC, or T7510C mutations. Our findings strongly support our previously raised conclusion that mtDNA mutations are not a major risk factor for sensorineural deafness in the Greek population.

Dissociating Neural Correlates of Meaningful Emblems from Meaningless Gestures in Deaf Signers and Hearing Non-Signers

Science.gov (United States)

Husain, Fatima T.; Patkin, Debra J.; Kim, Jieun; Braun, Allen R.; Horwitz, Barry

2012-01-01

Emblems are meaningful, culturally-specific hand gestures that are analogous to words. In this fMRI study, we contrasted the processing of emblematic gestures with meaningless gestures by pre-lingually Deaf and hearing participants. Deaf participants, who used American Sign Language, activated bilateral auditory processing and associative areas in the temporal cortex to a greater extent than the hearing participants while processing both types of gestures relative to rest. The hearing non-signers activated a diverse set of regions, including those implicated in the mirror neuron system, such as premotor cortex (BA 6) and inferior parietal lobule (BA 40) for the same contrast. Further, when contrasting the processing of meaningful to meaningless gestures (both relative to rest), the Deaf participants, but not the hearing, showed greater response in the left angular and supramarginal gyri, regions that play important roles in linguistic processing. These results suggest that whereas the signers interpreted emblems to be comparable to words, the non-signers treated emblems as similar to pictorial descriptions of the world and engaged the mirror neuron system. PMID:22968047

Audio-visual speech perception in prelingually deafened Japanese children following sequential bilateral cochlear implantation.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamamoto, Ryosuke; Naito, Yasushi; Tona, Risa; Moroto, Saburo; Tamaya, Rinko; Fujiwara, Keizo; Shinohara, Shogo; Takebayashi, Shinji; Kikuchi, Masahiro; Michida, Tetsuhiko

2017-11-01

An effect of audio-visual (AV) integration is observed when the auditory and visual stimuli are incongruent (the McGurk effect). In general, AV integration is helpful especially in subjects wearing hearing aids or cochlear implants (CIs). However, the influence of AV integration on spoken word recognition in individuals with bilateral CIs (Bi-CIs) has not been fully investigated so far. In this study, we investigated AV integration in children with Bi-CIs. The study sample included thirty one prelingually deafened children who underwent sequential bilateral cochlear implantation. We assessed their responses to congruent and incongruent AV stimuli with three CI-listening modes: only the 1st CI, only the 2nd CI, and Bi-CIs. The responses were assessed in the whole group as well as in two sub-groups: a proficient group (syllable intelligibility ≥80% with the 1st CI) and a non-proficient group (syllable intelligibility effect in each of the three CI-listening modes. AV integration responses were observed in a subset of incongruent AV stimuli, and the patterns observed with the 1st CI and with Bi-CIs were similar. In the proficient group, the responses with the 2nd CI were not significantly different from those with the 1st CI whereas in the non-proficient group the responses with the 2nd CI were driven by visual stimuli more than those with the 1st CI. Our results suggested that prelingually deafened Japanese children who underwent sequential bilateral cochlear implantation exhibit AV integration abilities, both in monaural listening as well as in binaural listening. We also observed a higher influence of visual stimuli on speech perception with the 2nd CI in the non-proficient group, suggesting that Bi-CIs listeners with poorer speech recognition rely on visual information more compared to the proficient subjects to compensate for poorer auditory input. Nevertheless, poorer quality auditory input with the 2nd CI did not interfere with AV integration with binaural

DFNB79: reincarnation of a nonsyndromic deafness locus on chromosome 9q34.3.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Shahid Yar; Riazuddin, Saima; Shahzad, Mohsin; Ahmed, Nazir; Zafar, Ahmad Usman; Rehman, Atteeq Ur; Morell, Robert J; Griffith, Andrew J; Ahmed, Zubair M; Riazuddin, Sheikh; Friedman, Thomas B

2010-01-01

Genetic analysis of an inbred Pakistani family PKDF280, segregating prelingual severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss, provided evidence for a DFNB locus on human chromosome 9q34.3. Co-segregation of the deafness trait with marker D9SH159 was determined by a two-point linkage analysis (LOD score 9.43 at theta=0). Two additional large families, PKDF517 and PKDF741, co-segregate recessive deafness with markers linked to the same interval. Haplotype analyses of these three families refined the interval to 3.84 Mb defined by D9S1818 (centromeric) and D9SH6 (telomeric). This interval overlaps with the previously reported DFNB33 locus whose chromosomal map position has been recently revised and assigned to a new position on chromosome 10p11.23-q21.1. The nonsyndromic deafness locus on chromosome 9q segregating in family PKDF280 was designated DFNB79. We are currently screening the 113 candidate DFNB79 genes for mutations and have excluded CACNA1B, EDF1, PTGDS, EHMT1, QSOX2, NOTCH1, MIR126 and MIR602.

Effectiveness of Group Training of Assertiveness on Social Anxiety among Deaf and Hard of Hearing Adolescents.

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Ahmadi, Hamed; Daramadi, Parviz Sharifi; Asadi-Samani, Majid; Givtaj, Hamed; Sani, Mohammad Reza Mahmoudian

2017-06-01

The present study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of assertiveness group training on social anxiety (SAD) between deaf and hearing impaired adolescents. Forty eight (24 deaf and 24 hearing impaired) people participated in this study. First, participants with SAD, i.e. attaining the scores above 40 for Connor's Social Inventory Scale 2000 (SPIN), were selected according to convenience sampling and randomly assigned to two groups, i.e. intervention and control. Then, assertiveness group training was conducted for intervention group within 10 sessions, and immediately after completion of the training sessions, SPIN was re-administered to the two groups. ANCOVA showed that the effectiveness of assertiveness group training on SAD is different between deaf and hearing impaired participants, i.e. assertiveness group training was effective on improvement of SAD in hearing impaired participants but not deaf ones. Therefore, it is recommended to incorporate assertiveness group training in the educational programs developed for adolescents with ear disorders especially hearing impairment.

Outcomes of cochlear implantation in deaf children of deaf parents: comparative study.

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Hassanzadeh, S

2012-10-01

This retrospective study compared the cochlear implantation outcomes of first- and second-generation deaf children. The study group consisted of seven deaf, cochlear-implanted children with deaf parents. An equal number of deaf children with normal-hearing parents were selected by matched sampling as a reference group. Participants were matched based on onset and severity of deafness, duration of deafness, age at cochlear implantation, duration of cochlear implantation, gender, and cochlear implant model. We used the Persian Auditory Perception Test for the Hearing Impaired, the Speech Intelligibility Rating scale, and the Sentence Imitation Test, in order to measure participants' speech perception, speech production and language development, respectively. Both groups of children showed auditory and speech development. However, the second-generation deaf children (i.e. deaf children of deaf parents) exceeded the cochlear implantation performance of the deaf children with hearing parents. This study confirms that second-generation deaf children exceed deaf children of hearing parents in terms of cochlear implantation performance. Encouraging deaf children to communicate in sign language from a very early age, before cochlear implantation, appears to improve their ability to learn spoken language after cochlear implantation.

Cortical activation in profoundly deaf patients during cochlear implant stimulation demonstrated by H2(15)O PET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herzog, H.; Lamprecht, A.; Kuehn, A.R.; Roden, W.; Vosteen, K.H.; Feinendegen, L.E.

1991-01-01

Cochlear implants (CIs) are used to provide sensations of sound to profoundly deaf patients. The performance of the CI is assessed mainly by the subjective reports of patients. The aim of this study was to look for objective cortical responses to the stimulation of the CI. Two postlingually and two prelingually deaf patients were investigated by positron emission tomography (PET) using 15 O-labeled water (H 2 15 O) to determine the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). Instead of quantifying rCBF in absolute terms, it was estimated by referring the regional tissue concentration of H 2 15 O to the mean whole brain concentration. CI stimulation encoded from white noise and sequential words led to an increased rCBF in the primary and secondary (Wernicke) auditory cortex. Relative elevations of up to 33% were observed bilaterally, although they were higher contralateral to the CI. These results were obtained not only in the postlingually deaf patients but also in two patients who had never been able to hear. Thus, it could be demonstrated that PET measurements of cerebral H 2 15 O distribution yield objective responses of the central auditory system during electrical stimulation by CIs in profoundly deaf patients

Dissociating neural correlates of meaningful emblems from meaningless gestures in deaf signers and hearing non-signers.

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Husain, Fatima T; Patkin, Debra J; Kim, Jieun; Braun, Allen R; Horwitz, Barry

2012-10-10

Emblems are meaningful, culturally-specific hand gestures that are analogous to words. In this fMRI study, we contrasted the processing of emblematic gestures with meaningless gestures by pre-lingually Deaf and hearing participants. Deaf participants, who used American Sign Language, activated bilateral auditory processing and associative areas in the temporal cortex to a greater extent than the hearing participants while processing both types of gestures relative to rest. The hearing non-signers activated a diverse set of regions, including those implicated in the mirror neuron system, such as premotor cortex (BA 6) and inferior parietal lobule (BA 40) for the same contrast. Further, when contrasting the processing of meaningful to meaningless gestures (both relative to rest), the Deaf participants, but not the hearing, showed greater response in the left angular and supramarginal gyri, regions that play important roles in linguistic processing. These results suggest that whereas the signers interpreted emblems to be comparable to words, the non-signers treated emblems as similar to pictorial descriptions of the world and engaged the mirror neuron system. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Auditory, Visual, and Auditory-Visual Speech Perception by Individuals with Cochlear Implants versus Individuals with Hearing Aids

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Most, Tova; Rothem, Hilla; Luntz, Michal

2009-01-01

The researchers evaluated the contribution of cochlear implants (CIs) to speech perception by a sample of prelingually deaf individuals implanted after age 8 years. This group was compared with a group with profound hearing impairment (HA-P), and with a group with severe hearing impairment (HA-S), both of which used hearing aids. Words and…

Visually Evoked Visual-Auditory Changes Associated with Auditory Performance in Children with Cochlear Implants

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Maojin Liang

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Activation of the auditory cortex by visual stimuli has been reported in deaf children. In cochlear implant (CI patients, a residual, more intense cortical activation in the frontotemporal areas in response to photo stimuli was found to be positively associated with poor auditory performance. Our study aimed to investigate the mechanism by which visual processing in CI users activates the auditory-associated cortex during the period after cochlear implantation as well as its relation to CI outcomes. Twenty prelingually deaf children with CI were recruited. Ten children were good CI performers (GCP and ten were poor (PCP. Ten age- and sex- matched normal-hearing children were recruited as controls, and visual evoked potentials (VEPs were recorded. The characteristics of the right frontotemporal N1 component were analyzed. In the prelingually deaf children, higher N1 amplitude was observed compared to normal controls. While the GCP group showed significant decreases in N1 amplitude, and source analysis showed the most significant decrease in brain activity was observed in the primary visual cortex (PVC, with a downward trend in the primary auditory cortex (PAC activity, but these did not occur in the PCP group. Meanwhile, higher PVC activation (comparing to controls before CI use (0M and a significant decrease in source energy after CI use were found to be related to good CI outcomes. In the GCP group, source energy decreased in the visual-auditory cortex with CI use. However, no significant cerebral hemispheric dominance was found. We supposed that intra- or cross-modal reorganization and higher PVC activation in prelingually deaf children may reflect a stronger potential ability of cortical plasticity. Brain activity evolution appears to be related to CI auditory outcomes.

Visually Evoked Visual-Auditory Changes Associated with Auditory Performance in Children with Cochlear Implants.

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Liang, Maojin; Zhang, Junpeng; Liu, Jiahao; Chen, Yuebo; Cai, Yuexin; Wang, Xianjun; Wang, Junbo; Zhang, Xueyuan; Chen, Suijun; Li, Xianghui; Chen, Ling; Zheng, Yiqing

2017-01-01

Activation of the auditory cortex by visual stimuli has been reported in deaf children. In cochlear implant (CI) patients, a residual, more intense cortical activation in the frontotemporal areas in response to photo stimuli was found to be positively associated with poor auditory performance. Our study aimed to investigate the mechanism by which visual processing in CI users activates the auditory-associated cortex during the period after cochlear implantation as well as its relation to CI outcomes. Twenty prelingually deaf children with CI were recruited. Ten children were good CI performers (GCP) and ten were poor (PCP). Ten age- and sex- matched normal-hearing children were recruited as controls, and visual evoked potentials (VEPs) were recorded. The characteristics of the right frontotemporal N1 component were analyzed. In the prelingually deaf children, higher N1 amplitude was observed compared to normal controls. While the GCP group showed significant decreases in N1 amplitude, and source analysis showed the most significant decrease in brain activity was observed in the primary visual cortex (PVC), with a downward trend in the primary auditory cortex (PAC) activity, but these did not occur in the PCP group. Meanwhile, higher PVC activation (comparing to controls) before CI use (0M) and a significant decrease in source energy after CI use were found to be related to good CI outcomes. In the GCP group, source energy decreased in the visual-auditory cortex with CI use. However, no significant cerebral hemispheric dominance was found. We supposed that intra- or cross-modal reorganization and higher PVC activation in prelingually deaf children may reflect a stronger potential ability of cortical plasticity. Brain activity evolution appears to be related to CI auditory outcomes.

Seeing the Deaf in "Deafness"

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Obasi, Chijioke

2008-01-01

This article draws on some of the existing literature on the politics of identity and representation as related to minority group formation. It applies this to constructions of Deaf identity from a cultural and linguistic perspective and contrasts this with dominant constructions of Deaf people as disabled. It highlights a number of ways in which…

A focus group study of consumer attitudes toward genetic testing and newborn screening for deafness.

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Burton, Sarah K; Withrow, Kara; Arnos, Kathleen S; Kalfoglou, Andrea L; Pandya, Arti

2006-12-01

Progress in identifying genes for deafness together with implementation of universal audiologic screening of newborns has provided the opportunity for more widespread use of molecular tests to detect genetic forms of hearing loss. Efforts to assess consumer attitudes toward these advances have lagged behind. Consumer focus groups were held to explore attitudes toward genetic advances and technologies for hearing loss, views about newborn hearing screening, and reactions to the idea of adding molecular screening for hearing loss at birth. Focus group discussions were recorded, transcribed and analyzed. Five focus groups with 44 participants including hearing parents of deaf children, deaf parents and young deaf adults were held. Focus group participants supported the use of genetic tests to identify the etiology of hearing loss but were concerned that genetic information might influence reproductive decisions. Molecular newborn screening was advocated by some; however, others expressed concern about its effectiveness. Documenting the attitudes of parents and other consumers toward genetic technologies establishes the framework for discussions on the appropriateness of molecular newborn screening for hearing loss and informs specialists about potential areas of public education necessary prior to the implementation of such screening.

Speech Language Group Therapy in the Context of Written Language for Deaf Subjects in Southern Brazil

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Guarinello, Ana Cristina; Massi, Giselle; Berberian, Ana Paula; Tonocchi, Rita; Valentin, Silvana Mendonça Lopes

2017-01-01

This article aims to investigate deaf people's reasons to participate in a therapeutic group and to analyze some of their reflections on the use of written Portuguese language produced inside this group within a sociocultural perspective. It was carried out at a School for the deaf located in Curitiba, Paraná State/Brazil in a partnership with…

Effectiveness of communication strategies for deaf or hard of hearing workers in group settings.

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Haynes, Scott

2014-01-01

In group settings, background noise and an obstructed view of the speaker are just a few of the issues that can make workplace communication difficult for an individual who is deaf or hard of hearing. Accommodation strategies such as amplification of the speaker's voice or the use of text-based alternatives exist to address these issues. However, recent studies have shown that there are still unmet needs related to workplace communication in group settings for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. Identify the most common strategies used by individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to improve communication in group settings and gauge the perceived effectiveness of those strategies. An online survey was conducted with individuals who self-identified as deaf or hard of hearing. The survey presented specific communication strategies based on three functional approaches (aural/oral, text, visual). The strategies applied to both receptive and expressive communication in five different meeting types ranging in size and purpose. 161 adults (age 22-90 yrs.) with limited hearing ability completed the survey. Text-based strategies were typically the least frequently used strategies in group settings, yet they ranked high in perceived effectiveness for receptive and expressive communication. Those who used an interpreter demonstrated a strong preference for having a qualified interpreter present in the meeting rather than an interpreter acting remotely. For expressive communication, participants in general preferred to use their own voice or signing abilities and ranked those strategies as highly effective. A more accessible workplace for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing would incorporate more ubiquitous text-based strategy options. Also, qualified interpreters, when used, should be present in the meeting for maximum effectiveness.

Cochlear implant: Speech and language development in deaf and hard of hearing children following implantation

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Ostojić Sanja

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Bacground/Aim. Almost 200 cochlear implantations were done in the four centers (two in Belgrade, per one in Novi Sad and Niš in Serbia from 2002 to 2009. Less than 10% of implantees were postlingually deaf adults. The vast majority, i.e. 90% were pre- and perilingually profoundly deaf children. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of improved auditory perception due to cochlear implantation on comprehension of abstract words in children as compared with hearing impaired children with conventional hearing aids and normal hearing children. Methods. Thirty children were enrolled in this study: 20 hearing impaired and 10 normal hearing. The vocabulary test was used. Results. The overall results for the whole test (100 words showed a significant difference in favor of the normal hearing as compared with hearing impaired children. The normal hearing children successfully described or defined 77.93% of a total of 100 words. Success rate for the cochlear implanted children was 26.87% and for the hearing impaired children with conventional hearing aids 20.32%. Conclusion. Testing for abstract words showed a statistically significant difference between the cochlear implanted and the hearing impaired children with hearing aids (Mann- Whitney U-test, p = 0.019 implying considerable advantage of cochlear implants over hearing aids regarding successful speech development in prelingually deaf children.

Frequency of Congenital Heart Diseases in Prelingual Sensory-Neural Deaf Children

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Masoud Motasaddi Zarandy

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Hearing impairment is the most frequent sensorial congenital defect in newborns and has increased to 2–4 cases per 1,000 live births. Sensory-neural hearing loss (SNHL accounts for more than 90% of all hearing loss. This disorder is associated with other congenital disorders such as renal, skeletal, ocular, and cardiac disorders. Given that congenital heart diseases are life-threatening, we decided to study the frequency of congenital heart diseases in children with congenital sensory-neural deafness.  Materials and Methods: All children who had undergone cochlear implantation surgery due to SNHL and who had attended our hospital for speech therapy during 2008–2011 were evaluated by Doppler echocardiography.  Results: Thirty-one children (15 boys and 16 girls with a mean age of 55.70 months were examined, and underwent electrocardiography (ECG and echocardiography. None of the children had any signs of heart problems in their medical records. Most of their heart examinations were normal, one patient had expiratory wheeze, four (12% had mid-systolic click, and four (12% had an intensified S1 sound. In echocardiography, 15 children (46% had mitral valve prolapse (MVP and two (6% had minimal mitral regurgitation (MR. Mean ejection fraction (EF was 69% and the mean fractional shortening (FS was 38%.  Conclusion:  This study indicates the need for echocardiography and heart examinations in children with SNHL.

The peculiar needs of deaf people: a study of selected members of the Lincolnshire deaf social group

OpenAIRE

Jones, K.

1989-01-01

In spite of the fact that services for deaf people have been provided since Victorian times, there is no "philosophy of deafness" and services are based upon the subjective observation of deaf people by "hearing" people. This study seeks to formulate such a philosophy, for those unable to hear spoken communication from birth or early childhood, based upon acceptance of the social limitations of being unable to hear in a society where the ready use of that sense is taken for granted.\\ud \\ud In...

Identification of a Novel TECTA mutation in a Chinese DFNA8/12 family with prelingual progressive sensorineural hearing impairment.

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Zhengyue Li

Full Text Available Tectorial membrane, an extracellular matrix of the cochlea, plays a crucial role in the transmission of sound to the sensory hair cells. Alpha-tectorin is the most important noncollagenous component of the tectorial membrane and the otolith membrane in the maculae of the vestibular system. Defects in TECTA, the gene encodes alpha-tectorin, are cause of both dominant (DFNA8/12 and recessive (DFNB21 forms of deafness. Here, we report a three-generation Chinese family characterized by prelingual progressive sensorineural hearing impairment. We mapped the disease locus to chromosome 11q23-24 region, overlapping with the DFNA8/12 locus. Sequencing of candidate gene TECTA revealed a heterozygous c.5945C>A substitution in exon 19, causing amino acid substitution of Ala to Asp at a conservative position 1982. The A1982D substitution is consistent with hearing loss in this Chinese family and has not been found in 200 random control chromosomes. To our knowledge, this is the first TECTA mutation identified in Chinese population. Our data provides additional molecular and clinical information for establishing a better genotype-phenotype understanding of DFNA8/12.

Music and Deaf Culture: Images from the Media and Their Interpretation by Deaf and Hearing Students.

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Darrow; Loomis

1999-01-01

The purpose of the study was threefold: (a) to examine how the visual media have portrayed the subject of music and the deaf, (b) to verify the validity of these portrayals with members of the deaf community, and (c) to compare and contrast deaf and hearing audiences' impressions of these portrayals. An additional purpose of the research was to examine the results in light of possible misconceptions that may be construed by music therapists and music educators based upon the media's representation of the relationship between music and deaf culture. Since music therapists and music educators are the primary persons responsible for the music instruction of students in school programs for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, it is particularly important that they receive accurate messages about the relationship of music to deaf culture. Fifty deaf (n = 25) and hearing (n = 25) undergraduate college students individually viewed motion picture and television excerpts related to music and the deaf. Subjects were instructed to take notes as needed regarding the content of each excerpt and their impressions. Students were then interviewed in their native language, English or American Sign Language, as to their interpretations and perceptions regarding these excerpts and their accuracy. Interviews of the deaf students were translated into English from American Sign Language by trained interpreters. Written transcriptions were then made of the interpreters' English translations of the interviews with deaf students and of the verbal interviews with hearing students. Interview transcripts from both groups were coded and analyzed for recurring themes and patterns using content analysis. Data analysis revealed cultural patterns for the two groups, impressions specific to individual subjects, and trends in communication style and content for the two groups. Implications for music therapists and music educators are given regarding the influence of the media, characteristics of deaf

Concept Formation Skills in Long-Term Cochlear Implant Users

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Castellanos, Irina; Kronenberger, William G.; Beer, Jessica; Colson, Bethany G.; Henning, Shirley C.; Ditmars, Allison; Pisoni, David B.

2015-01-01

This study investigated if a period of auditory sensory deprivation followed by degraded auditory input and related language delays affects visual concept formation skills in long-term prelingually deaf cochlear implant (CI) users. We also examined if concept formation skills are mediated or moderated by other neurocognitive domains (i.e., language, working memory, and executive control). Relative to normally hearing (NH) peers, CI users displayed significantly poorer performance in several specific areas of concept formation, especially when multiple comparisons and relational concepts were components of the task. Differences in concept formation between CI users and NH peers were fully explained by differences in language and inhibition–concentration skills. Language skills were also found to be more strongly related to concept formation in CI users than in NH peers. The present findings suggest that complex relational concepts may be adversely affected by a period of early prelingual deafness followed by access to underspecified and degraded sound patterns and spoken language transmitted by a CI. Investigating a unique clinical population such as early-implanted prelingually deaf children with CIs can provide new insights into foundational brain–behavior relations and developmental processes. PMID:25583706

Deaf Employees' Empowerment in Two Different Communication Environments.

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Backenroth, G. A. M.

1997-01-01

This study with 64 deaf employees working in either signing work groups or nonsigning workgroups found that employees' perceived empowerment was significantly higher in the signing work groups. Deaf associates in signing work groups experienced greater psychological stress and role conflicts, whereas deaf associates in nonsigning groups…

Deaf Mothers and Breastfeeding: Do Unique Features of Deaf Culture and Language Support Breastfeeding Success?

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Chin, Nancy P.; Cuculick, Jess; Starr, Matthew; Panko, Tiffany; Widanka, Holly; Dozier, Ann

2014-01-01

Background Deaf mothers who use American Sign Language (ASL) consider themselves a linguistic minority group, with specific cultural practices. Rarely has this group been engaged in infant-feeding research. Objectives To understand how ASL-using Deaf mothers learn about infant feeding and to identify their breastfeeding challenges. Methods Using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach we conducted four focus groups with Deaf mothers who had at least one child 0–5 years. A script was developed using a social ecological model (SEM) to capture multiple levels of influence. All groups were conducted in ASL, filmed, and transcribed into English. Deaf and hearing researchers analyzed data by coding themes within each SEM level. Results Fifteen mothers participated. All had initiated breastfeeding with their most recent child. Breastfeeding duration for eight of the mothers was three weeks to 12 months. Seven of the mothers were still breastfeeding, the longest for 19 months. Those mothers who breastfed longer described a supportive social environment and the ability to surmount challenges. Participants described characteristics of Deaf culture such as direct communication, sharing information, use of technologies, language access through interpreters and ASL-using providers, and strong self-advocacy skills. Finally, mothers used the sign ‘struggle’ to describe their breastfeeding experience. The sign implies a sustained effort over time which leads to success. Conclusions In a setting with a large population of Deaf women and ASL-using providers, we identified several aspects of Deaf culture and language which support BF mothers across institutional, community, and interpersonal levels of the SEM. PMID:23492762

Children, Deaf, of Deaf Parents

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Baker, A.E.; van den Bogaerde, B.; Gertz, G.; Boudreault, P.

2016-01-01

Deaf children with Deaf parents usually grow up in the Deaf community, that is if their parents offer them a sign language and are active members of the community. These Deaf children are similar to other children of linguistic and cultural minorities in many ways. They are also different in that

Cochlear Implantation (CI for prelingual deafness: the relevance of studies of brain organization and the role of first language acquisition in considering outcome success.

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Ruth eCampbell

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Cochlear implantation (CI for profound congenital hearing impairment, while often successful in restoring hearing to the deaf child, does not always result in effective speech processing. Exposure to non-auditory signals during the pre-implantation period is widely held to be responsible for such failures. Here, we question the inference that such exposure irreparably distorts the function of auditory cortex, negatively impacting the efficacy of cochlear implantation. Animal studies suggest that in congenital early deafness there is a disconnection between (disordered activation in primary auditory cortex (A1 and activation in secondary auditory cortex (A2. In humans, one factor contributing to this functional decoupling is assumed to be abnormal activation of A1 by visual projections – including exposure to sign language. In this paper we show that that this abnormal activation of A1 does not routinely occur, while A2 functions effectively supramodally and multimodally to deliver spoken language irrespective of hearing status. What, then, is responsible for poor outcomes for some individuals with CI and for apparent abnormalities in cortical organization in these people? Since infancy is a critical period for the acquisition of language, deaf children born to hearing parents are at risk of developing inefficient neural structures to support skilled language processing. A sign language, acquired by a deaf child as a first language in a signing environment, is cortically organized like a heard spoken language in terms of specialization of the dominant perisylvian system. However, very few deaf children are exposed to sign language in early infancy. Moreover, no studies to date have examined sign language proficiency in relation to cortical organization in individuals with CI. Given the paucity of such relevant findings, we suggest that the best guarantee of good language outcome after CI is the establishment of a secure first language pre

[Study of generational risk in deafness inflicted couples using deafness gene microarray technique].

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Wang, Ping; Zhao, Jia; Yu, Shu-yuan; Jin, Peng; Zhu, Wei; DU, Bo

2011-06-01

To explored the significance of screening the gene mutations of deafness related in deaf-mute (deaf & dumb) family using DNA microarray. Total of 52 couples of deaf-mute were recruited from Changchun deaf-mute community. With an average age of (58.3 ± 6.7) years old (x(-) ± s). Blood samples were obtained with informed consent. Their genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood and PCR was performed. Nine of hot spot mutations in four most common deafness pathologic gene were examined with the DNA microarray, including GJB2, GJB3, PDS and mtDNA 12S rRNA genes. At the same time, the results were verified with the traditional methods of sequencing. Fifty of normal people served as a control group. All patients were diagnosed non-syndromic sensorineural hearing loss by subjective pure tone audiometry. Thirty-two of 104 cases appeared GJB2 gene mutation (30.7%), the mutation sites included 35delG, 176del16, 235delC and 299delAT. Eighteen of 32 cases of GJB2 mutations were 235delC (59.1%). Seven of 104 cases appeared SLC26A4 gene IVS7-2 A > G mutation. Questionnaire survey and gene diagnosis revealed that four of 52 families have deaf offspring (7.6%). When a couple carries the same gene mutation, the risk of their children deafness was 100%. The results were confirmed with the traditional methods of sequencing. There is a high risk of deafness if a deaf-mute family is planning to have a new baby. It is very important and helpful to avoid deaf newborns again in deaf-mute family by DNA microarray.

Concept formation skills in long-term cochlear implant users.

Science.gov (United States)

Castellanos, Irina; Kronenberger, William G; Beer, Jessica; Colson, Bethany G; Henning, Shirley C; Ditmars, Allison; Pisoni, David B

2015-01-01

This study investigated if a period of auditory sensory deprivation followed by degraded auditory input and related language delays affects visual concept formation skills in long-term prelingually deaf cochlear implant (CI) users. We also examined if concept formation skills are mediated or moderated by other neurocognitive domains (i.e., language, working memory, and executive control). Relative to normally hearing (NH) peers, CI users displayed significantly poorer performance in several specific areas of concept formation, especially when multiple comparisons and relational concepts were components of the task. Differences in concept formation between CI users and NH peers were fully explained by differences in language and inhibition-concentration skills. Language skills were also found to be more strongly related to concept formation in CI users than in NH peers. The present findings suggest that complex relational concepts may be adversely affected by a period of early prelingual deafness followed by access to underspecified and degraded sound patterns and spoken language transmitted by a CI. Investigating a unique clinical population such as early-implanted prelingually deaf children with CIs can provide new insights into foundational brain-behavior relations and developmental processes. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Widespread auditory deficits in tune deafness.

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Jones, Jennifer L; Zalewski, Christopher; Brewer, Carmen; Lucker, Jay; Drayna, Dennis

2009-02-01

The goal of this study was to investigate auditory function in individuals with deficits in musical pitch perception. We hypothesized that such individuals have deficits in nonspeech areas of auditory processing. We screened 865 randomly selected individuals to identify those who scored poorly on the Distorted Tunes test (DTT), a measure of musical pitch recognition ability. Those who scored poorly were given a comprehensive audiologic examination, and those with hearing loss or other confounding audiologic factors were excluded from further testing. Thirty-five individuals with tune deafness constituted the experimental group. Thirty-four individuals with normal hearing and normal DTT scores, matched for age, gender, handedness, and education, and without overt or reported psychiatric disorders made up the normal control group. Individual and group performance for pure-tone frequency discrimination at 1000 Hz was determined by measuring the difference limen for frequency (DLF). Auditory processing abilities were assessed using tests of pitch pattern recognition, duration pattern recognition, and auditory gap detection. In addition, we evaluated both attention and short- and long-term memory as variables that might influence performance on our experimental measures. Differences between groups were evaluated statistically using Wilcoxon nonparametric tests and t-tests as appropriate. The DLF at 1000 Hz in the group with tune deafness was significantly larger than that of the normal control group. However, approximately one-third of participants with tune deafness had DLFs within the range of performance observed in the control group. Many individuals with tune deafness also displayed a high degree of variability in their intertrial frequency discrimination performance that could not be explained by deficits in memory or attention. Pitch and duration pattern discrimination and auditory gap-detection ability were significantly poorer in the group with tune deafness

Sexual Health Behaviors of Deaf American Sign Language (ASL) Users

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Heiman, Erica; Haynes, Sharon; McKee, Michael

2015-01-01

Background Little is known about the sexual health behaviors of Deaf American Sign Language (ASL) users. Objective We sought to characterize the self-reported sexual behaviors of Deaf individuals. Methods Responses from 282 Deaf participants aged 18–64 from the greater Rochester, NY area who participated in the 2008 Deaf Health were analyzed. These data were compared with weighted data from a general population comparison group (N=1890). We looked at four sexual health-related outcomes: abstinence within the past year; number of sexual partners within the last year; condom use at last intercourse; and ever tested for HIV. We performed descriptive analyses, including stratification by gender, age, income, marital status, and educational level. Results Deaf respondents were more likely than the general population respondents to self-report two or more sexual partners in the past year (30.9% vs 10.1%) but self-reported higher condom use at last intercourse (28.0% vs 19.8%). HIV testing rates were similar between groups (47.5% vs 49.4%) but lower for certain Deaf groups: Deaf women (46.0% vs. 58.1%), lower-income Deaf (44.4% vs. 69.7%) and among less educated Deaf (31.3% vs. 57.7%) than among respondents from corresponding general population groups. Conclusion Deaf respondents self-reported higher numbers of sexual partners over the past year compared to the general population. Condom use was higher among Deaf participants. HIV was similar between groups, though HIV testing was significantly lower among lower-income, less well-educated, and female Deaf respondents. Deaf individuals have a sexual health risk profile that is distinct from that of the general population. PMID:26242551

Sexual health behaviors of Deaf American Sign Language (ASL) users.

Science.gov (United States)

Heiman, Erica; Haynes, Sharon; McKee, Michael

2015-10-01

Little is known about the sexual health behaviors of Deaf American Sign Language (ASL) users. We sought to characterize the self-reported sexual behaviors of Deaf individuals. Responses from 282 Deaf participants aged 18-64 from the greater Rochester, NY area who participated in the 2008 Deaf Health were analyzed. These data were compared with weighted data from a general population comparison group (N = 1890). We looked at four sexual health-related outcomes: abstinence within the past year; number of sexual partners within the last year; condom use at last intercourse; and ever tested for HIV. We performed descriptive analyses, including stratification by gender, age, income, marital status, and educational level. Deaf respondents were more likely than the general population respondents to self-report two or more sexual partners in the past year (30.9% vs 10.1%) but self-reported higher condom use at last intercourse (28.0% vs 19.8%). HIV testing rates were similar between groups (47.5% vs 49.4%) but lower for certain Deaf groups: Deaf women (46.0% vs 58.1%), lower-income Deaf (44.4% vs 69.7%) and among less educated Deaf (31.3% vs 57.7%) than among respondents from corresponding general population groups. Deaf respondents self-reported higher numbers of sexual partners over the past year compared to the general population. Condom use was higher among Deaf participants. HIV was similar between groups, though HIV testing was significantly lower among lower income, less well-educated, and female Deaf respondents. Deaf individuals have a sexual health risk profile that is distinct from that of the general population. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Language and cognitive development in deaf children: deaf children with deaf and deaf children with hearing parents

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Ajda Pfifer

2011-01-01

The article reviews the current studies regarding language and cognitive development in children who are deaf. Deaf communicate orally and with sign language. 90 % of deaf children are born into hearing families and hearing parents in most cases do not know the sign language. Besides, hearing parents usually want for their child to become "normally" speaking. Most of the deaf children born into hearing families have very poor early communication. It is now well established that deaf children ...

Executive Functioning Skills in Long-Term Users of Cochlear Implants: A Case Control Study

Science.gov (United States)

Pisoni, David B.; Henning, Shirley C.; Colson, Bethany G.

2013-01-01

Objective To investigate differences in executive functioning between deaf children with cochlear implants (CIs) and normal-hearing (NH) peers. The cognitive effects of auditory deprivation in childhood may extend beyond speech–language skills to more domain-general areas including executive functioning. Methods Executive functioning skills in a sample of 53 prelingually deaf children, adolescents, and young adults who received CIs prior to age 7 years and who had used their CIs for ≥7 years were compared with age- and nonverbal IQ-matched NH peers and with scale norms. Results Despite having above average nonverbal IQ, the CI sample scored lower than the NH sample and test norms on several measures of short-term/working memory, fluency–speed, and inhibition–concentration. Executive functioning was unrelated to most demographic and hearing history characteristics. Conclusions Prelingual deafness and long-term use of CIs was associated with increased risk of weaknesses in executive functioning. PMID:23699747

Anger communication in deaf children

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rieffe, C.J.; Meerum Terwogt, M.

2006-01-01

In this study, we investigated how deaf children express their anger towards peers and with what intentions. Eleven-year-old deaf children (n = 21) and a hearing control group (n = 36) were offered four vignettes describing anger-evoking conflict situations with peers. Children were asked how they

Deaf-Blind Perspectives, 2000-2001.

Science.gov (United States)

Malloy, Peggy, Ed.

2001-01-01

These three issues of "Deaf-Blind Perspectives" feature the following articles: (1) "A Group for Students with Usher Syndrome in South Louisiana" (Faye Melancon); (2) "Simply Emily," which discusses a budding friendship between a girl with deaf-blindness and a peer; (3) "Intervener Update" (Peggy Malloy and…

On the possibilities and limits of "DEAF DEAF SAME": Tourism and empowerment camps in Adamorobe (Ghana, Bangalore and Mumbai (India.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michele Ilana Friedner

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This article qualitatively analyzes the ways that the discourse of "deaf universalism" circulates within two common deaf practices: tourism and engaging in interventions. Arguing that the largely Northern-situated discipline of Deaf Studies does not adequately examine how deaf bodies and discourses travel, ethnographic data compiled in India and Ghana during transnational encounters is employed to examine how claims of "sameness" and "difference" are enacted and negotiated. Similarly, this article examines how deaf individuals and groups deploy the concepts of deaf "heavens" and "hells" to analyze their travel experiences and justify interventions. We argue that deaf travelers and those engaging in interventions, mostly from Northern countries, employ teleological concepts that they attempt to impose on deaf "others." Adopting a critical approach, this article argues for the importance of carving out a space within Deaf Studies for allowing non-Northern concepts to come to the fore. Keywords: Deaf, Development, Universalism, Discourse, India, Ghana

Neural networks mediating sentence reading in the deaf

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabeth Ann Hirshorn

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The present work addresses the neural bases of sentence reading in deaf populations. To better understand the relative role of deafness and English knowledge in shaping the neural networks that mediate sentence reading, three populations with different degrees of English knowledge and depth of hearing loss were included – deaf signers, oral deaf and hearing individuals. The three groups were matched for reading comprehension and scanned while reading sentences. A similar neural network of left perisylvian areas was observed, supporting the view of a shared network of areas for reading despite differences in hearing and English knowledge. However, differences were observed, in particular in the auditory cortex, with deaf signers and oral deaf showing greatest bilateral superior temporal gyrus (STG recruitment as compared to hearing individuals. Importantly, within deaf individuals, the same STG area in the left hemisphere showed greater recruitment as hearing loss increased. To further understand the functional role of such auditory cortex re-organization after deafness, connectivity analyses were performed from the STG regions identified above. Connectivity from the left STG toward areas typically associated with semantic processing (BA45 and thalami was greater in deaf signers and in oral deaf as compared to hearing. In contrast, connectivity from left STG toward areas identified with speech-based processing was greater in hearing and in oral deaf as compared to deaf signers. These results support the growing literature indicating recruitment of auditory areas after congenital deafness for visually-mediated language functions, and establish that both auditory deprivation and language experience shape its functional reorganization. Implications for differential reliance on semantic vs. phonological pathways during reading in the three groups is discussed.

Voxel-based statistical analysis of cerebral glucose metabolism in the rat cortical deafness model by 3D reconstruction of brain from autoradiographic images

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Lee, Jae Sung; Park, Kwang Suk [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Department of Nuclear Medicine, 28 Yungun-Dong, Chongno-Ku, Seoul (Korea); Seoul National University College of Medicine, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Seoul (Korea); Ahn, Soon-Hyun; Oh, Seung Ha; Kim, Chong Sun; Chung, June-Key; Lee, Myung Chul [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Seoul (Korea); Lee, Dong Soo; Jeong, Jae Min [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Department of Nuclear Medicine, 28 Yungun-Dong, Chongno-Ku, Seoul (Korea)

2005-06-01

Animal models of cortical deafness are essential for investigation of the cerebral glucose metabolism in congenital or prelingual deafness. Autoradiographic imaging is mainly used to assess the cerebral glucose metabolism in rodents. In this study, procedures for the 3D voxel-based statistical analysis of autoradiographic data were established to enable investigations of the within-modal and cross-modal plasticity through entire areas of the brain of sensory-deprived animals without lumping together heterogeneous subregions within each brain structure into a large region of interest. Thirteen 2-[1-{sup 14}C]-deoxy-D-glucose autoradiographic images were acquired from six deaf and seven age-matched normal rats (age 6-10 weeks). The deafness was induced by surgical ablation. For the 3D voxel-based statistical analysis, brain slices were extracted semiautomatically from the autoradiographic images, which contained the coronal sections of the brain, and were stacked into 3D volume data. Using principal axes matching and mutual information maximization algorithms, the adjacent coronal sections were co-registered using a rigid body transformation, and all sections were realigned to the first section. A study-specific template was composed and the realigned images were spatially normalized onto the template. Following count normalization, voxel-wise t tests were performed to reveal the areas with significant differences in cerebral glucose metabolism between the deaf and the control rats. Continuous and clear edges were detected in each image after registration between the coronal sections, and the internal and external landmarks extracted from the spatially normalized images were well matched, demonstrating the reliability of the spatial processing procedures. Voxel-wise t tests showed that the glucose metabolism in the bilateral auditory cortices of the deaf rats was significantly (P<0.001) lower than that in the controls. There was no significantly reduced metabolism in

Voxel-based statistical analysis of cerebral glucose metabolism in the rat cortical deafness model by 3D reconstruction of brain from autoradiographic images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Jae Sung; Park, Kwang Suk; Ahn, Soon-Hyun; Oh, Seung Ha; Kim, Chong Sun; Chung, June-Key; Lee, Myung Chul; Lee, Dong Soo; Jeong, Jae Min

2005-01-01

Animal models of cortical deafness are essential for investigation of the cerebral glucose metabolism in congenital or prelingual deafness. Autoradiographic imaging is mainly used to assess the cerebral glucose metabolism in rodents. In this study, procedures for the 3D voxel-based statistical analysis of autoradiographic data were established to enable investigations of the within-modal and cross-modal plasticity through entire areas of the brain of sensory-deprived animals without lumping together heterogeneous subregions within each brain structure into a large region of interest. Thirteen 2-[1- 14 C]-deoxy-D-glucose autoradiographic images were acquired from six deaf and seven age-matched normal rats (age 6-10 weeks). The deafness was induced by surgical ablation. For the 3D voxel-based statistical analysis, brain slices were extracted semiautomatically from the autoradiographic images, which contained the coronal sections of the brain, and were stacked into 3D volume data. Using principal axes matching and mutual information maximization algorithms, the adjacent coronal sections were co-registered using a rigid body transformation, and all sections were realigned to the first section. A study-specific template was composed and the realigned images were spatially normalized onto the template. Following count normalization, voxel-wise t tests were performed to reveal the areas with significant differences in cerebral glucose metabolism between the deaf and the control rats. Continuous and clear edges were detected in each image after registration between the coronal sections, and the internal and external landmarks extracted from the spatially normalized images were well matched, demonstrating the reliability of the spatial processing procedures. Voxel-wise t tests showed that the glucose metabolism in the bilateral auditory cortices of the deaf rats was significantly (P<0.001) lower than that in the controls. There was no significantly reduced metabolism in any

Oral health care knowledge and practices of a group of deaf adolescents in Lagos, Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Oredugba, Folakemi A

2004-01-01

This study sought to determine the oral health care knowledge and practices of a group of deaf adolescents in Lagos. The study involved 50 students of Wesley School 1 for the Deaf, Lagos (26 males and 24 females, aged 10-19 years, mean 13.3 +/- 2.8). Information about previous dental care, oral hygiene, and snacking habits were obtained through a questionnaire and sign language by the teachers. Only 12 percent of pupils had received dental care. Eight percent and 72 percent, respectively, gave correct answers to causes of tooth decay and bleeding gums. Ninety-four percent brushed their teeth once daily, with no significant sex difference (P > .05). Reported dental problems include bleeding gums (36%), tooth discoloration, and tooth decay. The majority of pupils (60%) preferred biscuits and soft drinks as snacks. More than 90 percent were willing to have a dental check-up. The oral health knowledge and practices of this group of children will improve through a controlled school-based oral health education program.

Assessment of auditory cortical function in cochlear implant patients using 15O PET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Young, J.P.; O'Sullivan, B.T.; Gibson, W.P.; Sefton, A.E.; Mitchell, T.E.; Sanli, H.; Cervantes, R.; Withall, A.; Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney,

1998-01-01

Full text: Cochlear implantation has been an extraordinarily successful method of restoring hearing and the potential for full language development in pre-lingually and post-lingually deaf individuals (Gibson 1996). Post-lingually deaf patients, who develop their hearing loss later in life, respond best to cochlear implantation within the first few years of their deafness, but are less responsive to implantation after several years of deafness (Gibson 1996). In pre-lingually deaf children, cochlear implantation is most effect in allowing the full development language skills when performed within a critical period, in the first 8 years of life. These clinical observations suggest considerable neural plasticity of the human auditory cortex in acquiring and retaining language skills (Gibson 1996, Buchwald 1990). Currently, electrocochleography is used to determine the integrity of the auditory pathways to the auditory cortex. However, the functional integrity of the auditory cortex cannot be determined by this method. We have defined the extent of activation of the auditory cortex and auditory association cortex in 6 normal controls and 6 cochlear implant patients using 15 O PET functional brain imaging methods. Preliminary results have indicated the potential clinical utility of 15 O PET cortical mapping in the pre-surgical assessment and post-surgical follow up of cochlear implant patients. Copyright (1998) Australian Neuroscience Society

Deaf children attending different school environments: sign language abilities and theory of mind.

Science.gov (United States)

Tomasuolo, Elena; Valeri, Giovanni; Di Renzo, Alessio; Pasqualetti, Patrizio; Volterra, Virginia

2013-01-01

The present study examined whether full access to sign language as a medium for instruction could influence performance in Theory of Mind (ToM) tasks. Three groups of Italian participants (age range: 6-14 years) participated in the study: Two groups of deaf signing children and one group of hearing-speaking children. The two groups of deaf children differed only in their school environment: One group attended a school with a teaching assistant (TA; Sign Language is offered only by the TA to a single deaf child), and the other group attended a bilingual program (Italian Sign Language and Italian). Linguistic abilities and understanding of false belief were assessed using similar materials and procedures in spoken Italian with hearing children and in Italian Sign Language with deaf children. Deaf children attending the bilingual school performed significantly better than deaf children attending school with the TA in tasks assessing lexical comprehension and ToM, whereas the performance of hearing children was in between that of the two deaf groups. As for lexical production, deaf children attending the bilingual school performed significantly better than the two other groups. No significant differences were found between early and late signers or between children with deaf and hearing parents.

Whose Deaf Genes Are They Anyway?: The Deaf Community's Challenge to Legislation on Embryo Selection

Science.gov (United States)

Emery, Steven D.; Middleton, Anna; Turner, Graham H.

2010-01-01

This article centers on the implications of genetic developments (as a scientific and technological discipline) for those Deaf people who identify as a cultural and linguistic minority group and are concerned with the preservation and development of sign language and Deaf culture. We explore the impact of one particular legislative initiative that…

Gene structure and mutant alleles of PCDH15: nonsyndromic deafness DFNB23 and type 1 Usher syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, Zubair M; Riazuddin, Saima; Aye, Sandar; Ali, Rana A; Venselaar, Hanka; Anwar, Saima; Belyantseva, Polina P; Qasim, Muhammad; Riazuddin, Sheikh; Friedman, Thomas B

2008-10-01

Mutations of PCDH15, encoding protocadherin 15, can cause either combined hearing and vision impairment (type 1 Usher syndrome; USH1F) or nonsyndromic deafness (DFNB23). Human PCDH15 is reported to be composed of 35 exons and encodes a variety of isoforms with 3-11 ectodomains (ECs), a transmembrane domain and a carboxy-terminal cytoplasmic domain (CD). Building on these observations, we describe an updated gene structure that has four additional exons of PCDH15 and isoforms that can be subdivided into four classes. Human PCDH15 encodes three alternative, evolutionarily conserved unique cytoplasmic domains (CD1, CD2 or CD3). Families ascertained on the basis of prelingual hearing loss were screened for linkage of this phenotype to markers for PCDH15 on chromosome 10q21.1. In seven of twelve families segregating USH1, we identified homozygous mutant alleles (one missense, one splice site, three nonsense and two deletion mutations) of which six are novel. One family was segregating nonsyndromic deafness DFNB23 due to a homozygous missense mutation. To date, in our cohort of 557 Pakistani families, we have found 11 different PCDH15 mutations that account for deafness in 13 families. Molecular modeling provided mechanistic insight into the phenotypic variation in severity of the PCDH15 missense mutations. We did not find pathogenic mutations in five of the twelve USH1 families linked to markers for USH1F, which suggest either the presence of mutations of yet additional undiscovered exons of PCDH15, mutations in the introns or regulatory elements of PCDH15, or an additional locus for type I USH at chromosome 10q21.1.

Being a Deaf Role Model: Deaf People's Experiences of Working with Families and Deaf Young People

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, Katherine D.; Young, Alys M.

2011-01-01

The experiences of being a deaf role model have been little explored in the literature. This paper explores the role of the deaf role model as perceived by d/Deaf adults who carried out this role, when working with deaf young people, parents of deaf children, and professionals who work with them. The data were collected from part of the evaluation…

Comparing Motor Development of Deaf Children of Deaf Parents and Deaf Children of Hearing Parents

Science.gov (United States)

Lieberman, Lauren J.; Volding, Lori; Winnick, Joseph P.

2004-01-01

Deaf children of Deaf parents perform better academically (Ritter-Brinton & Stewart, 1992), linguistically (Courtin, 2000; M. Harris, 2001; Vaccari & Marschark, 1997), and socially (Hadadian & Rose, 1991; M. Harris, 2001) than Deaf children of hearing parents. Twenty-nine Deaf children in residential schools were assessed to determine if a…

Demonstration of ipsilateral brain activation by noise in patients profoundly deaf with cochlear implant, or unilaterally deaf

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herzog, H.; Wieler, H.; Morgenstern, C.; Lipman, J.; Langen, K.-J.; Schmid, A.; Rota, E.; Patton, D.; Feinendegen, L.F.

1986-01-01

Two groups of patients with hearing handicaps have been investigated with PET and F-18-2-FDG. Since these patients were unilaterally deaf or profoundly deaf with a cochlear implant installed, monaural stimulation was possible excluding any effects of bone conduction to the contralateral ear. White noise was used as acoustic stimulus in unilaterally deaf patients. The peripheral auditory nerve of cochlear implant patients was stimulated by electrical impulses which were encoded from music or a 4-tone mixture by an electronic speech processor. The non-music stimuli were chosen to avoid associative cortical reactions. In both groups response to the stimuli by increase of glucose consumption (LCMRglc) was found not only in the contralateral primary auditory cortex as expected from neuroanatomical knowledge, but also in the ipsilateral auditory cortex. Furthermore there was no correlation between the hemisphere showing increased LCMRglc and the side of stimulation or the type of stimulus. The similarity of results obtained in both groups by acoustical and electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve suggests that this kind of measurement might be a tool to predict or check the performance of a cochlear implant in a profoundly deaf patient. The finding of increased LCMRglc in the area of the normal auditory cortex in patients profoundly deaf since birth contradicts the hypothesis of degeneration of this cortical center in such patients. (Author)

THE DEAFNESS, THE DEAF AND HIS DISCURSE

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Neuma Chaveiro

2006-12-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: The knowledge of LIBRAS – Brazilian Sign Language – is determining to the process of structuring the discursive formations and to the constitution of the deaf one. The present work aims to discuss the LIBRAS as an important tool of structuring the discursive of the deaf individual an as a facilitating factor in the description of his health problems. The data constitute two texts, one of them wrote by a deaf skilled in LIBRAS and the other wrote by a deaf who does not express himself in this kind of language. It was verified that the first text’s author is consistent, has mobility and moves easily through the discursive formations, but otherwise is the text belonging to the other patient. It can be stated that the Brazilian sign language – LIBRAS – is a decisive tool in the working out of the deaf discursive formations and the comprehension of his discourse by the health area professionals provide a larger understanding of the constitution of the deaf identity, a fundamental aspect for an improvement in the services offered in the health area. KEYWORDS: Deafness; Communication; Sign Language.

Speech feature discrimination in deaf children following cochlear implantation

Science.gov (United States)

Bergeson, Tonya R.; Pisoni, David B.; Kirk, Karen Iler

2002-05-01

Speech feature discrimination is a fundamental perceptual skill that is often assumed to underlie word recognition and sentence comprehension performance. To investigate the development of speech feature discrimination in deaf children with cochlear implants, we conducted a retrospective analysis of results from the Minimal Pairs Test (Robbins et al., 1988) selected from patients enrolled in a longitudinal study of speech perception and language development. The MP test uses a 2AFC procedure in which children hear a word and select one of two pictures (bat-pat). All 43 children were prelingually deafened, received a cochlear implant before 6 years of age or between ages 6 and 9, and used either oral or total communication. Children were tested once every 6 months to 1 year for 7 years; not all children were tested at each interval. By 2 years postimplant, the majority of these children achieved near-ceiling levels of discrimination performance for vowel height, vowel place, and consonant manner. Most of the children also achieved plateaus but did not reach ceiling performance for consonant place and voicing. The relationship between speech feature discrimination, spoken word recognition, and sentence comprehension will be discussed. [Work supported by NIH/NIDCD Research Grant No. R01DC00064 and NIH/NIDCD Training Grant No. T32DC00012.

Pendred syndrome (goitre and sensorineural hearing loss) maps to chromosome 7 in the region containing the nonsyndromic deafness gene DFNB4.

Science.gov (United States)

Coyle, B; Coffey, R; Armour, J A; Gausden, E; Hochberg, Z; Grossman, A; Britton, K; Pembrey, M; Reardon, W; Trembath, R

1996-04-01

Inherited causes account for about 50% of individuals presenting with childhood (prelingual) hearing loss, of which 70% are due to mutation in numerous single genes which impair auditory function alone (non-syndromic). The remainder are associated with other developmental anomalies termed syndromic deafness. Genes responsible for syndromic forms of hearing loss include the COL4A5 gene in Alport syndrome and the PAX3 and MITF genes in Waardenburg syndrome. Pendred syndrome is an autosomal recessive disorder associated with developmental abnormalities of the cochlea, sensorineural hearing loss and diffuse thyroid enlargement (goitre). Pendred syndrome is the most common syndromal form of deafness, yet the primary defect remains unknown. We have established a panel of 12 families with two or more affected individuals and used them to search for the location of the Pendred gene by linkage analysis. We excluded localization to four previously mapped nonsyndromic deafness loci but obtained conclusive evidence for linkage of the Pendred syndrome gene to microsatellite markers on chromosome 7q31 (D7S495 Zmax 7.32, Qmax = 0). This region contains a gene, DFNBL, for autosomal recessive non-syndromic sensorineural hearing loss. Multipoint analysis indicates that DFNB4 and Pendred syndrome co-localize to the same 5.5 centiMorgan (cM) interval flanked by D7S501 and D7S523. These data raise the possibility that Pendred syndrome is either allelic with DFNB4 or may represent an inherited contiguous gene disorder, not clinically manifest in the heterozygote.

Deaf Autism: Common Instructional Practices Described by Deaf Educators

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Rutledge, Felicia

2017-01-01

The purpose of this research study was to identify common instructional practices described by teachers of the deaf with students who are deaf with autism that increase both student engagement and instructional outcomes. As the diversity of students increase within deaf/hard of hearing programs, research is emerging in the area of deaf autism.…

Confronting the language barrier: Theory of mind in deaf children.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Anna C; Gutierrez, Roberto; Ludlow, Amanda K

2015-01-01

The current study addressed deaf children's Theory of Mind (ToM) development as measured by a battery of first- and second-order belief tasks. Both a chronological age-matched control group and a younger group of pre-school aged hearing children were compared to a group of deaf children born to hearing parents. A hearing native signer enacted each of the tasks, which were pre-recorded in video clips in English (SSE), British Sign Language (BSL) and spoken English, in order to consider all communication preferences of the deaf children. Results revealed no differences in performance between the deaf and the young hearing children. However, despite the inclusion of ToM tasks based on their preferred mode of communication, the deaf children performed significantly worse at the unexpected-content and second-order belief task compared with their age-matched controls. These findings imply a delay rather than a deficit in ToM in deaf children that could be attributed to limited opportunities to converse and overhear conversations about mental states. None. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sensitivity to Conversational Maxims in Deaf and Hearing Children

Science.gov (United States)

Surian, Luca; Tedoldi, Mariantonia; Siegel, Michael

2010-01-01

We investigated whether access to a sign language affects the development of pragmatic competence in three groups of deaf children aged 6 to 11 years: native signers from deaf families receiving bimodal/bilingual instruction, native signers from deaf families receiving oralist instruction and late signers from hearing families receiving oralist…

BIBLIOGRAPHY ON DEAFNESS, A SELECTED INDEX.

Science.gov (United States)

FELLENDORF, GEORGE W.; AND OTHERS

APPROXIMATELY 3,200 REFERENCES ARE LISTED BY AUTHOR AND GROUPED ACCORDING TO SUBJECT. ALL REFERENCES ARE ARTICLES FROM "THE VOLTA REVIEW," 1899 TO 1965, OR "THE AMERICAN ANNALS OF THE DEAF," 1847 TO 1965. AN AUTHOR INDEX IS INCLUDED. THIS DOCUMENT WAS PUBLISHED BY THE ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL ASSOCIATION FOR THE DEAF, INC., THE…

Fostering Positive Deaf Identity Development in a K-2 Deaf Classroom /

OpenAIRE

Hipskind, Courtney

2014-01-01

All Deaf children deserve to have opportunities to openly explore, examine, and affirm their own Deaf identities at school, yet there is a shortage of curricula and resources dedicated to this basic need. The aim of this thesis is to provide Deaf children with such opportunities. The curriculum within- Fostering Deaf Identity Development in a K-2 Deaf Classroom- consists of two units that address positive Deaf identity formation. The first unit focuses on the characterization and affirmation ...

Language Practices in the Ci-Classroom

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mourtou, Eleni

2014-01-01

Prelingually deafened children are nowadays likely to receive a cochlear implant (ci). As these children do their language acquisition with a cochlear implant they require a constant rehabilitation and support. Educational staff is instructed on how to work with children with ci in form...... of guidelines and workshops. This paper discusses language practices used in the setting of a school for cochlear-implanted children. These children encounter language and pronunciation problems that accompany prelingual deafness and hearing with a cochlear implant. I examine two practices, which are used...

Deaf Sociality and the Deaf Lutheran Church in Adamorobe, Ghana

Science.gov (United States)

Kusters, Annelies

2014-01-01

This article provides an ethnographic analysis of "deaf sociality" in Adamorobe, a village in Ghana, where the relatively high prevalence of hereditary deafness has led to dense social and spatial connections. Deaf people are part of their hearing environment particularly through family networks, and produce deaf sociality through many…

Acoustics outreach program for the deaf

Science.gov (United States)

Vongsawad, Cameron T.; Berardi, Mark L.; Whiting, Jennifer K.; Lawler, M. Jeannette; Gee, Kent L.; Neilsen, Tracianne B.

2016-03-01

The Hear and See methodology has often been used as a means of enhancing pedagogy by focusing on the two strongest learning senses, but this naturally does not apply to deaf or hard of hearing students. Because deaf students' prior nonaural experiences with sound will vary significantly from those of students with typical hearing, different methods must be used to build understanding. However, the sensory-focused pedagogical principle can be applied in a different way for the Deaf by utilizing the senses of touch and sight, called here the ``See and Feel'' method. This presentation will provide several examples of how acoustics demonstrations have been adapted to create an outreach program for a group of junior high students from a school for the Deaf and discuss challenges encountered.

Joining the diaspora of deaf memoirists: a personal account of writing deafness.

Science.gov (United States)

McDONALD, Donna

2014-01-01

In this essay, the author describes how, and why, she tackled a lifetime of questions about her deafness and experiences of being deaf by writing a memoir called The Art of Being Deaf. While researching her memoir, the author discovered that the questions about her deafness that she most needed to answer were her own. Having first read many memoirs by other deaf writers and novels with deaf characters, the author set about composing her own narrative of deafness in a fresh way. She not only came to an improved understanding of her deaf self, but grew into a more authentic understanding of her whole self, reconciling her memories of the deaf girl she once was with the adult deaf woman she is now. The author illustrates how the act of writing a memoir can be an important tool in resolving questions of identity.

Psychodramatic Treatment for Deaf People.

Science.gov (United States)

Swink, David F.

1985-01-01

The article describes how psychodrama is used in group psychotherapy and in social skills groups with deaf persons. In addition, videotape replay is described as an adjunct to psychodramatic treatment. (Author/CL)

Utility of the ImPACT test with deaf adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Reesman, Jennifer; Pineda, Jill; Carver, Jenny; Brice, Patrick J; Zabel, T Andrew; Schatz, Philip

2016-02-01

The goals of the study included empirical examination of the utility of the Immediate and Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) test with adolescents who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and to investigate patterns of performance at baseline that may arise in the assessment of this population. Baseline assessment of student-athletes has been conducted on a widespread scale with focus on performance of typically developing student-athletes and some clinical groups, though to date no studies have examined adolescents who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Retrospective and de-identified ImPACT baseline test used with deaf and hard-of-hearing high-school student-athletes (N = 143; 66% male, mean age = 16.11) was examined. Review indicated significant differences in some composite scores between the deaf and hard-of-hearing group and hearing normative comparisons. A possible marker of task misunderstanding was identified to occur more frequently within the deaf and hard-of-hearing sample (13% in deaf sample vs. .31% in hearing sample). Results may provide support for the consideration and use of additional measures to ensure comprehension of task demands when considering this tool for use with deaf and hard-of-hearing adolescents.

Classroom performance of children with cochlear implants in mainstream education.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Damen, G.W.J.A.; Oever-Goltstein, M.H. van den; Langereis, M.C.; Chute, P.M.; Mylanus, E.A.M.

2006-01-01

OBJECTIVES: We compared classroom performance of children with a cochlear implant (CI) with that of their normal-hearing peers in mainstream education. METHODS: Thirty-two CI children in mainstream education, congenitally or prelingually deaf, participated in this study, as did 37 hearing

Molecular screening of deafness in Algeria: high genetic heterogeneity involving DFNB1 and the Usher loci, DFNB2/USH1B, DFNB12/USH1D and DFNB23/USH1F.

Science.gov (United States)

Ammar-Khodja, Fatima; Faugère, Valérie; Baux, David; Giannesini, Claire; Léonard, Susana; Makrelouf, Mohamed; Malek, Rahia; Djennaoui, Djamel; Zenati, Akila; Claustres, Mireille; Roux, Anne-Françoise

2009-01-01

A systematic approach, involving haplotyping and genotyping, to the molecular diagnosis of non-syndromic deafness within 50 families and 9 sporadic cases from Algeria is described. Mutations at the DFNB1 locus (encompassing the GJB2 and GJB6 genes) are responsible for more than half of autosomal recessive prelingual non-syndromic deafness in various populations. A c.35delG mutation can account for up to 85% of GJB2 mutations and two large deletions del(GJB6-D13S1830) and del(GJB6-D13S1854) have also been reported in several population groups. In view of the genetic heterogeneity a strategy was developed which involved direct analysis of DFNB1. In negative familial cases, haplotype analysis was carried out, where possible, to exclude DFNB1 mutations. Following this, haplotype analysis of five Usher syndrome loci, sometimes involved in autosomal non-syndromic hearing loss, was carried out to identify cases in which Usher gene sequencing was indicated. When homozygosity was observed at a locus in a consanguineous family, the corresponding gene was exhaustively sequenced. Pathogenic DFNB1 genotypes were identified in 40% of the cases. Of the 21 cases identified with 2 pathogenic mutations, c.35delG represented 76% of the mutated alleles. The additional mutations were one nonsense, two missense and one splicing mutation. Four additional patients were identified with a single DFNB1 mutation. None carried the large deletions. Three families with non-syndromic deafness carried novel unclassified variants (UVs) in MYO7A (1 family) and CDH23 (2 families) of unknown pathogenic effect. Additionally, molecular diagnosis was carried out on two Usher type I families and pathogenic mutations in MYO7A and PCDH15 were found.

The Importance of Early Sign Language Acquisition for Deaf Readers

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, M. Diane; Hauser, Peter C.; Miller, Paul; Kargin, Tevhide; Rathmann, Christian; Guldenoglu, Birkan; Kubus, Okan; Spurgeon, Erin; Israel, Erica

2016-01-01

Researchers have used various theories to explain deaf individuals' reading skills, including the dual route reading theory, the orthographic depth theory, and the early language access theory. This study tested 4 groups of children--hearing with dyslexia, hearing without dyslexia, deaf early signers, and deaf late signers (N = 857)--from 4…

The Development of Analogical Reasoning in Deaf Children and Their Parents' Communication Mode

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Bandurski, Marcin; Galkowski, Tadeusz

2004-01-01

The purpose of this article is to analyze the results of a study of the development of analogical reasoning in deaf children coming from two different linguistic environments (deaf children of deaf parents--sign language, deaf children of hearing parents--spoken language) and in hearing children, as well as to compare two groups of deaf children…

Deaf identities in a multicultural setting: The Ugandan context

Science.gov (United States)

Atekyereza, Peter R.; Kirumira, Edward K.; Hojer, Staffan

2015-01-01

Often located far apart from each other, deaf and hearing impaired persons face a multiplicity of challenges that evolve around isolation, neglect and the deprivation of essential social services that affect their welfare and survival. Although it is evident that the number of persons born with or acquire hearing impairments in later stages of their lives is increasing in many developing countries, there is limited research on this population. The main objective of this article is to explore the identities and experiences of living as a person who is deaf in Uganda. Using data from semi-structured interviews with 42 deaf persons (aged 19–41) and three focus group discussions, the study findings show that beneath the more pragmatic identities documented in the United States and European discourses there is a matrix of ambiguous, often competing and manifold forms in Uganda that are not necessarily based on the deaf and deaf constructions. The results further show that the country's cultural, religious and ethnic diversity is more of a restraint than an enabler to the aspirations of the deaf community. The study concludes that researchers and policy makers need to be cognisant of the unique issues underlying deaf epistemologies whilst implementing policy and programme initiatives that directly affect them. The upper case ‘D’ in the term deaf is a convention that has been used since the early 1970s to connote a ‘socially constructed visual culture’ or a linguistic, social and cultural minority group who use sign language as primary means of communication and identify with the deaf community, whereas the lower case ‘d’ in deaf refers to ‘the audio logical condition of hearing impairment’. However, in this article the lower case has been used consistently. PMID:28730015

Deaf identities in a multicultural setting: The Ugandan context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anthony B. Mugeere

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Often located far apart from each other, deaf and hearing impaired persons face a multiplicity of challenges that evolve around isolation, neglect and the deprivation of essential social services that affect their welfare and survival. Although it is evident that the number of persons born with or acquire hearing impairments in later stages of their lives is increasing in many developing countries, there is limited research on this population. The main objective of this article is to explore the identities and experiences of living as a person who is deaf in Uganda. Using data from semi-structured interviews with 42 deaf persons (aged 19–41 and three focus group discussions, the study findings show that beneath the more pragmatic identities documented in the United States and European discourses there is a matrix of ambiguous, often competing and manifold forms in Uganda that are not necessarily based on the deaf and deaf constructions. The results further show that the country’s cultural, religious and ethnic diversity is more of a restraint than an enabler to the aspirations of the deaf community. The study concludes that researchers and policy makers need to be cognisant of the unique issues underlying deaf epistemologies whilst implementing policy and programme initiatives that directly affect them. The upper case ‘D’ in the term deaf is a convention that has been used since the early 1970s to connote a ‘socially constructed visual culture’ or a linguistic, social and cultural minority group who use sign language as primary means of communication and identify with the deaf community, whereas the lower case ‘d’ in deaf refers to ‘the audio logical condition of hearing impairment’. However, in this article the lower case has been used consistently.

Calendar systems and communication of deaf-blind children

OpenAIRE

Jablan Branka; Stanimirov Ksenija

2012-01-01

The aim of this paper is to explain the calendar systems and their role in teaching deaf-blind children. Deaf-blind persons belong to a group of multiple disabled persons. This disability should not be observed as a simple composite of visual and hearing impairments, but as a combination of sensory impairments that require special assistance in the development, communication and training for independent living. In our environment, deaf-blind children are being educated in schools for children...

Black Deaf Individuals' Reading Skills: Influence of ASL, Culture, Family Characteristics, Reading Experience, and Education

Science.gov (United States)

Myers, Candace; Clark, M. Diane; Musyoka, Millicent M.; Anderson, Melissa L.; Gilbert, Gizelle L.; Agyen, Selina; Hauser, Peter C.

2010-01-01

Previous research on the reading abilities of Deaf individuals from various cultural groups suggests that Black Deaf and Hispanic Deaf individuals lag behind their White Deaf peers. The present study compared the reading skills of Black Deaf and White Deaf individuals, investigating the influence of American Sign Language (ASL), culture, family…

An Examination of Health Information Management by the Deaf

Science.gov (United States)

Karras, Elizabeth

2010-01-01

Little is known about how Deaf people perceive, access, and utilize interpersonal and media sources for health information. In light of the scarcity of research on health information management among this group, a two-phase study was conducted that included eight focus groups (N=39) and survey data (N=366) with Deaf participants to determine the…

Monitoring the Achievement of Deaf Pupils in Sweden and Scotland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hendar, Nils Ola Ebbe; O'Neill, Rachel

2016-01-01

Over the past two decades there have been major developments in deaf education in many countries. Medical and technical advances have made it possible for more deaf children to hear and speak successfully. Most deaf pupils learn in ordinary classes in mainstream schools. In this article we explore...... patterns of achievements of deaf pupils to see if these reforms had improved attainment outcomes. International surveys such as PISA do not include deaf pupils. This article describes two independent large-scale surveys about deaf pupils in Sweden and Scotland. The similar results from both countries show...... that deaf children, after two decades of social reform and technical advances, still lag behind their hearing peers. The results also show how large-scale surveys can contribute to a greater understanding of educational outcomes in a small, vulnerable group and make it possible to continue to reform...

Everyday activities and social contacts among older deaf sign language users

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Werngren-Elgström, Monica; Brandt, Ase; Iwarsson, Susanne

2006-01-01

The purpose of this study was to describe the everyday activities and social contacts among older deaf sign language users, and to investigate relationships between these phenomena and the health and well-being within this group. The study population comprised deaf sign language users, 65 years...... or older, in Sweden. Data collection was based on interviews in sign language, including open-ended questions covering everyday activities and social contacts as well as self-rated instruments measuring aspects of health and subjective well-being. The results demonstrated that the group of participants...... aspects of health and subjective well-being and the frequency of social contacts with family/relatives or visiting the deaf club and meeting friends. It is concluded that the variety of activities at the deaf clubs are important for the subjective well-being of older deaf sign language users. Further...

The long-term concerns post cochlear implantation as experienced ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background. Cochlear implantation aims to provide an effective means of spoken communication for prelingually deaf children. However, studies in this field are mostly clinically orientated, with little focus on the experiences and long-term concerns of families post cochlear implantation (CI). Objective. To describe the ...

Dementia and the Deaf community: knowledge and service access.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferguson-Coleman, Emma; Keady, John; Young, Alys

2014-01-01

This study concerns culturally Deaf people in the United Kingdom who use British Sign Language (BSL). Its objective was to explore how Deaf people's knowledge about dementia and access to services is mediated by their minoritised cultural-linguistic status. Twenty-six members of the Deaf community participated in one of three Deaf-led focus groups in BSL corresponding with the sample of: Deaf people over the age of 60 without dementia; Deaf people aged 18-60 working professional roles unconnected with dementia services; ordinary members of the Deaf community aged 18-60. Data were subjected to a thematic content analysis. Participants' concerns about their poor levels of knowledge and understanding of dementia were augmented by their awareness that without sustained social contact in BSL opportunities for earlier recognition of dementia would be lost. Although primary care services were identified as the first port of call for dementia-related concerns, there was widespread mistrust of their effectiveness because of failures in communication and cultural competence. Confirmed diagnosis of dementia was not viewed as a gateway to services and support because Deaf organisations, dementia-related organisations and mainstream adult services were perceived to be ill-equipped to respond to the needs of Deaf people with dementia. Locating problems of late diagnosis within the Deaf community's poor awareness and knowledge of dementia fails to recognise the structural barriers Deaf people face in timely access to services and accurate recognition of dementia-related changes.

Risk perception and perceived self-efficacy of deaf and hard-of-hearing seniors and young adults in emergencies.

Science.gov (United States)

Engelman, Alina; Ivey, Susan L; Tseng, Winston; Neuhauser, Linda

The authors explored the factors influencing risk perception and perceived self-efficacy before and during an emergency for deaf and hard-of-hearing (Deaf/HH) seniors and young adults. The authors collected demographic survey data and conducted four focus groups with 38 Deaf/HH residents of the San Francisco Bay Area; two groups were with young adults (ages 18-35), including one group of college students and one group of young professionals, and two were with older adults (ages 50-90). Significant differences were found between Deaf/HH young adults and seniors in both the sources of self-efficacy and risk perception and their attitudes toward preparedness. All groups demonstrated high resilience. Deaf/HH young professionals expressed more concern about their risk in an emergency than Deaf/HH college students. Alternately, the risk perception of Deaf/HH older adults was often rooted in their past experiences (survival of past emergencies, inaccessibility of communications during drills). Policy implications include the need to dedicate more resources to increasing accessibility and relevance of emergency communications technology for Deaf/HH populations. This could help increase adaptability before, during, and after emergencies among all groups of Deaf/HH people, particularly among young Deaf/HH professionals.

Examining a Sample of Black Deaf Individuals on the Deaf Acculturation Scale

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Nelson Schmitt, Shawn S.; Leigh, Irene W.

2015-01-01

The current study sought to identify and analyze how Black deaf and hard-of-hearing people conceptualize their deaf and hard-of-hearing identities. That is, what cultural and linguistic factors are involved and how do they interact? An existing measure of Deaf cultural identity, the Deaf Acculturation Scale (DAS), was used to evaluate these…

Suicide in deaf populations: a literature review

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Kapur Navneet

2007-10-01

%. Little evidence was found to suggest that risk factors for suicide in deaf people differed systematically from those in the general population. However, studies did report higher levels of depression and higher levels of perceived risk among deaf individuals than hearing control groups. No firm evidence was found regarding the effectiveness of suicide prevention strategies in deaf people, but suggested strategies include developing specific screening tools, training clinical staff, promoting deaf awareness, increasing the availability of specialist mental health services for deaf people. Conclusion There is a significant gap in our understanding of suicide in deaf populations. Clinicians should be aware of the possible association between suicide and deafness. Specialist mental health services should be readily accessible to deaf individuals and specific preventative strategies may be of benefit. However, further research using a variety of study designs is needed to increase our understanding of this issue.

Suicide in deaf populations: a literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, Oliver; Windfuhr, Kirsten; Kapur, Navneet

2007-10-08

suicide in deaf people differed systematically from those in the general population. However, studies did report higher levels of depression and higher levels of perceived risk among deaf individuals than hearing control groups. No firm evidence was found regarding the effectiveness of suicide prevention strategies in deaf people, but suggested strategies include developing specific screening tools, training clinical staff, promoting deaf awareness, increasing the availability of specialist mental health services for deaf people. There is a significant gap in our understanding of suicide in deaf populations. Clinicians should be aware of the possible association between suicide and deafness. Specialist mental health services should be readily accessible to deaf individuals and specific preventative strategies may be of benefit. However, further research using a variety of study designs is needed to increase our understanding of this issue.

Selected Factors in Reading Comprehension for Deaf and Hearing Adults: Phonological Skills and Metacognition

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ye; Silvestri, Julia A.; Jahromi, Laudan B.

2018-01-01

The purpose of the study was to identify factors related to reading comprehension, and to compare similarities and differences in the reading processes of deaf and hearing adults. The sample included four groups, each consisting of 15 adults. The groups were identified as (a) deaf high-achieving readers, (b) deaf low-achieving readers, (c) hearing…

Joining the Diaspora of Deaf Memoirists: A Personal Account of Writing Deafness

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, Donna

2014-01-01

In this essay, the author describes how, and why, she tackled a lifetime of questions about her deafness and experiences of being deaf by writing a memoir called The Art of Being Deaf. While researching her memoir, the author discovered that the questions about her deafness that she most needed to answer were her own. Having first read many…

Cultural Identity of Young Deaf Adults with Cochlear Implants in Comparison to Deaf without Cochlear Implants and Hard-of-Hearing Young Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldblat, Ester; Most, Tova

2018-07-01

This study examined the relationships between cultural identity, severity of hearing loss (HL), and the use of a cochlear implant (CI). One hundred and forty-one adolescents and young adults divided into three groups (deaf with CI, deaf without CI, and hard-of-hearing (HH)) and 134 parents participated. Adolescents and young adults completed questionnaires on cultural identity (hearing, Deaf, marginal, bicultural-hearing, and bicultural-deaf) and communication proficiencies (hearing, spoken language, and sign language). Parents completed a speech quality questionnaire. Deaf participants without CI and those with CI differed in all identities except marginal identity. CI users and HH participants had similar identities except for a stronger bicultural-deaf identity among CI users. Three clusters of participants evolved: participants with a dominant bicultural-deaf identity, participants with a dominant bicultural-hearing identity and participants without a formed cultural identity. Adolescents and young adults who were proficient in one of the modes of communication developed well-established bicultural identities. Adolescents and young adults who were not proficient in one of the modes of communication did not develop a distinguished cultural identity. These results suggest that communication proficiencies are crucial for developing defined identities.

Calendar systems and communication of deaf-blind children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jablan Branka

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to explain the calendar systems and their role in teaching deaf-blind children. Deaf-blind persons belong to a group of multiple disabled persons. This disability should not be observed as a simple composite of visual and hearing impairments, but as a combination of sensory impairments that require special assistance in the development, communication and training for independent living. In our environment, deaf-blind children are being educated in schools for children with visual impairments or in schools for children with hearing impairments (in accordance with the primary impairment. However, deaf-blind children cannot be trained by means of special programs for children with hearing impairment, visual impairment or other programs for students with developmental disabilities without specific attention required by such a combination of sensory impairments. Deaf-blindness must be observed as a multiple impairment that requires special work methods, especially in the field of communication, whose development is severely compromised. Communication skills in deaf-blind people can be developed by using the calendar systems. They are designed in such a manner that they can be easily attainable to children with various sensory impairments. Calendars can be used to encourage and develop communication between adult persons and a deaf-blind child.

Family therapy in treatment of the deaf: a case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Shapiro, R J; Harris, R I

1976-03-01

Deaf patients with psychological problems have developmental handicaps and clinical characteristics that reduce the effectiveness of traditional modes of psychotherapy. Attempts have been made to utilize individual and group therapy, but family therapy has been largely overlooked as a method of alleviating problems of the deaf. Clinical and research writings provide us with rich insights into the family dynamics of the deaf. These data suggest to the authors that the problems of deaf individuals are largely related to family problems, and therefore merit a family orientation as the focus for treatment. This paper describes an attempt to apply family therapy with a range of deaf patients over a period of two years. From a review of their work, the authors conclude that family therapy can be effective, particularly in the treatment of deaf adolescents and children.

More on the Effects of Early Manual Communication on the Cognitive Development of Deaf Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Zwiebel, Abraham

1987-01-01

A study compared intelligence scores of three groups of Israeli deaf children--23 with deaf parents/deaf siblings and manual communication (DpDs), 76 with hearing parents/deaf siblings, and 144 with hearing parents and siblings. The DpDs children were superior to other deaf children and comparable to hearing children on most intelligence measures.…

Lexical tone recognition in noise in normal-hearing children and prelingually deafened children with cochlear implants.

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, Yitao; Xu, Li

2017-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to investigate Mandarin tone recognition in background noise in children with cochlear implants (CIs), and to examine the potential factors contributing to their performance. Tone recognition was tested using a two-alternative forced-choice paradigm in various signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) conditions (i.e. quiet, +12, +6, 0, and -6 dB). Linear correlation analysis was performed to examine possible relationships between the tone-recognition performance of the CI children and the demographic factors. Sixty-six prelingually deafened children with CIs and 52 normal-hearing (NH) children as controls participated in the study. Children with CIs showed an overall poorer tone-recognition performance and were more susceptible to noise than their NH peers. Tone confusions between Mandarin tone 2 and tone 3 were most prominent in both CI and NH children except for in the poorest SNR conditions. Age at implantation was significantly correlated with tone-recognition performance of the CI children in noise. There is a marked deficit in tone recognition in prelingually deafened children with CIs, particularly in noise listening conditions. While factors that contribute to the large individual differences are still elusive, early implantation could be beneficial to tone development in pediatric CI users.

Deaf/Hearing Research Partnerships

Science.gov (United States)

Wolsey, Ju-Lee A.; Misener Dunn, Kim; Gentzke, Scott W.; Joharchi, Hannah A.; Clark, M. Diane

2017-01-01

Deaf individuals typically are seen through the lens of the dominant hearing society's perception, i.e., that being deaf is an impairment. Today, a small but growing number of Deaf and hearing researchers are challenging this perception. The authors examined perceptions of what components are necessary for a successful Deaf/hearing research…

Deaf Culture. PEPNet Tipsheet

Science.gov (United States)

Siple, Linda; Greer, Leslie; Holcomb, Barbra Ray

2004-01-01

It often comes as a surprise to people that many deaf people refer to themselves as being members of Deaf culture. The American Deaf culture is a unique linguistic minority that uses American Sign Language (ASL) as its primary mode of communication. This tipsheet provides a description of Deaf culture and suggestions for effective communication.

Effectiveness of psychodrama with pantomime on the social adjustment of deaf female students

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Salar Faramarzi

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: Deaf children face several compatibility issues because of their hearing impairment. The present study aims to investigate the effectiveness of psychodrama using pantomime on the social adjustment of 12-15-year-old deaf female students in Isfahan.Methods: For this study, an experimental design was used with a pre-test and post-test and a control group. Thirty deaf subjects (12-15-year-olds in Isfahan were selected randomly and allocated to experimental and control groups. To gather information, Rao’s Social Maturity Scale was used. The data were analyzed by the multivariate analysis of covariance s tatistical method (SPSS version 21.Results: Our findings revealed that there was a significant difference between the performances of deaf students of both the groups in the post-test on social adjustment (p=0.0001.Conclusion: The use of psychodrama increased the rate of social adjustment in deaf students.

Making public mental-health services accessible to deaf consumers: Illinois Deaf Services 2000.

Science.gov (United States)

Munro-Ludders, Bruce; Simpatico, Thomas; Zvetina, Daria

2004-01-01

Illinois Deaf Services 2000 (IDS2000), a public/private partnership, promotes the creation and implementation of strategies to develop and increase access to mental health services for deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened, and deaf-blind consumers. IDS2000 has resulted in the establishment of service accessibility standards, a technical support and adherence monitoring system, and the beginnings of a statewide telepsychiatry service. These system modifications have resulted in increase by 60% from baseline survey data in the number of deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened, and deaf-blind consumers identified in community mental-health agencies in Illinois. Depending on the situation of deaf services staff and infrastructure, much of IDS2000 could be replicated in other states in a mostly budget-neutral manner.

Empathy and Theory of Mind in Deaf and Hearing Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Candida C

2016-04-01

Empathy (or sharing another's emotion) and theory of mind (ToM: the understanding that behavior is guided by true and false beliefs) are cornerstones of human social life and relationships. In contrast to ToM, there has been little study of empathy's development, especially in deaf children. Two studies of a total of 117 children (52 hearing; 65 deaf children of hearing parents) aged 4-13 years were therefore designed to (a) compare levels of empathy in deaf and hearing children, and (b) explore correlations of ToM with empathy in deaf and hearing groups. Results showed that (a) deaf children scored lower in empathy than their hearing peers and (b) empathy and ToM were significantly correlated for deaf children but not for the hearing. Possible reasons for these divergent developmental patterns were considered, along with implications for future research. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Reading comprehension of deaf students in regular education.

Science.gov (United States)

Luccas, Marcia Regina Zemella; Chiari, Brasília Maria; Goulart, Bárbara Niegia Garcia de

2012-01-01

To evaluate and compare the reading comprehension of deaf students included in regular classrooms of public schools with and without specialized educational support. Observational analytic study with 35 students with sensorineural hearing loss, with and without educational support. All subjects were assessed with the Word Reading Competence Test (WRCT), the Picture-Print Matching Test by Choice (PPMT-C), and the Sentence Reading Comprehension Test (SRCT). In the tests regarding comprehension of words (WRCT and PPMT-C), the results showed no difference in the performance of deaf students who attend and do not attend educational support. Regarding reading comprehension of sentences, the application of the SRCT also did not show differences between the groups of deaf students. A significant correlation was found between age and grade, indicating that the older the students and the higher their educational level, the better their performance in reading sentences. The results indicate that deaf students, regardless of attending educational support, read words better than sentences. There is no difference in reading comprehension between deaf students who receive and do not receive specialized pedagogical monitoring.

Deaf children’s non-verbal working memory is impacted by their language experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chloe eMarshall

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Recent studies suggest that deaf children perform more poorly on working memory tasks compared to hearing children, but do not say whether this poorer performance arises directly from deafness itself or from deaf children’s reduced language exposure. The issue remains unresolved because findings come from (1 tasks that are verbal as opposed to non-verbal, and (2 involve deaf children who use spoken communication and therefore may have experienced impoverished input and delayed language acquisition. This is in contrast to deaf children who have been exposed to a sign language since birth from Deaf parents (and who therefore have native language-learning opportunities. A more direct test of how the type and quality of language exposure impacts working memory is to use measures of non-verbal working memory (NVWM and to compare hearing children with two groups of deaf signing children: those who have had native exposure to a sign language, and those who have experienced delayed acquisition compared to their native-signing peers. In this study we investigated the relationship between NVWM and language in three groups aged 6-11 years: hearing children (n=27, deaf native users of British Sign Language (BSL; n=7, and deaf children non native signers (n=19. We administered a battery of non-verbal reasoning, NVWM, and language tasks. We examined whether the groups differed on NVWM scores, and if language tasks predicted scores on NVWM tasks. For the two NVWM tasks, the non-native signers performed less accurately than the native signer and hearing groups (who did not differ from one another. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the vocabulary measure predicted scores on NVWM tasks. Our results suggest that whatever the language modality – spoken or signed – rich language experience from birth, and the good language skills that result from this early age of aacquisition, play a critical role in the development of NVWM and in performance on NVWM

X-linked Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Arts syndrome, and prelingual non-syndromic deafness form a disease continuum: evidence from a family with a novel PRPS1 mutation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Synofzik, Matthis; Müller Vom Hagen, Jennifer; Haack, Tobias B.; Wilhelm, Christian; Lindig, Tobias; Beck-Wödl, Stefanie; Nabuurs, Sander B.; van Kuilenburg, André B. P.; de Brouwer, Arjan P. M.; Schöls, Ludger

2014-01-01

X-linked Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 5 (CMTX5), Arts syndrome, and non-syndromic sensorineural deafness (DFN2) are allelic syndromes, caused by reduced activity of phosphoribosylpyrophosphate synthetase 1 (PRS-I) due to loss-of-function mutations in PRPS1. As only few families have been

Deaf New Zealand Sign Language users' access to healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Witko, Joanne; Boyles, Pauline; Smiler, Kirsten; McKee, Rachel

2017-12-01

The research described was undertaken as part of a Sub-Regional Disability Strategy 2017-2022 across the Wairarapa, Hutt Valley and Capital and Coast District Health Boards (DHBs). The aim was to investigate deaf New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) users' quality of access to health services. Findings have formed the basis for developing a 'NZSL plan' for DHBs in the Wellington sub-region. Qualitative data was collected from 56 deaf participants and family members about their experiences of healthcare services via focus group, individual interviews and online survey, which were thematically analysed. Contextual perspective was gained from 57 healthcare professionals at five meetings. Two professionals were interviewed, and 65 staff responded to an online survey. A deaf steering group co-designed the framework and methods, and validated findings. Key issues reported across the health system include: inconsistent interpreter provision; lack of informed consent for treatment via communication in NZSL; limited access to general health information in NZSL and the reduced ability of deaf patients to understand and comply with treatment options. This problematic communication with NZSL users echoes international evidence and other documented local evidence for patients with limited English proficiency. Deaf NZSL users face multiple barriers to equitable healthcare, stemming from linguistic and educational factors and inaccessible service delivery. These need to be addressed through policy and training for healthcare personnel that enable effective systemic responses to NZSL users. Deaf participants emphasise that recognition of their identity as members of a language community is central to improving their healthcare experiences.

When Being Deaf Is Centered: d/Deaf Women of Color's Experiences with Racial/Ethnic and d/Deaf Identities in College

Science.gov (United States)

Stapleton, Lissa

2015-01-01

Approximately 30% of d/Deaf students are successfully completing college; the reasons for such a low graduation rate is unknown (Destler & Buckly, 2011). Most research on d/Deaf college students lack racial/ethnic diversity within the study; thus, it is unclear how d/Deaf Students of Color are faring in higher education or what experiences…

Balance Performance of Deaf Children With and Without Cochlear Implants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amir-Abbas Ebrahimi

2016-12-01

Full Text Available  The aim of this study was to compare the static and dynamic balance performance of deaf children with and without cochlear implants. This is a cross-sectional study of 145 school children, aged between 7 and 12 years comprising 85 children with congenital or early acquired bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss (the hearing loss group and 60 normal hearing aged-matched control counterparts were assessed using the balance subtest of Bruininks-Oseretsky test of Motor Proficiency (BOTMP. The hearing loss group, 50 without cochlear implants (the non-implant group and 35 of them with unilateral cochlear implants (the implant group were recruited from schools for the deaf and normal hearing children (the control group randomly selected from two randomly selected elementary schools of Tehran city. The scores were analyzed using one-way ANOVA. The total score of deaf children especially the implant group were significantly lower than the control group P<0.001. The balance performance of the control group was better than the implant group in all of the items as well as the non-implant group except the fourth tested item (walking forward on a line (P<0.05. The balance score of the implant group was significantly lower than the non-implant group except for the third tested item (standing on the preferred leg on a balance beam with eyes closed. The findings suggested that deaf children, specifically those with cochlear implants are at risk for motor and balance deficits. Thus, vestibular and motor evaluations, as well as interventions to improve balance and motor skills, should be prioritized for this population.

Memory for faces and objects by deaf and hearing signers and hearing nonsigners.

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, P; Murray, C

1998-07-01

The memory of 11 deaf and 11 hearing British Sign Language users and 11 hearing nonsigners for pictures of faces of and verbalizable objects was measured using the game Concentration. The three groups performed at the same level for the objects. In contrast the deaf signers were better for faces than the hearing signers, who in turn were superior to the hearing nonsigners, who were the worst. Three hypotheses were made: That there would be no significant difference in terms of the number of attempts between the three groups on the verbalizable object task, that the hearing and deaf signers would demonstrate superior performance to that of the hearing nonsigners on the matching faces task, and that the hearing and deaf signers would exhibit similar performance levels on the matching faces task. The first two hypotheses were supported, but the third was not. Deaf signers were found to be superior for memory for faces to hearing signers and hearing nonsigners. Possible explanations for the findings are discussed, including the possibility that deafness and the long use of sign language have additive effects.

The development of analogical reasoning in deaf children and their parents' communication mode.

Science.gov (United States)

Bandurski, Marcin; Galkowski, Tadeusz

2004-01-01

The purpose of this article is to analyze the results of a study of the development of analogical reasoning in deaf children coming from two different linguistic environments (deaf children of deaf parents--sign language, deaf children of hearing parents--spoken language) and in hearing children, as well as to compare two groups of deaf children to a group of hearing children. In order to estimate the development of children's analogical reasoning, especially the development of their understanding of different logical relations, two age groups were singled out in each population of children: younger (9- and 10-year-olds) and older (12- and 13-year-olds). In this way it is possible to assess the influence of early and consistent sign-language communication on the development of the conceptual system in deaf children and to establish whether early and consistent sign-language communication with deaf children affects their mental development to the same extent as early and consistent spoken-language communication with hearing children. The children were given three series of analogy tasks based on different logical relations: (a) a series of verbal analogy tasks (the relations of opposite, part-whole, and causality); (b) a series of numerical analogy tasks (the relations of class membership, opposite, and part-whole); and (c) a series of figural-geometric analogy tasks (the relations of opposite and part-whole). It was found that early and consistent sign-language communication with deaf children plays an almost equivalent role in the development of verbal, numerical, and spatial reasoning by analogy as early and consistent spoken-language communication with hearing children.

SUBTITLE FOR THE DEAF (SDH MEDIA AS AN NEW MODEL TO TEACH ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR THE DEAF OR HARD OF HEARING STUDENTS

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Lilik Untari

2017-04-01

Full Text Available English is a compulsory subject for the students in Indonesia including students of SMPLB. The SMPLB students are found to have difficulties in reaching the standard grade to pass the National evaluation (UN. This might happen since they have limitation in vocabulary mastery due to their hearing impairment. This study is to recognize the characteristic of DH students, implement SDH to teach English vocabulary for DH students and find out its strengths. It is a Classroom Action Research, involving 6 students of SLB-B YRTRW Surakarta. It is recognized that physically, the students have severely to profoundly pre-lingual deafness. They cannot hear conversational speech, but they may still hear loud sound. Vision is their primary modality for communication. Their individual speech is not easy to understand. Psychological characteristics are seen from their spoken language development, communication ability, academic achievement, social adaptation, and intelligence. To solve their limitation in acquiring vocabulary through hearing, SDH is offered. SDH is a media that can be used to introduce a concept of word by visualizing the concept audio-visually as well as literally. The visual context on the subtitled video made the students easy to comprehend the vocabulary. Thus, it helps the students understand the story structure of the video. It encouraged other language activity to take place in the class. Thus, after the implementation of SDH, the students demonstrated increased vocabulary mastery. In the interview, it was revealed that the students have valuable classroom activity with SDH. They showed their attractiveness toward the class.

Deaf Culture. NETAC Teacher Tipsheet

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Siple, Linda; Greer, Leslie; Holcomb, Barbara Ray

2004-01-01

It often comes as a surprise to people that many deaf people refer to themselves as being members of Deaf culture. The American Deaf culture is a unique linguistic minority that uses American Sign Language (ASL) as its primary mode of communication. This tipsheet provides a description of Deaf culture and suggestions for effective communication.

Black deaf individuals' reading skills: influence of ASL, culture, family characteristics, reading experience, and education.

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Myers, Candace; Clark, M Diane; Musyoka, Millicent M; Anderson, Melissa L; Gilbert, Gizelle L; Agyen, Selina; Hauser, Peter C

2010-01-01

Previous research on the reading abilities of Deaf individuals from various cultural groups suggests that Black Deaf and Hispanic Deaf individuals lag behind their White Deaf peers. The present study compared the reading skills of Black Deaf and White Deaf individuals, investigating the influence of American Sign Language (ASL), culture, family characteristics, reading experience, and education. (The descriptor Black is used throughout the present article, as Black Deaf individuals prefer this term to African American. For purposes of parallel construction, the term White is used instead of European American.) It was found that Black Deaf study participants scored lower on measures of both reading and ASL. These findings provide implications for possible interventions at the primary, secondary, and college levels of education.

Supporting Deaf Students--and All Students

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Yuknis, Christina; Santini, Joseph; Appanah, Thangi

2017-01-01

Two faculty members and a Ph.D. student at Gallaudet University, the world's only university for the deaf, explain the concept of Deaf-Gain, which reframes the idea of hearing loss into one of gaining deafness and recognizes the contributions that deaf people make to society. This narrative assumes that deaf students and all students bring…

Health care system accessibility. Experiences and perceptions of deaf people.

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Steinberg, Annie G; Barnett, Steven; Meador, Helen E; Wiggins, Erin A; Zazove, Philip

2006-03-01

People who are deaf use health care services differently than the general population; little research has been carried out to understand the reasons. To better understand the health care experiences of deaf people who communicate in American Sign Language. Qualitative analyses of focus group discussions in 3 U.S. cities. Ninety-one deaf adults who communicate primarily in American Sign Language. We collected information about health care communication and perceptions of clinicians' attitudes. We elicited stories of both positive and negative encounters, as well as recommendations for improving health care. Communication difficulties were ubiquitous. Fear, mistrust, and frustration were prominent in participants' descriptions of health care encounters. Positive experiences were characterized by the presence of medically experienced certified interpreters, health care practitioners with sign language skills, and practitioners who made an effort to improve communication. Many participants acknowledged limited knowledge of their legal rights and did not advocate for themselves. Some participants believed that health care practitioners should learn more about sociocultural aspects of deafness. Deaf people report difficulties using health care services. Physicians can facilitate change to improve this. Future research should explore the perspective of clinicians when working with deaf people, ways to improve communication, and the impact of programs that teach deaf people self-advocacy skills and about their legal rights.

Debating Futures in Flemish Deaf Parliament: Deaf Epistemologies, Participatory Citizenship, and Sustainable Development

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De Clerck, Goedele A.M.

2017-01-01

More than 350 deaf/sign language community members gathered at six local deaf clubs in Flanders in 2014 to share perspectives about the future and formulate proposals for policymaking. This initiative, Flemish Deaf Parliament, serves as a platform of deliberative democracy developed through cooperation between Ghent University and the Flemish…

The Impact of Maternal Deafness on Cradling Laterality with Deaf and Hearing Infants

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Sieratzki, Jechil S.; Woll, Bencie

2004-01-01

A recent article in the "Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education" (Leigh, Brice, & Meadow-Orlans, 2004) explored attachment between deaf mothers and their 18-month-old children and reported relationship patterns similar to those for hearing dyads. The study reported here explores a marker of early mother-child relationships: cradling…

Clinical Application of Screening for GJB2 Mutations before Cochlear Implantation in a Heterogeneous Population with High Rate of Autosomal Recessive Nonsyndromic Hearing Loss

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Masoud Motasaddi Zarandy

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Clinical application of mutation screening and its effect on the outcome of cochlear implantation is widely debated. We investigated the effect of mutations in GJB2 gene on the outcome of cochlear implantation in a population with a high rate of consanguineous marriage and autosomal recessive nonsyndromic hearing loss. Two hundred and one children with profound prelingual sensorineural hearing loss were included. Forty-six patients had 35delG in GJB2. Speech awareness thresholds (SATs and speech recognition thresholds (SRTs improved following implantation, but there was no difference in performance between patients with GJB2-related deafness versus control (all >0.10. Both groups had produced their first comprehensible words within the same period of time following implantation (2.27 months in GJB2-related deaf versus 2.62 months in controls, =0.22. Although our findings demonstrate the need to uncover unidentified genetic causes of hereditary deafness, they do not support the current policy for genetic screening before cochlear implantation, nor prove a prognostic value.

Effect of Exogenous Cues on Covert Spatial Orienting in Deaf and Normal Hearing Individuals.

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Prasad, Seema Gorur; Patil, Gouri Shanker; Mishra, Ramesh Kumar

2015-01-01

Deaf individuals have been known to process visual stimuli better at the periphery compared to the normal hearing population. However, very few studies have examined attention orienting in the oculomotor domain in the deaf, particularly when targets appear at variable eccentricity. In this study, we examined if the visual perceptual processing advantage reported in the deaf people also modulates spatial attentional orienting with eye movement responses. We used a spatial cueing task with cued and uncued targets that appeared at two different eccentricities and explored attentional facilitation and inhibition. We elicited both a saccadic and a manual response. The deaf showed a higher cueing effect for the ocular responses than the normal hearing participants. However, there was no group difference for the manual responses. There was also higher facilitation at the periphery for both saccadic and manual responses, irrespective of groups. These results suggest that, owing to their superior visual processing ability, the deaf may orient attention faster to targets. We discuss the results in terms of previous studies on cueing and attentional orienting in deaf.

Low empathy in deaf and hard of hearing (preadolescents compared to normal hearing controls.

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Anouk P Netten

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to examine the level of empathy in deaf and hard of hearing (preadolescents compared to normal hearing controls and to define the influence of language and various hearing loss characteristics on the development of empathy.The study group (mean age 11.9 years consisted of 122 deaf and hard of hearing children (52 children with cochlear implants and 70 children with conventional hearing aids and 162 normal hearing children. The two groups were compared using self-reports, a parent-report and observation tasks to rate the children's level of empathy, their attendance to others' emotions, emotion recognition, and supportive behavior.Deaf and hard of hearing children reported lower levels of cognitive empathy and prosocial motivation than normal hearing children, regardless of their type of hearing device. The level of emotion recognition was equal in both groups. During observations, deaf and hard of hearing children showed more attention to the emotion evoking events but less supportive behavior compared to their normal hearing peers. Deaf and hard of hearing children attending mainstream education or using oral language show higher levels of cognitive empathy and prosocial motivation than deaf and hard of hearing children who use sign (supported language or attend special education. However, they are still outperformed by normal hearing children.Deaf and hard of hearing children, especially those in special education, show lower levels of empathy than normal hearing children, which can have consequences for initiating and maintaining relationships.

Quantity processing in deaf and hard of hearing children: evidence from symbolic and nonsymbolic comparison tasks.

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Rodríguez-Santos, José Miguel; Calleja, Marina; García-Orza, Javier; Iza, Mauricio; Damas, Jesús

2014-01-01

Deaf children usually achieve lower scores on numerical tasks than normally hearing peers. Explanations for mathematical disabilities in hearing children are based on quantity representation deficits (Geary, 1994) or on deficits in accessing these representations (Rousselle & Noël, 2008). The present study aimed to verify, by means of symbolic (Arabic digits) and nonsymbolic (dot constellations and hands) magnitude comparison tasks, whether deaf children show deficits in representations or in accessing numerical representations. The study participants were 10 prelocutive deaf children and 10 normally hearing children. Numerical distance and magnitude were manipulated. Response time (RT) analysis showed similar magnitude and distance effects in both groups on the 3 tasks. However, slower RTs were observed among the deaf participants on the symbolic task alone. These results suggest that although both groups' quantity representations were similar, the deaf group experienced a delay in accessing representations from symbolic codes.

Preschool speech intelligibility and vocabulary skills predict long-term speech and language outcomes following cochlear implantation in early childhood.

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Castellanos, Irina; Kronenberger, William G; Beer, Jessica; Henning, Shirley C; Colson, Bethany G; Pisoni, David B

2014-07-01

Speech and language measures during grade school predict adolescent speech-language outcomes in children who receive cochlear implants (CIs), but no research has examined whether speech and language functioning at even younger ages is predictive of long-term outcomes in this population. The purpose of this study was to examine whether early preschool measures of speech and language performance predict speech-language functioning in long-term users of CIs. Early measures of speech intelligibility and receptive vocabulary (obtained during preschool ages of 3-6 years) in a sample of 35 prelingually deaf, early-implanted children predicted speech perception, language, and verbal working memory skills up to 18 years later. Age of onset of deafness and age at implantation added additional variance to preschool speech intelligibility in predicting some long-term outcome scores, but the relationship between preschool speech-language skills and later speech-language outcomes was not significantly attenuated by the addition of these hearing history variables. These findings suggest that speech and language development during the preschool years is predictive of long-term speech and language functioning in early-implanted, prelingually deaf children. As a result, measures of speech-language functioning at preschool ages can be used to identify and adjust interventions for very young CI users who may be at long-term risk for suboptimal speech and language outcomes.

[The role of acoustic impedance test in the diagnosis for occupational noise induced deafness].

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Chen, H; Xue, L J; Yang, A C; Liang, X Y; Chen, Z Q; Zheng, Q L

2018-01-20

Objective: To investigate the characteristics of acoustic impedance test and its diagnostic role for occupational noise induced deafness, in order to provide an objective basis for the differential diagnosis of occupational noise induced deafness. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted to investigate the cases on the diagnosis of occupational noise-induced deafness in Guangdong province hospital for occupational disease prevention and treatment from January 2016 to January 2017. A total of 198 cases (396 ears) were divided into occupation disease group and non occupation disease group based on the diagnostic criteria of occupational noise deafness in 2014 edition, acoustic conductivity test results of two groups were compared including tympanograms types, external auditory canal volume, tympanic pressure, static compliance and slope. Results: In the occupational disease group, 204 ears were found to have 187 ears (91.67%) of type A, which were significantly higher than those in the non occupational disease group 143/192 (74.48%) , the difference was statistically significant (χ(2)=21.038, P occupation disease group in other type were 16/204 (7.84%) , 3/204 (1.47%) , were lower than Ad or As type of occupation disease group (15.63%) , other type (9.38%) , the differences were statistically significant[ (χ(2)=5.834, P Occupation disease group canal volume average (1.68±0.39) ml higher than that of non occupation disease group (1.57 ± 0.47) ml, the difference was statistically significant ( t =2.756, P occupation disease group mean static compliance (1.06±0.82) ml higher than that of non occupation disease group (0.89±0.64) ml. The difference was statistically singificant ( t =2.59, P occupational noise induced deafness, More than 90% of the confirmed cases showed an A-form tympanograms, it is one of the objective examination methods which can be used in the differential diagnosis of pseudo deafness.

Health promotion via SMS improves hypertension knowledge for deaf South Africans

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Hanne Jensen Haricharan

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Signing Deaf South Africans have limited access to health information. As a result, their knowledge about health is limited. Cell phone usage in South Africa is high. This study aimed to assess whether a short message service (SMS-based health promotion campaign could improve Deaf people’s knowledge of hypertension and healthy living. Additionally, the study aimed to assess the acceptability of using SMSs for health promotion targeting Deaf people. Methods A baseline questionnaire assessed participants’ knowledge about hypertension before an SMS-based information campaign was conducted. After the campaign, an exit questionnaire was conducted, containing the same questions as the baseline questionnaire with additional questions about general acceptability and communication preferences. Results were compared between baseline and exit, using McNemar’s test, paired t-test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Focus groups aimed to get further information on the impact and acceptability of SMSs. The focus groups were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Results The campaign recruited 82 participants for the baseline survey, but due to significant loss-to-follow-up and exclusions only 41 participants were included in the analysis of the survey. The majority (60% were men. Eighty percent were employed, while 98% had not finished high school. The campaign showed a statistically significant improvement in overall knowledge about hypertension and healthy living amongst participants. Six individual questions out of 19 also showed a statistically significant improvement. Despite this, participants in focus groups found the medical terminology difficult to understand. Several ways of improving SMS campaigns for the Deaf were identified. These included using using pictures, using ‘signed’ SMSs, combining SMSs with signed drama and linking SMS-campaigns to an interactive communication service that would enable the Deaf to pose

Health promotion via SMS improves hypertension knowledge for deaf South Africans.

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Haricharan, Hanne Jensen; Heap, Marion; Hacking, Damian; Lau, Yan Kwan

2017-08-18

Signing Deaf South Africans have limited access to health information. As a result, their knowledge about health is limited. Cell phone usage in South Africa is high. This study aimed to assess whether a short message service (SMS)-based health promotion campaign could improve Deaf people's knowledge of hypertension and healthy living. Additionally, the study aimed to assess the acceptability of using SMSs for health promotion targeting Deaf people. A baseline questionnaire assessed participants' knowledge about hypertension before an SMS-based information campaign was conducted. After the campaign, an exit questionnaire was conducted, containing the same questions as the baseline questionnaire with additional questions about general acceptability and communication preferences. Results were compared between baseline and exit, using McNemar's test, paired t-test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Focus groups aimed to get further information on the impact and acceptability of SMSs. The focus groups were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. The campaign recruited 82 participants for the baseline survey, but due to significant loss-to-follow-up and exclusions only 41 participants were included in the analysis of the survey. The majority (60%) were men. Eighty percent were employed, while 98% had not finished high school. The campaign showed a statistically significant improvement in overall knowledge about hypertension and healthy living amongst participants. Six individual questions out of 19 also showed a statistically significant improvement. Despite this, participants in focus groups found the medical terminology difficult to understand. Several ways of improving SMS campaigns for the Deaf were identified. These included using using pictures, using 'signed' SMSs, combining SMSs with signed drama and linking SMS-campaigns to an interactive communication service that would enable the Deaf to pose questions for clarification. Focus groups suggested that

Measures of digit span and verbal rehearsal speed in deaf children after more than 10 years of cochlear implantation.

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Pisoni, David B; Kronenberger, William G; Roman, Adrienne S; Geers, Ann E

2011-02-01

Conventional assessments of outcomes in deaf children with cochlear implants (CIs) have focused primarily on endpoint or product measures of speech and language. Little attention has been devoted to understanding the basic underlying core neurocognitive factors involved in the development and processing of speech and language. In this study, we examined the development of factors related to the quality of phonological information in immediate verbal memory, including immediate memory capacity and verbal rehearsal speed, in a sample of deaf children after >10 yrs of CI use and assessed the correlations between these two process measures and a set of speech and language outcomes. Of an initial sample of 180 prelingually deaf children with CIs assessed at ages 8 to 9 yrs after 3 to 7 yrs of CI use, 112 returned for testing again in adolescence after 10 more years of CI experience. In addition to completing a battery of conventional speech and language outcome measures, subjects were administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III Digit Span subtest to measure immediate verbal memory capacity. Sentence durations obtained from the McGarr speech intelligibility test were used as a measure of verbal rehearsal speed. Relative to norms for normal-hearing children, Digit Span scores were well below average for children with CIs at both elementary and high school ages. Improvement was observed over the 8-yr period in the mean longest digit span forward score but not in the mean longest digit span backward score. Longest digit span forward scores at ages 8 to 9 yrs were significantly correlated with all speech and language outcomes in adolescence, but backward digit spans correlated significantly only with measures of higher-order language functioning over that time period. While verbal rehearsal speed increased for almost all subjects between elementary grades and high school, it was still slower than the rehearsal speed obtained from a control group of normal

Skilled deaf readers have an enhanced perceptual span in reading.

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Bélanger, Nathalie N; Slattery, Timothy J; Mayberry, Rachel I; Rayner, Keith

2012-07-01

Recent evidence suggests that, compared with hearing people, deaf people have enhanced visual attention to simple stimuli viewed in the parafovea and periphery. Although a large part of reading involves processing the fixated words in foveal vision, readers also utilize information in parafoveal vision to preprocess upcoming words and decide where to look next. In the study reported here, we investigated whether auditory deprivation affects low-level visual processing during reading by comparing the perceptual span of deaf signers who were skilled and less-skilled readers with the perceptual span of skilled hearing readers. Compared with hearing readers, the two groups of deaf readers had a larger perceptual span than would be expected given their reading ability. These results provide the first evidence that deaf readers' enhanced attentional allocation to the parafovea is used during complex cognitive tasks, such as reading.

Deaf women: experiences and perceptions of healthcare system access.

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Steinberg, Annie G; Wiggins, Erin A; Barmada, Carlin Henry; Sullivan, Vicki Joy

2002-10-01

The authors investigated the knowledge, attitudes, and healthcare experiences of Deaf women. Interviews with 45 deaf women who participated in focus groups in American Sign Language were translated, transcribed, and analyzed. Deaf women's understanding of women's health issues, knowledge of health vocabulary in both English and American Sign Language, common health concerns among Deaf women, and issues of access to information, including pathways and barriers, were examined. As a qualitative study, the results of this investigation are limited and should be viewed as exploratory. A lack of health knowledge was evident, including little understanding of the meaning or value of cancer screening, mammography, or Pap smears; purposes of prescribed medications, such as hormone replacement therapy (HRT); or necessity for other medical or surgical interventions. Negative experiences and avoidance or nonuse of health services were reported, largely due to the lack of a common language with healthcare providers. Insensitive behaviors were also described. Positive experiences and increased access to health information were reported with practitioners who used qualified interpreters. Providers who demonstrated minimal signing skills, a willingness to use paper and pen, and sensitivity to improving communication were appreciated. Deaf women have unique cultural and linguistic issues that affect healthcare experiences. Improved access to health information may be achieved with specialized resource materials, improved prevention and targeted intervention strategies, and self-advocacy skills development. Healthcare providers must be trained to become more effective communicators with Deaf patients and to use qualified interpreters to assure access to healthcare for Deaf women.

First language acquisition differs from second language acquisition in prelingually deaf signers: evidence from sensitivity to grammaticality judgement in British Sign Language.

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Cormier, Kearsy; Schembri, Adam; Vinson, David; Orfanidou, Eleni

2012-07-01

Age of acquisition (AoA) effects have been used to support the notion of a critical period for first language acquisition. In this study, we examine AoA effects in deaf British Sign Language (BSL) users via a grammaticality judgment task. When English reading performance and nonverbal IQ are factored out, results show that accuracy of grammaticality judgement decreases as AoA increases, until around age 8, thus showing the unique effect of AoA on grammatical judgement in early learners. No such effects were found in those who acquired BSL after age 8. These late learners appear to have first language proficiency in English instead, which may have been used to scaffold learning of BSL as a second language later in life. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Identity of Czech Deaf Roma

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Kalousová, Josefina

2012-01-01

With the definition of Deaf people as a cultural and linguistic minority the research of Deaf identity became possible. Following this, questions of identity of minority deaf persons emerged. Do these persons affiliate to the Deaf community or to their ethnic minority? This bachelor thesis focuses on the topic of Czech deaf Roma identity. The underlying assumption of the paper is that identity is a continuing process dependent on the interaction of an individual and society and that it consti...

Molecular distribution of deafness loci in variou ethnic groups of the punjab, pakistan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ullah, S.; Aslam, K.M.

2015-01-01

To determine the existence of autosomal recessive deafness loci in different ethnic tribes of the Punjab. Study Design: Descriptive observational study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Human Genetics and Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology, University of Health Sciences, Lahore, from July 2009 to March 2012. Methodology: Healthy willing subjects with autosomal recessive deafness loci were studied for selected deafness loci. Those who were unhealthy and gave history of infectious disease were excluded. DNA extraction was carried out using the inorganic method. Fluorescently labeled microsatellite markers were used for amplification of desired regions by PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction). Automated allele assignment was performed using the ABI PRISM GeneScan Analysis Software Version 3.7 for Windows NT Platform. Two-point LOD scores were calculated using the FASTLINK computer package (Schaffer 1996) and MLINK was used for calculation and 95% CI (confidence intervals) were calculated. Results: One hundred and thirty two individuals of 8 families were analyzed. Three families (SAPun-03, SAPun-10 and SAPun-15) were found linked to DFNB12; two families (SAPun-05 and SAPun-17) were found linked to DFNB8/10, while three families (SAPun-06, SAPun-13 and SAPun-19) were found linked to DFNB29, DFNB36 and DFNB37 respectively. Conclusion: The genotyping results revealed that DFNB12 locus was the most common followed by DFNB8/10 locus, while the Loci DFNB29, DFNB36 and DFNB37 were less common. (author)

Low empathy in deaf and hard of hearing (pre)adolescents compared to normal hearing controls.

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Netten, Anouk P; Rieffe, Carolien; Theunissen, Stephanie C P M; Soede, Wim; Dirks, Evelien; Briaire, Jeroen J; Frijns, Johan H M

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the level of empathy in deaf and hard of hearing (pre)adolescents compared to normal hearing controls and to define the influence of language and various hearing loss characteristics on the development of empathy. The study group (mean age 11.9 years) consisted of 122 deaf and hard of hearing children (52 children with cochlear implants and 70 children with conventional hearing aids) and 162 normal hearing children. The two groups were compared using self-reports, a parent-report and observation tasks to rate the children's level of empathy, their attendance to others' emotions, emotion recognition, and supportive behavior. Deaf and hard of hearing children reported lower levels of cognitive empathy and prosocial motivation than normal hearing children, regardless of their type of hearing device. The level of emotion recognition was equal in both groups. During observations, deaf and hard of hearing children showed more attention to the emotion evoking events but less supportive behavior compared to their normal hearing peers. Deaf and hard of hearing children attending mainstream education or using oral language show higher levels of cognitive empathy and prosocial motivation than deaf and hard of hearing children who use sign (supported) language or attend special education. However, they are still outperformed by normal hearing children. Deaf and hard of hearing children, especially those in special education, show lower levels of empathy than normal hearing children, which can have consequences for initiating and maintaining relationships.

Antenatal Bartter's syndrome with sensorineural deafness

OpenAIRE

Bhamkar, R. P.; Gajendragadkar, A.

2009-01-01

Bartter's syndrome is a group of inherited, salt-losing tubulopathies presenting as metabolic alkalosis with normotensive hyperreninemia and hyperaldosteronism. We report here the first case of a neonate with bilateral, sensorineural deafness, a variant of antenatal Bartter's syndrome from an Indian community.

The relationship of theory of mind and executive functions in normal, deaf and cochlear-implanted children

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Farideh Nazarzadeh

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim : Theory of mind refers to the ability to understand the others have mental states that can be different from one's own mental states or facts. This study aimed to investigate the relationship of theory of mind and executive functions in normal hearing, deaf, and cochlear-implanted children.Methods: The study population consisted of normal, deaf and cochlear-implanted girl students in Mashhad city, Iran. Using random sampling, 30 children (10 normal, 10 deaf and 10 cochlear-implanted in age groups of 8-12 years old were selected. To measure the theoty of mind, theory of mind 38-item scale and to assess executive function, Coolidge neuropsychological and personality test was used. Research data were analyzed using the Spearman correlation coefficient, analysis of variance and Kruskal-Wallis tests.Results: There was a significant difference between the groups in the theory of mind and executive function subscales, organization, planning-decision-making, and inhibition. Between normal and deaf groups (p=0.01, as well as cochlear-implanted and deaf groups (p=0.01, there was significant difference in planning decision-making subscale. There was not any significant relationship between the theory of mind and executive functions generally or the theory of mind and executive function subscales in these three groups independently.Conclusion: Based on our findings, cochlear-implanted and deaf children have lower performance in theory of mind and executive function compared with normal hearing children.

Narrative skills in deaf children who use spoken English: Dissociations between macro and microstructural devices.

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Jones, -A C; Toscano, E; Botting, N; Marshall, C-R; Atkinson, J R; Denmark, T; Herman, -R; Morgan, G

2016-12-01

Previous research has highlighted that deaf children acquiring spoken English have difficulties in narrative development relative to their hearing peers both in terms of macro-structure and with micro-structural devices. The majority of previous research focused on narrative tasks designed for hearing children that depend on good receptive language skills. The current study compared narratives of 6 to 11-year-old deaf children who use spoken English (N=59) with matched for age and non-verbal intelligence hearing peers. To examine the role of general language abilities, single word vocabulary was also assessed. Narratives were elicited by the retelling of a story presented non-verbally in video format. Results showed that deaf and hearing children had equivalent macro-structure skills, but the deaf group showed poorer performance on micro-structural components. Furthermore, the deaf group gave less detailed responses to inferencing probe questions indicating poorer understanding of the story's underlying message. For deaf children, micro-level devices most strongly correlated with the vocabulary measure. These findings suggest that deaf children, despite spoken language delays, are able to convey the main elements of content and structure in narrative but have greater difficulty in using grammatical devices more dependent on finer linguistic and pragmatic skills. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Deaf mobile application accessibility requirements

Science.gov (United States)

Nathan, Shelena Soosay; Hussain, Azham; Hashim, Nor Laily

2016-08-01

Requirement for deaf mobile applications need to be analysed to ensure the disabilities need are instilled into the mobile applications developed for them. Universal design is understandable to comply every user needs, however specific disability is argued by the authors to have different need and requirements. These differences are among the reasons for these applications being developed to target for a specific group of people, however they are less usable and later abandoned. This study focuses on deriving requirements that are needed by the deaf in their mobile applications that are meant specifically for them. Studies on previous literature was conducted it can be concluded that graphic, text, multimedia and sign language interpreter are among mostly required features to be included in their mobile application to ensure the applications are usable for this community.

Silencing Deafness: Displacing Disability in the Nineteenth Century

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Esme Cleall

2015-03-01

Full Text Available This article traces the way in which the language of displacement and silence were used in nineteenth-century discussions of deafness and connects this tendency to the marginalised place deaf experience occupies historically. Throughout the nineteenth century, a period which saw the consolidation of ‘the deaf and dumb’ as a social category, the word ‘forgetting’ crept into numerous discussions of deafness by both deaf and hearing commentators. Some, such as the educationalist Alexander Graeme Bell, were overt in their desire to forget deafness, demanding disability was ‘bred out’ and deaf culture condemned to the forgotten past. Others used the term ambivalently and sometimes metaphorically discussing the deaf as ‘forgotten’ by society, and ‘children of silence’. Some even pleaded that people who were deaf were not forgotten. But, though varied, the use of the imagery of forgetting and silence to evoke deafness is recurrent, and may, therefore, be seen to reveal something about how deaf experience can be approached as a displacement where deafness was spatially and imaginatively marginalised. I argue that one of the consequences of the conceptual framing of deafness through the language of forgetting was actively to silence deafness and to neutralise the idea that disability should be marginal and could be forgotten.

The effect of social skills training on perceived competence of female adolescents with deafness.

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Soleimanieh Naeini, Tahereh; Keshavarzi Arshadi, Farnaz; Hatamizadeh, Nikta; Bakhshi, Enayatollah

2013-12-01

Although there are considerable researches on effectiveness of social skills training, little information is available on the effects of such training on perceived competence of adolescents with deafness. This study was conducted in special school settings to determine the effects of social skills training on perceived competence of female adolescents with deafness. A prepost quasi-experimental design was used to perform the study. Sixty nine female students with deafness who were enrolled in all of the four different special secondary schools in Tehran, Iran, between 2010 and 2011 participated in this research. Two of four secondary schools were randomly allocated to the intervention group (33 students), and the other two to the control group (36 students). The participants were between 11 and 21 years (Mean = 15.43; SD = 1.89), and more than three fourth of each groups ( i.e. 28 students in each groups) were affected by profound hearing impairment . The intervention group participated in twelve bi-weekly sessions. Pretest and posttest data were collected using the 'Hearing Impaired Children Self-Image Test'. The questionnaire was filled by an interviewer. This questionnaire asks students about their feeling toward their own competence in domains of cognitive, physical, socio-emotional and communication competence and school adjustment. The data was analyzed by using SPSS software, version 16. The intervention led to significant improvement in total perceived competence scores of adolescents with deafness (P social skills in adolescents with deafness would improve their sense of competence, and emotional well being.

Nurses experiences with deaf patient and recommendations for an effective communication with deaf in medical facility

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Boukalová, Naděžda

2010-01-01

This bachelor thesis whose name is Nurses experiences with deaf patient and recommendations for an effective communication with deaf in medical facility was conceived as pilot research. This thesis consists of two parts, theoretical and experimental. Theoretical part has several chapters, which deal with anatomy of ear, physiology of hearing, deaf in Czech Republic and communication. The last part of this chapter describes certain situations, where is possible to meet the deaf at medical faci...

Studies on deaf mobile application

Science.gov (United States)

Nathan, Shelena Soosay; Hussain, Azham; Hashim, Nor Laily

2016-08-01

The deaf normally considered to be disabled that do not need any mobile technology due to the inabilities of hearing and talking. However, many deaf are using mobile phone in their daily life for various purposes such as communication and learning. Many studies have attempted to identify the need of deaf people in mobile application and level of usage of the applications. This study aims in studying the recent research conducted on deaf mobile application to understand the level of importance of mobile technology for this disabled community. This paper enable identification of studies conducted are limited and the need of more research done of this disabled people to ensure their privilege of using mobile technology and its application, which leads to the identification of deaf user requirement for mobile application as future study.

Expectations Versus Realities: Examination of the Transition Plans and Experiences of Adolescents Who are Deaf and Adolescents Who are Hearing.

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Bullis, Michael; Davis, Cheryl; Bull, Bruce; Johnson, Brian

1997-01-01

Studies the congruence of transition plans of deaf adolescents (N=34) and hearing peers (N=59) to their parents' transition plans for them. Results indicate clear differences between each group, with hearing students exhibiting higher agreement of plans with experiences than did the deaf group. Deaf students exhibited low agreement indexes,…

A Persian Cued Speech Website Fromthe Deaf Professionals’ Views

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Guita Movallali

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Increasingly people are using the internet to find information about medical and educational issues and one of the simplest ways to obtain information is internet. Persian Cued Speech is a very new system to Iranian families with deaf child and the professionals and a few educators have enough knowledge about it, so the purpose of this study was to introduce Persian Cued Speech website to deaf educators and rehabilitation professionals and assess their views about the website and their accessibility to important information through its use. Methods:The sample group was randomly selected fromdeaf educators and rehabilitation professionals working in different educational settings for deaf children in Tehran, our capital .They completed a questionnaire which was adopted from different website assessing questionnaires. Researchers also completed an interview with the sample group. Results: Our findings show that from the deaf educators and rehabilitation professionals point of view,the Persian Cued Speech website was a helpful and informing website. They also wanted more pictures and videos,bigger font sizes and more practical parts.So we decide to change some parts of the website to be more usable for them. Discussion: Using informational websites can be a very helpful tool in the internet area. Helpful websites are those which are more accessible, readable and appropriately designed and are user-friendly.

Low Empathy in Deaf and Hard of Hearing (Pre)Adolescents Compared to Normal Hearing Controls

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Netten, Anouk P.; Rieffe, Carolien; Theunissen, Stephanie C. P. M.; Soede, Wim; Dirks, Evelien; Briaire, Jeroen J.; Frijns, Johan H. M.

2015-01-01

Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the level of empathy in deaf and hard of hearing (pre)adolescents compared to normal hearing controls and to define the influence of language and various hearing loss characteristics on the development of empathy. Methods The study group (mean age 11.9 years) consisted of 122 deaf and hard of hearing children (52 children with cochlear implants and 70 children with conventional hearing aids) and 162 normal hearing children. The two groups were compared using self-reports, a parent-report and observation tasks to rate the children’s level of empathy, their attendance to others’ emotions, emotion recognition, and supportive behavior. Results Deaf and hard of hearing children reported lower levels of cognitive empathy and prosocial motivation than normal hearing children, regardless of their type of hearing device. The level of emotion recognition was equal in both groups. During observations, deaf and hard of hearing children showed more attention to the emotion evoking events but less supportive behavior compared to their normal hearing peers. Deaf and hard of hearing children attending mainstream education or using oral language show higher levels of cognitive empathy and prosocial motivation than deaf and hard of hearing children who use sign (supported) language or attend special education. However, they are still outperformed by normal hearing children. Conclusions Deaf and hard of hearing children, especially those in special education, show lower levels of empathy than normal hearing children, which can have consequences for initiating and maintaining relationships. PMID:25906365

Arts Accessibility for the Deaf.

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Bergman, Eugene

The booklet provides information and resources for cultural organizations and institutions interested in making the arts accessible to deaf citizens. Preliminary information includes a discussion of deafness in America and the deaf in the history of the arts and notes that the era of silent films was the golden age of cinema. Listed are 36…

34 CFR 396.1 - What is the Training of Interpreters for Individuals Who Are Deaf and Individuals Who Are Deaf...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Who Are Deaf and Individuals Who Are Deaf-Blind program? 396.1 Section 396.1 Education Regulations of... SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TRAINING OF INTERPRETERS FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE DEAF AND INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE DEAF-BLIND General § 396.1 What is the Training of Interpreters for Individuals Who Are Deaf and...

Recognition and Comprehension of "Narrow Focus" by Young Adults With Prelingual Hearing Loss Using Hearing Aids or Cochlear Implants.

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Segal, Osnat; Kishon-Rabin, Liat

2017-12-20

The stressed word in a sentence (narrow focus [NF]) conveys information about the intent of the speaker and is therefore important for processing spoken language and in social interactions. The ability of participants with severe-to-profound prelingual hearing loss to comprehend NF has rarely been investigated. The purpose of this study was to assess the recognition and comprehension of NF by young adults with prelingual hearing loss compared with those of participants with normal hearing (NH). The participants included young adults with hearing aids (HA; n = 10), cochlear implants (CI; n = 12), and NH (n = 18). The test material included the Hebrew Narrow Focus Test (Segal, Kaplan, Patael, & Kishon-Rabin, in press), with 3 subtests, which was used to assess the recognition and comprehension of NF in different contexts. The following results were obtained: (a) CI and HA users successfully recognized the stressed word, with the worst performance for CI; (b) HA and CI comprehended NF less well than NH; and (c) the comprehension of NF was associated with verbal working memory and expressive vocabulary in CI users. Most CI and HA users were able to recognize the stressed word in a sentence but had considerable difficulty understanding it. Different factors may contribute to this difficulty, including the memory load during the task itself and linguistic and pragmatic abilities. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5572792.

[History of the rehabilitation of the deaf child].

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Noyon, P

1995-01-01

As a deaf mute, because mute and more often than not deaf, and then deaf and dumb, because deaf and therefore dumb, the deaf child inevitably deprived of spontaneous speech was considered up to the end of the middle ages as having no possibility of language or of thought, left to the sorry fate of being part of a sporadic population expressing themselves by gestures, a language bereft of past and future, understood only by a few members of the family or occasionally deaf neighbours. During the Renaissance, it appeared that with specific education the deaf child could talk, have a language, and therefore thought. Due merit must be given to 16th century Spain. In the 18th century, France discovered that gestures can also be a language, collated and constructed thanks to the collaboration of the partially deaf. From then on, gestual language flourished in America whilst the rest of Europe continued to prefer oral rehabilitation. With current medical progress, the deaf are no longer deaf. Deafness in the child still exists, however, but there are no longer any mutes. The deaf child can achieve access to language, which may be oral or gestual. The choice between these two modes of expression is still very tropical.

Enhanced activation of the left inferior frontal gyrus in deaf and dyslexic adults during rhyming.

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MacSweeney, Mairéad; Brammer, Michael J; Waters, Dafydd; Goswami, Usha

2009-07-01

Hearing developmental dyslexics and profoundly deaf individuals both have difficulties processing the internal structure of words (phonological processing) and learning to read. In hearing non-impaired readers, the development of phonological representations depends on audition. In hearing dyslexics, many argue, auditory processes may be impaired. In congenitally profoundly deaf individuals, auditory speech processing is essentially absent. Two separate literatures have previously reported enhanced activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus in both deaf and dyslexic adults when contrasted with hearing non-dyslexics during reading or phonological tasks. Here, we used a rhyme judgement task to compare adults from these two special populations to a hearing non-dyslexic control group. All groups were matched on non-verbal intelligence quotient, reading age and rhyme performance. Picture stimuli were used since this requires participants to generate their own phonological representations, rather than have them partially provided via text. By testing well-matched groups of participants on the same task, we aimed to establish whether previous literatures reporting differences between individuals with and without phonological processing difficulties have identified the same regions of differential activation in these two distinct populations. The data indicate greater activation in the deaf and dyslexic groups than in the hearing non-dyslexic group across a large portion of the left inferior frontal gyrus. This includes the pars triangularis, extending superiorly into the middle frontal gyrus and posteriorly to include the pars opercularis, and the junction with the ventral precentral gyrus. Within the left inferior frontal gyrus, there was variability between the two groups with phonological processing difficulties. The superior posterior tip of the left pars opercularis, extending into the precentral gyrus, was activated to a greater extent by deaf than dyslexic

Parenting Stress in Mothers of Mentally Retarded, Blind, Deaf and Physically Disabled Children

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Mohammad Kazem Atefvahid

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Background and Objective: Parents of children with disabilities are poorer physical and mental health and greater stress experience. This study was conducted to evaluate Parenting stress in mothers of mentally retarded, blind, deaf and physically disabled children.Materials and Methods: This study was causal-comparative. The study population included 310 mothers of exceptional children (mothers of children with mental retardation, blind, deaf and physical-motor disabilities 7 to 12 years of age enrolled in primary schools in the academic year 90-1389 exceptional Tehran. Multi-stage cluster sampling method was used. The data obtained from questionnaires parenting stress using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA were analyzed.Results: The results showed that parenting stress in mothers of blind with mentally retarded, deaf with mentally retarded, physically with blind and deaf children are significantly different. As well as, there was significant difference between the mean score of blind, physical disorders, mentally retarded and deaf groups in terms of distraction- hyperactivity subscale.Conclusion: Mothers of children with mental retardation, physical disorders, blind and deaf have most parenting stress respectively.

The Church of Deaf Sociality: Deaf Churchgoing Practices and "Sign Bread and Butter" in Bangalore, India

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Friedner, Michele

2014-01-01

This article ethnographically analyzes the practices of deaf young adults in Bangalore, India. As sign language is not used by families, schools, or other institutions, the church is a crucial educational space. Churchgoing provides deaf young adults with opportunities to orient themselves toward other deaf young adults, to develop new ideas of…

The Deaf Child as a Linguistic Minority.

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Charrow, Veda R.; Wilbur, Ronnie B.

The author offers support for viewing the deaf child as a member of a linguistic minority and considers how this situation affects education of the deaf. Deaf persons are discussed in terms of their intellectual abilities, educational achievement, English competence, and the sociolinguistic factors which point to the existence of a deaf community.…

Comparison of Static Balance among Blind, Deaf and Normal Children in Different Conditions

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Aidin Vali-Zadeh

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: Sensory systems including proprioceptive, vestibular and visual network play an important role in motor control. Loss of information from each sensory channel can cause body sway on static positions. Materials & Methods: Seventeen blind children (9 girls, 8 boys and 30 deaf children (14 girls, 16 boys participated as the sample groups in Ardabil city. Sixteen normal children (30 girls and 30 boys also selected as the control group. One leg standing and tandem stance tests (reliability=0.87-0.99 in two condition (eyes open and closed was used for static balance evaluation. One-Way ANOVA and LSD post hoc test was used to compare groups, and independent t-test was used for comparing sexes in each group by using SPSS (16 version software. Results: results showed there is no significant difference between blind, deaf and normal girls in any of the balance tasks (p>0.05. While the balance function of deaf and normal boys was better than blind boys in all balance tasks except for tandem stance with eyes closed (p=0.507. Blind girls were better than blind boys in all balance tasks (p=0.05, p=0.02, p=0.02. Deaf boys were better than girls with deafness in one leg stance and tandem stance (eyes open tasks (p=0.04, p=0.02, p=0.04 but there was no significant different between deaf boys and girls in any other tasks (p=0.63, p=0.29, p=0.89. Normal boys have better performance than girls and only in tandem stance (eyes closed (p=0.21 and one leg stance (left foot eyes open (p=0.99 there was no significant difference between normal boys and girls. Conclusion: findings showed that static balance in deaf and normal children were better than the blinds. Since persons with blindness are not able to compensate the visual loss for postural stability, they show decreased postural stability in static conditions. Inclusive identifying effective factors on balance and its weakness and problems in appropriate time, attention to this factors in training

Peer social skills and theory of mind in children with autism, deafness, or typical development.

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Peterson, Candida; Slaughter, Virginia; Moore, Chris; Wellman, Henry M

2016-01-01

Consequences of theory of mind (ToM) development for daily social lives of children are uncertain. Five to 13-year-olds (N = 195) with typical development, autism, or deafness (both native and late signers) took ToM tests and their teachers reported on their social skills for peer interaction (e.g., leadership, group entry). Groups differed in both ToM understanding (with late-signing deaf children especially delayed even relative to autistic children) and peer social skills (with autistic children especially delayed even relative to deaf late signers). Crucially, for the typically developing hearing children and deaf children alike, ToM understanding independently predicted peer social skills over and above age, gender, language ability, and, for deaf children, status as native- or late-signer. These novel findings offer some of the best evidence to date of the relevance of ToM cognitions to real-world social behavior for both these groups. However, for those with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) the pattern was different. The apparent link of ToM to peer competence was not a direct one but instead was significantly mediated by language ability. Several possible explanations for this intriguing autism-specific result were also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

DEAFNESS, RETELLING AND READER FOMATION

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José Marcos Rosendo de Souza

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Research on formation of readers has raised some discussions and change of atitudes, to the development of full readers. But, the methodologies that strive for proficiency of Deaf readers there are scarse. We intend to discuss in this article the formation of a reader Deaf through from an interventional research, with cognitive approach. The reader formation of Deaf will be possible with appropriate method to their peculiarities.

Deaf and hearing children's development of theory of mind, peer popularity, and leadership during middle childhood.

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Peterson, Candida C; O'Reilly, Karin; Wellman, Henry M

2016-09-01

This study had two primary aims. First, we compared deaf and hearing children during middle and late childhood on (a) cognitive understanding of basic and advanced theory of mind (ToM) and (b) social dimensions of peer group relations, including popularity, isolation, leadership, and the disposition to interact positively with peers. Second, using correlational analyses, we examined ToM's connections with these social variables to see whether and how ToM impacts children's social lives. A total of 57 children (36 deaf children of hearing parents and 21 hearing children) 6 to 14years of age completed a 6-step developmental ToM Scale, and their teachers reported on the social variables. Hearing children outperformed deaf children on ToM and all teacher-rated variables. For deaf children, popularity correlated positively, and social isolation correlated negatively, with ToM even after controlling for age, gender, and language ability. For hearing children, the only ToM link was a weak correlation with leadership. Possible reasons for the differences between deaf and hearing groups are discussed, together with the likelihood of bidirectional causal links and implications for deaf children's social development in school. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

LATENT STRUCTURE OF MOTOR ABILITIES AND SKILLS OF DEAF CHILDREN

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Husnija Hasanbegović

2012-04-01

Full Text Available In this work surveys of latent motility abilities and skills of school children are shown. The sample for this survey was consisted of two subsamples. First one has consisted of deaf children N=29, and the second one has consisted hearing children of same age N=69. Subsamples of deaf is chosen according to model of applied sample, and subsample is chosen randomly, so two stages group sample N=90 has been created. After quantitative differences have been discovered between subsamples, hearing pupils have shown statistically better results at motility skills and techniques than deaf children and cumulative results have been subjected to inter correlation of variables. The target of using this method was determination of saturation of common variability through saturation of variables and their correlation by Ortoblique rotation for determination of latent information that are going to serve as practical guides at education and deaf children treatment, because of improvement of their motility abilities and skills according to hearing children. Three factors have been singled out as main preview of measurement on manifest variables. According to first review of measuring it has been established that at deaf children is needed to work on improving of physical abilities and mobility and then developed motility abilities and skills. Their information has been gained most probably by non system fluctuations as information about ability of balance maintaining which is most probably non dependable of motility abilities and skills as at deaf and hearing children too. According to this survey by entering the structure of measuring instrument it is possible to create programs for improving motility abilities and skills at deaf children.

Visual working memory in deaf children with diverse communication modes: improvement by differential outcomes.

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López-Crespo, Ginesa; Daza, María Teresa; Méndez-López, Magdalena

2012-01-01

Although visual functions have been proposed to be enhanced in deaf individuals, empirical studies have not yet established clear evidence on this issue. The present study aimed to determine whether deaf children with diverse communication modes had superior visual memory and whether their performance was improved by the use of differential outcomes. Severely or profoundly deaf children who employed spoken Spanish, Spanish Sign Language (SSL), and both spoken Spanish and SSL modes of communication were tested in a delayed matching-to-sample task for visual working memory assessment. Hearing controls were used to compare performance. Participants were tested in two conditions, differential outcome and non-differential outcome conditions. Deaf groups with either oral or SSL modes of communication completed the task with less accuracy than bilingual and control hearing children. In addition, the performances of all groups improved through the use of differential outcomes. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Apartheid in Deaf Education: Examining Workforce Diversity

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Simms, Laurene; Rusher, Melissa; Andrews, Jean F.; Coryell, Judy

2008-01-01

A survey of 3,227 professionals in 313 deaf education programs found that 22.0% of teachers and 14.5% of administrators were deaf--a less than 10% increase in deaf professionals since 1993. Additionally, 21.7% of teachers and 6.1% of administrators were professionals of color. Of these minority teachers, only 2.5% were deaf persons of color. Only…

Deaf Culture in Republic of Korea

OpenAIRE

Šlamborová, Zdeňka

2017-01-01

The aim is to focus on development of Deaf culture in the Republic of Korea. The thesis focuses not only on hearing impairment and the distribution of hearing loss categories from a medical point of view, but also the Deaf community and the importance of their own identities, which played a major role in the Deaf culture. It will also point to changes in Korean majority society's view on the Deaf community, and what caused Korean society's view to change. The part of this thesis is also focus...

PERSONAL IDENTITY IN DEAF ADOLESCENTS

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Joanna KOSSEWSKA

2008-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors influencing the identity deaf adolescents. The study involved 67 deaf adolescents (38 boys and 29 girls aged 16 to 19 students of secondary school. Ninety-three hearing children constituted a comparison group. The structure of identity was explored on the basis of identification references given by the subjects who were to reply in writing, 20 times running, to the question: „Who Am I?” the test, adapted from M. H. Kuhn and T. S. McPartland by Martines and Silvestre (1995 given in written and signed mode.Results showed that the hearing status as well as mode of communication influence the description of personal identity. It was found that deaf adoles­cents used more descriptions especially in the fol­lowing categories: Civil Status, Body and Physical Appearance, Tastes and Activities, Friendship and Relationships, Personal and Social Situation, Negative Personal Traits, and Neutral Personality Traits. Although this study could demonstrate im­pact independent variables on identity, the data raise the need for further, preferably longitudinal, research. This complex phenomenon has to be examined more closely.Combined self-descriptive processes lead to the development of an organized, learned and dynamic identity, and subjective description of an individ­ual has strong emotional consequences for the in­dividual in question.

Audio-Tactile Integration in Congenitally and Late Deaf Cochlear Implant Users

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Nava, Elena; Bottari, Davide; Villwock, Agnes; Fengler, Ineke; Büchner, Andreas; Lenarz, Thomas; Röder, Brigitte

2014-01-01

Several studies conducted in mammals and humans have shown that multisensory processing may be impaired following congenital sensory loss and in particular if no experience is achieved within specific early developmental time windows known as sensitive periods. In this study we investigated whether basic multisensory abilities are impaired in hearing-restored individuals with deafness acquired at different stages of development. To this aim, we tested congenitally and late deaf cochlear implant (CI) recipients, age-matched with two groups of hearing controls, on an audio-tactile redundancy paradigm, in which reaction times to unimodal and crossmodal redundant signals were measured. Our results showed that both congenitally and late deaf CI recipients were able to integrate audio-tactile stimuli, suggesting that congenital and acquired deafness does not prevent the development and recovery of basic multisensory processing. However, we found that congenitally deaf CI recipients had a lower multisensory gain compared to their matched controls, which may be explained by their faster responses to tactile stimuli. We discuss this finding in the context of reorganisation of the sensory systems following sensory loss and the possibility that these changes cannot be “rewired” through auditory reafferentation. PMID:24918766

Audio-tactile integration in congenitally and late deaf cochlear implant users.

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Elena Nava

Full Text Available Several studies conducted in mammals and humans have shown that multisensory processing may be impaired following congenital sensory loss and in particular if no experience is achieved within specific early developmental time windows known as sensitive periods. In this study we investigated whether basic multisensory abilities are impaired in hearing-restored individuals with deafness acquired at different stages of development. To this aim, we tested congenitally and late deaf cochlear implant (CI recipients, age-matched with two groups of hearing controls, on an audio-tactile redundancy paradigm, in which reaction times to unimodal and crossmodal redundant signals were measured. Our results showed that both congenitally and late deaf CI recipients were able to integrate audio-tactile stimuli, suggesting that congenital and acquired deafness does not prevent the development and recovery of basic multisensory processing. However, we found that congenitally deaf CI recipients had a lower multisensory gain compared to their matched controls, which may be explained by their faster responses to tactile stimuli. We discuss this finding in the context of reorganisation of the sensory systems following sensory loss and the possibility that these changes cannot be "rewired" through auditory reafferentation.

Ethics, Deafness, and New Medical Technologies

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Hintermair, Manfred; Albertini, John A.

2005-01-01

In the last 50 years, several new technologies have become enormously important within the Deaf community and have helped significantly to improve deaf people's lives in a hearing world. Current public attention and admiration, however, seems unduly focused on medical technologies that promise to solve "the problem" of being deaf. One reason for…

BILINGUALISM: MULTICULTURALISM HOLOPRAXIOLOGY OF THE VENEZUELAN DEAF

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Héctor Florencio Martínez Pérez

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The formation of the child has been made regularly and without many prejudices or tbacks,  until this had some physical characteristic or perceptual, who twisted his attention.  To those who were born with the inability to listen or hear properly, excluded in all respects. At the end of the 20th century, the deaf began to defend their identity and differed between Deafness (lack of hearing of deafness, with "S", which is a socio-anthropological perspective, which includes the use of sign language and the learning of reading and writing of the Spanish (bilingualism in their training. This research had as general objective to unveil bilingualism from an intercultural intersubjectivity of the deaf in Venezuela by applying a qualitative related paradigm with methodology fenomenologica-hermeneutica of Max Van Manen. The information collected observing and interviewing in depth (12 deaf students, parents or representatives (6, (3 researchers and educational specialists deaf and listeners (12. To analyze and triangulate information, obtained the following conclusions about the bilingual deaf: their physical and intellectual abilities are exactly the same to the listeners;  they can achieve the necessary qualification for any job; is required the language of signs so that you can put into practice the language; those who have the organizational capacity to develop oral language, it should not hinder him this opportunity, without detriment to the learning of the language of signs and the systematic training of the deaf teachers and deaf family, educational managers, political and employer of the deaf is essentially required.

Deaf Stigma: Links Between Stigma and Well-Being Among Deaf Emerging Adults.

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Mousley, Victoria L; Chaudoir, Stephenie R

2018-05-31

Although stigma has been linked to suboptimal psychological and physical health outcomes in marginalized communities such as persons of color, sexual minorities, and people living with HIV/AIDS, no known research has examined these effects among deaf individuals. In the present research, we examine the associations between anticipated, enacted, and internalized stigma and psychological well-being (i.e., depressive symptoms, anxiety) and physical well-being (i.e., quality of life, alcohol use) among a sample of 171 deaf emerging adults. Furthermore, we consider whether trait resilience and benefit-finding moderate these effects. Enacted stigma, but not anticipated or internalized stigma, was related to worse depressive symptoms, anxiety, and quality of life. However, none of these variables predicted alcohol use and neither resilience nor benefit-finding moderated these effects. These findings are consistent with other research among marginalized populations, though they are also the first to suggest that experiences of discrimination are related to suboptimal well-being among deaf emerging adults. The discussion considers how these findings may illuminate the potential causes of disparities in well-being between hearing and deaf emerging adults.

Deafness and Hearing Loss.

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National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities, Washington, DC.

This brief overview provides information on the definition, incidence, and characteristics of children with hearing impairments and deafness. The federal definitions of hearing impairment and deafness are provided. The different types of hearing loss are noted, including: (1) conductive (caused by diseases or obstructions in the outer or middle…

Deaf on the Lifeline of Mumbai

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Kusters, Annelies

2009-01-01

This article is a result of my MSc Deaf Studies dissertation that is situated on an intersection between Deaf geography, anthropology and Deafhood theory. During five weeks of participatory observation and interviews in Mumbai, my attention was drawn to the city's lifeline: the suburban train system. It appeared that Deaf people tend to travel in…

Deafness-related self-perceptions and psychological well-being in deaf adolescents with cochlear implants.

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Mance, Jennifer; Edwards, Lindsey

2012-05-01

This study aimed to examine the relationship between psychological well-being and self-perception in adolescents with cochlear implants, in relation to their perceptions of hearing, deaf signing, and orally communicating deaf peers. Self-perceptions were examined in 22 cochlear implant users aged 12-18 years, using the repertory grid technique that allows the respondent to generate personally relevant 'identity' constructs. Psychological well-being was assessed using the Beck Youth Inventory, a series of five self-report questionnaires assessing anxiety, depression, disruptive behaviour, anger, and self-esteem. Correlational analyses indicated that perceiving oneself as close to any peer, irrespective of which peer, was associated with better psychological well-being. There was also a significant positive association between perceived degree of similarity specifically to hearing peers, and psychological well-being. The closer the implanted adolescents perceived themselves to be to their hearing peers, the better their overall psychological well-being. In contrast, perceiving oneself as more similar to deaf signing peers or deaf oral peers was not significantly associated with psychological well-being. The findings are discussed in the context of previous research on social comparison, Deaf identity, and the aims of cochlear implantation.

Concept Formation Skills in Long-Term Cochlear Implant Users

OpenAIRE

Castellanos, Irina; Kronenberger, William G.; Beer, Jessica; Colson, Bethany G.; Henning, Shirley C.; Ditmars, Allison; Pisoni, David B.

2014-01-01

This study investigated if a period of auditory sensory deprivation followed by degraded auditory input and related language delays affects visual concept formation skills in long-term prelingually deaf cochlear implant (CI) users. We also examined if concept formation skills are mediated or moderated by other neurocognitive domains (i.e., language, working memory, and executive control). Relative to normally hearing (NH) peers, CI users displayed significantly poorer performance in several s...

The Attitudes of the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf-Salt, Jordan towards Deaf Socially and Educationally

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Ziadat, Ayed H.; Atiyat, Fatima A.

2018-01-01

The study aimed to recognize the attitudes of the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf-Salt, Jordan towards Deaf Socially and Educationally in the academic year 2016-2017, which consists of instructional and vocational staff towards deaf socially and educationally according to some variables (gender, age, the level of education). The sample of the…

[Instruments in Brazilian Sign Language for assessing the quality of life of the deaf population].

Science.gov (United States)

Chaveiro, Neuma; Duarte, Soraya Bianca Reis; Freitas, Adriana Ribeiro de; Barbosa, Maria Alves; Porto, Celmo Celeno; Fleck, Marcelo Pio de Almeida

2013-06-01

To construct versions of the WHOQOL-BREF and WHOQOL-DIS instruments in Brazilian sign language to evaluate the Brazilian deaf population's quality of life. The methodology proposed by the World Health Organization (WHOQOL-BREF and WHOQOL-DIS) was used to construct instruments adapted to the deaf community using Brazilian Sign Language (Libras). The research for constructing the instrument took placein 13 phases: 1) creating the QUALITY OF LIFE sign; 2) developing the answer scales in Libras; 3) translation by a bilingual group; 4) synthesized version; 5) first back translation; 6) production of the version in Libras to be provided to the focal groups; 7) carrying out the Focal Groups; 8) review by a monolingual group; 9) revision by the bilingual group; 10) semantic/syntactic analysis and second back translation; 11) re-evaluation of the back translation by the bilingual group; 12) recording the version into the software; 13) developing the WHOQOL-BREF and WHOQOL-DIS software in Libras. Characteristics peculiar to the culture of the deaf population indicated the necessity of adapting the application methodology of focal groups composed of deaf people. The writing conventions of sign languages have not yet been consolidated, leading to difficulties in graphically registering the translation phases. Linguistics structures that caused major problems in translation were those that included idiomatic Portuguese expressions, for many of which there are no equivalent concepts between Portuguese and Libras. In the end, it was possible to create WHOQOL-BREF and WHOQOL-DIS software in Libras. The WHOQOL-BREF and the WHOQOL-DIS in Libras will allow the deaf to express themselves about their quality of life in an autonomous way, making it possible to investigate these issues more accurately.

Deaf/LGBTQ Intersectional Invisibility in Schools: The Lived Experiences of Deaf Lesbian Students of Color at a School for the Deaf

Science.gov (United States)

Dunne, Courtney M.

2013-01-01

Historically, American society has had conflicting views on the nature and nurture of Deaf people and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) people. In the context of majority cultures and societies in history, the reality of Deaf and LGBTQ people's lives has often been summarized in general terms such as invisibility and oppression.…

[Meta-analysis of the efficacy of cochlear implantation in deaf patients with inner ear malformation].

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Qingqing; Zhai, Suoqiang; Han, Dongyi; Yang, Shiming; Shen, Weidong

2014-04-01

Assess and compare the clinical efficacy and safety of cochlear implantation in deaf patients with inner ear malformation and in the ones with normal inner ear structure, so that to clarify whether it is effective to restore hearing for the deaf patients with inner ear malformation. The literature with relevant key words were retrieved in the databases including PubMed, YZ365. com, WANFANG data, CMJD, CHKD and CNKI with language limited to Chinese and English. Extracted data included author, year of publication, diagnosis, treatment, et al. The clinical efficacy of cochlear implantation was assessed by the complications, electrode impedance, behavior T-level, hearing abilities and speech discrimination. Meta-analysis was performed using random or fixed effects model according to the heterogeneity of data. There were 11 randomized control studies involving 655 patients included in this study. There was no statistically significant difference among the deaf patients in mixed inner ear-malformation group, Mondini group and large vestibular aqueduct syndrome group in the aspects of postoperative complications, electrode impedance, behavior T-level, hearing abilities and speech discrimination. Cochlear implantation could be the way of treatment and rehabilitation for deaf patients with inner ear malformation. Further controlled studies with longer follow-up periods and more multiracial cases included may help to evaluate the efficacy of cochlear implantation for deaf patients with inner ear malformation more reliably.

Persistence of deaf students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics undergraduate programs

Science.gov (United States)

Marchut, Amber E.

Diversifying the student population and workforce under science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is a necessity if innovations and creativity are to expand. There has not been a lot of literature regarding Deaf students in STEM especially regarding understanding how they persist in STEM undergraduate programs to successfully become STEM Bachelor of Science degree recipients. This study addresses the literature gap by investigating six students' experiences as they navigate their STEM undergraduate programs. The investigation uses narrative inquiry methodology and grounded theory method through the lens of Critical Race Theory and Critical Deaf Theory. Using videotaped interviews and observations, their experiences are highlighted using narratives portraying them as individuals surviving in a society that tends to perceive being deaf as a deficit that needs to be treated or cured. The data analysis also resulted in a conceptual model providing a description of how they persist. The crucial aspect of the conceptual model is the participants learned how to manage being deaf in a hearing-dominated society so they can reach their aspirations. The essential blocks for the persistence and managing their identities as deaf undergraduate STEMs include working harder, relying on familial support, and affirming themselves. Through the narratives and conceptual model of the six Deaf STEM undergraduates, the goal is to contribute to literature to promote a better understanding of the persistence of Deaf students, members of a marginalized group, as they pursue their dreams.

Deafness and the Riddle of Identity

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Lennard J.

2007-01-01

In the past, much discrimination against deaf people was based on the assumption that they were in fact people without language--that is, dumb. "Dumb" carried the sense of being not only mute but also stupid, as in a "dumb" animal. The status of deaf people has changed in important ways, as deaf activists and scholars have reshaped the idea of…

Ethical Issues in Conducting Research With Deaf Populations

Science.gov (United States)

Schlehofer, Deirdre; Thew, Denise

2013-01-01

Deaf American Sign Language (ASL) users represent a small population at risk for marginalization from research and surveillance activities resulting from cultural, language, and ethical challenges. The Deaf community’s view of deafness as a cultural identity, rather than a disability, contradicts the medical community’s perception of deafness as a disease or deficiency in need of correction or elimination. These differences continue to have significant cultural and social implications within the Deaf community, resulting in mistrust of research opportunities. Two particularly contentious ethical topics for the Deaf community are the absence of community representation in genetic research and the lack of accessible informed consents and research materials. This article outlines a series of innovative strategies and solutions to these issues, including the importance of community representation and collaboration with researchers studying deaf populations. PMID:24134363

Theory-of-mind development in oral deaf children with cochlear implants or conventional hearing aids.

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Candida C

2004-09-01

In the context of the established finding that theory-of-mind (ToM) growth is seriously delayed in late-signing deaf children, and some evidence of equivalent delays in those learning speech with conventional hearing aids, this study's novel contribution was to explore ToM development in deaf children with cochlear implants. Implants can substantially boost auditory acuity and rates of language growth. Despite the implant, there are often problems socialising with hearing peers and some language difficulties, lending special theoretical interest to the present comparative design. A total of 52 children aged 4 to 12 years took a battery of false belief tests of ToM. There were 26 oral deaf children, half with implants and half with hearing aids, evenly divided between oral-only versus sign-plus-oral schools. Comparison groups of age-matched high-functioning children with autism and younger hearing children were also included. No significant ToM differences emerged between deaf children with implants and those with hearing aids, nor between those in oral-only versus sign-plus-oral schools. Nor did the deaf children perform any better on the ToM tasks than their age peers with autism. Hearing preschoolers scored significantly higher than all other groups. For the deaf and the autistic children, as well as the preschoolers, rate of language development and verbal maturity significantly predicted variability in ToM, over and above chronological age. The finding that deaf children with cochlear implants are as delayed in ToM development as children with autism and their deaf peers with hearing aids or late sign language highlights the likely significance of peer interaction and early fluent communication with peers and family, whether in sign or in speech, in order to optimally facilitate the growth of social cognition and language.

The role of music in deaf culture: deaf students' perception of emotion in music.

Science.gov (United States)

Darrow, Alice-Ann

2006-01-01

Although emotional interpretation of music is an individual and variable experience, researchers have found that typical listeners are quite consistent in associating basic or primary emotions such as happiness, sadness, fear, and anger to musical compositions. It has been suggested that an individual with a sensorineural hearing loss, or any lesion in auditory perceptors in the brain may have trouble perceiving music emotionally. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether students with a hearing loss who associate with the deaf culture, assign the same emotions to music as students without a hearing loss. Sixty-two elementary and junior high students at a Midwestern state school for the deaf and students at neighboring elementary and junior high schools served as participants. Participants at the state school for the deaf had hearing losses ranging from moderate to severe. Twelve film score excerpts, composed to depict the primary emotions-happiness, sadness, and fear, were used as the musical stimuli. Participants were asked to assign an emotion to each excerpt. Results indicated a significant difference between the Deaf and typical hearing participants' responses, with hearing participants' responses more in agreement with the composers' intent. No significant differences were found for age or gender. Analyses of the Deaf participants' responses indicate that timbre, texture, and rhythm are perhaps the musical elements most influential in transmitting emotion to persons with a hearing loss. Adaptive strategies are suggested for assisting children who are deaf in accessing the elements of music intended to portray emotion.

Stigma in Mothers of Deaf Children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hossein Ebrahimi

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: A deaf child creates a feeling of stigma in many hearing parents. Stigma in mothers can have a negative impact on a child’s treatment and rehabilitation process. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the extent of stigma in mothers with deaf children.  Materials and Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in 2013 among 90 mothers with deaf children. The data-collection instrument included the stigma scale in the mothers of children with disabilities. The reliability and validity of the instrument were confirmed through content validity and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (α=86%, respectively. Data were analyzed using SPSS-15 software.   Results: Results showed that most mothers suffer from stigma due to having a deaf child. The mean stigma score was 96.48 ±27.72. In total, 24.4% of mothers reported that they had received strange and mocking looks; 72.2% regarded child deafness as a sign of divine retribution; and 33.3% felt ashamed of their child’s deafness. There was an inverse relationship between the mother’s level of education and mean stigma scores (P

Stigma in mothers of deaf children.

Science.gov (United States)

Ebrahimi, Hossein; Mohammadi, Eissa; Mohammadi, Mohammad Ali; Pirzadeh, Akbar; Mahmoudi, Hamzeh; Ansari, Ismail

2015-03-01

A deaf child creates a feeling of stigma in many hearing parents. Stigma in mothers can have a negative impact on a child's treatment and rehabilitation process. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the extent of stigma in mothers with deaf children. This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in 2013 among 90 mothers with deaf children. The data-collection instrument included the stigma scale in the mothers of children with disabilities. The reliability and validity of the instrument were confirmed through content validity and Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α=86%), respectively. Data were analyzed using SPSS-15 software. Results showed that most mothers suffer from stigma due to having a deaf child. The mean stigma score was 96.48 ±27.72. In total, 24.4% of mothers reported that they had received strange and mocking looks; 72.2% regarded child deafness as a sign of divine retribution; and 33.3% felt ashamed of their child's deafness. There was an inverse relationship between the mother's level of education and mean stigma scores (P<0.033). The stigma score was higher in mothers who were living independently of their relatives (P<0.029). The mean stigma score in mothers of children with a cochlear implant was lower than that of mothers of children with earphones (86.70 vs. 99.64), and this difference tended towards significance (P=0.057). This study showed that half of all mothers with deaf children were scorned and felt ashamed of having a deaf child in the family because of the stigma. The majority of mothers with deaf children felt stigmatized, and only their education and residency status affected this issue. The mothers of cochlear-implanted children perceived less stigma. Due to the various social and psychological problems caused by hearing impairment, it is necessary to consider the emotional health and psychological state of the mothers in addition to rehabilitation programs and standard services for the children themselves.

Waardenburg syndrome in the Turkish deaf population.

Science.gov (United States)

Silan, F; Zafer, C; Onder, I

2006-01-01

Waardenburg Syndrome (WS) is an autosomal, dominantly inherited disorder that accounts for more than 2% cases of congenital deafness. The aim of this study is to determine the WS incidence among deaf pupils. Dysmorphological examination was performed on 720 children who were attending 7 special schools in Turkey and who had hearing disabilities. All subjects in the study were examined for WS diagnostic criteria. We detected 49 patients (6.8%) with WS among the 720 children examined. Six patients had WS type 1 (12.2%) and 43 had type 2 (87.8%). We observed 2 to 5 major diagnostic criteria for WS. Out of all the subjects in the study, only two patients have deaf first degree relatives. All subjects had been previously examined by physicians for deafness but none of them had been then diagnosed to have Waardenburg Syndrome. Instead, they were all misdiagnosed as to have nonsyndromic deafness. Awareness of WS diagnostic criteria by the physicans will provide accurate diagnosis for many deaf pupils and their first degree relatives who are able-to-hear WS patients and whose children are at risk for deafness.

Improvements of sensorimotor processes during action cascading associated with changes in sensory processing architecture-insights from sensory deprivation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gohil, Krutika; Hahne, Anja; Beste, Christian

2016-06-20

In most everyday situations sensorimotor processes are quite complex because situations often require to carry out several actions in a specific temporal order; i.e. one has to cascade different actions. While it is known that changes to stimuli affect action cascading mechanisms, it is unknown whether action cascading changes when sensory stimuli are not manipulated, but the neural architecture to process these stimuli is altered. In the current study we test this hypothesis using prelingually deaf subjects as a model to answer this question. We use a system neurophysiological approach using event-related potentials (ERPs) and source localization techniques. We show that prelingually deaf subjects show improvements in action cascading. However, this improvement is most likely not due to changes at the perceptual (P1-ERP) and attentional processing level (N1-ERP), but due to changes at the response selection level (P3-ERP). It seems that the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) is important for these effects to occur, because the TPJ comprises overlapping networks important for the processing of sensory information and the selection of responses. Sensory deprivation thus affects cognitive processes downstream of sensory processing and only these seem to be important for behavioral improvements in situations requiring complex sensorimotor processes and action cascading.

Deaf Culture and Competing Discourses in a Residential School for the Deaf: "Can Do" versus "Can't Do"

Science.gov (United States)

O'Brien, Catherine A.; Placier, Peggy

2015-01-01

From an ethnographic case study of a state-funded residential school for the Deaf, the authors employed Critical Discourse Analysis to identify competing discourses in the talk of educators. These discourses are embedded in the historical oppression and labeling of deaf people as disabled and the development of Deaf culture as a counter-discourse.…

Sencity : A multi-sensory music event for deaf and hearing people

OpenAIRE

van der Peet, Dominique

2013-01-01

The objective of the project thesis was to provide an insight into event management, especially when organising an event for a specific target group like the deaf community. The event in question is Sencity, a multi-sensory music event for deaf and hearing people which has been organized in various territories but never before in the United Kingdom. Event and project management are an essential part of organising an event. It is important to observe all aspects involved in organising an...

On the possibilities and limits of "DEAF DEAF SAME": Tourism and empowerment camps in Adamorobe (Ghana), Bangalore and Mumbai (India).

OpenAIRE

Michele Ilana Friedner; Annelies Kusters

2014-01-01

This article qualitatively analyzes the ways that the discourse of "deaf universalism" circulates within two common deaf practices: tourism and engaging in interventions. Arguing that the largely Northern-situated discipline of Deaf Studies does not adequately examine how deaf bodies and discourses travel, ethnographic data compiled in India and Ghana during transnational encounters is employed to examine how claims of "sameness" and "difference" are enacted and negotiated. Similarly, this ar...

Behavioral and neural evidence of increased attention to the bottom half of the face in deaf signers

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Teresa V.; Letourneau, Susan M.; Maslin, Melissa T.

2013-01-01

Purpose This study examined the effects of deafness and sign language use on the distribution of attention across the top and bottom halves of faces. Methods In a composite face task, congenitally deaf signers and typically hearing controls made same/different judgments of the top or bottom halves of faces presented with the halves aligned or spatially misaligned, while event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. Results Both groups were more accurate when judging misaligned than aligned faces, which indicates holistic face processing. Misalignment affected all ERP components examined, with effects on the N170 resembling those of face inversion. Hearing adults were similarly accurate when judging the top and bottom halves of the faces, but deaf signers were more accurate when attending to the bottom than the top. Attending to the top elicited faster P1 and N170 latencies for both groups; within the deaf group, this effect was greatest for individuals who produced the highest accuracies when attending to the top. Conclusions These findings dovetail with previous research by providing behavioral and neural evidence of increased attention to the bottom half of the face in deaf signers, and by documenting that these effects generalize to a speeded task, in the absence of gaze shifts, with neutral facial expressions. PMID:23142816

Convergent and divergent functional connectivity patterns in patients with long-term left-sided and right-sided deafness.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yanyang; Mao, Zhiqi; Feng, Shiyu; Wang, Wenxin; Zhang, Jun; Yu, Xinguang

2018-02-05

Cortical reorganization may be induced in long-term single-sided deafness (SD); however, the influence of the deafness side on the functional changes remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated whole-brain functional connectivity patterns in long-term SD patients. The normalized voxel-based functional connectivity strength (FCS) was determined using resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) in 17 left-sided deafness (LD) patients, 21 right-sided deafness (RD) patients and 21 healthy controls (HCs). Relative to the HCs, both the LD and RD patients exhibited a reduction in the FCS in the ipsilateral visual cortex. However, compared to that in the HCs, a significantly higher FCS was observed in some regions in the salience and default-mode networks in the RD patients, but this FCS alternation pattern was not observed in the LD patients. A direct comparison of the two patient groups revealed a significantly increased FCS in the supplemental motor area in the LD group. Altogether, the long-term SD groups with LD and RD exhibited convergent and divergent functional connectivity patterns in whole-brain networks, providing promising evidence that the functional changes in long-term SD are highly deafness-side-dependent. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Deaf child sexual education and family leadership

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

García, Mirna Maura

2010-07-01

Full Text Available This paper is an approach to the study of the role of the family in sexual education of deaf children and adolescents. The difference between hearing and deaf families is taken into consideration. Likewise, hints that favor communication between deaf children and hearing parents are given.

The Deaf Acculturation Scale (DAS): Development and Validation of a 58-Item Measure

Science.gov (United States)

Maxwell-McCaw, Deborah; Zea, Maria Cecilia

2011-01-01

This study involved the development and validation of the Deaf Acculturation Scale (DAS), a new measure of cultural identity for Deaf and hard-of-hearing (hh) populations. Data for this study were collected online and involved a nation-wide sample of 3,070 deaf/hh individuals. Results indicated strong internal reliabilities for all the subscales, and construct validity was established by demonstrating that the DAS could discriminate groups based on parental hearing status, school background, and use of self-labels. Construct validity was further demonstrated through factorial analyses, and findings resulted in a final 58-item measure. Directions for future research are discussed. PMID:21263041

Speech timing and working memory in profoundly deaf children after cochlear implantation

OpenAIRE

Burkholder, Rose A.; Pisoni, David B.

2003-01-01

Thirty-seven profoundly deaf children between 8- and 9-years-old with cochlear implants and a comparison group of normal-hearing children were studied to measure speaking rates, digit spans, and speech timing during digit span recall. The deaf children displayed longer sentence durations and pauses during recall and shorter digit spans compared to the normal-hearing children. Articulation rates, measured from sentence durations, were strongly correlated with immediate memory span in both norm...

EFFECTS ABILITIES MOTION IN SPACE OF CHILDREN WHO ARE DEAF OR HARD-OF-HEARING, WITHOUT USE OF EYESIGHT

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Husnija Hasanbegović

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This study investigates knowledge on use of body extremities and body in space by children who are deaf or hard-ofhearing. A random sample of 60 participants was used in the study, with chronological age of 6 to 8 years. Experimental group of 30 participants involved pupils who are deaf or hard-of-hearing both male and female who attend school in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina. Control group of 30 participants involved pupils who are typically hearing both male and female who were chronologically matched to the participants in the experimental group. Measuring instruments were created for the purpose of extracting quantitative data analysis, scaled from 1 to 5 units of measurement. The results are showed significant differences between children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and children who are typically hearing (F=23, 08 p=0.00. The children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing showed significantly weaker knowledge of perception of body movements.

EFFECTS ABILITIES MOTION IN SPACE OF CHILDREN WHO ARE DEAF OR HARD-OF-HEARING, WITHOUT USE OF EYESIGHT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Husnija Hasanbegović

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This study investigates knowledge on use of body extremities and body in space by children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. A random sample of 60 participants was used in the study, with chronological age of 6 to 8 years. Experimental group of 30 participants involved pupils who are deaf or hard-of-hearing both male and female who attend school in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina. Control group of 30 participants involved pupils who are typically hearing both male and female who were chronologically matched to the participants in the experimental group. Measuring instruments were created for the purpose of extracting quantitative data analysis, scaled from 1 to 5 units of measurement. The results are showed significant differences between children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and children who are typically hearing (F=23, 08 p=0.00. The children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing showed significantly weaker knowledge of perception of body movements.

Epistemologies, deafness, learning, and teaching.

Science.gov (United States)

Moores, Donald F

2010-01-01

The study of Deaf epistemologies is in a nascent stage relative to, e.g., the study of feminist or African American epistemologies. It has only recently begun attracting the widespread attention it deserves. The present article addresses Deaf epistemologies as they relate to the sometimes conflicting trends in American society and education. In a relatively short period, the education of deaf students has gone from an independent enterprise under the aegis of special education to heavy influence by No Child Left Behind legislation that applies to virtually all American students. American education at one and the same time embraces and celebrates diversity, imposes uniform, rigid learning standards for all children, and mandates that all children be tested in the same way. An oxymoron exists of individualized educational planning and one-size-fits-all curricula and assessment of academic achievement. Implications for teaching and learning of deaf students are explored.

Understanding Deaf Readers: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

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Kelstone, Aaron Weir

2013-01-01

The development of reading skills, beyond a functional level, is difficult for most deaf readers. Standardized testing demonstrates a median 4th grade reading level that remains consistent even after national norming of the Stanford Achievement test on the population of deaf school children. Deaf education continues to generate various educational…

Development of Deaf Identity: An Ethnographic Study

Science.gov (United States)

McIlroy, Guy; Storbeck, Claudine

2011-01-01

This ethnographic study explores the identity development of 9 deaf participants through the narratives of their educational experiences in either mainstream or special schools for the Deaf. This exploration goes beyond a binary conceptualization of deaf identity that allows for only the medical and social models and proposes a bicultural…

The Consequence Deafness has on the Psychological and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Consequence Deafness has on the Psychological and Academic Development of deaf students. The case of Alpha special school for the deaf in Addis Ababa, Hermata and Mendera Junior School at Jimma Town.

RELATION OF DEAF PERSONS TOWARDS BILINGUALISM AS COMMUNICATION MODE

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Naim Salkić

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Bilingualism of a deaf child implies concurrent cognition and usage of sign language, as community language and oral-voice language as language of greater community in which deaf persons live. Today, most authors consider that deaf persons should know both of these languages and that deaf persons need to be educated in both languages, because of their general communication and complete psycho-social development. Through research on sample of 80 deaf examinees, we affirmed the kind of relation that deaf persons have towards bilingualism, bilingual way of education and communication. The research results have shown that bilingualism and bilingual way of education and communication is acceptable to deaf persons and that there is no statistically significant difference between the sub-samples of examinees.

Identity development in deaf adolescents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kunnen, E. Saskia

2014-01-01

We studied identity development during 5 years in 11 deaf adolescents who attend a school for deaf children in the highest level of regular secondary education (age between 14 and 19 years). Identity development is conceptualized by the processes of exploration and commitment formation, as

Genomic analysis of a heterogeneous Mendelian phenotype: multiple novel alleles for inherited hearing loss in the Palestinian population

OpenAIRE

Walsh Tom; Rayan Amal; Sa'ed Judeh; Shahin Hashem; Shepshelovich Jeanne; Lee Ming K; Hirschberg Koret; Tekin Mustafa; Salhab Wa'el; Avraham Karen B; King Mary-Claire; Kanaan Moien

2006-01-01

Abstract Recessively inherited phenotypes are frequent in the Palestinian population, as the result of a historical tradition of marriages within extended kindreds, particularly in isolated villages. In order to characterise the genetics of inherited hearing loss in this population, we worked with West Bank schools for the deaf to identify children with prelingual, bilateral, severe to profound hearing loss not attributable to infection, trauma or other known environmental exposure. Of 156 fa...

Genetics Home Reference: sensorineural deafness and male infertility

Science.gov (United States)

... deafness and male infertility Sensorineural deafness and male infertility Printable PDF Open All Close All Enable Javascript ... expand/collapse boxes. Description Sensorineural deafness and male infertility is a condition characterized by hearing loss and ...

Complex word reading in Dutch deaf children and adults.

Science.gov (United States)

van Hoogmoed, Anne H; Knoors, Harry; Schreuder, Robert; Verhoeven, Ludo

2013-03-01

Children who are deaf are often delayed in reading comprehension. This delay could be due to problems in morphological processing during word reading. In this study, we investigated whether 6th grade deaf children and adults are delayed in comparison to their hearing peers in reading complex derivational words and compounds compared to monomorphemic words. The results show that deaf children are delayed in reading both derivational words and compounds as compared to hearing children, while both deaf and hearing adults performed equally well on a lexical decision task. However, deaf adults generally showed slower reaction times than hearing adults. For both deaf and hearing children, derivational words were more difficult than compounds, as reflected in hearing children's slower reaction times and in deaf children's lower accuracy scores. This finding likely reflects deaf children's lack of familiarity with the meaning of the bound morphemes attached to the stems in derivational words. Therefore, it might be beneficial to teach deaf children the meaning of bound morphemes and to train them to use morphology in word reading. Moreover, these findings imply that it is important to focus on both monomorphemic and polymorphemic words when assessing word reading ability in deaf children. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of state- and territorial-level preparedness capacity for serving deaf and hard-of-hearing populations in disasters.

Science.gov (United States)

Ivey, Susan L; Tseng, Winston; Dahrouge, Donna; Engelman, Alina; Neuhauser, Linda; Huang, Debbie; Gurung, Sidhanta

2014-01-01

Substantial evidence exists that emergency preparedness and response efforts are not effectively reaching populations with functional and access needs, especially barriers related to literacy, language, culture, or disabilities. More than 36 million Americans are Deaf or hard of hearing (Deaf/HH). These groups experienced higher risks of injury, death, and property loss in recent disasters than the general public. We conducted a participatory research study to examine national recommendations on preparedness communication for the Deaf/HH. We assessed whether previous recommendations regarding the Deaf/HH have been incorporated into state- and territorial-level emergency operations plans (EOPs), interviewed state- and territorial-level preparedness directors about capacity to serve the Deaf/HH, and proposed strategies to benefit Deaf/HH populations during emergencies. We analyzed 55 EOPs and 50 key informant (KI) interviews with state directors. Fifty-five percent of EOPs mentioned vulnerable populations; however, only 31% specifically mentioned Deaf/HH populations in their plan. Study findings indicated significant relationships among the following factors: a state-level KI's familiarity with communication issues for the Deaf/HH, making relay calls (i.e., calls to services to relay communication between Deaf and hearing people), and whether the KI's department provides trainings about serving Deaf/HH populations in emergencies. We found significant associations between a state's percentage of Deaf/HH individuals and a KI's familiarity with Deaf/HH communication issues and provision by government of any disability services to Deaf/HH populations in emergencies. Further, we found significant relationships between KIs attending training on serving the Deaf/HH and familiarity with Deaf/HH communication issues, including how to make relay calls. This study provides new knowledge that can help emergency agencies improve their preparedness training, planning, and capacity

Phonological awareness and short-term memory in hearing and deaf individuals of different communication backgrounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Koo, Daniel; Crain, Kelly; LaSasso, Carol; Eden, Guinevere F

2008-12-01

Previous work in deaf populations on phonological coding and working memory, two skills thought to play an important role in the acquisition of written language skills, have focused primarily on signers or did not clearly identify the subjects' native language and communication mode. In the present study, we examined the effect of sensory experience, early language experience, and communication mode on the phonological awareness skills and serial recall of linguistic items in deaf and hearing individuals of different communicative and linguistic backgrounds: hearing nonsigning controls, hearing users of ASL, deaf users of ASL, deaf oral users of English, and deaf users of cued speech. Since many current measures of phonological awareness skills are inappropriate for deaf populations on account of the verbal demands in the stimuli or response, we devised a nonverbal phonological measure that addresses this limitation. The Phoneme Detection Test revealed that deaf cuers and oral users, but not deaf signers, performed as well as their hearing peers when detecting phonemes not transparent in the orthography. The second focus of the study examined short-term memory skills and found that in response to the traditional digit span as well as an experimental visual version, digit-span performance was similar across the three deaf groups, yet deaf subjects' retrieval was lower than that of hearing subjects. Our results support the claim (Bavelier et al., 2006) that lexical items processed in the visual-spatial modality are not as well retained as information processed in the auditory channel. Together these findings show that the relationship between working memory, phonological coding, and reading may not be as tightly interwoven in deaf students as would have been predicted from work conducted in hearing students.

Violence against Deaf Women: Effect of Partner Hearing Status

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Melissa L.; Kobek Pezzarossi, Caroline M.

2014-01-01

Using a sample of Deaf female undergraduate students, the current study sought to investigate the prevalence, correlates, and characteristics of intimate partner violence victimization in hearing-Deaf and Deaf-Deaf relationships. Initial results suggest that similarities in hearing status and communication preference are associated with increased…

Stigma in Mothers of Deaf Children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hossein Ebrahimi

2015-03-01

 Results: Results showed that most mothers suffer from stigma due to having a deaf child. The mean stigma score was 96.48 ±27.72. In total, 24.4% of mothers reported that they had received strange and mocking looks; 72.2% regarded child deafness as a sign of divine retribution; and 33.3% felt ashamed of their child’s deafness. There was an inverse relationship between the mother’s level of education and mean stigma scores (P

Emergency Department utilization among Deaf American Sign Language users.

Science.gov (United States)

McKee, Michael M; Winters, Paul C; Sen, Ananda; Zazove, Philip; Fiscella, Kevin

2015-10-01

Deaf American Sign Language (ASL) users comprise a linguistic minority population with poor health care access due to communication barriers and low health literacy. Potentially, these health care barriers could increase Emergency Department (ED) use. To compare ED use between deaf and non-deaf patients. A retrospective cohort from medical records. The sample was derived from 400 randomly selected charts (200 deaf ASL users and 200 hearing English speakers) from an outpatient primary care health center with a high volume of deaf patients. Abstracted data included patient demographics, insurance, health behavior, and ED use in the past 36 months. Deaf patients were more likely to be never smokers and be insured through Medicaid. In an adjusted analysis, deaf individuals were significantly more likely to use the ED (odds ratio [OR], 1.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11-3.51) over the prior 36 months. Deaf American Sign Language users appear to be at greater odds for elevated ED utilization when compared to the general hearing population. Efforts to further understand the drivers for increased ED utilization among deaf ASL users are much needed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

RELATION OF DEAF PERSONS TOWARDS BILINGUALISM AS COMMUNICATION MODE

OpenAIRE

Naim Salkić

2013-01-01

Bilingualism of a deaf child implies concurrent cognition and usage of sign language, as community language and oral-voice language as language of greater community in which deaf persons live. Today, most authors consider that deaf persons should know both of these languages and that deaf persons need to be educated in both languages, because of their general communication and complete psycho-social development. Through research on sample of 80 deaf examinees, we affirmed the kind...

Health Care Access Among Deaf People.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuenburg, Alexa; Fellinger, Paul; Fellinger, Johannes

2016-01-01

Access to health care without barriers is a clearly defined right of people with disabilities as stated by the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. The present study reviews literature from 2000 to 2015 on access to health care for deaf people and reveals significant challenges in communication with health providers and gaps in global health knowledge for deaf people including those with even higher risk of marginalization. Examples of approaches to improve access to health care, such as providing powerful and visually accessible communication through the use of sign language, the implementation of important communication technologies, and cultural awareness trainings for health professionals are discussed. Programs that raise health knowledge in Deaf communities and models of primary health care centers for deaf people are also presented. Published documents can empower deaf people to realize their right to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Representations of deaf characters in children's picture books.

Science.gov (United States)

Golos, Debbie B; Moses, Annie M

2011-01-01

Picture books can influence how children perceive people of different backgrounds, including people with disabilities whose cultures differ from their own. Researchers have examined the portrayal of multicultural characters with disabilities in children's literature. However, few have specifically considered the portrayal of deaf characters, despite increased inclusion of deaf characters in children's literature over the past two decades. The present study analyzed the portrayal of deaf characters in picture books for children ages 4-8 years. A content analysis of 20 children's picture books was conducted in which the books were analyzed for messages linked to pathological and cultural categories. Results indicated that these books did not portray Deaf characters from a cultural perspective but, rather, highlighted aspects of deafness as a medical condition, one that requires fixing and that perpetuates stereotypes of deafness as a disability.

[Deafness and sarcoidosis].

Science.gov (United States)

Moine, A; Frachet, B; Van Den Abbeele, T; Tison, P; Battesti, J P

1990-01-01

The cochleovestibular tract is seldom involved by sarcoidosis (about 50 cases have been described since 1948). As a clinical expression of sarcoidosis, deafness is fluctuant in 50% of all cases, bilateral, and most often associated with facial palsy and uveitis, the vestibular reflexes being reduced. The histological studies demonstrate lesions at all levels from the cochlea to be brain stem, but the main mechanism is an infiltration of the arachnoid vessels. The prognosis of sarcoidosis deafness is usually poor in spite of corticosteroid therapy. This paper is illustrated by 3 cases observed in Avicenne Hospital.

Beethoven's deafness, the defiance of a genius

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bento, Ricardo Ferreira

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Ludwig van Beethoven, one of the greatest composers in History, was tormented for his whole life by a progressive deafness without definitive diagnosis. Many authors published studies about the etiologic possibilities of the deafness of the music genius with different explanations about his auditory loss. In this work, the author discusses the implications of Beethoven's progressive deafness to the creation of his word, as well as etiologic assumptions of his disease. Would Beethoven have had the same ingeniousness he showed in his symphonies if he did not have hypacusis and tinnitus? What is the influence of his deafness on his work and life? Could he have had a more precise diagnosis and specially a treatment nowadays? Would we have the brilliant composer if he had deafness today? We surely could not have!

Family influences on the cognitive development of profoundly deaf children: exploring the effects of socioeconomic status and siblings.

Science.gov (United States)

Macaulay, Catrin E; Ford, Ruth M

2013-10-01

We evaluated the cognitive development of 48 profoundly deaf children from hearing families (born 1994-2002, mean age M = 8.0 years at time of test, none of whom had received early auditory-verbal therapy) as a function of family socioeconomic status and number of siblings. Overall, the deaf children matched a younger group of 47 hearing controls (M = 4.6 years) on verbal ability, theory of mind, and cognitive inhibition. Partial correlations (controlling for age) revealed positive relations in the hearing group between maternal education and inhibition, between number of younger siblings and references to emotions, and between number of close-in-age siblings and references to desires and false beliefs. In the deaf group, there were positive relations between household income and memory span, between maternal education and references to false beliefs, and between number of younger siblings and nonverbal ability. In contrast, deaf children with a greater number of older siblings aged ≤12 years showed inferior memory span, inhibition, belief understanding, picture-sequencing accuracy, and mental-state language, suggesting that they failed to compete successfully with older siblings for their parents' attention and material resources. We consider the implications of the findings for understanding birth-order effects on deaf and language-impaired children.

Moving forward with dignity: Exploring health awareness in an isolated Deaf community of Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Terry, Daniel R; Lê, Quynh; Nguyen, Hoang Boi

2016-04-01

Those within the Deaf community are disadvantaged in a number of aspects of day-to-day life including their access to health care. At times, they may encounter barriers to health care even before they reach the consultation room. As a consequence, they may receive insufficient and inappropriate health care which may lead to poorer health outcomes. A study was conducted to explore health awareness and access to health information and services of Deaf people living in Tasmania, Australia and identify ways of enhancing the interaction between the Deaf and the wider community. A questionnaire was administered, including a number of demographic, health awareness and health service usage questions. In addition, semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with service providers and the Deaf community between March and August 2014. An interpreter was present to translate the questions into Auslan and who then translated the Deaf participant's discussion into English for the researcher. Data were then analyzed using research software SPSS v20.0 and NVivo 10.0. Health as a concept was poorly understood, including mental health, sexual health and health concerning alcohol and drug abuse. Regarding health care resources, due to a sense of security, trust and confidence, the family physician or general practitioner was the single most important health care provider among the Deaf. The Deaf remain underserved by the current health care system; however, through resourcefulness and life experiences, the Deaf have developed coping and management strategies to move forward with dignity in education, meaningful employment and health access. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The School-to-Community Transition Experiences of Hearing Young Adults and Young Adults Who Are Deaf.

Science.gov (United States)

Bullis, Michael; And Others

1995-01-01

Comparison of hearing (n=222) and deaf (n=217) young adults on employment, independent living, and social experience outcomes found that the hearing group was generally more successful than deaf persons from mainstream or residential schools. Gender differences did not uniformly favor men. Suggestions for improving transition programs for the deaf…

Emotional Availability and Touch in Deaf and Hearing Dyads

Science.gov (United States)

Paradis, Grace; Koester, Lynne Sanford

2015-01-01

In recent years, increasing attention has been given to the development of deaf children, though few studies have included Deaf parents. The present study examined emotional availability (EA) and functions of touch used by Deaf or hearing parents with hearing or deaf infants during free play. Sixty dyads representing four hearing status groups…

A Grounded Theory of Effective Reading by Profoundly Deaf Adults

Science.gov (United States)

Silvestri, Julia; Wang, Ye

2018-01-01

The purpose of the study was to uncover and describe psycholinguistic and sociocognitive factors facilitating effective reading by signing adults who are profoundly deaf and do not use hearing technology. The sample comprised four groups, each consisting of 15 adults, for a total of 60 participants. The four groups were "deaf…

Identity Development in Deaf Adolescents

Science.gov (United States)

Kunnen, E. Saskia

2014-01-01

We studied identity development during 5 years in seven deaf adolescents who attended a school for deaf children in the highest level of regular secondary education (age between 14 and 18 years), administering identity interviews every year. Identity development is conceptualized as the processes of exploration and commitment formation (Bosma,…

[Congenital sensorineural deafness and associated syndromes].

Science.gov (United States)

Moatti, L; Garabedian, E N; Lacombe, H; Spir-Jacob, C

1990-01-01

The etiology of perceptive deafness, especially the congenital variety, requires investigation. The presence of a variety of signs associated with deafness constitutes an "associated syndrome" and helps to define a possible genetic origin. These syndromes only represent a small percentage of overall causes of deafness in children, since at most they account for only 10% of cases. Certain syndromes are encountered more often or are well known, others are extremely rare or have only been described recently. The authors report six of these very rare syndromes discovered among their patients: a KID syndrome, a Leopard syndrome, a Norrie syndrome, a Jervell and Lange Nielsen syndrome, a recently described entity called CEE with deafness and an External Neuro-Cochleo-Pancreatic syndrome which would not appear to have been previously described.

Signposts to Development: Theory of Mind in Deaf Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Woolfe, Tyron; Want, Stephen C.; Siegal, Michael

2002-01-01

Two studies investigated the effect of language input on theory of mind by comparing the performance of deaf native-signing children (ages 4 to 8) raised by deaf signing parents and deaf late-signing children raised by hearing parents on "thought picture" measures of theory of mind. Findings indicated that deaf late signers showed…

Visual field bias in hearing and deaf adults during judgments of facial expression and identity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susan M Letourneau

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The dominance of the right hemisphere during face perception is associated with more accurate judgments of faces presented in the left rather than the right visual field. Previous research suggests that the left visual field bias typically observed during face perception tasks is reduced in deaf adults who use sign language, for whom facial expressions convey important linguistic information. The current study examined whether visual field biases were altered in deaf adults whenever they viewed expressive faces, or only when attention was explicitly directed to expression. Twelve hearing adults and 12 deaf signers were trained to recognize a set of novel faces posing various emotional expressions. They then judged the familiarity or emotion of faces presented in the left or right visual field, or both visual fields simultaneously. The same familiar and unfamiliar faces posing neutral and happy expressions were presented in the two tasks. Both groups were most accurate when faces were presented in both visual fields. Across tasks, the hearing group demonstrated a bias toward the left visual field. In contrast, the deaf group showed a bias toward the left visual field during identity judgments that shifted marginally toward the right visual field during emotion judgments. Two secondary conditions tested whether these effects generalized to angry faces and famous faces and similar effects were observed. These results suggest that attention to facial expression, not merely the presence of emotional expression, reduces a typical left visual field bias for face processing in deaf signers.

Hearing Mothers and Oral Deaf Children: An Atypical Relational Context for Theory of Mind

Science.gov (United States)

Lecciso, Flavia; Petrocchi, Serena; Marchetti, Antonella

2013-01-01

The study assessed Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities in a group of oral deaf children and in their hearing mothers using a battery of ToM tasks. It also investigated the connection between mother and child in ToM performance. Participants were: 17 oral deaf children (aged 5 to 14 years) were paired by gender, age, and mental age with 17 hearing…

Understanding Harry Potter: parallels to the deaf world.

Science.gov (United States)

Czubek, Todd A; Greenwald, Janey

2005-01-01

Every so often there are stories that take the world by storm and make such an impact that they become part of our everyday world. These stories, characters, and themes become established elements of cultural literacy. This is exactly what has happened with J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Harry and his cohort of wizards, witches, and their adventures have become an indispensable part of popular literature and popular culture. We have developed an innovative way to ensure that Deaf children, their families, and anyone studying literature (Deaf or general) gain a deeper understanding of this phenomenon. In fact, we go further by demonstrating how using a Deaf Lens provides the greatest insight into the fascinating world of Harry Potter. Utilizing a Deaf Studies Template and a Deaf Lens, we capitalize on the experiences of Deaf people everywhere while celebrating the valuable role American Sign Language has in academic programming.

Can't Sing? Won't Sing? Aotearoa/New Zealand "Tone-Deaf" Early Childhood Teachers' Musical Beliefs

Science.gov (United States)

Swain, Nicola; Bodkin-Allen, Sally

2014-01-01

Singing is an important part of teaching for early childhood teachers. However, some teachers find this difficult and may even identify themselves as "tone-deaf". We invited a group of early childhood teachers who self-identified as "tone-deaf" to participate in a study to investigate their beliefs and behaviours about singing…

Verbal and Spatial Analogical Reasoning in Deaf and Hearing Children: The Role of Grammar and Vocabulary

Science.gov (United States)

Edwards, Lindsey; Figueras, Berta; Mellanby, Jane; Langdon, Dawn

2011-01-01

The extent to which cognitive development and abilities are dependent on language remains controversial. In this study, the analogical reasoning skills of deaf and hard of hearing children are explored. Two groups of children (deaf and hard of hearing children with either cochlear implants or hearing aids and hearing children) completed tests of…

The Relationship Between Cochlear Implants and Deaf Identity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chapman, Madeleine; Dammeyer, Jesper

2017-01-01

from a Danish national survey of deaf adults, the authors examined the significance of having (or not having) a CI in regard to identity (categorized as deaf, hearing, bicultural, and marginal) and various related factors concerning social participation and experiences of being deaf. Cochlear...

The impact of visual communication on the intersubjective development of early parent-child interaction with 18- to 24-month-old deaf toddlers.

Science.gov (United States)

Loots, Gerrit; Devisé, Isabel; Jacquet, Wolfgang

2005-01-01

This article presents a study that examined the impact of visual communication on the quality of the early interaction between deaf and hearing mothers and fathers and their deaf children aged between 18 and 24 months. Three communication mode groups of parent-deaf child dyads that differed by the use of signing and visual-tactile communication strategies were involved: (a) hearing parents communicating with their deaf child in an auditory/oral way, (b) hearing parents using total communication, and (c) deaf parents using sign language. Based on Loots and colleagues' intersubjective developmental theory, parent-deaf child interaction was analyzed according to the occurrence of intersubjectivity during free play with a standard set of toys. The data analyses indicated that the use of sign language in a sequential visual way of communication enabled the deaf parents to involve their 18- to 24-month-old deaf infants in symbolic intersubjectivity, whereas hearing parents who hold on to oral-only communication were excluded from involvement in symbolic intersubjectivity with their deaf infants. Hearing parents using total communication were more similar to deaf parents, but they still differed from deaf parents in exchanging and sharing symbolic and linguistic meaning with their deaf child.

Gênero e surdez / Gender and deafness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Madalena Klein

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Este artigo propõe-se discutir a temática da surdez, articulando-a com discussões referentes a gênero e sexualidade, tomando por referência autores da perspectiva dosEstudos Culturais em Educação e dos Estudos Surdos. A surdez e os surdos, assim como o gênero, são entendidos a partir da diferença cultural. No mercado de trabalho em geral, as surdas são discriminadas, porém são a maioria no professorado, o que é uma conseqüência da feminização do trabalho docente. A crescente presença feminina na liderança dos movimentos surdos pode estar relacionada a essa maioria de professoras, que carregam para os movimentos características da organização escolar. Analisamos dois artigos sobre o tema, além de um encontro sobre mulheres surdas ocorrido em Pelotas – RS, onde as participantes destacaram seu papel na luta política da associação dos surdos, enquanto aos homens cabe o papel de organizar as atividades de lazer e esportes. A luta pelos direitos das mulheres surdas vem crescendo no Brasil e há necessidade de haver mais estudos sobre essa temática.Abstract This paper discusses the topic of deafness, articulating it with discussions referring to gender and sexuality, based on authors from the perspectives of Cultural Studies in Education and Deaf Studies. Deafness and deaf people, as the gender issue, are understood through a cultural difference perspective. Deaf women are discriminated inthe workplace in general, but they are the majority in the teaching profession, a consequence of the feminization of the teaching work. The increasing female presence as leaders of deaf movements may be related to this greater rate of women as teachers, who carry the features of the school organization onto the movements. Two papers onthe topic were examined, as well as a meeting on deaf women occurring in Pelotas – RS, whose participants highlighted their role in the political struggle by the deaf people’s association, while men take

Deaf capital: an exploration of the relationship between stigma and value in deaf multilevel marketing participation in Urban India.

Science.gov (United States)

Friedner, Michele

2014-12-01

This article ethnographically examines how some deaf people in urban India have begun to orient themselves toward the future by participating in multilevel marketing businesses. In the absence of other structural possibilities for deaf future-making, deaf Indians have turned to such businesses in search of social, economic, and moral livelihood. This article analyzes participation in one particular business and asks how participating within the business both enables and disables the cultivation of specific ideas of development. Particular attention is devoted to exploring the multiple registers of the concept of "deaf development" and how such development may be cultivated through multilevel marketing businesses. This article aims to make a critical intervention in medical anthropology studies of disability by arguing that disability (or in this case deafness) can function as a source of value, therefore highlighting tensions between stigma and value. © 2014 by the American Anthropological Association.

Deaf not Daft: The Deaf in Mental Subnormality Hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Chris

1982-01-01

Case studies of deaf or hearing impaired persons in institutions for the mentally retarded illustrate the ways in which the "invisible handicap" can mask cognitive ability, causing unnecessary institutionalization. (CL)

Prevalence of congenital hereditary sensorineural deafness in Australian Cattle Dogs and associations with coat characteristics and sex

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Sommerlad Susan F

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Congenital hereditary sensorineural deafness (CHSD occurs in many dog breeds, including Australian Cattle Dogs. In some breeds, CHSD is associated with a lack of cochlear melanocytes in the stria vascularis, certain coat characteristics, and potentially, abnormalities in neuroepithelial pigment production. This study investigates phenotypic markers for CHSD in 899 Australian Cattle Dogs. Results Auditory function was tested in 899 Australian Cattle Dogs in family groups using brainstem auditory evoked response testing. Coat colour and patterns, facial and body markings, gender and parental hearing status were recorded. Deafness prevalence among all 899 dogs was 10.8% with 7.5% unilaterally deaf, and 3.3% bilaterally deaf, and amongst pups from completely tested litters (n = 696 was 11.1%, with 7.5% unilaterally deaf, and 3.6% bilaterally deaf. Univariable and multivariable analyses revealed a negative association between deafness and bilateral facial masks (odds ratio 0.2; P ≤ 0.001. Using multivariable logistic animal modelling, the risk of deafness was lower in dogs with pigmented body spots (odds ratio 0.4; P = 0.050. No significant associations were found between deafness and coat colour. Within unilaterally deaf dogs with unilateral facial masks, no association was observed between the side of deafness and side of mask. The side of unilateral deafness was not significantly clustered amongst unilaterally deaf dogs from the same litter. Females were at increased risk of deafness (odds ratio from a logistic animal model 1.9; P = 0.034 after adjusting for any confounding by mask type and pigmented body spots. Conclusions Australian Cattle Dogs suffer from CHSD, and this disease is more common in dogs with mask-free faces, and in those without pigmented body patches. In unilaterally deaf dogs with unilateral masks, the lack of observed association between side of deafness and side of mask suggests that if CHSD is due to

Environmental assessment: Deaf Smith County site, Texas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-05-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified a location in Deaf Smith County, Texas, as one of nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Deaf Smith County site and the eight other potentially sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. The Deaf Smith County site is in the Permian Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Deaf Smith County site is not disqualified under the guidelines. On the basis of these findings, the DOE is nominating the Deaf Smith County site as one of the five sites suitable for characterization. 591 refs., 147 figs., 173 tabs

Environmental assessment: Deaf Smith County site, Texas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1986-05-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified a location in Deaf Smith County, Texas, as one of nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Deaf Smith County site and the eight other potentially sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. The Deaf Smith County site is in the Permian Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Deaf Smith County site is not disqualified under the guidelines. On the basis of these findings, the DOE is nominating the Deaf Smith County site as one of the five sites suitable for characterization. 591 refs., 147 figs., 173 tabs.

Rhythm Deficits in "Tone Deafness"

Science.gov (United States)

Foxton, Jessica M.; Nandy, Rachel K.; Griffiths, Timothy D.

2006-01-01

It is commonly observed that "tone deaf" individuals are unable to hear the beat of a tune, yet deficits on simple timing tests have not been found. In this study, we investigated rhythm processing in nine individuals with congenital amusia ("tone deafness") and nine controls. Participants were presented with pairs of 5-note sequences, and were…

College Students Who Are Deaf-Blind. Practice Perspectives--Highlighting Information on Deaf-Blindness. Number 7

Science.gov (United States)

Arndt, Katrina

2011-01-01

Imagine being in college and being deaf-blind. What opportunities might you have? What types of challenges would you face? This publication describes a study that begins to answer these questions. During the study, 11 college students with deaf-blindness were interviewed about their college experiences. They were like most college students in many…

Heritability and complex segregation analysis of deafness in Jack Russell Terriers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Strain George M

2007-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The association between patterns of pigmentation and deafness in the dog has a long-documented history, with reports dating back over one hundred years. Long suspected of having a genetic basis, the search for loci with a pronounced influence in the expression of hearing loss in the dog has yet to be successful. No studies in the dog to date have found a possible influence of a specific colour locus associated with deafness. The present study is intended to evaluate the heritability of deafness in the Jack Russell Terrier (JRT, characterize the mode of inheritance, and evaluate the existence of a sex, coat colour, or coat texture influence on the expression of sensorineural deafness. Results The estimation of heritability of deafness in the JRT was 0.22 when deafness was considered a binary (normal/deaf trait and 0.31 when deafness was considered a three-category (normal/unilateral/bilateral deafness. The influence of coat colour in the incidence of JRT deafness was statistically significant, indicating that dogs with more white are more likely to be deaf. The influence of sex or coat texture was not statistically significant in the incidence of JRT deafness. Complex segregation analysis revealed a model of a single locus with a large effect on the binary measure of hearing loss is not supported. Conclusion This is the first attempt, to our knowledge, to characterize a genetic component responsible for deafness in the JRT. The heritability of deafness in the JRT was found to be 0.22 and 0.31 considering deafness to be a two-category or three-category trait, respectively. There appears to be an influence of coat colour on the expression of deafness. In an attempt to characterize the mode of inheritance of deafness in the JRT, a model of a single locus with a large effect on hearing loss is not supported with this data. Further study is needed to determine if a single locus may be influencing deafness in the JRT. While the

Language development in deaf children’s interactions with deaf and hearing adults. A Dutch longitudinal study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klatter-Folmer, H.A.K.; Hout, R.W.N.M. van; Kolen, E.; Verhoeven, L.T.W.

2006-01-01

The language development of two deaf girls and four deaf boys in Sign Language of the Netherlands (SLN) and spoken Dutch was investigated longitudinally. At the start, the mean age of the children was 3;5. All data were collected in video-recorded semistructured conversations between individual

Visual advantage in deaf adults linked to retinal changes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charlotte Codina

Full Text Available The altered sensory experience of profound early onset deafness provokes sometimes large scale neural reorganisations. In particular, auditory-visual cross-modal plasticity occurs, wherein redundant auditory cortex becomes recruited to vision. However, the effect of human deafness on neural structures involved in visual processing prior to the visual cortex has never been investigated, either in humans or animals. We investigated neural changes at the retina and optic nerve head in profoundly deaf (N = 14 and hearing (N = 15 adults using Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT, an in-vivo light interference method of quantifying retinal micro-structure. We compared retinal changes with behavioural results from the same deaf and hearing adults, measuring sensitivity in the peripheral visual field using Goldmann perimetry. Deaf adults had significantly larger neural rim areas, within the optic nerve head in comparison to hearing controls suggesting greater retinal ganglion cell number. Deaf adults also demonstrated significantly larger visual field areas (indicating greater peripheral sensitivity than controls. Furthermore, neural rim area was significantly correlated with visual field area in both deaf and hearing adults. Deaf adults also showed a significantly different pattern of retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL distribution compared to controls. Significant correlations between the depth of the RNFL at the inferior-nasal peripapillary retina and the corresponding far temporal and superior temporal visual field areas (sensitivity were found. Our results show that cross-modal plasticity after early onset deafness may not be limited to the sensory cortices, noting specific retinal adaptations in early onset deaf adults which are significantly correlated with peripheral vision sensitivity.

Influences on Facial Emotion Recognition in Deaf Children

Science.gov (United States)

Sidera, Francesc; Amadó, Anna; Martínez, Laura

2017-01-01

This exploratory research is aimed at studying facial emotion recognition abilities in deaf children and how they relate to linguistic skills and the characteristics of deafness. A total of 166 participants (75 deaf) aged 3-8 years were administered the following tasks: facial emotion recognition, naming vocabulary and cognitive ability. The…

"The Real World": Workplace Literacy for Deaf Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Rach, Leslie; Dreher, Mariam Jean

1998-01-01

Examines three work sites employing deaf individuals (graduates of Gallaudet University), investigating how much time deaf adults spend reading and writing on the job; what types of reading and writing activities they engage in; how deaf employees communicate with their hearing supervisors/co-workers; and what their perceptions are of literacy…

Cognitive status, lexical learning and memory in deaf adults using sign language

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Zahra Jafari

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim : Learning and memory are two high level cognitive performances in human that hearing loss influences them. In our study, mini-mental state examination (MMSE and Ray auditory-verbal learning test (RAVLT was conducted to study cognitive stat us and lexical learning and memory in deaf adults using sign language. Methods: This cross-sectional comparative study was conducted on 30 available congenitally deaf adults using sign language in Persian and 46 normal adults aged 19 to 27 years for both sexes, with a minimum of diploma level of education. After mini-mental state examination, Rey auditory-verbal learning test was run through computers to evaluate lexical learning and memory with visual presentation. Results: Mean scores of mini-mental state examination and Rey auditory-verbal learning test in congenitally deaf adults were significantly lower than normal individuals in all scores (p=0.018 except in the two parts of the Rey test. Significant correlation was found between results of two tests just in the normal group (p=0.043. Gender had no effect on test results. Conclusion: Cognitive status and lexical memory and learning in congenitally deaf individuals is weaker than in normal subjects. It seems that using sign language as the main way of communication in deaf people causes poor lexical memory and learning.

Accessibility and diversity: Deaf space in action

OpenAIRE

Solvang, Per Koren; Haualand, Hilde

2013-01-01

How disabled people gather and share common experiences is empirically not a well-addressed issue in discussions about disability identity and unity. Among Deaf people, there is a long tradition for meeting in transnational contexts. Based on an intensive multi sited fieldwork at several transnational events, the article presents some examples of how deaf people negotiate social positions as Deaf that value difference. They gather as a community of communicators, marked by an identification f...

Auditory perception and the control of spatially coordinated action of deaf and hearing children.

Science.gov (United States)

Savelsbergh, G J; Netelenbos, J B; Whiting, H T

1991-03-01

From birth onwards, auditory stimulation directs and intensifies visual orientation behaviour. In deaf children, by definition, auditory perception cannot take place and cannot, therefore, make a contribution to visual orientation to objects approaching from outside the initial field of view. In experiment 1, a difference in catching ability is demonstrated between deaf and hearing children (10-13 years of age) when the ball approached from the periphery or from outside the field of view. No differences in catching ability between the two groups occurred when the ball approached from within the field of view. A second experiment was conducted in order to determine if differences in catching ability between deaf and hearing children could be attributed to execution of slow orientating movements and/or slow reaction time as a result of the auditory loss. The deaf children showed slower reaction times. No differences were found in movement times between deaf and hearing children. Overall, the findings suggest that a lack of auditory stimulation during development can lead to deficiencies in the coordination of actions such as catching which are both spatially and temporally constrained.

Deafness, a Social Stigma: Physician Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Taneja, M K

2014-12-01

Hearing is an essential sensory sense of an individual for development of speech which is crucial for verbal communication and personality development. It is the second most common form of disability after loco motor disability in India. Disabling hearing loss is more than 40 dB hearing loss in better ear in a person more than 15 years of age and greater than 30 dB hearing loss in better hearing ear below 14 years of age. WHO estimated 360 million individuals in the world with disabling hearing loss, out of which 91 % are adults and only 9 % are children. Early and accurate identification of birth asphyxia, hyperbilirubinemia, auditory neuropathy Presbyacusis and avoiding noise pollution and discouraging use of mobile phone, tobacco chewing/smoking, in those who are prone to deafness, an intervention is a must to decrease deafness from our society. Deafness prevention can only be possible with mutual cooperation with dedication of different medical and non-medical personnel and also by helping the persons with deafness. We have to focus not only on the children but also on senior citizens as most alarming, up to 40 %, incidence of deafness is in senior citizens above the age of 75 years. Timely cure and preventive measures are essential for better socio-economic state of the country. By helping the persons with deafness, we will not only be doing a great service to the Nation but also to the society at large.

The Impact of Visual Communication on the Intersubjective Development of Early Parent?Child Interaction with 18- to 24-Month-Old Deaf Toddlers

Science.gov (United States)

Loots, Gerrit; Devise, Isabel; Jacquet, Wolfgang

2005-01-01

This article presents a study that examined the impact of visual communication on the quality of the early interaction between deaf and hearing mothers and fathers and their deaf children aged between 18 and 24 months. Three communication mode groups of parent?deaf child dyads that differed by the use of signing and visual?tactile communication…

An acoustic analysis of laughter produced by congenitally deaf and normally hearing college students1

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Makagon, Maja M.; Funayama, E. Sumie; Owren, Michael J.

2008-01-01

Relatively few empirical data are available concerning the role of auditory experience in nonverbal human vocal behavior, such as laughter production. This study compared the acoustic properties of laughter in 19 congenitally, bilaterally, and profoundly deaf college students and in 23 normally hearing control participants. Analyses focused on degree of voicing, mouth position, air-flow direction, temporal features, relative amplitude, fundamental frequency, and formant frequencies. Results showed that laughter produced by the deaf participants was fundamentally similar to that produced by the normally hearing individuals, which in turn was consistent with previously reported findings. Finding comparable acoustic properties in the sounds produced by deaf and hearing vocalizers confirms the presumption that laughter is importantly grounded in human biology, and that auditory experience with this vocalization is not necessary for it to emerge in species-typical form. Some differences were found between the laughter of deaf and hearing groups; the most important being that the deaf participants produced lower-amplitude and longer-duration laughs. These discrepancies are likely due to a combination of the physiological and social factors that routinely affect profoundly deaf individuals, including low overall rates of vocal fold use and pressure from the hearing world to suppress spontaneous vocalizations. PMID:18646991

Comparison of visual working memory in deaf and hearing-impaired students with normal counterparts: A research in people without sign language

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farideh Tangestani Zadeh

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: The hearing defects in deaf and hearing-impaired students also affect their cognitive skills such as memory in addition to communication skills. Hence, the aim of this study was to compare visual working memory in deaf and hearing-impaired students with that in normal counterparts.Method: In the present study, which was a causal-comparative study using the André Rey test, 30 deaf and 30 hearing-impaired students were compared with 30 students in a normal group, and they were matched based on gender, intelligence, educational grade, and socioeconomic status.Findings: Findings show that there is significant difference between the three groups’ subjects (p0.05.Conclusion: Function of deaf or hard-of-hearing students in the visual working memory task was weaker in comparison with the normal counterparts, while the two deaf and hard-of-hearing groups have similar functions. With a better identification and understanding of the factors that affect the development of this cognitive ability, we can offer new methods of teaching and reduce many of the disadvantages of this group of people in the different fields of cognitive science.

Deaf murderers: clinical and forensic issues.

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Vernon, M; Steinberg, A G; Montoya, L A

1999-01-01

Data are reported on 28 deaf individuals who were convicted, pled guilty, or have been charged and awaiting trial for murder. The unique forensic issues raised by these cases are discussed, and their clinical picture presented. A significant percentage of these deaf murderers and defendants had such severely limited communication skills in both English and American Sign Language that they lacked the linguistic ability to understand the charges against them and/or to participate in their own defense. As such, they were incompetent to stand trial, due not to mental illness or mental retardation, but to linguistic deficits. This form of incompetence poses a dilemma to the courts that remains unresolved. This same linguistic disability makes it impossible for some deaf suspects to be administered Miranda Warnings in a way comprehensible to them. This paper identifies the reasons for the communication problems many deaf persons face in court and offers remedial steps to help assure fair trials and police interrogations for deaf defendants. The roles and responsibilities of psychiatric and psychological experts in these cases are discussed. Data are provided on the etiology of the 28 individuals' hearing losses, psychiatric/psychological histories, IQs, communication characteristics, educational levels, and victim characteristics. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Environmental assessment: Deaf Smith County site, Texas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1986-05-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified a location in Deaf Smith County, Texas, as one of the nine potentially acceptable sites for mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Deaf Smith County site and eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. The Deaf Smith County site is in the Permian Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Deaf Smith County site is not disqualified under the guidelines.

Environmental assessment: Deaf Smith County site, Texas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-05-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified a location in Deaf Smith County, Texas, as one of the nine potentially acceptable sites for mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Deaf Smith County site and eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. The Deaf Smith County site is in the Permian Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Deaf Smith County site is not disqualified under the guidelines

Issues in the Sexual Molestation of Deaf Youth.

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Vernon, McCay; Miller, Katrina R.

2002-01-01

Discussion of issues involved in sexual abuse of deaf youth in schools considers characteristics of pedophiles and hebephiles and how sexual offenders are dealt with in the criminal justice system. It suggests ways to prevent sexual abuse of children who are deaf and what to look for in identifying deaf children who are being victimized. (Contains…

Self-Esteem and Coping Strategies among Deaf Students

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Jambor, Edina; Elliott, Marta

2005-01-01

Research studies on the determinants of self-esteem of deaf individuals often yield inconsistent findings. The current study assessed the effects on self-esteem of factors related to deafness, such as the means of communication at home and severity of hearing loss with hearing aid, as well as the coping styles that deaf people adopt to cope with…

Computational solution for the auxiliary in the literacy of deaf

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João Carlos Lopes Fernandes

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The learning of the deaf is a great challenge for educators, especially in Portuguese-speaking course. Brazilian schools are not prepared for suits with deaf, because they lack trained professionals. Current Brazilian educational policies, seeking socialize all deaf and not deaf students. The Brazilian deaf community uses LIBRAS, Brazilian sign language as their main form of communication between them. Integrating LBS and Portuguese is one of the main current challenges and the use of computers has helped a lot.

Visual perceptual load induces inattentional deafness.

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Macdonald, James S P; Lavie, Nilli

2011-08-01

In this article, we establish a new phenomenon of "inattentional deafness" and highlight the level of load on visual attention as a critical determinant of this phenomenon. In three experiments, we modified an inattentional blindness paradigm to assess inattentional deafness. Participants made either a low- or high-load visual discrimination concerning a cross shape (respectively, a discrimination of line color or of line length with a subtle length difference). A brief pure tone was presented simultaneously with the visual task display on a final trial. Failures to notice the presence of this tone (i.e., inattentional deafness) reached a rate of 79% in the high-visual-load condition, significantly more than in the low-load condition. These findings establish the phenomenon of inattentional deafness under visual load, thereby extending the load theory of attention (e.g., Lavie, Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance, 25, 596-616, 1995) to address the cross-modal effects of visual perceptual load.

Hearing children of Deaf parents: Gender and birth order in the delegation of the interpreter role in culturally Deaf families.

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Moroe, Nomfundo F; de Andrade, Victor

2018-01-01

Culturally, hearing children born to Deaf parents may have to mediate two different positions within the hearing and Deaf cultures. However, there appears to be little written about the experiences of hearing children born to Deaf parents in the South African context. This study sought to investigate the roles of children of Deaf adults (CODAs) as interpreters in Deaf-parented families, more specifically, the influence of gender and birth order in language brokering. Two male and eight female participants between the ages of 21 and 40 years were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling strategies. A qualitative design was employed and data were collected using a semi-structured, open-ended interview format. Themes which emerged were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings indicated that there was no formal assignment of the interpreter role; however, female children tended to assume the role of interpreter more often than the male children. Also, it appeared as though the older children shifted the responsibility for interpreting to younger siblings. The participants in this study indicated that they interpreted in situations where they felt they were not developmentally or emotionally ready, or in situations which they felt were better suited for older siblings or for siblings of another gender. This study highlights a need for the formalisation of interpreting services for Deaf people in South Africa in the form of professional interpreters rather than the reliance on hearing children as interpreters in order to mediate between Deaf and hearing cultures.

Teacher quality: a comparison of National Board-certified and non-Board-certified teachers of deaf students.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheetz, Nanci A; Martin, David S

2006-01-01

THE STUDY was designed to identify specific components of teacher excellence, focusing initially on the characteristics of the small number of teachers of the deaf who are certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), then comparing those with the characteristics of other teachers identified as master teachers by university faculty in teacher preparation in deafness. Classroom observation, written lesson plans, teacher questionnaires on beliefs, and content analysis of interactive electronic focus groups were used to compare the two groups of teachers. Results indicated similarities between Board-certified and non-Board-certified master teachers in regard to teacher behaviors and commitment to well-founded pedagogical principles. Differences were found in classroom priorities and in the greater level of interconnectivity expressed by Board-certified teachers as the result of becoming Board certified. Recommendations are made for preparing teachers of deaf students.

Access to English Language Acquisition in Ghana Schools for the Deaf: Are the Deaf Students Handicapped?

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Obosu, Gideon Kwesi; Opoku-Asare, Nana Afia; Deku, Prosper

2016-01-01

This paper primarily discusses the challenges deaf students in Ghana are likely to grapple with as they access education provided for them in English language. The arguments discussed in this paper are supported by findings from a multiple site case study of five Schools for the Deaf purposively sampled from four regions of Ghana. Observations…

77 FR 20553 - Relay Services for Deaf-Blind Individuals

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-05

... for Deaf-Blind Individuals AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission. ACTION: Final rule; waiver of requirement. SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission conditionally waives the requirement for National Deaf... participants to fully meet the needs of eligible low- income, deaf-blind individuals in a timely manner. DATES...

The Influence of Phonological Mechanisms in Written Spelling of Profoundly Deaf Children

Science.gov (United States)

Colombo, Lucia; Arfe, Barbara; Bronte, Tiziana

2012-01-01

In the present study, the effect of phonological and working memory mechanisms involved in spelling Italian single words was explored in two groups of children matched for grade level: a group of normally hearing children and a group of pre-verbally deaf children, with severe-to-profound hearing loss. Three-syllable and four-syllable familiar…

Aromatherapy for deaf and deafblind people living in residential accommodation.

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Armstrong, F; Heidingsfeld, V

2000-11-01

This article looks at ways in which aromatherapy and therapeutic massage have been found to be beneficial for a group of deaf and deafblind adults with special needs, living in residential accommodation. Our basic aim is to promote confidence and communication as well as enhancing a sense of well-being through the judicial use of aromatic plant materials and therapeutic massage. Aromatherapy sessions have become an accepted enjoyable and therapeutic part of the residents' lifestyle. It is our belief that this gentle, non-invasive therapy can benefit deaf and deafblind people, especially as their intact senses can be heightened. This paper explores both professional and caring issues related to the use of aromatherapy in this environment.

Environmental assessment overview, Deaf Smith County site, Texas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-05-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified a location in Deaf Smith County, Texas, as one of nine potentially acceptable sites for mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Deaf Smith County site and eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. The Deaf Smith County site is in the Permian Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Deaf Smith County site is not disqualified under the guidelines. On the basis of these findings, the DOE is nominating the Deaf Smith County site as one of five sites suitable for characterization. 3 figs

Perception of Genetic Testing for Deafness and Factors Associated with Interest in Genetic Testing Among Deaf People in a Selected Population in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Adedokun, Babatunde O; Yusuf, Bidemi O; Lasisi, J Taye; Jinadu, A A; Sunmonu, M T; Ashanke, A F; Lasisi, O Akeem

2015-12-01

Understanding the perceptions of genetic testing by members of the deaf community may help in planning deafness genetics research, especially so in the context of strong adherence to cultural values as found among native Africans. Among Yorubas in Nigeria, deafness is perceived to be caused by some offensive actions of the mother during pregnancy, spiritual attack, and childhood infections. We studied attitudes towards, and acceptance of genetic testing by the deaf community in Nigeria. Structured questionnaires were administered to individuals sampled from the Vocational Training Centre for the Deaf, the religious Community, and government schools, among others. The main survey items elicited information about the community in which the deaf people participate, their awareness of genetic testing, whether or not they view genetic testing as acceptable, and their understanding of the purpose of genetic testing. There were 150 deaf participants (61.3 % males, 38.7 % females) with mean age of 26.7 years ±9.8. A majority of survey respondents indicated they relate only with other members of the deaf community (78 %) and reported believing genetic testing does more good than harm (79.3 %); 57 % expressed interest in genetic testing. Interest in genetic testing for deafness or in genetic testing in pregnancy was not related to whether respondents relate primarily to the deaf or to the hearing community. However, a significantly higher number of male respondents and respondents with low education reported interest in genetic testing.

The influence of language deprivation in early childhood on L2 processing: An ERP comparison of deaf native signers and deaf signers with a delayed language acquisition.

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Skotara, Nils; Salden, Uta; Kügow, Monique; Hänel-Faulhaber, Barbara; Röder, Brigitte

2012-05-03

To examine which language function depends on early experience, the present study compared deaf native signers, deaf non-native signers and hearing German native speakers while processing German sentences. The participants watched simple written sentences while event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. At the end of each sentence they were asked to judge whether the sentence was correct or not. Two types of violations were introduced in the middle of the sentence: a semantically implausible noun or a violation of subject-verb number agreement. The results showed a similar ERP pattern after semantic violations (an N400 followed by a positivity) in all three groups. After syntactic violations, native German speakers and native signers of German sign language (DGS) with German as second language (L2) showed a left anterior negativity (LAN) followed by a P600, whereas no LAN but a negativity over the right hemisphere instead was found in deaf participants with a delayed onset of first language (L1) acquisition. The P600 of this group had a smaller amplitude and a different scalp distribution as compared to German native speakers. The results of the present study suggest that language deprivation in early childhood alters the cerebral organization of syntactic language processing mechanisms for L2. Semantic language processing instead was unaffected.

Factors impacting participation of European elite deaf athletes in sport.

Science.gov (United States)

Kurková, Petra; Válková, Hana; Scheetz, Nanci

2011-03-01

This study examine 53 European elite deaf athletes for their family's hearing status, use of hearing aids, communication preference, education in integrated or segregated settings, family members' encouragement for participation in sports, coach preference (hearing or deaf), and conditions for competitive events with deaf or hearing athletes. These data were gathered through semi-structured interviews administered in the athlete's native language. Deaf athletes reported that when given the opportunity to compete with hearing athletes, it enhanced their opportunity for competition. Participating in sports with hearing athletes played an important role in the integration of deaf athletes into mainstream society. If adaptations to communication can be made in these integrated settings, the ability of deaf athletes to participate in such settings will increase.

Effects on Deaf Patients of Medication Education by Pharmacists

Science.gov (United States)

Hyoguchi, Naomi; Kobayashi, Daisuke; Kubota, Toshio; Shimazoe, Takao

2016-01-01

Deaf people often experience difficulty in understanding medication information provided by pharmacists due to communication barriers. We held medication education lectures for deaf and hard of hearing (HH) individuals and examined the extent to which deaf participants understood medication-related information as well as their attitude about…

Routes to short term memory indexing: Lessons from deaf native users of American Sign Language

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Hirshorn, Elizabeth A.; Fernandez, Nina M.; Bavelier, Daphne

2012-01-01

Models of working memory (WM) have been instrumental in understanding foundational cognitive processes and sources of individual differences. However, current models cannot conclusively explain the consistent group differences between deaf signers and hearing speakers on a number of short-term memory (STM) tasks. Here we take the perspective that these results are not due to a temporal order-processing deficit in deaf individuals, but rather reflect different biases in how different types of memory cues are used to do a given task. We further argue that the main driving force behind the shifts in relative biasing is a consequence of language modality (sign vs. speech) and the processing they afford, and not deafness, per se. PMID:22871205

Bilingual Word Recognition in Deaf and Hearing Signers: Effects of Proficiency and Language Dominance on Cross-Language Activation

Science.gov (United States)

Morford, Jill P.; Kroll, Judith F.; Piñar, Pilar; Wilkinson, Erin

2014-01-01

Recent evidence demonstrates that American Sign Language (ASL) signs are active during print word recognition in deaf bilinguals who are highly proficient in both ASL and English. In the present study, we investigate whether signs are active during print word recognition in two groups of unbalanced bilinguals: deaf ASL-dominant and hearing…

A longitudinal study of lexical and grammar development in deaf Italian children provided with early cochlear implantation.

Science.gov (United States)

Chilosi, Anna Maria; Comparini, Alessandro; Scusa, Maria Flora; Orazini, Laura; Forli, Francesca; Cipriani, Paola; Berrettini, Stefano

2013-01-01

A growing number of studies on deaf children with cochlear implant (CI) document a significant improvement in receptive and expressive language skills after implantation, even if they show language delay when compared with normal-hearing peers. Data on language acquisition in CI Italian children are still scarce and limited to only certain aspects of language. The purpose of this study is to prospectively describe the trajectories of language development in early CI Italian children, with particular attention to the transition from first words to combinatorial speech and to acquisition of complex grammar in a language with rich morphology, such as Italian. Six children, with profound prelingual deafness, provided with CI, between 16 and 24 months of age were prospectively assessed and followed over a mean period of up to 34.8 months postimplant. During follow-up, each child received between four to five individual language evaluations through a combination of indirect procedures (parent reports of early lexical and grammar development) and direct ones (administration of standardized receptive and expressive language tests with Italian norms and collection of spontaneous language samples). In relation to chronological age, the acquisition of expressive vocabulary was delayed. However, considering the duration of hearing experience, most CI participants showed an earlier start and faster growth of expressive rather than receptive vocabulary in comparison with typically developing children. This quite atypical result persisted right up until the end of the follow-up. The acquisition of expressive grammar was delayed relative to chronological age, though all but one CI participant achieved the expected grammar level after approximately 3 years of CI use. In addition, the rate of grammar acquisition was not homogeneous during development, showing two different paces: one comparable with normal hearing in the transition from holophrastic to primitive combinatorial speech

Social Information Processing in Deaf Adolescents

Science.gov (United States)

Torres, Jesús; Saldaña, David; Rodríguez-Ortiz, Isabel R.

2016-01-01

The goal of this study was to compare the processing of social information in deaf and hearing adolescents. A task was developed to assess social information processing (SIP) skills of deaf adolescents based on Crick and Dodge's (1994; A review and reformulation of social information-processing mechanisms in children's social adjustment.…

Hearing children of Deaf parents: Gender and birth order in the delegation of the interpreter role in culturally Deaf families

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nomfundo F. Moroe

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Background: Culturally, hearing children born to Deaf parents may have to mediate two different positions within the hearing and Deaf cultures. However, there appears to be little written about the experiences of hearing children born to Deaf parents in the South African context. Objective: This study sought to investigate the roles of children of Deaf adults (CODAs as interpreters in Deaf-parented families, more specifically, the influence of gender and birth order in language brokering. Method: Two male and eight female participants between the ages of 21 and 40 years were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling strategies. A qualitative design was employed and data were collected using a semi-structured, open-ended interview format. Themes which emerged were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: The findings indicated that there was no formal assignment of the interpreter role; however, female children tended to assume the role of interpreter more often than the male children. Also, it appeared as though the older children shifted the responsibility for interpreting to younger siblings. The participants in this study indicated that they interpreted in situations where they felt they were not developmentally or emotionally ready, or in situations which they felt were better suited for older siblings or for siblings of another gender. Conclusion: This study highlights a need for the formalisation of interpreting services for Deaf people in South Africa in the form of professional interpreters rather than the reliance on hearing children as interpreters in order to mediate between Deaf and hearing cultures.

Hearing children of Deaf parents: Gender and birth order in the delegation of the interpreter role in culturally Deaf families

Science.gov (United States)

de Andrade, Victor

2018-01-01

Background Culturally, hearing children born to Deaf parents may have to mediate two different positions within the hearing and Deaf cultures. However, there appears to be little written about the experiences of hearing children born to Deaf parents in the South African context. Objective This study sought to investigate the roles of children of Deaf adults (CODAs) as interpreters in Deaf-parented families, more specifically, the influence of gender and birth order in language brokering. Method Two male and eight female participants between the ages of 21 and 40 years were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling strategies. A qualitative design was employed and data were collected using a semi-structured, open-ended interview format. Themes which emerged were analysed using thematic analysis. Results The findings indicated that there was no formal assignment of the interpreter role; however, female children tended to assume the role of interpreter more often than the male children. Also, it appeared as though the older children shifted the responsibility for interpreting to younger siblings. The participants in this study indicated that they interpreted in situations where they felt they were not developmentally or emotionally ready, or in situations which they felt were better suited for older siblings or for siblings of another gender. Conclusion This study highlights a need for the formalisation of interpreting services for Deaf people in South Africa in the form of professional interpreters rather than the reliance on hearing children as interpreters in order to mediate between Deaf and hearing cultures. PMID:29850437

EXPERIENCES OF SOCIAL EXCLUSION AMONG YOUNG DEAF ADULTS INFLUENCING THEIR BELIEFS AND PERCEPTIONS OF HIV/AIDS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ismail, Amanda

2014-11-01

Full Text Available This paper reports on a Master’s study whose aim was to capture the beliefs and perceptions of young deaf adults about HIV/AIDS in the Cape Metropole and surrounding areas. The study utilised the explorative, contextual and qualitative descriptive study design. Purposive sampling was implemented and data were collected through focus groups and in-depth interviews. Data were analysed using content analysis. Ethical considerations were adhered to. The main findings of the study indicate that numerous myths and misperceptions about HIV/AIDS prevail among deaf people. This paper advocates for policymakers to include deaf people, particularly sign language users, in HIV-prevention programmes.

Teachers' Perceptions of Communication Needs of Deaf Children in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Communication has been identified as one of the greatest areas of difficulty for the deaf. Both the receptive and expressive communication pose barriers in almost all aspects of life of the deaf. This study endeavors to examine teachers' perceptions of communication needs of deaf children in Kenyan school system.

[Analyses of clinical features and efficacy of sudden deafness with vertigo and dizziness].

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Bo; Han, Demin; Zhang, Yi; Li, Yongxin; Gong, Shusheng; Chen, Xiuwu; Meng, Xixi; Tang, Junxiang; Xiang, Jie; Jiang, Xuejun; Yang, Ning; Tian, Ying; Hui, Lian; Feng, Shuai

2015-06-01

To investigate the clinical characteristics and the effect of drug treatment for sudden hearing loss with vertigo or dizziness. In a prospective, randomized, single blinded randomized multicenter clinical study, patients with sudden deafness, ranging in age from 18 to 65 years old, with a duration less than 2 weeks, and with no any medical treatments were collected. In accordance with the hearing curve, those patients were divided into four types, i.e., low and intermediate frequency descent type; high frequency descent type; fall flat type; and total deafness type. Each type was treated by four different treatment options, according to the unified design of the random table, and randomly selected one of the options for treatment. The efficacy of the patients with sudden deafness with vertigo and dizziness was analyzed statistically after the follow-up for 4 weeks. SPSS 13.0 software was used to analyze the data. In August 2007 to October 2011, 33 hospitals in the country included 1 024 patients with sudden deafness in line with the inclusion criteria, of whom 296 (28.91%) were accompanied by vertigo/dizziness symptoms, 126 were males and 170 were females, with an average age of (41.2 ± 13.5) years old. types of the different audiometric curves of sudden deafness, the occurrence of complete deafness with vertigo/dizziness was the highest (44.93%), followed by flat down type (25.87%), high frequency descent type (21.28%) and low intermediate frequency descent type (18.54%). After the standard treatment, the vertigo and dizziness symptoms of the sudden deafness patients could disappear, and the hearing in each group was obviously improved. The hearing curative effect on patients accompanied by vertigo/dizziness of low frequency and intermediate frequency descent type was the best, and the total efficiency can reach up to 94.74%, with the cure rate of 68.42%; followed by flat type, in which the total effective rate was 80.76%, with the recovery rate of 22.12%; and

Distinguishing the processing of gestures from signs in deaf individuals: an fMRI study.

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Husain, Fatima T; Patkin, Debra J; Thai-Van, Hung; Braun, Allen R; Horwitz, Barry

2009-06-18

Manual gestures occur on a continuum from co-speech gesticulations to conventionalized emblems to language signs. Our goal in the present study was to understand the neural bases of the processing of gestures along such a continuum. We studied four types of gestures, varying along linguistic and semantic dimensions: linguistic and meaningful American Sign Language (ASL), non-meaningful pseudo-ASL, meaningful emblematic, and nonlinguistic, non-meaningful made-up gestures. Pre-lingually deaf, native signers of ASL participated in the fMRI study and performed two tasks while viewing videos of the gestures: a visuo-spatial (identity) discrimination task and a category discrimination task. We found that the categorization task activated left ventral middle and inferior frontal gyrus, among other regions, to a greater extent compared to the visual discrimination task, supporting the idea of semantic-level processing of the gestures. The reverse contrast resulted in enhanced activity of bilateral intraparietal sulcus, supporting the idea of featural-level processing (analogous to phonological-level processing of speech sounds) of the gestures. Regardless of the task, we found that brain activation patterns for the nonlinguistic, non-meaningful gestures were the most different compared to the ASL gestures. The activation patterns for the emblems were most similar to those of the ASL gestures and those of the pseudo-ASL were most similar to the nonlinguistic, non-meaningful gestures. The fMRI results provide partial support for the conceptualization of different gestures as belonging to a continuum and the variance in the fMRI results was best explained by differences in the processing of gestures along the semantic dimension.

[The role of music therapy in impaired hearing recovery. A survey among professionals working with deaf children and between users].

Science.gov (United States)

Comincini, Valeria; Del Piccolo, Lidia

2013-02-01

In this study, two groups are interviewed: the first study includes a sample of 60 physicians and health providers in the field of deafness, whose opinion on music therapy is collected by a specific questionnaire; the second involves 8 parents of deaf children attending music therapy lessons, who are asked to give an evaluation on the effect of music therapy, based on the experience of their children. Results show that health professionals know very little about the rehabilitative effectiveness of music therapy, whereas the parents of deaf children give a positive evaluation on the psychological, behavioral and linguistic benefits that music therapy gives to their deaf children.

Deaf Education in a Planetarium

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Liu, Muxue; Hintz, E. G.; Jones, M.; Lawler, J.; Fisler, A.; Mumford, H.

2013-01-01

Over the years we have struggled with the difficulty of giving a planetarium show to a deaf audience. This is especially true for a younger audience with limited reading abilities. You must illuminate the ASL signer which causes light splash onto the dome. You must slow the presentation down to allow for time to interpret and then point. A slower presentation can have an adverse impact on the learning of the hearing students if the presentation is made to a mixed audience. To address these issues, we are currently working on methods to improve deaf education in a planetarium environment. We will present an overview of the current project along with efforts to establish baselines comprehension levels for both deaf and hearing children. This work is partially funded by an NSF IIS-1124548 grant and funding from the Sorenson Foundation.

Deafness and motor abilities level

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A Zwierzchowska

2008-09-01

Full Text Available The audition injury hinders some motor motions and the organised coordination at the higher level and may be a cause of disturbances and disorder in some motor abilities adoption. It was assumed that deafness including its aetiology and injury mechanism may significantly influence the motor development of human being. The study aimed in checking if the deafness, as a result of various unfavourable factors, determines the motor development of children and youngsters. Consequently the dependency between qualitative features i.e.: signed motor level and aetiology, audition injury mechanism and the deafness degree was examined. The mechanism and aetiology of hearing correlated with the motor abilities displayed statistically significant dependencies in few motor trials only. Revealed correlations regarded mostly the coordination trials excluding the flexibility one. Statistically significant dependencies between the audition diminution and the motor abilities level were not found.

Characteristics of Individuals with Congenital and Acquired Deaf-Blindness

Science.gov (United States)

Dalby, Dawn M.; Hirdes, John P.; Stolee, Paul; Strong, J. Graham; Poss, Jeff; Tjam, Erin Y.; Bowman, Lindsay; Ashworth, Melody

2009-01-01

Using a standardized assessment instrument, the authors compared 182 adults with congenital deaf-blindness and those with acquired deaf-blindness. They found that those with congenital deaf-blindness were more likely to have impairments in cognition, activities of daily living, and social interactions and were less likely to use speech for…

Rubella Deaf-Blind Child: Implications of Psychological Assessment. Proceedings.

Science.gov (United States)

Rouin, Carole

Presented are proceedings of a conference involving authorities in testing and evaluating the blind, deaf, and deaf-blind. In a paper titled "Psychological Implications of Assessing the Deaf", C. Goetzinger discusses references used in audiology, anatomy and physiology of the ear, degrees of hearing impairment, and implications of the various…

Metaphor Comprehension by Deaf Young Adults

Science.gov (United States)

Gold, Rinat; Segal, Osnat

2017-01-01

In the present study, we compared the processing of both conventional and novel metaphors by deaf versus hearing young adults. Eighteen deaf participants with severe-to-profound hearing loss and 18 controls matched for age, sex, and years of education were presented with word pairs of 4 types (literal, conventional metaphors, novel metaphors, and…

Young Skilled Deaf Readers Have an Enhanced Perceptual Span in Reading.

Science.gov (United States)

Bélanger, Nathalie N; Lee, Michelle; Schotter, Elizabeth R

2017-04-27

Recently, Bélanger, Slattery, Mayberry and Rayner (2012) showed, using the moving window paradigm, that profoundly deaf adults have a wider perceptual span during reading relative to hearing adults matched on reading level. This difference might be related to the fact that deaf adults allocate more visual attention to simple stimuli in the parafovea (Bavelier, Dye & Hauser, 2006). Importantly, this reorganization of visual attention in deaf individuals is already manifesting in deaf children (Dye, Hauser & Bavelier, 2009). This leads to questions about the time course of the emergence of an enhanced perceptual span (which is under attentional control; Rayner, 2014; Miellet, O'Donnell, & Sereno, 2009) in young deaf readers. The present research addressed this question by comparing the perceptual spans of young deaf readers (age 7-15) and young hearing children (age 7-15). Young deaf readers, like deaf adults, were found to have a wider perceptual span relative to their hearing peers matched on reading level, suggesting that strong and early reorganization of visual attention in deaf individuals goes beyond the processing of simple visual stimuli and emerges into more cognitively complex tasks, such as reading.

The lived experience of depression among culturally Deaf adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheppard, K; Badger, T

2010-11-01

Culturally Deaf adults lost hearing at early ages, communicate primarily in American Sign Language (ASL), and self-identify as culturally Deaf. Communication barriers lead to isolation, low self-esteem, abuse, and inadequate health care. Screening Deaf patients for depressive symptoms poses challenge. Nurses are rarely familiar with ASL, and depression screening tools aren't easily translated from English to ASL. Consequently, Deaf adults are not adequately screened for depression. Qualitative interviews were conducted with culturally Deaf adults, and certified interpreters helped to enhance understanding. Text was generated from interview transcriptions and researcher observations. No novel depressive symptoms were described. Various ASL signs were used to represent depression; two participants used a unique gesture that had no meaning to others. Childhood experiences leading to depression included sexual or physical abuse, feeling ostracized from family and like a burden. Suicidal gestures communicated severity of depression. Adults felt interpreters were unwelcome during mental health encounters. No participants were asked about depressive symptoms despite frank manifestations of depression. Study describes antecedents and consequences of depressive symptoms among Deaf adults. Understanding symptom manifestations and challenges experienced by Deaf patients helps identify those at risk for depression, thereby reducing morbidity and mortality. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing.

The significance of deaf identity for psychological well-being

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chapman, Madeleine; Dammeyer, Jesper

2017-01-01

of psychological well-being than those with a marginal identity. Further, it found that additional disability, educational level, and feeling discriminated against significantly and independently explained the degree of psychological well-being. Results are discussed here with respect to social identity theory......Research has paid attention to how deaf identity affects life outcomes such as psychological well-being. However, studies are often carried out with small samples and without controlling for other variables. This study examined how different forms of identity—deaf, hearing, bicultural (deaf...... and hearing), and marginal (neither deaf nor hearing)—were associated with levels of psychological well-being and a number of other variables. The sample was 742 adults with hearing loss in Denmark. The study found that those with a deaf, hearing or bicultural identity had significantly higher levels...

Monaural Congenital Deafness Affects Aural Dominance and Degrades Binaural Processing

Science.gov (United States)

Tillein, Jochen; Hubka, Peter; Kral, Andrej

2016-01-01

Cortical development extensively depends on sensory experience. Effects of congenital monaural and binaural deafness on cortical aural dominance and representation of binaural cues were investigated in the present study. We used an animal model that precisely mimics the clinical scenario of unilateral cochlear implantation in an individual with single-sided congenital deafness. Multiunit responses in cortical field A1 to cochlear implant stimulation were studied in normal-hearing cats, bilaterally congenitally deaf cats (CDCs), and unilaterally deaf cats (uCDCs). Binaural deafness reduced cortical responsiveness and decreased response thresholds and dynamic range. In contrast to CDCs, in uCDCs, cortical responsiveness was not reduced, but hemispheric-specific reorganization of aural dominance and binaural interactions were observed. Deafness led to a substantial drop in binaural facilitation in CDCs and uCDCs, demonstrating the inevitable role of experience for a binaural benefit. Sensitivity to interaural time differences was more reduced in uCDCs than in CDCs, particularly at the hemisphere ipsilateral to the hearing ear. Compared with binaural deafness, unilateral hearing prevented nonspecific reduction in cortical responsiveness, but extensively reorganized aural dominance and binaural responses. The deaf ear remained coupled with the cortex in uCDCs, demonstrating a significant difference to deprivation amblyopia in the visual system. PMID:26803166

Monaural Congenital Deafness Affects Aural Dominance and Degrades Binaural Processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Tillein, Jochen; Hubka, Peter; Kral, Andrej

2016-04-01

Cortical development extensively depends on sensory experience. Effects of congenital monaural and binaural deafness on cortical aural dominance and representation of binaural cues were investigated in the present study. We used an animal model that precisely mimics the clinical scenario of unilateral cochlear implantation in an individual with single-sided congenital deafness. Multiunit responses in cortical field A1 to cochlear implant stimulation were studied in normal-hearing cats, bilaterally congenitally deaf cats (CDCs), and unilaterally deaf cats (uCDCs). Binaural deafness reduced cortical responsiveness and decreased response thresholds and dynamic range. In contrast to CDCs, in uCDCs, cortical responsiveness was not reduced, but hemispheric-specific reorganization of aural dominance and binaural interactions were observed. Deafness led to a substantial drop in binaural facilitation in CDCs and uCDCs, demonstrating the inevitable role of experience for a binaural benefit. Sensitivity to interaural time differences was more reduced in uCDCs than in CDCs, particularly at the hemisphere ipsilateral to the hearing ear. Compared with binaural deafness, unilateral hearing prevented nonspecific reduction in cortical responsiveness, but extensively reorganized aural dominance and binaural responses. The deaf ear remained coupled with the cortex in uCDCs, demonstrating a significant difference to deprivation amblyopia in the visual system. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

Reading Efficiency of Deaf and Hearing People in Spanish

Science.gov (United States)

Moreno-Pérez, Francisco J.; Saldaña, David; Rodríguez-Ortiz, Isabel R.

2015-01-01

Different studies have showed poor reading performance in the deaf compared to the hearing population. This has overshadowed the fact that a minority of deaf children learns to read successfully and reaches levels similar to their hearing peers. We analyze whether deaf people deploy the same cognitive and learning processes in reading as their…

Assessing Health Literacy in Deaf American Sign Language Users

Science.gov (United States)

McKee, Michael M.; Paasche-Orlow, Michael; Winters, Paul C.; Fiscella, Kevin; Zazove, Philip; Sen, Ananda; Pearson, Thomas

2015-01-01

Communication and language barriers isolate Deaf American Sign Language (ASL) users from mass media, healthcare messages, and health care communication, which when coupled with social marginalization, places them at a high risk for inadequate health literacy. Our objectives were to translate, adapt, and develop an accessible health literacy instrument in ASL and to assess the prevalence and correlates of inadequate health literacy among Deaf ASL users and hearing English speakers using a cross-sectional design. A total of 405 participants (166 Deaf and 239 hearing) were enrolled in the study. The Newest Vital Sign was adapted, translated, and developed into an ASL version of the NVS (ASL-NVS). Forty-eight percent of Deaf participants had inadequate health literacy, and Deaf individuals were 6.9 times more likely than hearing participants to have inadequate health literacy. The new ASL-NVS, available on a self-administered computer platform, demonstrated good correlation with reading literacy. The prevalence of Deaf ASL users with inadequate health literacy is substantial, warranting further interventions and research. PMID:26513036

Congenital Unilateral Deafness Affects Cerebral Organization of Reading

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alice Mado Proverbio

2013-06-01

Full Text Available It is known that early sensory deprivation modifies brain functional structure and connectivity. The aim of the present study was to investigate the neuro-functional organization of reading in a patient with profound congenital unilateral deafness. Using event-related potentials (ERPs, we compared cortical networks supporting the processing of written words in patient RA (completely deaf in the right ear since birth and in a group of control volunteers. We found that congenital unilateral hearing deprivation modifies neural mechanisms of word reading. Indeed, while written word processing was left-lateralized in controls, we found a strong right lateralization of the fusiform and inferior occipital gyri activation in RA. This finding goes in the same direction of recent proposals that the ventral occipito-temporal activity in word reading seem to lateralize to the same hemisphere as the one involved in spoken language processing.

Study of Deafness Associated with DFNB59 Gene (pejvakin Mutation in Fars Province

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S Raeisi

2012-05-01

Full Text Available

Background and Objectives: Hearing loss is the most frequent sensory disorder affecting 1 in 500 neonates with more than 50% of inherited cases. This trait is a very heterogeneous disorder and happens due to genetic or environmental causes or both. More than 46 genes may be involved in non-syndromic hearing loss. Recently, DFNB59 gene has been shown to cause deafness in some Iranian populations. The aim of this study was to determine the role of DFNB59 gene mutations causing deafness in a group of 130 deaf pupils in Fars province. Methods: This descriptive-laboratory based study investigated the frequency of DFNB59 gene mutations using PCR-SSCP/HA strategy. Results: Two different DFNB59 polymorphism including 874G>A and 793C>G were found in 1 and 9 of 130 patients studied respectively. However, no DFNB59 mutation was identified. Conclusion: The results of this study shows that the association of DFNB59 mutations with deafness in Fars province is very low.

Exploring misinformation of family planning practices and methods among deaf people in Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Mprah, Wisdom Kwadwo; Anafi, Patricia; Addai Yeaboah, Paul Yaw

2017-05-01

Having a good knowledge of family planning methods is vital for reducing maternal morbidity and mortality resulting from unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions. In this paper, we highlight deaf people's ability to discern various misconceptions about pregnancy, with the aim of assessing their level of knowledge on pregnancy prevention methods. The article is derived from a sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs assessment involving participants residing in two cities and a senior high school in Ghana. The needs assessment involved three focus groups with 26 participants, a survey with 152 respondents, and an interview with one health professional. Apart from the health professional, all the remaining participants were deaf people. Findings from the study indicated that more than half the participants lacked familiarity with pregnancy prevention methods. The findings of this study confirm other studies that there is a general lack of knowledge on SRH issues among deaf people in Ghana. Thus, although this study focused on prevention of unwanted pregnancy, which is just one component of SRH issues, the study provides insights into the broader SRH needs of the deaf community and calls for making these issues visible for policy-making.

Action video game players and deaf observers have larger Goldmann visual fields.

Science.gov (United States)

Buckley, David; Codina, Charlotte; Bhardwaj, Palvi; Pascalis, Olivier

2010-03-05

We used Goldmann kinetic perimetry to compare how training and congenital auditory deprivation may affect the size of the visual field. We measured the ability of action video game players and deaf observers to detect small moving lights at various locations in the central (around 30 degrees from fixation) and peripheral (around 60 degrees ) visual fields. Experiment 1 found that 10 habitual video game players showed significantly larger central and peripheral field areas than 10 controls. In Experiment 2 we found that 13 congenitally deaf observers had significantly larger visual fields than 13 hearing controls for both the peripheral and central fields. Here the greatest differences were found in the lower parts of the fields. Comparison of the two groups showed that whereas VGP players have a more uniform increase in field size in both central and peripheral fields deaf observers show non-uniform increases with greatest increases in lower parts of the visual field.

Understanding Deaf Bilingual Education from the inside: A SWOT Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Munoz-Baell, Irma M.; Alvarez-Dardet, Carlos; Ruiz-Cantero, M.; Ferreiro-Lago, Emilio; Aroca-Fernandez, Eva

2011-01-01

This article reports on a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis using a nominal group process undertaken to identify and tackle significant factors, both internal and external, affecting those current Deaf bilingual practices in Spain which promote or prevent the processes through which more inclusive (barrier-free)…

Research on Deafness

Science.gov (United States)

Ramsey, Collette

1970-01-01

Paper presented at the Summer Meeting of the Alexander Graham Bell Association (Philadelphia, June 24-27, 1970) in which the author reviews the research supported by The Deafness Research Foundation. (RD)

Cyborgization: Deaf Education for Young Children in the Cochlear Implantation Era

Science.gov (United States)

Valente, Joseph Michael

2011-01-01

The author, who was raised oral deaf himself, recounts a visit to a school for young deaf children and discovers that young d/Deaf children and their rights are subverted by the cochlear implantation empire. The hypercapitalist, techno-manic times of cochlear implantation has wreaked havoc to the lives of not only young children with deafness but…

Not Silent, Invisible: Literature's Chance Encounters with Deaf Heroes and Heroines

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, Donna M.

2010-01-01

Literatures is both a rich resource and a blunt instrument in conveying the complexities of identity, in particular, the elusive "deaf identity". The rarity of the fully realized deaf person in memoir and fiction shapes the way readers regard deaf people and throws up fresh challenges in redesigning stories of deafness free of the taint of…

Behavioral and Neurological Responses to Musical Features in Adolescent Cochlear Implant Users Before and After an Intensive Musical Training Program

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Bjørn

a session of behavioral tests and EEG recordings. CI users significantly improved their overall behavioral perception of music and, in particular, their discrimination of melodic contour and rhythm. Though smaller and later compared to normal-hearing controls, CI-users showed significant mismatch negativity......This study aimed to investigate perception and processing of musical features in prelingually deaf adolescent CI-users and examine whether this is influenced by music training. Eleven adolescent CI-users received intensive music training for two weeks. Before and after training they completed...... responses for timbre, intensity and rhythm but not for pitch. No effect of training was found in the MMN responses. The findings indicate that despite congenital deafness and late implantation, young CI users are able to discriminate details in music. Furthermore, the behavioral advances suggest that...

Deaf directory.

Science.gov (United States)

1994-11-23

The third edition of the 199415 Directory from the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People (CACDP) is now available. Information on 192 sign language interpreters, lipspeakers, interpreters for deafblind people and speech to text reporters is provided. Details from CACDP on 0191 374 3607.

Health promotion of families of deaf children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirna Albuquerque Frota

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Objective: To investigate the impact of hearing loss in the family dynamics of the deaf child; identify the family’s knowledge about deafness, understand how parents experience the diagnosis and treatment of child with hearing impairment. Methods: The study has aqualitative approach developed at the Center for Integrated Medical Care - NAMI, attached to the University of Fortaleza - UNIFOR located in Fortaleza - CE, Brazil. The participants were six mothers of children with hearing impairment. Data collection was carried outthrough participant observation and semi-structured interview. The Thematic Analysis of Bardin was used for processing the data. Results: After coding, some categories emerged from the discourse: Misinformation of Hearing Loss; impact of the discovery of hearingloss, caregivers and facilitators of the development of the deaf children. Conclusion: The birth of a deaf child alters the previous family balance, causing specific problems, such as the communication barrier, whose solution is related to how to handle the situation. Itis necessary to promote changes, emphasizing the involvement of caregivers and loved as facilitators of deaf child’s development. In Phonoaudiology, this attitude represents discovering new ways to identify the need for the subject, which requires strategies thatvalue their opinion, allowing the expression of expectations, perceptions, representations and feelings.

Personal factors that influence deaf college students' academic success.

Science.gov (United States)

Albertini, John A; Kelly, Ronald R; Matchett, Mary Karol

2012-01-01

Research tells us that academic preparation is key to deaf students' success at college. Yet, that is not the whole story. Many academically prepared students drop out during their first year. This study identified entering deaf college students' personal factors as assessed by their individual responses to both the Noel-Levitz College Student Inventory Form B and the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory, second edition (LASSI). Entering students in 3 successive cohorts (total n =437) participated in this study. Results show that in addition to entry measurements of reading and mathematic skills, personal factors contributed to the academic performance of students in their first quarter in college. The Noel-Levitz provided the comparatively better predictive value of academic performance: Motivation for Academic Study Scale (e.g., desire to finish college). The LASSI also showed statistically significant predictors, the Self-Regulation Component (e.g., time management) and Will Component (e.g., self-discipline), but accounted for relatively less variability in the students' initial grade point averages. For this group of underprepared students, results show that personal factors can play a significant role in academic success. Deaf students' personal factors are discussed as they relate to other first-year college students and to their subsequent academic performance and persistence.

Achievement, Language, and Technology Use Among College-Bound Deaf Learners.

Science.gov (United States)

Crowe, Kathryn; Marschark, Marc; Dammeyer, Jesper; Lehane, Christine

2017-10-01

Deaf learners are a highly heterogeneous group who demonstrate varied levels of academic achievement and attainment. Most prior research involving this population has focused on factors facilitating academic success in young deaf children, with less attention paid to older learners. Recent studies, however, have suggested that while factors such as early cochlear implantation and early sign language fluency are positively associated with academic achievement in younger deaf children, they no longer predict achievement once children reach high school age. This study, involving data from 980 college-bound high school students with hearing loss, examined relations between academic achievement, communication variables (audiological, language), and use of assistive technologies (e.g., cochlear implants [CIs], FM systems) and other support services (e.g., interpreting, real-time text) in the classroom. Spoken language skills were positively related to achievement in some domains, while better sign language skills were related to poorer achievement in others. Among these college-bound students, use of CIs and academic support services in high school accounted for little variability in their college entrance examination scores. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Music Therapy for Preschool Cochlear Implant Recipients

Science.gov (United States)

Gfeller, Kate; Driscoll, Virginia; Kenworthy, Maura; Van Voorst, Tanya

2010-01-01

This paper provides research and clinical information relevant to music therapy for preschool children who use cochlear implants (CI). It consolidates information from various disciplinary sources regarding (a) cochlear implantation of young prelingually-deaf children (~age 2-5), (b) patterns of auditory and speech-language development, and (c) research regarding music perception of children with CIs. This information serves as a foundation for the final portion of the article, which describes typical music therapy goals and examples of interventions suitable for preschool children. PMID:23904691

Deaf Women: Educational Experiences and Self-Identity

Science.gov (United States)

Najarian, Cheryl G.

2008-01-01

Using life history interviews with 10 college educated Deaf women this paper investigates connections between early education and college experience and how they identified as Deaf. The women developed strategies as they managed their impressions while employing Goffman's practices of loyalty, discipline and circumspection. Acknowledging deafness…

Environmental assessment, Deaf Smith County site, Texas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1986-05-01

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 USC sections 10101-10226) requires the environmental assessment of a proposed site to include a statement of the basis for nominating a site as suitable for characterization. Volume 2 provides a detailed statement evaluating the site suitability of the Deaf Smith County Site under DOE siting guidelines, as well as a comparison of the Deaf Smith County Site to the other sites under consideration. The evaluation of the Deaf Smith County Site is based on the impacts associated with the reference repository design, but the evaluation will not change if based on the Mission Plan repository concept. The second part of this document compares the Deaf Smith County Site to Davis Canyon, Hanford, Richton Dome and Yucca Mountain. This comparison is required under DOE guidelines and is not intended to directly support subsequent recommendation of three sites for characterization as candidate sites. 259 refs., 29 figs., 66 refs. (MHB)

Environmental assessment, Deaf Smith County site, Texas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-05-01

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 USC sections 10101-10226) requires the environmental assessment of a proposed site to include a statement of the basis for nominating a site as suitable for characterization. Volume 2 provides a detailed statement evaluating the site suitability of the Deaf Smith County Site under DOE siting guidelines, as well as a comparison of the Deaf Smith County Site to the other sites under consideration. The evaluation of the Deaf Smith County Site is based on the impacts associated with the reference repository design, but the evaluation will not change if based on the Mission Plan repository concept. The second part of this document compares the Deaf Smith County Site to Davis Canyon, Hanford, Richton Dome and Yucca Mountain. This comparison is required under DOE guidelines and is not intended to directly support subsequent recommendation of three sites for characterization as candidate sites. 259 refs., 29 figs., 66 refs

Similar digit-based working memory in deaf signers and hearing non-signers despite digit span differences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josefine eAndin

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Similar working memory (WM for lexical items has been demonstrated for signers and non-signers while short-term memory (STM is regularly poorer in deaf than hearing individuals. In the present study, we investigated digit-based WM and STM in Swedish and British deaf signers and hearing non-signers. To maintain good experimental control we used printed stimuli throughout and held response mode constant across groups. We showed that deaf signers have similar digit-based WM performance, despite shorter digit spans, compared to well-matched hearing non-signers. We found no difference between signers and non-signers on STM span for letters chosen to minimize phonological similarity or in the effects of recall direction. This set of findings indicates that similar WM for signers and non-signers can be generalized from lexical items to digits and suggests that poorer STM in deaf signers compared to hearing non-signers may be due to differences in phonological similarity across the language modalities of sign and speech.

Employment Status of the Members of Tehran Deaf Community

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shahrooz nemati

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: Regarding the importance of employment in social and emotional status of individuals, it would be important for the deaf. The purpose of the present study was to assess the employment status of the members of Tehran deaf community.Methods: This descriptive study was performed on all members of Tehran deaf community. A researchers-made questionnaire which had three parts (demographic information, employment status of the deaf members and their attitudes regarding employment was used in this study. The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive methods.Results: Majority of deaf community members were adult (ages ranging between 18 and 30. Sixty-eight of them (52.5% were female and 53 (47.5% were male, from our participants, 56.2% were unemployed and 43.8% were employed. Main problems were: having no access to facilities regarding their disability (14.5%, communication problems (9.4%, lower salaries because of their disability (12.4%, being far from the working place (15.4%, disproportion of working environment to their disability (11.4%, maltreatment of their coworkers (13.2%, maltreatment of their employer (12.5% and discrimination because of their disability (11.2%, the attitudes of the deaf members were positive regarding the employment in all areas: 90% of them considered it as an essential part of life versus 10% of them mentioned not very important issue.Conclusion: Our findings showed that most of the deaf were supported by their family members, but not by the social facilities or their past education. The social policies should be reformed to support employment of the deaf.

A National Profile of School-Based Transition Programs for Deaf Adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Bull, Bruce; Bullis, Michael

1991-01-01

The transition programs of 326 secondary educational programs for deaf and severely hearing-impaired adolescents were surveyed. Results suggested that residential schools had higher implementation rates (for desirable transition characteristics) than did mainstream and other programs. All groups valued the identified transition practices more than…

Accommodations quality for students who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing.

Science.gov (United States)

Cawthon, Stephanie W; Leppo, Rachel

2013-01-01

Students who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing often receive accommodations that are intended to increase access to the educational environment. The authors provide the results of a large national study of accommodations use in secondary and postsecondary settings. The article focuses on three aspects of accommodations use: access, quality, and consistency. The participants were 1,350 professionals working with a diverse group of students who were d/Deaf or hard of hearing in a variety of roles, including educators, administrators, interpreters, vocational rehabilitation agency staff, and allied service providers. Data were collected from both a national survey and a series of focus groups conducted over a 1-year period. The authors discuss the results in light of the crucial nature of accommodations during the transition into a variety of educational, training, and employment options.

Ophthalmologic abnormalities among deaf students in Kaduna ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... syndrome (0.6%) and Ushers syndrome (0.6%). Refractive error was the most common (7.9%). Conclusion: Since these deaf students use their sight to compensate for the deafness, routine ophthalmologic examination should be carried out on them so that ophthalmologic abnormalities are detected early and treatment ...

Translanguaging, Learning and Teaching in Deaf Education

Science.gov (United States)

Swanwick, Ruth

2017-01-01

This paper critiques the role of translanguaging in deaf education by examining how, and under what conditions, translanguaging practices can enhance learning and teaching. The paper explores the premise that translanguaging represents an additive view of bilingualism and multilingualism for deaf learners and offers an innovative departure from,…

Testicular cancer knowledge among deaf and hearing men.

Science.gov (United States)

Sacks, Loren; Nakaji, Melanie; Harry, Kadie M; Oen, Marcia; Malcarne, Vanessa L; Sadler, Georgia Robins

2013-09-01

Testicular cancer typically affects young and middle-aged men. An educational video about prostate and testicular cancer was created in American Sign Language, with English open captioning and voice overlay, so that it could be viewed by audiences of diverse ages and hearing characteristics. This study recruited young Deaf (n = 85) and hearing (n = 90) adult males to help evaluate the educational value of the testicular cancer portion of this video. Participants completed surveys about their general, testicular, and total cancer knowledge before and after viewing the video. Although hearing men had higher pre-test scores than Deaf men, both Deaf and hearing men demonstrated significant increases in General, Testicular, and Total Cancer Knowledge scores after viewing the intervention video. Overall, results demonstrate the value of the video to Deaf and hearing men.

Violence against Deaf women: effect of partner hearing status.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Melissa L; Kobek Pezzarossi, Caroline M

2014-07-01

Using a sample of Deaf female undergraduate students, the current study sought to investigate the prevalence, correlates, and characteristics of intimate partner violence victimization in hearing-Deaf and Deaf-Deaf relationships. Initial results suggest that similarities in hearing status and communication preference are associated with increased levels of negotiation within these relationships. However, compatibility in these areas did not co-occur with significant decreases in physical, psychological, or sexual partner violence. Recommendations for future research as well as implications for clinical and educational practice are outlined. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Perspectiva General sobre la Sordo-Ceguera (Overview on Deaf-Blindness). DB-LINK.

Science.gov (United States)

Miles, Barbara

This overview provides basic information on the causes of deaf-blindness and the particular challenges faced by individuals who are deaf-blind. Causes of deaf-blindness include various syndromes, multiple congenital anomalies, prematurity, congenital prenatal dysfunction, and various postnatal causes. Differences between people deaf-blind from…

Reading motivation, reading amount, and text comprehension in deaf and hearing adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Parault, Susan J; Williams, Heather M

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the variables of reading motivation, reading amount, and text comprehension in deaf and hearing adults. Research has shown that less than 50% of deaf students leave high school reading at or above a fourth-grade level (Allen, 1994). Our question is, how does this affect the levels of reading motivation and amount of reading in which deaf adults engage? Assessments of 30 hearing and 24 deaf adults showed that deaf participants reported significantly higher levels of reading motivation despite having been found to read at less than a sixth-grade level. No significant difference in the amount of reading between hearing and deaf adults was found. Amount of reading for personal reasons was found to be the best predictor of text comprehension in the deaf participants, and intrinsic motivation was found to be the best predictor of amount of reading in the deaf participants.

Communities of Practice: Literacy and Deaf Children

Science.gov (United States)

Kristoffersen, Ann-Elise; Simonsen, Eva

2016-01-01

This article aims to discuss young deaf children's access to literacy within a sociocultural perspective. We introduce the concept of communities of practice as an aspect in early literacy development for young deaf children. Preschools are learning communities and thus constitute communities of practice. Our discussion on the use of communities…

Teaching sign language in gaucho schools for deaf people: a study of curricula

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carolina Hessel Silveira

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The paper, which provides partial results of a master’s dissertation, has sought to give contribute Sign Language curriculum in the deaf schooling. We began to understand the importance of sign languages for deaf people’s development and found out that a large part of the deaf are from hearing parents, which emphasises the significance of teaching LIBRAS (Brazilian Sign Language in schools for the deaf. We should also consider the importance of this study in building deaf identities and strengthening the deaf culture. We have obtained the theoretical basis in the so-called Deaf Studies and some experts in the curriculum theories. The main objective for this study has been to conduct an analysis of the LIBRAS curriculum at work in schools for the deaf in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The curriculum analysis has shown a degree of diversity: in some curricula, content from one year is repeated in the next one with no articulation. In others, one can find preoccupation for issues of deaf identity and culture, but some of them include contents that are not related to LIBRAS, or the deaf culture, but rather to discipline for the deaf in general. By providing positive and negative aspects, the analysis data may help in discussions about difficulties, progress and problems in LIBRAS teacher education for deaf students.

A professional development programme for teachers of the deaf in South Africa

OpenAIRE

2012-01-01

D.Ed. Education for the Deaf in South Africa appears to be insufficiently researched, contributing to a less than ideal educational situation. Teachers are not trained to address the special needs of Deaf learners, there is limited cohesive instructional theory and the educational policy focussing on the needs of Deaf learners is limited in both range and depth. Due to the ineffectiveness of Deaf education in South Africa, the majority of Deaf school leavers leave school linguistically imp...

Single-Subject Research Methodology: An Underutilized Tool in the Field of Deafness.

Science.gov (United States)

Bullis, Michael; Anderson, Glenn

1986-01-01

Single-subject research methods are simple, powerful, and very applicable to selected study of deafness. This article considers group versus single-subject designs; an example of withdrawal single-subject design; and an example of the multiple baseline single-subject design. (CB)

Frequency of c.35delG Mutation in GJB2 Gene (Connexin 26 in Syrian Patients with Nonsyndromic Hearing Impairment

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Hazem Kaheel

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Hearing impairments (HI are the most common birth defect worldwide. Very large numbers of genes have been identified but the most profound is GJB2. The clinical interest regarding this gene is very pronounced due to its high carrier frequency (0.5–5.4% across different ethnic groups. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of common GJB2 mutations in Syrian patients with profound sensorineural HI. Methods. We carried out PCR, restriction enzyme based screening, and sequencing of 132 Syrian patients diagnosed clinically with hereditary deafness for different GJB2 mutations. Results. The result revealed that, in GJB2 gene, c.35delG is the most prevalent among affected studied subjects (13.64%, followed by c.457G>A (2.4%. Conclusion. The benefit of this study on the one hand is its first report of prelingual deafness causative gene mutations identified by sequencing technology in the Syrian families. It is obvious from the results that the deployment in biomedical research is highly effective and has a great impact on the ability to uncover the cause of genetic variation in different genetic diseases.

Brain-based individual difference measures of reading skill in deaf and hearing adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehravari, Alison S; Emmorey, Karen; Prat, Chantel S; Klarman, Lindsay; Osterhout, Lee

2017-07-01

Most deaf children and adults struggle to read, but some deaf individuals do become highly proficient readers. There is disagreement about the specific causes of reading difficulty in the deaf population, and consequently, disagreement about the effectiveness of different strategies for teaching reading to deaf children. Much of the disagreement surrounds the question of whether deaf children read in similar or different ways as hearing children. In this study, we begin to answer this question by using real-time measures of neural language processing to assess if deaf and hearing adults read proficiently in similar or different ways. Hearing and deaf adults read English sentences with semantic, grammatical, and simultaneous semantic/grammatical errors while event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. The magnitude of individuals' ERP responses was compared to their standardized reading comprehension test scores, and potentially confounding variables like years of education, speechreading skill, and language background of deaf participants were controlled for. The best deaf readers had the largest N400 responses to semantic errors in sentences, while the best hearing readers had the largest P600 responses to grammatical errors in sentences. These results indicate that equally proficient hearing and deaf adults process written language in different ways, suggesting there is little reason to assume that literacy education should necessarily be the same for hearing and deaf children. The results also show that the most successful deaf readers focus on semantic information while reading, which suggests aspects of education that may promote improved literacy in the deaf population. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reflections on Deaf Education: Perspectives of Deaf Senior Citizens

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Roberson, Len; Shaw, Sherry

2015-01-01

Parents with deaf children face many challenges in making educational choices, developing language and a sense of belonging. Other key aspects of life including concept development and social competency are also critical decision points faced by parents. Developing language, whether it is through spoken or signed modalities, is of utmost…

Postnatal development of the endbulb of Held in congenitally deaf cats

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Christa A Baker

2010-05-01

Full Text Available The endbulbs of Held are formed by the ascending branches of myelinated auditory nerve fibers and represent one of the largest synaptic endings in the brain. Normally, these endings are highly branched and each can form up to 1000 dome-shaped synapses. The deaf white cat is a model of congenital deafness involving a type of cochleosaccular degeneration that mimics the Scheibe deformity in humans. Mature deaf white cats exhibit reduced endbulb branching, hypertrophy of postsynaptic densities (PSDs, and changes in synaptic vesicle density. Because cats are essentially deaf at birth, we wanted to determine if the progression of brain abnormalities was linked in time to the failure of normal hearing development. The rationale was that the lack of sound-evoked activity would trigger pathologic change in deaf kittens. The cochleae of deaf cats did not exhibit abnormal morphology at birth. After the first postnatal week, however, the presence of a collapsed scala media signaled the difference between deaf and hearing cats. By working backwards in age, endbulbs of deaf cats expressed flattened and elongated PSDs and increased synaptic vesicle density as compared to normal endbulbs. These differences are present at birth in some white kittens, presaging deafness despite their normal cochlear histology. We speculate that hearing pathology is signaled by a perinatal loss of spontaneous bursting activity in auditory nerve fibers or perhaps by some factor released by hair cell synapses before obliteration of the organ of Corti.

Acute cortical deafness in a child with MELAS syndrome.

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Pittet, Marie P; Idan, Roni B; Kern, Ilse; Guinand, Nils; Van, Hélène Cao; Toso, Seema; Fluss, Joël

2016-05-01

Auditory impairment in mitochondrial disorders are usually due to peripheral sensorineural dysfunction. Central deafness is only rarely reported. We report here an 11-year-old boy with MELAS syndrome who presented with subacute deafness after waking up from sleep. Peripheral hearing loss was rapidly excluded. A brain MRI documented bilateral stroke-like lesions predominantly affecting the superior temporal lobe, including the primary auditory cortex, confirming the central nature of deafness. Slow recovery was observed in the following weeks. This case serves to illustrate the numerous challenges caused by MELAS and the unusual occurrence of acute cortical deafness, that to our knowledge has not be described so far in a child in this setting.

The benefits of sign language for deaf learners with language challenges

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Van Staden, Annalene

2009-12-01

Full Text Available This article argues the importance of allowing deaf children to acquire sign language from an early age. It demonstrates firstly that the critical/sensitive period hypothesis for language acquisition can be applied to specific language aspects of spoken language as well as sign languages (i.e. phonology, grammatical processing and syntax. This makes early diagnosis and early intervention of crucial importance. Moreover, research findings presented in this article demonstrate the advantage that sign language offers in the early years of a deaf child’s life by comparing the language development milestones of deaf learners exposed to sign language from birth to those of late-signers, orally trained deaf learners and hearing learners exposed to spoken language. The controversy over the best medium of instruction for deaf learners is briefly discussed, with emphasis placed on the possible value of bilingual-bicultural programmes to facilitate the development of deaf learners’ literacy skills. Finally, this paper concludes with a discussion of the implications/recommendations of sign language teaching and Deaf education in South Africa.

Lexical-Semantic Organization in Bilingually Developing Deaf Children with ASL-Dominant Language Exposure: Evidence from a Repeated Meaning Association Task

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Mann, Wolfgang; Sheng, Li; Morgan, Gary

2016-01-01

This study compared the lexical-semantic organization skills of bilingually developing deaf children in American Sign Language (ASL) and English with those of a monolingual hearing group. A repeated meaning-association paradigm was used to assess retrieval of semantic relations in deaf 6-10-year-olds exposed to ASL from birth by their deaf…

The Relationship Between Spectral Modulation Detection and Speech Recognition: Adult Versus Pediatric Cochlear Implant Recipients.

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Gifford, René H; Noble, Jack H; Camarata, Stephen M; Sunderhaus, Linsey W; Dwyer, Robert T; Dawant, Benoit M; Dietrich, Mary S; Labadie, Robert F

2018-01-01

Adult cochlear implant (CI) recipients demonstrate a reliable relationship between spectral modulation detection and speech understanding. Prior studies documenting this relationship have focused on postlingually deafened adult CI recipients-leaving an open question regarding the relationship between spectral resolution and speech understanding for adults and children with prelingual onset of deafness. Here, we report CI performance on the measures of speech recognition and spectral modulation detection for 578 CI recipients including 477 postlingual adults, 65 prelingual adults, and 36 prelingual pediatric CI users. The results demonstrated a significant correlation between spectral modulation detection and various measures of speech understanding for 542 adult CI recipients. For 36 pediatric CI recipients, however, there was no significant correlation between spectral modulation detection and speech understanding in quiet or in noise nor was spectral modulation detection significantly correlated with listener age or age at implantation. These findings suggest that pediatric CI recipients might not depend upon spectral resolution for speech understanding in the same manner as adult CI recipients. It is possible that pediatric CI users are making use of different cues, such as those contained within the temporal envelope, to achieve high levels of speech understanding. Further investigation is warranted to investigate the relationship between spectral and temporal resolution and speech recognition to describe the underlying mechanisms driving peripheral auditory processing in pediatric CI users.

Antenatal diagnosis of congenital deafness.

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Isaacson, G

1988-01-01

Advances in the field of antenatal diagnosis have made possible the detection of profound sensorineural hearing loss prior to birth. Fetal motion in response to sound and auditory evoked potential testing can determine the presence of fetal hearing in the third trimester of pregnancy. Imaging modalities including ultrasound, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging hold promise for the diagnosis of some forms of congenital deafness in the second trimester fetus. The methods by which congenital deafness soon may be diagnosed and the implications for the otologist are discussed.

Deaf and Hearing Children: A Comparison of Peripheral Vision Development

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Codina, Charlotte; Buckley, David; Port, Michael; Pascalis, Olivier

2011-01-01

This study investigated peripheral vision (at least 30[degrees] eccentric to fixation) development in profoundly deaf children without cochlear implantation, and compared this to age-matched hearing controls as well as to deaf and hearing adult data. Deaf and hearing children between the ages of 5 and 15 years were assessed using a new,…

Are the Deaf a Disabled Group, or a Linguistic Minority? Issues for Librarians in Victoria's Public Libraries

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McQuigg, Karen

2003-01-01

Presents a brief overview of the sociological forces shaping the discourse of disability; examines the part that public libraries have played, or failed to play, in addressing issues of exclusion as they relate to people with disabilities. Focuses on Australia's deaf community and its particular informational needs. The low impact of the…

Impact of Genetic Counseling and Connexin-26 and Connexin-30 Testing on Deaf Identity and Comprehension of Genetic Test Results in a Sample of Deaf Adults: A Prospective, Longitudinal Study

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Palmer, Christina G. S.; Boudreault, Patrick; Baldwin, Erin E.; Sinsheimer, Janet S.

2014-01-01

Using a prospective, longitudinal study design, this paper addresses the impact of genetic counseling and testing for deafness on deaf adults and the Deaf community. This study specifically evaluated the effect of genetic counseling and Connexin-26 and Connexin-30 genetic test results on participants' deaf identity and understanding of their genetic test results. Connexin-26 and Connexin-30 genetic testing was offered to participants in the context of linguistically and culturally appropriate genetic counseling. Questionnaire data collected from 209 deaf adults at four time points (baseline, immediately following pre-test genetic counseling, 1-month following genetic test result disclosure, and 6-months after result disclosure) were analyzed. Four deaf identity orientations (hearing, marginal, immersion, bicultural) were evaluated using subscales of the Deaf Identity Development Scale-Revised. We found evidence that participants understood their specific genetic test results following genetic counseling, but found no evidence of change in deaf identity based on genetic counseling or their genetic test results. This study demonstrated that culturally and linguistically appropriate genetic counseling can improve deaf clients' understanding of genetic test results, and the formation of deaf identity was not directly related to genetic counseling or Connexin-26 and Connexin-30 genetic test results. PMID:25375116

Communication difficulties experienced by deaf male patients during their in-hospital stay: findings from a qualitative descriptive study.

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Sirch, Linda; Salvador, Linda; Palese, Alvisa

2017-06-01

Studies available have described several specific issues affecting healthcare accessibility by deaf people, but to date, no research has reported the experience of deaf patients with in-hospital communication. The aim of the study was to explore the communication experience of deaf patients with regard to their in-hospital stay. A purposeful sample of participants was selected. The data collection process was based on a focus group. The focus groups were conducted in Italian sign language and videorecorded; subsequently, the entire conversation was faithfully transcribed. A qualitative content analysis of the transcription was performed and the findings are reported using the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research approach. Four themes have emerged: (a) experiencing a common vulnerability: the need for reciprocal understanding and sensitivity, (b) being outside the comfort zone: feeling discriminated against once again, (c) perceiving a lack of consonance between care and needs and (d) developing a sense of progressively disempowerment. The experience of deaf individuals during their in-hospital stay may be critical: they are exposed to protracted communication and interaction with healthcare providers and an environment that is not prepared and designed for these vulnerable patients. Two levels of strategies should be identified, implemented and developed to increase the quality of communication with deaf people during hospitalisation, both at the hospital/health system level and at the healthcare professional/clinical level. © 2016 Nordic College of Caring Science.

Outline of deaf schools on the level throughout the country : A study on architectural planning for the deaf school Part 1

OpenAIRE

平根, 孝光

1993-01-01

This paper is to make clear in outline of deaf schools on the level throughout the country in 1990s. The factors might supposedly exhibit the characteristics of deaf schools are as follows : 1) In deaf schools which have 4 departments and in which early-age education for such children of no less than 3 years of age is executed, babies, young children, children, and juveniles whose age cover a wide renge from 0 to 21 study in a same school, where great gaps are evidently noticed in such people...

Sustained attention, selective attention and cognitive control in deaf and hearing children

Science.gov (United States)

Dye, Matthew W. G.; Hauser, Peter C.

2014-01-01

Deaf children have been characterized as being impulsive, distractible, and unable to sustain attention. However, past research has tested deaf children born to hearing parents who are likely to have experienced language delays. The purpose of this study was to determine whether an absence of auditory input modulates attentional problems in deaf children with no delayed exposure to language. Two versions of a continuous performance test were administered to 37 deaf children born to Deaf parents and 60 hearing children, all aged 6–13 years. A vigilance task was used to measure sustained attention over the course of several minutes, and a distractibility test provided a measure of the ability to ignore task irrelevant information – selective attention. Both tasks provided assessments of cognitive control through analysis of commission errors. The deaf and hearing children did not differ on measures of sustained attention. However, younger deaf children were more distracted by task-irrelevant information in their peripheral visual field, and deaf children produced a higher number of commission errors in the selective attention task. It is argued that this is not likely to be an effect of audition on cognitive processing, but may rather reflect difficulty in endogenous control of reallocated visual attention resources stemming from early profound deafness. PMID:24355653

Deaf children's use of clear visual cues in mindreading.

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Hao, Jian; Su, Yanjie

2014-11-01

Previous studies show that typically developing 4-year old children can understand other people's false beliefs but that deaf children of hearing families have difficulty in understanding false beliefs until the age of approximately 13. Because false beliefs are implicit mental states that are not expressed through clear visual cues in standard false belief tasks, the present study examines the hypothesis that the deaf children's developmental delay in understanding false beliefs may reflect their difficulty in understanding a spectrum of mental states that are not expressed through clear visual cues. Nine- to 13-year-old deaf children of hearing families and 4-6-year-old typically developing children completed false belief tasks and emotion recognition tasks under different cue conditions. The results indicated that after controlling for the effect of the children's language abilities, the deaf children inferred other people's false beliefs as accurately as the typically developing children when other people's false beliefs were clearly expressed through their eye-gaze direction. However, the deaf children performed worse than the typically developing children when asked to infer false beliefs with ambiguous or no eye-gaze cues. Moreover, the deaf children were capable of recognizing other people's emotions that were clearly conveyed by their facial or body expressions. The results suggest that although theory-based or simulation-based mental state understanding is typical of hearing children's theory of mind mechanism, for deaf children of hearing families, clear cue-based mental state understanding may be their specific theory of mind mechanism. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Expression of primary emotions and defence and protective reactions among deaf adolescents

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Maša Černelič Bizjak

2007-11-01

Full Text Available The study examined the differences in defense, protective reactions, and expression of primary emotions between deaf or partially hearing impaired adolescents and their peers with normal hearing. Participants in the two groups were assessed by means of The Profile Emotions, The Life Style Index, and Non-verbal Scale of Suffering. Deaf adolescents tended more towards uncontrolled and oppositional behaviour, and had a weaker sense of self-protection and deprivation. Moreover, their defense mechanisms (intellectualization, projection and negation were more intensively expressed. A higher level of defense mechanisms of intellectualization was observed in hearing adolescents. On the basis of the obtained results and analyses we may conclude that deaf adolescents demonstrated some characteristics of lower level of adjustment: negative emotional responses, lower degree of control (more uncontrolled and oppositional behaviour, weakened sense of self-protection and several simple, evolutionary more primitive defense mechanisms (excluding intellectualization. Our interpretation also takes into account that adolescents need to develop a new adjustment system as the old one ceased to function.

Itinerant deaf educator and general educator perceptions of the D/HH push-in model.

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Rabinsky, Rebecca J

2013-01-01

A qualitative case study using the deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) push-in model was conducted on the perceptions of 3 itinerant deaf educators and 3 general educators working in 1 school district. Participants worked in pairs of 1 deaf educator and 1 general educator at 3 elementary schools. Open-ended research questions guided the study, which was concerned with teachers' perceptions of the model in general and with the model's advantages, disadvantages, and effectiveness. Data collected from observations, one-to-one interviews, and a focus group interview enabled the investigator to uncover 4 themes: Participants (a) had an overall positive experience, (b) viewed general education immersion as an advantage, (c) considered high noise levels a disadvantage, and (d) believed the effectiveness of the push-in model was dependent on several factors, in particular, the needs of the student and the nature of the general education classroom environment.

Vocational Orientation of the Deaf Pupils

OpenAIRE

Sobolevská, Šárka

2017-01-01

The main goal of the bachelor thesis is to learn about vocational orientation of deaf pupils in their last years of study at selected elementary schools for the Deaf and to compare the results to results of similar studies done with pupils without hearing impairment. Based on relevant scientific sources, the paper introduces general aspects that shape vocational orientation, also describes vocational development on D. E. Super's Career Development Theory. The thesis continues with characteriz...

Feeling the Beat: Bouncing Synchronization to Vibrotactile Music in Hearing and Early Deaf People

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Pauline Tranchant

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The ability to dance relies on the ability to synchronize movements to a perceived musical beat. Typically, beat synchronization is studied with auditory stimuli. However, in many typical social dancing situations, music can also be perceived as vibrations when objects that generate sounds also generate vibrations. This vibrotactile musical perception is of particular relevance for deaf people, who rely on non-auditory sensory information for dancing. In the present study, we investigated beat synchronization to vibrotactile electronic dance music in hearing and deaf people. We tested seven deaf and 14 hearing individuals on their ability to bounce in time with the tempo of vibrotactile stimuli (no sound delivered through a vibrating platform. The corresponding auditory stimuli (no vibrations were used in an additional condition in the hearing group. We collected movement data using a camera-based motion capture system and subjected it to a phase-locking analysis to assess synchronization quality. The vast majority of participants were able to precisely time their bounces to the vibrations, with no difference in performance between the two groups. In addition, we found higher performance for the auditory condition compared to the vibrotactile condition in the hearing group. Our results thus show that accurate tactile-motor synchronization in a dance-like context occurs regardless of auditory experience, though auditory-motor synchronization is of superior quality.

The First Survey of Distribution of Inherited Deafness Patterns in Individuals Referred to Genetic Center of Ahvaz Welfare Organization, Southern Iran

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Gholamreza Mohammadian

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: Deafness is a heterogeneous disorder induced by genetic and environmental factors. It is the most common hereditary sensory-neural disorder that affects 1/1000 to 1/2000 of the newborns. More than 70% of hearing loss cases are caused by genetic disorders, 85% of which result from nonsyndromic autosomal recessive sensory-neural hearing loss. Up to now, more than 100 genes contributing in hearing loss have been determined. Alteration of these genes may result in hearing loss.This study was performed to identify the inheritance patterns of deafness and its relation with ethnicity, gender and consanguineous marriages.Methods: In this survey, data from 356 families affected by hearing loss and referred to welfare organization of Ahvaz during the time were collected based on sex, ethnic groups and relativeness.Results: The results state a high frequency of autosomal recessive deafness caused by consanguineous marriages within Arab and non-Arab ethnic groups (p<0.05. But no significant difference in gender."nConclusion: In conclusion, the high frequency of autosomal recessive deafness among the population with a high frequency of consanguineous marriages is considerable. The dominant pattern of deafness observed in this population was autosomal recessive.

Self-concept and ego development in deaf adolescents: a comparative study.

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van Gent, Tiejo; Goedhart, Arnold W; Knoors, Harry E T; Westenberg, P Michiel; Treffers, Philip D A

2012-01-01

Self-concept and ego development, two intertwined aspects of self-indicating well-being and social-cognitive maturation, respectively, were examined in a representative sample of deaf adolescents of normal intelligence (N = 68), using translated and adapted versions of Harter's (1988, Manual for the self-perception profile for adolescents. Denver, CO: University of Denver) multidimensional measure of self-concept and Loevinger's (1998, Technical foundations for measuring ego development. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum) measure of ego development. Compared to hearing norm groups, deaf adolescents showed lower levels of self-perceived social acceptance, close friendships and ego development and higher physical appearance. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses controlling for sociodemographic variables showed positive associations of global self-worth with support for signing during childhood and quality of parent-child communication and of ego development with attending a regular school. Cluster analysis identified three social competence profiles: uniformly low competence, uniformly high competence, and low social acceptance with high physical appearance. Cluster membership was associated with school type, ego development, and (past) neurological disorder. The results are discussed in reference to interventions aimed at the well-being of deaf youth.

Development of social-cognitive and communication skills in children born deaf.

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Peterson, Candida C

2009-10-01

Central to the interface of social-cognitive and communicative development is the growth of a theory of mind (ToM). ToM is mastered by most hearing children and deaf children of signing deaf parents by the age of 5 or 6 but is often seriously delayed in deaf children of hearing parents. This paper reviews recently published research on deaf children's ToM development and presents an original study consisting of eight longitudinal case histories that collectively map late-signing deaf children's ToM performance from 44 to 158 months of age. While five tentative conclusions can be posited from the collective research so far, further investigation of each of these possibilities is clearly needed.

Sign Language and the Learning of Swedish by Deaf Children (Project TSD).

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Jansson, Karin, Ed.

1982-01-01

A project in Sweden focuses on the early linguistic development of preschool deaf children in families where the parents are also deaf. The School for the Deaf in Sweden is involved with describing the Swedish language as it appears to a deaf learner, a description to be used as a basis for teacher training and inservice in the teaching of the…

An unhappy and utterly pitiable creature? Life and self images of Deaf people in the Netherlands at the time of the founding fathers of Deaf education

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tellings, A.E.J.M.; Tijsseling, C.

2005-01-01

This article describes how young deaf people in the Netherlands between 1809 and 1828 made the transition from living in a school for the Deaf,1 a rather protected community with mostly deaf people and with hearing people who could understand them rather well, to a life in hearing society with

Reaching the Summit: Deaf Adults as Essential Partners in Education

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Bourne-Firl, Bridgetta

2016-01-01

How do we reach the summit in terms of supporting the best transition possible for each young deaf or hard of hearing individual in the United States? Should professionals who are hearing work alone to succeed with deaf and hard of hearing students? No matter how good the intention, if we want deaf and hard of hearing students to transition from…

Implicit sequence learning in deaf children with cochlear implants.

Science.gov (United States)

Conway, Christopher M; Pisoni, David B; Anaya, Esperanza M; Karpicke, Jennifer; Henning, Shirley C

2011-01-01

Deaf children with cochlear implants (CIs) represent an intriguing opportunity to study neurocognitive plasticity and reorganization when sound is introduced following a period of auditory deprivation early in development. Although it is common to consider deafness as affecting hearing alone, it may be the case that auditory deprivation leads to more global changes in neurocognitive function. In this paper, we investigate implicit sequence learning abilities in deaf children with CIs using a novel task that measured learning through improvement to immediate serial recall for statistically consistent visual sequences. The results demonstrated two key findings. First, the deaf children with CIs showed disturbances in their visual sequence learning abilities relative to the typically developing normal-hearing children. Second, sequence learning was significantly correlated with a standardized measure of language outcome in the CI children. These findings suggest that a period of auditory deprivation has secondary effects related to general sequencing deficits, and that disturbances in sequence learning may at least partially explain why some deaf children still struggle with language following cochlear implantation. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The Deaf community in Flanders and South Africa : An ethnographic analysis

OpenAIRE

Vermeerbergen, Myriam; Van Herreweghe, Mieke

2008-01-01

Schein (1989) proposes a theory of Deaf Community development and applies his theory to the situation in the USA. He hypothesizes five factors: “These factors and their interactions account for the unique social-psychological behavior of Deaf people that resulted in the development of the phenomenon called the Deaf community" (p. 200). The demographic factor refers to a first precondition for the development of a Deaf community, viz. that there is a critical mass, i.e. both in actual numbers ...

The "Third Ear" Decolonizes: Integrating Deaf Students into Post-Secondary Classes

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McHeimech, Zeinab

2009-01-01

Can we effectively integrate Deaf students into our post-secondary classes before recognizing and listening to them? Studies indicate that Deaf students continue to struggle, be silenced, and experience isolation when mainstreamed. Deaf students, or second-language students, inevitably develop new identities once included; however, we cannot…

Sustained attention, selective attention and cognitive control in deaf and hearing children.

Science.gov (United States)

Dye, Matthew W G; Hauser, Peter C

2014-03-01

Deaf children have been characterized as being impulsive, distractible, and unable to sustain attention. However, past research has tested deaf children born to hearing parents who are likely to have experienced language delays. The purpose of this study was to determine whether an absence of auditory input modulates attentional problems in deaf children with no delayed exposure to language. Two versions of a continuous performance test were administered to 37 deaf children born to Deaf parents and 60 hearing children, all aged 6-13 years. A vigilance task was used to measure sustained attention over the course of several minutes, and a distractibility test provided a measure of the ability to ignore task irrelevant information - selective attention. Both tasks provided assessments of cognitive control through analysis of commission errors. The deaf and hearing children did not differ on measures of sustained attention. However, younger deaf children were more distracted by task-irrelevant information in their peripheral visual field, and deaf children produced a higher number of commission errors in the selective attention task. It is argued that this is not likely to be an effect of audition on cognitive processing, but may rather reflect difficulty in endogenous control of reallocated visual attention resources stemming from early profound deafness. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Overview on Deaf-Blindness

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... of Deaf-Blind Education Transition to Adulthood > Transition Self Determination Person Centered Planning Postsecondary Education Independent Living Employment Customized Employment Sex Education Adult Services Technology Personnel > Intervener Services Support ...

Reading comprehension of deaf children with cochlear implants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vermeulen, A.M.; Bon, W.H.J. van; Schreuder, R.; Knoors, H.E.T.; Snik, A.F.M.

2007-01-01

The reading comprehension and visual word recognition in 50 deaf children and adolescents with at least 3 years of cochlear implant (0) use were evaluated. Their skills were contrasted with reference data of 500 deaf children without CIs. The reading comprehension level in children with CIs was

The Implications of Congenital Deafness for Working Memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Chalifoux, Lisa M.

1991-01-01

A. Baddeley's model of the working memory of congenitally deaf persons is examined in light of research on encoding by this population. It is concluded that a model of the working memory of the deaf must include subsystems for articulatory, sign, and visual encoding. (Author/DB)

Signs of the Times: An Outdoor Education Project with Profoundly Deaf and Hearing Children.

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Levi, Jan

1994-01-01

Describes a British outdoor program in which 11- and 12-year-old students were placed in mixed groups containing several ethnic groups and hearing and deaf children. Includes children's comments on outdoor activities, their relationships with other children, and communication problems and their resolution. An adjacent page illustrates 12 British…

Research-Based Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Assessment in a Deaf Bilingual Program

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Laura

2012-01-01

The California School for the Deaf (CSD), Fremont, is a deaf-centered bilingual program. CSD's approach to curriculum development, instructional pedagogy, and assessment integrates best practices in deaf education, bilingual education, and general education. The goals of the program are outlined in the Expected School-wide Learning Results which…

Educational Outcomes of Young People in Scotland Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: Intersections of Deafness and Social Class

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Fordyce, Mariela; Riddell, Sheila; O'Neill, Rachel; Weedon, Elisabet

2015-01-01

This article focuses on the intersection between deafness and social class in the context of the unstable economic circumstances in Scotland following the 2007 recession. More specifically, this research investigated the following in the case of young people who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH): (1) the interaction between educational attainment…

Magic Finger Teaching Method in Learning Multiplication Facts among Deaf Students

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Thai, Liong; Yasin, Mohd. Hanafi Mohd

2016-01-01

Deaf students face problems in mastering multiplication facts. This study aims to identify the effectiveness of Magic Finger Teaching Method (MFTM) and students' perception towards MFTM. The research employs a quasi experimental with non-equivalent pre-test and post-test control group design. Pre-test, post-test and questionnaires were used. As…

P2X2 Dominant Deafness Mutations Have No Negative Effect on Wild-Type Isoform: Implications for Functional Rescue and in Deafness Mechanism

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Yan Zhu

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The P2X2 receptor is an ATP-gated ion channel, assembled by three subunits. Recently, it has been found that heterozygous mutations of P2X2 V60L and G353R can cause autosomal dominant nonsyndromic hearing loss. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. The fact that heterozygous mutations cause deafness suggests that the mutations may have dominant-negative effect (DNE on wild-type (WT P2X2 isoforms and/or other partners leading to hearing loss. In this study, the effect of these dominant deafness P2X2 mutations on WT P2X2 was investigated. We found that sole transfection of both V60L and G353R deafness mutants could efficiently target to the plasma membrane, like WT P2X2, but exhibit a significantly reduced response to ATP stimulation. Both mutants reduced the channel conductance, but G353R mutation also altered the voltage dependency. Co-expression with WT P2X2 could restore the response to ATP. As the ratio of WT P2X2 vs. mutants increased, the response to ATP was also increased. Computer modeling confirmed that both V60L and G353R dominant-deafness mutant subunits do not have any negative effect on WT P2X2 subunit, when assembled as a heterotrimer. Improper docking or defective gating is the more likely mechanism for impaired channel function by these P2X2 deafness mutations. These results suggest that P2X2 dominant deafness mutations do not have negative effects on WT P2X2 isoforms, and that adding additional WT P2X2 could rescue the lost channel function caused by the deafness mutations. These P2X2 dominant deafness mutations may have negative-effects on other partners leading to hearing loss.

Deaf children's understanding of emotions: desires take precedence

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rieffe, C.J.; Meerum Terwogt, M.

2000-01-01

Deaf children frequently have trouble understanding other people's emotions. It has been suggested that an impaired theory of mind can account for this. This research focused on the spontaneous use of mental states in explaining other people's emotions by 6- and 10-year-old deaf children as compared

Investigation of the Effectiveness of Emotional Intelligence Training on the Self-esteem and Mental Health in Boy Deaf Students

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Mohammad A'shouri

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Objective: The purpose of the present research was to investigation of the effectiveness of emotional intelligence training on the self-esteem of deaf students in Tehran province. Materials & Methods: The present research was an experimental study by pre-test, post-test design with control group. The study population included of boys deaf students from secondary schools (2ed grade in Tehran province. Subjects were selected randomly by cluster sampling method. In this study were participated 40 students. Subjects were divided into two groups by randomly (experimental and control group, each of which was consisted of 20 students. Experimental group received emotional intelligence training in 12 sessions while control group did not. The instruments of present research were Wechsler intelligence scale for children and Cooper Smith self-esteem questionnaire. The obtained data were statistically analyzed by MANCOVA. Results: The findings of this research showed that there was significant increase in self-esteem scores mean of experimental group in the post intervention in comparison with control group (P<0.05. Also scores mean of experimental group increased significantly in ego self-esteem, social self-esteem, family self-esteem and academic self-esteem (P<0.05. Conclusion: The emotional intelligence training program led to improvement the self-esteem and their subscales of deaf students. Therefore, planning for providing of emotional intelligence training is a particular importance.

CNS activation and regional connectivity during pantomime observation: no engagement of the mirror neuron system for deaf signers.

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Emmorey, Karen; Xu, Jiang; Gannon, Patrick; Goldin-Meadow, Susan; Braun, Allen

2010-01-01

Deaf signers have extensive experience using their hands to communicate. Using fMRI, we examined the neural systems engaged during the perception of manual communication in 14 deaf signers and 14 hearing non-signers. Participants passively viewed blocked video clips of pantomimes (e.g., peeling an imaginary banana) and action verbs in American Sign Language (ASL) that were rated as meaningless by non-signers (e.g., TO-DANCE). In contrast to visual fixation, pantomimes strongly activated fronto-parietal regions (the mirror neuron system, MNS) in hearing non-signers, but only bilateral middle temporal regions in deaf signers. When contrasted with ASL verbs, pantomimes selectively engaged inferior and superior parietal regions in hearing non-signers, but right superior temporal cortex in deaf signers. The perception of ASL verbs recruited similar regions as pantomimes for deaf signers, with some evidence of greater involvement of left inferior frontal gyrus for ASL verbs. Functional connectivity analyses with left hemisphere seed voxels (ventral premotor, inferior parietal lobule, fusiform gyrus) revealed robust connectivity with the MNS for the hearing non-signers. Deaf signers exhibited functional connectivity with the right hemisphere that was not observed for the hearing group for the fusiform gyrus seed voxel. We suggest that life-long experience with manual communication, and/or auditory deprivation, may alter regional connectivity and brain activation when viewing pantomimes. We conclude that the lack of activation within the MNS for deaf signers does not support an account of human communication that depends upon automatic sensorimotor resonance between perception and action.

The contribution of phonological knowledge, memory, and language background to reading comprehension in deaf populations

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Hirshorn, Elizabeth A.; Dye, Matthew W. G.; Hauser, Peter; Supalla, Ted R.; Bavelier, Daphne

2015-01-01

While reading is challenging for many deaf individuals, some become proficient readers. Little is known about the component processes that support reading comprehension in these individuals. Speech-based phonological knowledge is one of the strongest predictors of reading comprehension in hearing individuals, yet its role in deaf readers is controversial. This could reflect the highly varied language backgrounds among deaf readers as well as the difficulty of disentangling the relative contribution of phonological versus orthographic knowledge of spoken language, in our case ‘English,’ in this population. Here we assessed the impact of language experience on reading comprehension in deaf readers by recruiting oral deaf individuals, who use spoken English as their primary mode of communication, and deaf native signers of American Sign Language. First, to address the contribution of spoken English phonological knowledge in deaf readers, we present novel tasks that evaluate phonological versus orthographic knowledge. Second, the impact of this knowledge, as well as memory measures that rely differentially on phonological (serial recall) and semantic (free recall) processing, on reading comprehension was evaluated. The best predictor of reading comprehension differed as a function of language experience, with free recall being a better predictor in deaf native signers than in oral deaf. In contrast, the measures of English phonological knowledge, independent of orthographic knowledge, best predicted reading comprehension in oral deaf individuals. These results suggest successful reading strategies differ across deaf readers as a function of their language experience, and highlight a possible alternative route to literacy in deaf native signers. Highlights: 1. Deaf individuals vary in their orthographic and phonological knowledge of English as a function of their language experience. 2. Reading comprehension was best predicted by different factors in oral deaf and

Telemental health technology in deaf and general mental-health services: access and use.

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Austen, Sally; McGrath, Melissa

2006-01-01

Long-distance travel to provide mental health services for deaf people has implications for efficiency, safety, and equality of service. However, uptake of Telemental Health (TMH) has been slow in both deaf and general mental health services. A quantitative study was used to investigate access to TMH and whether staff confidence, experience, or demographics affect TMH use. It was concluded that staff in neither deaf mental health services nor general mental health services had adequate knowledge of or access to TMH. Staff expressed concerns over TMH's appropriateness in their work. Previous use of videoconferencing was assosciated significantly with confidence, but previous use of videophones was not. Neither staff in deaf services nor deaf staff were more experienced with or more confident about videoconferencing, whereas, within deaf services, deaf staff were significantly more confident about videophone use. Training implications are discussed.

From Fancy to Reason: Scaling Deaf and Hearing Children’s Understanding of Theory of Mind and Pretence

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Peterson, Candida C.; Wellman, Henry M.

2011-01-01

We examined deaf and hearing children’s progression of steps in theory-of-mind (ToM) development including their understanding of social pretending. Ninety-three children (33 deaf; 60 hearing) aged 3 to 13 years were tested on a set of six closely-matched ToM tasks. Results showed that deaf children were delayed substantially behind hearing children in understanding pretending, false belief and other ToM concepts, in line with their delayed uptake of social pretend play. By using a scaling methodology, we confirmed previous evidence of a consistent five-step developmental progression for both groups. Moreover, by including social pretence understanding, both deaf and hearing children’s ToM sequences were shown to extend reliably to six sequential developmental steps. Finally and focally, even though both groups’ sequences were six steps long, the placement of pretence relative to other ToM milestones varied with hearing status. Deaf children understood social pretending at an earlier step in the ToM sequence than hearing children, albeit at a later chronological age. Theoretically, the findings are relevant to questions about how universal developmental progressions come together along with culturally-distinctive inputs and biological factors (such as hearing loss) to set the pace for ToM development. PMID:19998533

Evaluating a Health Belief Model-Based Educational Program for School Injury Prevention among Hard-of-Hearing/Deaf High School Students

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Fatemeh Vejdani-Aram

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Background and Objectives: While all students are vulnerable to injuries, such vulnerability may even be higher in the deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Therefore, this study evaluated a health belief model-based educational program to prevent school injuries among deaf and hard-of-hearing high school students. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on all deaf and hard-of-hearing students who attended two special schools in Hamadan (Iran during 2014. They were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (n = 23 or the control group (n = 27. Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire containing items on demographic characteristics, constructs of the health belief model, and knowledge and preventive behaviors. In both groups, the questionnaires were filled out through interviews before and two months after the intervention. The intervention included distributing booklets and holding five educational sessions. Data were analyzed with paired t, independent t, chi square, and Fisher’s exact tests in SPSS16. Results: After the educational intervention, the mean scores of knowledge (P=0.002, preventive behaviors (P=0.001, and constructs of the health belief model, i.e. perceived severity (P=0.001, perceived benefits (P=0.001, self-efficacy (P=0.001, and cues to action (P=0.001, were significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group. Conclusion: According to our findings, an educational intervention based on the health belief model can promote behaviors to prevent school injuries among deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

Non-Verbal Psychotherapy of Deaf Children with Disorders in Personality Development.

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Zalewska, Marina

1989-01-01

Discussed are principles of nonverbal therapy for deaf children with disorders in the development of self, and the possible existence of a relationship between lack of auditory experiences in deaf children and disorders in mother-child bonding. A case study presents a three-year-old deaf boy successfully treated through a nonverbal…

Inclusive instruction and learning for deaf students in postsecondary education.

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Foster, S; Long, G; Snell, K

1999-01-01

This article explores how students who are deaf and their instructors experience mainstream college classes. Both quantitative and qualitative procedures were used to examine student access to information and their sense of belonging and engagement in learning. Instructors were asked to discuss their approach to teaching and any instructional modifications made to address the needs of deaf learners. Results indicate that deaf students viewed classroom communication and engagement in a similar manner as their hearing peers. Deaf students were more concerned about the pace of instruction and did not feel as much a part of the 'university family' as did their hearing peers. Faculty generally indicated that they made few if any modifications for deaf students and saw support service faculty as responsible for the success or failure of these students. We discuss results of these and additional findings with regard to barriers to equal access and strategies for overcoming these barriers.

Memory and Rehearsal Characteristics of Profoundly Deaf Children.

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Bebko, James M.

1984-01-01

Tests 64 deaf students from oral and total communication settings to examine whether a deficiency in spontaneous strategy use accounts for their verbal short-term memory performance. Spontaneous rehearsal of both deaf samples seemed to emerge later than the hearing sample's and was inefficiently implemented and less effective in mediating recall…

A Developmental Model Applied to Problems of Deafness.

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Schlesinger, Hilde S.

2000-01-01

This "classic" article (1972) in the field of deaf studies includes some interpretive notes for current readers. The article examines the effect of deafness on basic developmental tasks at each of the eight developmental stages of Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development and explains the more successful passage through these…

Magnetic resonance imaging in sudden deafness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramos, Hugo Valter Lisboa; Barros, Flavia Alencar; Penido, Norma de Oliveira; Souza, Ana Claudia Valerio de; Yamaoka, Wellington Yugo; Yamashita, Helio

2005-01-01

The etiology of sudden deafness can remain undetermined despite extensive investigation. This study addresses the value of magnetic resonance imaging in the analysis of sudden deafness patients.Study Design: transversal cohort.Material And Method: In a prospective study, 49 patients attended at otolaryngology emergency room of Federal University of Sao Paulo - Escola Paulista de Medicina, from April 2001 to May 2003, were submitted to magnetic resonance imaging.Results: Magnetic Resonance abnormalities were seen in 23 (46.9%) patients and revealed two tumors suggestive of meningioma, three vestibular schwannomas, thirteen microangiopathic changes of the brain and five (21.7%) pathological conditions of the labyrinth.Conclusion: Sudden deafness should be approached as a symptom common to different diseases. The presence of cerebellopontine angle tumors in 10.2% of our cases, among other treatable causes, justifies the recommendation of gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance use, not only to study the auditory peripheral pathway, but to study the whole auditory pathway including the brain. (author)

Deafness genes in Israel: implications for diagnostics in the clinic.

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Brownstein, Zippora; Avraham, Karen B

2009-08-01

The identification of the molecular basis of deafness in the last decade has made a remarkable impact on genetic counseling and diagnostics for the hearing impaired population. Since the discovery of the most prevalent form of deafness associated with mutations in the GJB2 (connexin 26) gene, many other genes have been found worldwide, with a subset of these, including unique mutations, in Israel. Here, we review the current status of deafness genes in Israel and report one known mutation in a syndromic form of deafness, Usher syndrome, described in the Jewish Israeli population for the first time. In the future, the identification of specific mutations may be relevant for specific types of treatment.

Setting the stage for school health-promoting programmes for deaf children in Spain.

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Munoz-Baell, Irma M; Alvarez-Dardet, Carlos; Ruiz, M Teresa; Ferreiro-Lago, Emilio; Aroca-Fernandez, Eva

2008-12-01

Implementing health-promoting programmes for the most excluded and at-risk social groups forms a key part of any efforts to address underserved populations and reduce health inequalities in society. However, many at-risk children, particularly children in deaf communities, are not reached, or are poorly served, by health-promoting programmes within the school setting. This is so because schools are effective as health-promoting environments for d/Deaf children only to the extent that they properly address their unique communication needs and ensure they are both able and enabled to learn in a communication-rich and supportive psycho-social environment. This article examines how the usually separate strands of school health promotion and d/Deaf education might be woven together and illustrates research with deaf community members that involves them and gives their perspective. The primary objective of this study was to map deaf pilot bilingual education programmes in Spain-one of the first countries to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations. (2006) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Resolution A/RES/61/106.)-with particular attention to their compliance to the Convention's article 24. Following pre-testing, 516 key informants were surveyed by mail (response rate: 42.08%) by using a snow-ball key-informant approach, within a Participatory Action Research framework, at a national, regional and local level. The results show that although some schools have achieved recommended standards, bilingual programmes are in various stages of formulation and implementation and are far from being equally distributed across the country, with only four regions concentrating more than 70% of these practices. This uneven geographical distribution of programmes probably reflects more basic differences in the priority given by regions, provinces, and municipalities to the deaf community's needs and rights as an important

Monitoring the Achievement of Deaf Pupils in Sweden and Scotland: Approaches and Outcomes

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Hendar, Ola; O'Neill, Rachel

2016-01-01

Over the past two decades there have been major developments in deaf education in many countries. Medical and technical advances have made it possible for more deaf children to hear and speak successfully. Most deaf pupils learn in ordinary classes in mainstream schools. In this article we explore patterns of achievements of deaf pupils to see if…

Pedophilia and Deafness.

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Vernon, McCay; Rich, Steve

1997-01-01

Data from 22 cases of individuals with deafness suffering from pedophilia indicate a number of factors that distinguish them from hearing pedophiles. Differences include a prevalence of Primitive Personality Disorder, a high rate of brain damage, illiteracy, poorer communication skills, and psychiatric illnesses. Legal issues, prevention, and…

Does Deafness Spell Disaster? An Analysis of the Written English Levels of Deaf Children in the Nelson Mandela Metropole, South Africa

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Weir, Carolyn; Aylif, Diana

2014-01-01

This article presents the findings of an empirical comparative study in the Nelson Mandela Metropole investigating the difference between the written English of deaf children and the written English of hearing children and makes recommendations on how to improve the writing of deaf children. The psycholinguistic approach was used for the…

A Sociolinguistic Profile of the Peruvian Deaf Community

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Parks, Elizabeth; Parks, Jason

2010-01-01

A sociolinguistic survey of the sign language used by the deaf communities of Peru was conducted in November and December of 2007. For eight weeks, our survey team visited six deaf communities in the cities of Lima, Arequipa, Cusco, Trujillo, Chiclayo, and Iquitos. Using sociolinguistic questionnaires and recorded text testing (RTT) tools, we…

Factors Contributing to Successful Employment Outcomes for Hispanic Women Who Are Deaf: Utilization of Chi-Squared Automatic Interaction Detector and Logistic Regression Analysis

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Feist, Amber M.

2013-01-01

Hispanic women who are deaf constitute a heterogeneous group of individuals with varying vocational needs. To understand the unique needs of this population, it is important to analyze how consumer characteristics, presence of public supports, and type of services provided influence employment outcomes for Hispanic women who are deaf. The purpose…

Literatura Surda/Deaf Literature

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Lodenir Becker Karnopp

2006-01-01

Full Text Available O objetivo do presente artigo é proceder a uma análise dos livros de literatura infantil Cinderela Surda e Rapunzel Surda, focalizando os sentidos produzidos sobre identidades e diferenças. As análises desses livros pretendem contribuir para a discussão da produção de uma literatura surda, que está vinculada às discussões sobre cultura e identidade. Na investigação desses materiais, os textos e as imagens produzidas evidenciam que os autores buscam o caminho da auto-representação do grupo de surdos, através da luta pelo estabelecimento do que reconhecem como suas identidades e suas diferenças. Tais evidências estão no uso da língua de sinais, em suas formas de narrar as histórias e/ou de adaptar histórias clássicas, tendo como base suas formas de existência, suas formas de ler, traduzir, conceber e julgar os produtos culturais que consomem e que produzem. This article aims to present an analysis of the fairy tales, Deaf Cinderella and Deaf Rapunzel, focusing on the meanings produced from identities and differences. The analyses of these two books intend to give a contribution to the discussion on the production of deaf literature, which is linked to the discussions on culture and identity. In the investigation of these books, the texts and the images produced show that the authors seek the path to self- representation of the deaf community, through the struggle for the establishment of what they recognize as their identities and differences. Such evidences are in the use of sign language, in their ways of narrating their stories and/or of adapting classic fairy tales, having as a basis their existential ways of being, their ways of reading, translating, conceiving and judging the cultural products which they consume and produce.

An exploration of deaf women's access to mental health nurse education in the United Kingdom.

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Sharples, Naomi

2013-09-01

Historically deaf people have been denied access to professional nurse education due to a range of language, communication and ideological barriers. The following study was set in the North of England and draws upon the Western experience and knowledge base of deaf people's experience of access to professional education. The aim of this study was to understand the experiences of the first British Sign Language using deaf qualified nurses before they entered the Pre-registration Diploma in Nursing Programme, during the programme and after the programme as they progressed into professional nursing roles. The purpose of the study was to gather the nurses' thoughts and feelings about their experiences and to analyse these using thematic analysis within a narrative interpretive tradition against a backdrop of Jurgen Habermas' critical theory and Paulo Freire's critical pedagogy. By drawing out significant themes to structure a deeper understanding of the nurses' unique positions, they offer a model for inclusive education practice that would support deaf people and people from minority groups into nursing and other health care professions. The signed narratives were video recorded and interpreted into written English transcripts which were then analysed to discover the underlying themes using Boyatzis' (1998) thematic analysis. The findings are set against an historical and contemporary setting of deaf people in Western society, their experiences of education, health and employment. These unique findings illustrate the significance of an accessible language environment for the nurses, the role of the organisation in ensuring access for the nurses and the impact of barriers to education and the clinical environment. The implications for education and practice supports the need to analyse the workforce required in deaf services, to scrutinize the access provided, to develop cultural competence skills, enhance the use of additional support mechanisms, generate accessible

Supporting Deaf Students with Intellectual Disabilities through a Specialized Literacy Curriculum

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Berchin-Weiss, Janice; Falk, Jodi L.; Cunningham, Katherine Egan

2016-01-01

The incidence of d/Deaf students with intellectual disabilities in schools for the d/Deaf has increased; however, the development of curricula for this population has not kept up with this trend. A literacy curriculum was developed at St. Joseph's School for the Deaf (SJSD) to address the special needs of these students using a reading and writing…

A critical exploration of deaf young people’s underachievement in Brunei Darussalam

OpenAIRE

Haji Shahminan, Hajah Norbayah

2012-01-01

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University. This study employs qualitative methods to explore the tensions experienced by deaf young people with hearing parents, hearing parents with little or no experience of deafness prior to the birth of their deaf children and language teachers with a lack of skills and knowledge of deafness in the implementation of an inclusive education system in Brunei Darussalam. The empirical evidence I used t...

Comparative study of verbal originality in deaf and hearing children.

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Johnson, R A; Khatena, J

1975-04-01

Verbal originality scores were obtained from Onomatopoeia and Images, Form 1B, given to 181 deaf and 236 hearing Ss aged 10 to 19 yr. The hearing Ss scored significantly higher than the deaf Ss. Significant main effects for age were found but not for sex. The only significant interaction was found for hearing status and age. Deaf Ss became more productive as age increased, while performance of hearing Ss relative to age fluctuated.

Hearing Disorders and Deafness

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... enough to enjoy talking with friends or family. Hearing disorders make it hard, but not impossible, to ... often be helped. Deafness can keep you from hearing sound at all. What causes hearing loss? Some ...

77 FR 42187 - Relay Services for Deaf-Blind Individuals

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-18

... for Deaf-Blind Individuals AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission. ACTION: Final rule; announcement... the Commission's Implementation of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, Section 105, Relay Services for Deaf-Blind Individuals, Order (Order). This document is...

Long QT in children with congenital deafness: a brief report

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Naseraldin Akbari Asbagh

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Long QT syndromes (LQT are genetic abnormalities of ventricular repo-larization, with an estimated incidence of about one per 10000 births. It is characterized by prolongation of the QT interval in electrocardiogram (EKG and associated with a high risk for syncope and sudden death in patients. Type of this syndrome is association with congenital deafness. Our objective was to evaluate QT interval in children with congenital deafness.Methods: For 219 patients referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital audiometric clinic in 2011, questionnaire were completed. A total of 23 congenitally deaf children were incl-uded. All patients’ examinations were done by a pediatric cardiologist. Electrocardio-gram is conducted in all children (23 patients with sever and deep congenital deafness. Then the QT interval was measured based on Bazett’s formula. Echocardiography was also performed in these children to assess left ventricular function and the presence of mitral valve prolapse.Results: The overall patients were two hundred and nineteen children. A total of twenty three congenitally deaf children were included and electrocardiogram was obtained. Three children had obviously prolonged QTc (0.48±0.02 second. The median age of them was 6.1±5 year, the median weight was 18±11.3 kilogram and the median of QT interval was 0.48±0.02 second.Conclusion: The QT interval obtained 0.48±0.02 second. In the present study we found prolonged QT in congenital deafness, thus we recommend to evaluate the electrocardio-gram of children with congenital deafness.

Study of regional cerebral blood flow SPECT imaging for sudden sensorineural deafness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xie Changhui; Kui Xixiao; Xiong Qibin; Wen Hui; Xie Jiabiao

1998-01-01

Purpose: To study the clinical value of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) SPECT imaging for sudden sensorineural deafness (SSD). Methods: 10 normal persons, 19 conductive deafness and 31 SSD patients were examined by rCBF SPECT imaging, and compared with X CT at the same time. All SSD patients were followed up for 6∼12 months with repeated rCBF SPECT imaging. Results: 1) The radioactivity of diseased and normal horizontal temporal gyrus ratio (T/NT) in SSD patients was the lowest among three groups (P < 0.01). 2) The sensitivity (80.6%) and accurate rate (88.3%) of rCBF SPECT imaging in SSD patients were much higher than those of CT (3.2% and 50%, P < 0.01). 3) There was a significant correlation between degree of deafness and T/NT in SSD patients. 4) Good prognosis of SSD patients with normal rCBF SPECT was found. 5) The rCBF SPECT had close concordance between rCBF SPECT imaging and clinical prognosis (84.6%). Conclusions: rCBF SPECT imaging was superior to X CT in diagnosis of SSD and played an important clinical role

Deaf clubs today: do they still have a role to play? The cases of Cyprus and Greece.

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Hadjikakou, Kika; Nikolaraizi, Magda

2011-01-01

The present study investigated the current functions of Deaf clubs in Cyprus and in Greece. The researchers conducted in-depth semistructured interviews with 24 Cypriot and 22 Greek deaf individuals ages 19-54 years. The researchers found that the Deaf clubs in both countries provide a gathering place for deaf people, organize social and sport activities, and promote their demands through legislation. In addition, Deaf clubs maintain and transmit Deaf culture and history to future generations, offer Deaf role models to young deaf children and their families, and provide Deaf awareness to hearing people (e.g., through sign languages classes). The study participants also stressed the role of Deaf clubs in deaf people's lives, unity, and prospects for future progress.

Critical health literacy in American deaf college students.

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Kushalnagar, Poorna; Ryan, Claire; Smith, Scott; Kushalnagar, Raja

2017-05-24

This study investigates the relationship between critical health literacy (CHL) and discussion of health information among college deaf students who use American Sign Language. CHL is crucial in making appropriate health-related decisions for oneself and aiding others in making good health-choices. Research on general youth population shows that frequent health-related discussions with both friends and family is associated with higher health literacy. However, for our sample of deaf college-aged students who might have had less access to communication at home, we hypothesize that health-related discussions with same-age peers may be more important for critical health literacy. We asked two questions to assess the frequency of health-related discussions with friends and families: "How often do you discuss health-related information with your friends" and "How often do you discuss your family medical history with your family?". Participants rated their experience on a scale from 1-5 (1=never, 5=always). To assess CHL, 38 deaf and 38 hearing participants were shown a short scenario that showed a woman confiding in her friend after finding a lump in her breast. Participants were then asked what the friend should say. Responses were scored by a team of 3 raters using a CHL rubric. As predicted, results showed a strong relationship between discussion of health-related information with friends and CHL in both deaf and hearing samples. Discussion with family was linked to CHL only for hearing participants, but not deaf participants in our study. These findings underscore the importance of socializing with health-literate, accessible peers to improve the health literacy and health outcomes of all deaf people. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Comprehension of Written Grammar Test: Reliability and Known-Groups Validity Study With Hearing and Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students.

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Cannon, Joanna E; Hubley, Anita M; Millhoff, Courtney; Mazlouman, Shahla

2016-01-01

The aim of the current study was to gather validation evidence for the Comprehension of Written Grammar (CWG; Easterbrooks, 2010) receptive test of 26 grammatical structures of English print for use with children who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH). Reliability and validity data were collected for 98 participants (49 DHH and 49 hearing) in Grades 2-6. The objectives were to: (a) examine 4-week test-retest reliability data; and (b) provide evidence of known-groups validity by examining expected differences between the groups on the CWG vocabulary pretest and main test, as well as selected structures. Results indicated excellent test-retest reliability estimates for CWG test scores. DHH participants performed statistically significantly lower on the CWG vocabulary pretest and main test than the hearing participants. Significantly lower performance by DHH participants on most expected grammatical structures (e.g., basic sentence patterns, auxiliary "be" singular/plural forms, tense, comparatives, and complementation) also provided known groups evidence. Overall, the findings of this study showed strong evidence of the reliability of scores and known group-based validity of inferences made from the CWG. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The impact of ethnicity on cochlear implantation in Norwegian children.

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Amundsen, Viktoria Vedeler; Wie, Ona Bø; Myhrum, Marte; Bunne, Marie

2017-02-01

To explore the impact of parental ethnicity on cochlear implantation in children in Norway with regard to incidence rates of cochlear implants (CIs), comorbidies, age at onset of profound deafness (AOD), age at first implantation, uni- or bilateral CI, and speech recognition. This retrospective cohort study included all children (N = 278) aged Nordic ethnicity, of whom 46 were born in Nordic countries with two non-Nordic parents. Compared with the background population, children with non-Nordic parents were 1.9 times more likely to have received CI than Nordic children (i.e., born in Nordic countries with Nordic parents). When looking at AOD, uni-vs. bilateral CIs, and comorbidities, no significant differences were found between Nordic children and children with a non-Nordic ethnicity. Among children with AOD Nordic countries with two non-Nordic parents (n = 6) and adopted non-Nordic children (n = 6) received their first CI on average 14.9 and 21.1 months later than Nordic children (n = 104), respectively (p = 0.006 and 0.005). Among children with AOD Nordic countries with two non-Nordic parents (n = 31) received their CI at an older age than Nordic children, but this difference was not significant after adjusting for calendar year of implantation and excluding comorbidity as a potential cause of delayed implantation. The mean age at implantation for children with AOD Nordic children and 76.3% for children born in Norway with two non-Nordic parents (p = 0.002). The incidence of CI was significantly higher in children with a non-Nordic vs. a Nordic ethnicity, reflecting a higher incidence of profound deafness. Children born in Norway have equal access to CIs regardless of their ethnicity, but despite being born and receiving care in Norway, prelingually deaf children with non-Nordic parents are at risk of receiving CI later than Nordic children. Moreover, prelingually deaf children who arrive in Norway at an older age may be at risk for a worse

The Effects of Psychotherapy on Behavior Problems of Sexually Abused Deaf Children.

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Sullivan, Patricia M.; And Others

1992-01-01

This study assessed the effectiveness of a broad-based psychotherapeutic intervention with about half of a group of 72 children sexually abused at a residential school for the deaf. Findings indicated a powerful treatment effect, with boys and girls differing in the specific areas of improvement following therapy. (Author/DB)

STATEMENT OF VIEWS RELATING TO THE EDUCATION OF THE DEAF IN THE UNITED STATES--1964.

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FELLENDORF, GEORGE W.

REPRESENTATIVE OF THE VIEWS OF THE ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL ASSOCIATION FOR THE DEAF, THIS STATEMENT SETS FORTH THE PURPOSES OF THE BELL ASSOCIATION AND DISCUSSES THE FOLLOWING TOPICS ABOUT DEAF EDUCATION--(1) THEIR AMBITIONS FOR ALL DEAF CHILDREN, (2) A CRITIQUE ON THE EDUCATION OF THE DEAF IN THE UNITED STATES, (3) CONCERN FOR DEAF CHILDREN WHO ARE…

"We communicated that way for a reason": language practices and language ideologies among hearing adults whose parents are deaf.

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Pizer, Ginger; Walters, Keith; Meier, Richard P

2013-01-01

Families with deaf parents and hearing children are often bilingual and bimodal, with both a spoken language and a signed one in regular use among family members. When interviewed, 13 American hearing adults with deaf parents reported widely varying language practices, sign language abilities, and social affiliations with Deaf and Hearing communities. Despite this variation, the interviewees' moral judgments of their own and others' communicative behavior suggest that these adults share a language ideology concerning the obligation of all family members to expend effort to overcome potential communication barriers. To our knowledge, such a language ideology is not similarly pervasive among spoken-language bilingual families, raising the question of whether there is something unique about family bimodal bilingualism that imposes different rights and responsibilities on family members than spoken-language family bilingualism does. This ideology unites an otherwise diverse group of interviewees, where each one preemptively denied being a "typical CODA [children of deaf adult]."

[The daily life of deaf children].

Science.gov (United States)

Busquet, D

1990-09-01

The loss of hearing modifies in every respect the relations between a child and his environment and results in serious communication problems. An early diagnosis and a coherent management using all the techniques that facilitate communication can thoroughly alter the consequences of deafness. The therapeutic and educative planning must be done by a competent, multidisciplinary team working in close cooperation with the child's parents. The plan must be adjusted to each individual child and constantly readjusted, the target being the social integration of deaf children when they reach adulthood.

Extended visual regions among the deaf

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neville, H.; Bavelier, D.

1996-01-01

Whatever is the source of the deafness (genetic or acquired in the childhood) it leads to a partial re-arrangement of brain. It has been shown at animals that nerve cells of the auditive cortex acquire some characteristics of the visual nerve cells. At men, the NMR imaging confirms it: it seems that a part of the visual cortex appropriates some cortex zones which are normally intended to audition. It has been verified too that the deaf language solicit more the right hemisphere than the spoken language. (O.M.)

Signed Language Working Memory Capacity of Signed Language Interpreters and Deaf Signers

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Wang, Jihong; Napier, Jemina

2013-01-01

This study investigated the effects of hearing status and age of signed language acquisition on signed language working memory capacity. Professional Auslan (Australian sign language)/English interpreters (hearing native signers and hearing nonnative signers) and deaf Auslan signers (deaf native signers and deaf nonnative signers) completed an…

Text Revision in Deaf and Hearing Bilingual Students

Science.gov (United States)

Teruggi, Lilia A.; Gutiérrez-Cáceres, Rafaela

2016-01-01

In this study we explored the revision process and strategies implemented by deaf and hearing students who attend the same bilingual school context (LIS and Italian). For that we analysed and compared the types and quality of revisions made by deaf and hearing participants to their first draft of a narrative text ("Frog, Where Are You?")…

The Horror of Being Deaf and in Prison

Science.gov (United States)

Vernon, McCay

2010-01-01

Being deaf and in prison is a horror. The main fear of prison inmates, whether Deaf or hearing, is that they will be raped, killed, or subjected to other forms of violence. Such fears are based in reality. The recent overcrowding of jails and prisons has increased these problems significantly. A major reason for this situation is the blatant…

Investigation of the Effectiveness of Emotional Intelligence Training on the Self-esteem and Mental Health in Boy Deaf Students

OpenAIRE

Mohammad A'shouri; Seyyedeh Somayyeh Jalil-Abkenar; Ma'soumeh Pourmohammadreza-Tajrishi

2014-01-01

Objective: The purpose of the present research was to investigation of the effectiveness of emotional intelligence training on the self-esteem of deaf students in Tehran province. Materials & Methods: The present research was an experimental study by pre-test, post-test design with control group. The study population included of boys deaf students from secondary schools (2ed grade) in Tehran province. Subjects were selected randomly by cluster sampling method. In this study were participa...

76 FR 31261 - Relay Services for Deaf-Blind Individuals

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-31

... for Deaf-Blind Individuals AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission. ACTION: Final rule; correction... Federal Register of May 9, 2011, 76 FR 26641. The document adopts rules to establish the National Deaf... Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA). DATES: Effective June 8, 2011. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT...

Inclusive education for Deaf students: Literacy practices and South ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Inclusive education for Deaf students: Literacy practices and South African Sign Language. ... Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies ... of inclusive education for Deaf students in a mainstream Further Education and Training (FET) classroom through the use of a South African Sign Language interpreter.

Electrical Brain Responses to Beat Irregularities in Two Cases of Beat Deafness

Science.gov (United States)

Mathias, Brian; Lidji, Pascale; Honing, Henkjan; Palmer, Caroline; Peretz, Isabelle

2016-01-01

Beat deafness, a recently documented form of congenital amusia, provides a unique window into functional specialization of neural circuitry for the processing of musical stimuli: Beat-deaf individuals exhibit deficits that are specific to the detection of a regular beat in music and the ability to move along with a beat. Studies on the neural underpinnings of beat processing in the general population suggest that the auditory system is capable of pre-attentively generating a predictive model of upcoming sounds in a rhythmic pattern, subserved largely within auditory cortex and reflected in mismatch negativity (MMN) and P3 event-related potential (ERP) components. The current study examined these neural correlates of beat perception in two beat-deaf individuals, Mathieu and Marjorie, and a group of control participants under conditions in which auditory stimuli were either attended or ignored. Compared to control participants, Mathieu demonstrated reduced behavioral sensitivity to beat omissions in metrical patterns, and Marjorie showed a bias to identify irregular patterns as regular. ERP responses to beat omissions reveal an intact pre-attentive system for processing beat irregularities in cases of beat deafness, reflected in the MMN component, and provide partial support for abnormalities in later cognitive stages of beat processing, reflected in an unreliable P3b component exhibited by Mathieu—but not Marjorie—compared to control participants. P3 abnormalities observed in the current study resemble P3 abnormalities exhibited by individuals with pitch-based amusia, and are consistent with attention or auditory-motor coupling accounts of deficits in beat perception. PMID:26941591

Electrical brain responses to beat irregularities in two cases of beat deafness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brian eMathias

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Beat deafness, a recently documented form of congenital amusia, provides a unique window into functional specialization of neural circuitry for the processing of musical stimuli: Beat-deaf individuals exhibit deficits that are specific to the detection of a regular beat in music and the ability to move along with a beat. Studies on the neural underpinnings of beat processing in the general population suggest that the auditory system is capable of pre-attentively generating a predictive model of upcoming sounds in a rhythmic pattern, subserved largely within auditory cortex and reflected in mismatch negativity (MMN and P3 event-related potential (ERP components. The current study examined these neural correlates of beat perception in two beat-deaf individuals, Mathieu and Marjorie, and a group of control participants under conditions in which auditory stimuli were either attended or ignored. Compared to control participants, Mathieu demonstrated reduced behavioral sensitivity to beat omissions in metrical patterns, and Marjorie showed a bias to identify irregular patterns as regular. ERP responses to beat omissions reveal an intact pre-attentive system for processing beat irregularities in cases of beat deafness, reflected in the MMN component, and provide partial support for abnormalities in later cognitive stages of beat processing, reflected in an unreliable P3b component exhibited by Mathieu – but not Marjorie – compared to control participants. P3 abnormalities observed in the current study resemble P3 abnormalities exhibited by individuals with pitch-based amusia, and are consistent with attention or auditory-motor coupling accounts of deficits in beat perception.

Verbal short-term memory development and spoken language outcomes in deaf children with cochlear implants.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Michael S; Kronenberger, William G; Gao, Sujuan; Hoen, Helena M; Miyamoto, Richard T; Pisoni, David B

2013-01-01

Cochlear implants (CIs) help many deaf children achieve near-normal speech and language (S/L) milestones. Nevertheless, high levels of unexplained variability in S/L outcomes are limiting factors in improving the effectiveness of CIs in deaf children. The objective of this study was to longitudinally assess the role of verbal short-term memory (STM) and working memory (WM) capacity as a progress-limiting source of variability in S/L outcomes after CI in children. Longitudinal study of 66 children with CIs for prelingual severe-to-profound hearing loss. Outcome measures included performance on digit span forward (DSF), digit span backward (DSB), and four conventional S/L measures that examined spoken-word recognition (Phonetically Balanced Kindergarten word test), receptive vocabulary (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test ), sentence-recognition skills (Hearing in Noise Test), and receptive and expressive language functioning (Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals Fourth Edition Core Language Score; CELF). Growth curves for DSF and DSB in the CI sample over time were comparable in slope, but consistently lagged in magnitude relative to norms for normal-hearing peers of the same age. For DSF and DSB, 50.5% and 44.0%, respectively, of the CI sample scored more than 1 SD below the normative mean for raw scores across all ages. The first (baseline) DSF score significantly predicted all endpoint scores for the four S/L measures, and DSF slope (growth) over time predicted CELF scores. DSF baseline and slope accounted for an additional 13 to 31% of variance in S/L scores after controlling for conventional predictor variables such as: chronological age at time of testing, age at time of implantation, communication mode (auditory-oral communication versus total communication), and maternal education. Only DSB baseline scores predicted endpoint language scores on Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and CELF. DSB slopes were not significantly related to any endpoint S/L measures

Social Identity in Hearing Youth Who Have Deaf Parents: A Qualitative Study

Science.gov (United States)

Knight, Tracy Rouly

2013-01-01

The purpose of this research study is to describe the perspectives of young children of deaf adults regarding their linguistic and cultural identity. The researcher defined young Children of Deaf Adults (Codas) as Kids of Deaf Adults (Kodas). Kodas represented an interesting subgroup of bilingual, bicultural, and bimodal children with diverse…

Complex word reading in Dutch deaf children and adults

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoogmoed, A.H. van; Knoors, H.E.T.; Schreuder, R.; Verhoeven, L.T.W.

2013-01-01

Children who are deaf are often delayed in reading comprehension. This delay could be due to problems in morphological processing during word reading. In this study, we investigated whether 6th grade deaf children and adults are delayed in comparison to their hearing peers in reading complex

Thirty Wonderful Years: A Program of Service to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

Science.gov (United States)

Seal, Albert G.

A former vocational rehabilitation counselor for the deaf in Louisiana recounts his experiences in initiating the state program, and discusses education of counselors for the deaf, career planning, and vocational placement of young deaf adults. Also described is the development of a special program for the deaf at Delgado College in New Orleans.…

Congenital Deafness Reduces, But Does Not Eliminate Auditory Responsiveness in Cat Extrastriate Visual Cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Land, Rüdiger; Radecke, Jan-Ole; Kral, Andrej

2018-04-01

Congenital deafness not only affects the development of the auditory cortex, but also the interrelation between the visual and auditory system. For example, congenital deafness leads to visual modulation of the deaf auditory cortex in the form of cross-modal plasticity. Here we asked, whether congenital deafness additionally affects auditory modulation in the visual cortex. We demonstrate that auditory activity, which is normally present in the lateral suprasylvian visual areas in normal hearing cats, can also be elicited by electrical activation of the auditory system with cochlear implants. We then show that in adult congenitally deaf cats auditory activity in this region was reduced when tested with cochlear implant stimulation. However, the change in this area was small and auditory activity was not completely abolished despite years of congenital deafness. The results document that congenital deafness leads not only to changes in the auditory cortex but also affects auditory modulation of visual areas. However, the results further show a persistence of fundamental cortical sensory functional organization despite congenital deafness. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Conceptual model for quality of life among adults with congenital or early deafness.

Science.gov (United States)

Kushalnagar, Poorna; McKee, Michael; Smith, Scott R; Hopper, Melinda; Kavin, Denise; Atcherson, Samuel R

2014-07-01

A conceptual model of health-related quality of life (QoL) is needed to describe key themes that impact perceived QoL in adults with congenital or early deafness. To revise University of Washington Center for Disability Policy and Research's conceptual model of health promotion and QoL, with suggestions for applying the model to improving programs or services that target deaf adults with early deafness. Purposive and theoretical sampling of 35 adults who were born or became deaf early was planned in a 1-year study. In-depth semi-structured interviews probed deaf adult participants' perceptions about quality of life as a deaf individual. Data saturation was reached at the 17th interview with 2 additional interviews for validation, resulting in a total sample of 19 deaf adults. Coding and thematic analysis were conducted to develop the conceptual model. Our conceptual model delineates the relationships between health status (self-acceptance, coping with limitations), intrinsic (functional communication skills, navigating barriers/self-advocacy, resilience) and extrinsic (acceptance by others, access to information, educating others) factors in their influence on deaf adult quality of life outcomes at home, college, work, and in the community. Findings demonstrate the need for the programs and services to consider not only factors intrinsic to the deaf individual but also extrinsic factors in enhancing perceived quality of life outcomes among people with a range of functional hearing and language preferences, including American Sign Language. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Examining Deaf Students' Equitable Access to Science vis-a-vis Contemporary Pedagogical Practices

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Annemarie D.

As a Deaf individual, it is important to ensure the growth of the Deaf community as science-literate members of society. While many predecessors have contributed to the body of research in Deaf pedagogy, there is still much to be done in safeguarding Deaf learners' equitable access to science education. One area of concern is in narrowing the statistically significant gap in Climate Change knowledge between Deaf students' and Hearing students' at the Rochester Institute of Technology. It is within this topic that the writing-to-learn-science framework is practiced and Deaf students in the Laboratory Science Technology program at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf participate in a study to assess whether or not the use of writing-to-learn-science strategies help them become better scientists, writers and learners. In this study, the social constructivist framework (Vygotsky, 1987) is used to study the impact of the use of the Berland and Reiser (2009) argumentation framework, so that they write-to-learn-science through the steps of sense-making, articulation and persuasion.

Deaf: A Concept Analysis From a Cultural Perspective Using the Wilson Method of Concept Analysis Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Pendergrass, Kathy M; Newman, Susan D; Jones, Elaine; Jenkins, Carolyn H

2017-07-01

The purpose of this article is to provide an analysis of the concept Deaf to increase health care provider (HCP) understanding from a cultural perspective. Deaf signers, people with hearing loss who communicate primarily in American Sign Language (ASL), generally define the term Deaf as a cultural heritage. In the health care setting, the term deaf is most often defined as a pathological condition requiring medical intervention. When HCPs are unaware that there are both cultural and pathological views of hearing loss, significant barriers may exist between the HCP and the Deaf individual. The concept of Deaf is analyzed using the Wilsonian method. Essential elements of the concept "Deaf" from a cultural perspective include a personal choice to communicate primarily in ASL and identify with the Deaf community. Resources for HCPs are needed to quickly identify Deaf signers and provide appropriate communication.

The Curious Case of the Deaf and Contested Landscapes of Bilingual Education

Science.gov (United States)

Valente, Joseph Michael; Boldt, Gail

2016-01-01

In this article, the authors examine deaf education as a "curious case" to prompt thinking about issues of language inequities. The authors argue that tying the fortunes of deaf students to those of other language minority students provides opportunities for new insights into policies and practices of deaf education as well the education…

Signs of Resistance: Peer Learning of Sign Languages within "Oral" Schools for the Deaf

Science.gov (United States)

Anglin-Jaffe, Hannah

2013-01-01

This article explores the role of the Deaf child as peer educator. In schools where sign languages were banned, Deaf children became the educators of their Deaf peers in a number of contexts worldwide. This paper analyses how this peer education of sign language worked in context by drawing on two examples from boarding schools for the deaf in…

Reading books with young deaf children: strategies for mediating between American Sign Language and English.

Science.gov (United States)

Berke, Michele

2013-01-01

Research on shared reading has shown positive results on children's literacy development in general and for deaf children specifically; however, reading techniques might differ between these two populations. Families with deaf children, especially those with deaf parents, often capitalize on their children's visual attributes rather than primarily auditory cues. These techniques are believed to provide a foundation for their deaf children's literacy skills. This study examined 10 deaf mother/deaf child dyads with children between 3 and 5 years of age. Dyads were videotaped in their homes on at least two occasions reading books that were provided by the researcher. Descriptive analysis showed specifically how deaf mothers mediate between the two languages, American Sign Language (ASL) and English, while reading. These techniques can be replicated and taught to all parents of deaf children so that they can engage in more effective shared reading activities. Research has shown that shared reading, or the interaction of a parent and child with a book, is an effective way to promote language and literacy, vocabulary, grammatical knowledge, and metalinguistic awareness (Snow, 1983), making it critical for educators to promote shared reading activities at home between parent and child. Not all parents read to their children in the same way. For example, parents of deaf children may present the information in the book differently due to the fact that signed languages are visual rather than spoken. In this vein, we can learn more about what specific connections deaf parents make to the English print. Exploring strategies deaf mothers may use to link the English print through the use of ASL will provide educators with additional tools when working with all parents of deaf children. This article will include a review of the literature on the benefits of shared reading activities for all children, the relationship between ASL and English skill development, and the techniques

Addressing Intersections in HIV/AIDS and Mental Health: The Role of Organizations for d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing Individuals in South Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Mall, Sumaya; Swartz, Leslie

2011-01-01

Like South Africans generally, d/Deaf and hard of hearing South Africans are at risk of HIV/AIDS and mental disorders resulting from barriers to communication and care. In interviews and a focus group, members of South African organizations for d/Deaf and hard of hearing individuals all gave priority to HIV/AIDS education and prevention, citing…

Cross-modal activation of auditory regions during visuo-spatial working memory in early deafness.

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Hao; Qin, Wen; Liang, Meng; Ming, Dong; Wan, Baikun; Li, Qiang; Yu, Chunshui

2015-09-01

Early deafness can reshape deprived auditory regions to enable the processing of signals from the remaining intact sensory modalities. Cross-modal activation has been observed in auditory regions during non-auditory tasks in early deaf subjects. In hearing subjects, visual working memory can evoke activation of the visual cortex, which further contributes to behavioural performance. In early deaf subjects, however, whether and how auditory regions participate in visual working memory remains unclear. We hypothesized that auditory regions may be involved in visual working memory processing and activation of auditory regions may contribute to the superior behavioural performance of early deaf subjects. In this study, 41 early deaf subjects (22 females and 19 males, age range: 20-26 years, age of onset of deafness memory task than did the hearing controls. Compared with hearing controls, deaf subjects exhibited increased activation in the superior temporal gyrus bilaterally during the recognition stage. This increased activation amplitude predicted faster and more accurate working memory performance in deaf subjects. Deaf subjects also had increased activation in the superior temporal gyrus bilaterally during the maintenance stage and in the right superior temporal gyrus during the encoding stage. These increased activation amplitude also predicted faster reaction times on the spatial working memory task in deaf subjects. These findings suggest that cross-modal plasticity occurs in auditory association areas in early deaf subjects. These areas are involved in visuo-spatial working memory. Furthermore, amplitudes of cross-modal activation during the maintenance stage were positively correlated with the age of onset of hearing aid use and were negatively correlated with the percentage of lifetime hearing aid use in deaf subjects. These findings suggest that earlier and longer hearing aid use may inhibit cross-modal reorganization in early deaf subjects. Granger

The effectiveness of international development assistance from American organizations to deaf communities in Jamaica.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Amy T

American organizations bringing assistance to deaf people in developing countries unintentionally create relationships of dependency or oppression rather than relationships of support. Using qualitative methods, the author examined the effectiveness of development assistance provided to the Jamaican Deaf community by two American churches, one American nongovernmental organization, and one U.S. federal agency. Documents were reviewed and observations were made. Interviews were conducted with more than 60 deaf and hearing people involved with the American organizations, the Jamaican organizations, and deaf Jamaican beneficiaries. The author concludes that the Jamaican Deaf community was often excluded in planning, designing, or evaluating programs, and was unsatisfied with the American assistance it received. Results also indicate that the American organizations were poorly prepared to work with the Deaf community. Suggestions for American organizations wishing to strengthen and empower deaf people through development assistance in developing countries are proposed.

The contribution of phonological knowledge, memory, and language background to reading comprehension in deaf populations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabeth Ann Hirshorn

2015-08-01

Full Text Available While reading is challenging for many deaf individuals, some become proficient readers. Yet we do not know the component processes that support reading comprehension in these individuals. Speech-based phonological knowledge is one of the strongest predictors of reading comprehension in hearing individuals, yet its role in deaf readers is controversial. This could reflect the highly varied language backgrounds among deaf readers as well as the difficulty of disentangling the relative contribution of phonological versus orthographic knowledge of spoken language, in our case ‘English’, in this population. Here we assessed the impact of language experience on reading comprehension in deaf readers by recruiting oral deaf individuals, who use spoken English as their primary mode of communication, and deaf native signers of American Sign Language. First, to address the contribution of spoken English phonological knowledge in deaf readers, we present novel tasks that evaluate phonological versus orthographic knowledge. Second, the impact of this knowledge, as well as verbal short-term memory and long-term memory skills, on reading comprehension was evaluated. The best predictor of reading comprehension differed as a function of language experience, with long-term memory, as measured by free recall, being a better predictor in deaf native signers than in oral deaf. In contrast, the measures of English phonological knowledge, independent of orthographic knowledge, best predicted reading comprehension in oral deaf individuals. These results suggest successful reading strategies differ across deaf readers as a function of their language experience, and highlight a possible alternative route to literacy in deaf native signers.

Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in the Digital Era

Science.gov (United States)

Denham, Percival J.; Battro, Antonio M.

2012-01-01

The education of the deaf and hard of hearing has been the aim and inspiration of many technological discoveries and developments. Since the early work of Alexander Graham Bell, a visionary in special education for the deaf, many relevant innovations have considerably improved the quality of life and the professional opportunities for deaf people…

Memoir Upon the Formation of a Deaf Variety of the Human Race.

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Alexander Graham

A compilation of data on the hereditary aspects of deafness presented at a conference in 1883 by Alexander Graham Bell, the document contains records of familial occurences of deafness and marriage statistics. Tables indicate that within schools for the deaf many students had the same family name; it was considered highly probable that a…

A developmental model applied to problems of deafness.

Science.gov (United States)

Schlesinger, H S

2000-01-01

From the Editors: This article represents another in our series of "classics" that helped to shape the field of deaf studies and deaf education. The article first appeared as Chapter Two in Sound and Sign: Childhood Deafness and Mental Health, H. S. Schlesinger and K. P. Meadow (1972), Berkeley: University of California Press. The book reported pioneering research and clinical mental health services at the Langley Porter Neuropsychiatric Institute, University of California, San Francisco. For current readers, some of the language may seem out of date, and the Editors have made several minor modifications to ensure that readers fully recognize the original intention of the author. (Such modifications are indicated by square brackets or ellipses for contemporary purposes, but the intentions of the original all have been maintained, and Editors' notes are indicated as such to distinguish them from the Authors' notes.) Nevertheless, many of the ideas are fresh and important. Indeed, some passages serve as particular reminders of significant changes in opportunities for and attitudes about Deaf people over the past three decades. Many of these changes resulted directly from the work of Dr. Schlesinger and her colleagues.

Personality characteristics and their connection with learning efficiency of deaf and partially deaf pupils in mainstream primary and secondary school

OpenAIRE

Kastelic, Helena

2012-01-01

This thesis deals with personality characteristics and their connection with learning efficiency of deaf and partially deaf pupils and students in mainstream primary and secondary school. The theoretical part defines learning efficiency and focuses on the most significant factors of learning efficiency, including also personality characteristics of an individual. This thesis represents the idea of inclusion and its advantages and disadvantages and suggests to what extent it is present in our ...

Human computer interaction and communication aids for hearing-impaired, deaf and deaf-blind people: Introduction to the special thematic session

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bothe, Hans-Heinrich

2008-01-01

This paper gives ail overview and extends the Special Thematic Session (STS) oil research and development of technologies for hearing-impaired, deaf, and deaf-blind people. The topics of the session focus oil special equipment or services to improve communication and human computer interaction....... The papers are related to visual communication using captions, sign language, speech-reading, to vibro-tactile stimulation, or to general services for hearing-impaired persons....

Political-pedagogical unfoldings of bilingualism for deaf people: reflexions and directing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sueli Fernandes

2009-09-01

Full Text Available The article talks about bilingualism for deaf people, it’s implications in the educational process, as well as in some of the inclusive linguistic politics unfoldings proposed officially from the end of the decade of 1990 for this segment. The sociocultural and linguistic characteristics of the Brazilian deaf people communities are argued and also the importance of the same ones to be known and socially valued. Some lines of direction and challenges are pointed for the access and remaining of the deaf students in the school educational process. Finally, the text reflects about the bilingual education programs for deaf students, considering that these are complex, specially because it crosses economic ideological, cultural contradictory and heterogeneous interests.

The education of the deaf from exclusion to inclusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mª Carmen Gómez Gómez

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The education of deaf students normally begins to be studied from Ponce de Leon in a monastery of Burgos; but until this moment people with hearing loss or deafness have had moments in history with more or less acceptance. In primitive societies both could be protected as repudiated , depending on whether the deafness was considered a punishment or a gift of God holder . Over time , history has continued to generate periods of more or less accepted to be people, but especially after the Middle Ages and the eighteenth century past has been where most progress has been made towards integration and inclusion.

Deaf Adolescents’ Learning of Cardiovascular Health Information: Sources and Access Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Scott R.; Kushalnagar, Poorna; Hauser, Peter C.

2015-01-01