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Sample records for prelingually deaf pupils

  1. Grey matter connectivity within and between auditory, language and visual systems in prelingually deaf adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Wenjing; Li, Jianhong; Wang, Zhenchang; Li, Yong; Liu, Zhaohui; Yan, Fei; Xian, Junfang; He, Huiguang

    2015-01-01

    Previous studies have shown brain reorganizations after early deprivation of auditory sensory. However, changes of grey matter connectivity have not been investigated in prelingually deaf adolescents yet. In the present study, we aimed to investigate changes of grey matter connectivity within and between auditory, language and visual systems in prelingually deaf adolescents. We recruited 16 prelingually deaf adolescents and 16 age-and gender-matched normal controls, and extracted the grey matter volume as the structural characteristic from 14 regions of interest involved in auditory, language or visual processing to investigate the changes of grey matter connectivity within and between auditory, language and visual systems. Sparse inverse covariance estimation (SICE) was utilized to construct grey matter connectivity between these brain regions. The results show that prelingually deaf adolescents present weaker grey matter connectivity within auditory and visual systems, and connectivity between language and visual systems declined. Notably, significantly increased brain connectivity was found between auditory and visual systems in prelingually deaf adolescents. Our results indicate "cross-modal" plasticity after deprivation of the auditory input in prelingually deaf adolescents, especially between auditory and visual systems. Besides, auditory deprivation and visual deficits might affect the connectivity pattern within language and visual systems in prelingually deaf adolescents.

  2. Music appreciation and music listening in prelingual and postlingually deaf adult cochlear implant recipients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moran, Michelle; Rousset, Alexandra; Looi, Valerie

    2016-01-01

    To explore the music appreciation of prelingually deaf adults using cochlear implants (CIs). Cohort study. Adult CI recipients were recruited based on hearing history and asked to complete the University of Canterbury Music Listening Questionnaire (UCMLQ) to assess each individual's music listening and appreciation. Results were compared to previous responses to the UCMLQ from a large cohort of postlingually deaf CI recipients. Fifteen prelingually deaf and 15 postlingually deaf adult cochlear implant recipients. No significant differences were found between the prelingual and postlingual participants for amount of music listening or music listening enjoyment with their CI. Sound quality of common instruments was favourable for both groups, with no significant difference in the pleasantness/naturalness of instrument sounds between the groups. Prelingually deaf CI recipients rated themselves as significantly less able to follow a melody line and identify instrument styles compared to their postlingual peers. The results suggest that the pre- and postlingually deaf CI recipients demonstrate equivalent levels of music appreciation. This finding is of clinical importance, as CI clinicians should be actively encouraging all of their recipients to explore music listening as a part of their rehabilitation.

  3. Visual Processing Recruits the Auditory Cortices in Prelingually Deaf Children and Influences Cochlear Implant Outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Maojin; Chen, Yuebo; Zhao, Fei; Zhang, Junpeng; Liu, Jiahao; Zhang, Xueyuan; Cai, Yuexin; Chen, Suijun; Li, Xianghui; Chen, Ling; Zheng, Yiqing

    2017-09-01

    Although visual processing recruitment of the auditory cortices has been reported previously in prelingually deaf children who have a rapidly developing brain and no auditory processing, the visual processing recruitment of auditory cortices might be different in processing different visual stimuli and may affect cochlear implant (CI) outcomes. Ten prelingually deaf children, 4 to 6 years old, were recruited for the study. Twenty prelingually deaf subjects, 4 to 6 years old with CIs for 1 year, were also recruited; 10 with well-performing CIs, 10 with poorly performing CIs. Ten age and sex-matched normal-hearing children were recruited as controls. Visual ("sound" photo [photograph with imaginative sound] and "nonsound" photo [photograph without imaginative sound]) evoked potentials were measured in all subjects. P1 at Oz and N1 at the bilateral temporal-frontal areas (FC3 and FC4) were compared. N1 amplitudes were strongest in the deaf children, followed by those with poorly performing CIs, controls and those with well-performing CIs. There was no significant difference between controls and those with well-performing CIs. "Sound" photo stimuli evoked a stronger N1 than "nonsound" photo stimuli. Further analysis showed that only at FC4 in deaf subjects and those with poorly performing CIs were the N1 responses to "sound" photo stimuli stronger than those to "nonsound" photo stimuli. No significant difference was found for the FC3 and FC4 areas. No significant difference was found in N1 latencies and P1 amplitudes or latencies. The results indicate enhanced visual recruitment of the auditory cortices in prelingually deaf children. Additionally, the decrement in visual recruitment of auditory cortices was related to good CI outcomes.

  4. [Effect of rehabilitation for prelingual deaf children who use cochlear implants in conjunction with hearing aids in the opposite ears].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Yanjing; Zhou, Huifang; Zhang, Jing; Yang, Dong; Xu, Yi; Guo, Yuxi

    2012-10-01

    To compare the effect of rehabilitation of prelingual deaf children who used a cochlear implant (CI) in one ear and a hearing aids in the opposite ear while the hearing level of the opposite ears are different. Hearing ability, language ability and learning ability was included in the content. The aim of this research is to investigate better style of rehabilitation, and to offer the best help to the prelingual deaf children. Accord ing to the hearing level of the ear opposite to the one wearing a cochlear implant and whether the opposite ear wear a hearing aid or not, 30 prelingual deaf children were divided into three groups, including cochlear implant with opposite severe hearing loss and hearing aid ear (CI+SHA), cochlear implant with opposite profound hearing loss and hearing aid ear (CI+PHA), cochlear implant only (CI). The effect of rehabilitation was assessed in six different times (3,6,9,12,15 and 18 months after the cochlear implants and hearing aids began to work). The longer time the rehabilitation spends, the better the hearing ability,language ability and the learning ability were. The hearing ability of CI+SHA was better than those of CI+PHA (Pdeaf children should take much more time on rehabilitation. The effect of rehabilitation for prelingual deaf children who used cochlear implant in one ear and hearing aid in the other depend on the residual hearing level of the other ear. If a prelingual deaf children still has any residual hearing level in the ear opposite to the cochlear implant ear, it is better for him/her to wear a hearing aid in the ear.

  5. Divergence of fine and gross motor skills in prelingually deaf children: implications for cochlear implantation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horn, David L; Pisoni, David B; Miyamoto, Richard T

    2006-08-01

    The objective of this study was to assess relations between fine and gross motor development and spoken language processing skills in pediatric cochlear implant users. The authors conducted a retrospective analysis of longitudinal data. Prelingually deaf children who received a cochlear implant before age 5 and had no known developmental delay or cognitive impairment were included in the study. Fine and gross motor development were assessed before implantation using the Vineland Adaptive Behavioral Scales, a standardized parental report of adaptive behavior. Fine and gross motor scores reflected a given child's motor functioning with respect to a normative sample of typically developing, normal-hearing children. Relations between these preimplant scores and postimplant spoken language outcomes were assessed. In general, gross motor scores were found to be positively related to chronologic age, whereas the opposite trend was observed for fine motor scores. Fine motor scores were more strongly correlated with postimplant expressive and receptive language scores than gross motor scores. Our findings suggest a disassociation between fine and gross motor development in prelingually deaf children: fine motor skills, in contrast to gross motor skills, tend to be delayed as the prelingually deaf children get older. These findings provide new knowledge about the links between motor and spoken language development and suggest that auditory deprivation may lead to atypical development of certain motor and language skills that share common cortical processing resources.

  6. 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...

  7. 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...

  8. Enhancing Parent-Child Communication and Parental Self-Esteem with a Video-Feedback Intervention: Outcomes with Prelingual Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lam-Cassettari, Christa; Wadnerkar-Kamble, Meghana B.; James, Deborah M.

    2015-01-01

    Evidence on best practice for optimizing communication with prelingual deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children is lacking. This study examined the effect of a family-focused psychosocial video intervention program on parent-child communication in the context of childhood hearing loss. Fourteen hearing parents with a prelingual DHH child…

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  10. Enhancing Parent-Child Communication and Parental Self-Esteem With a Video-Feedback Intervention: Outcomes With Prelingual Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lam-Cassettari, Christa; Wadnerkar-Kamble, Meghana B; James, Deborah M

    2015-07-01

    Evidence on best practice for optimizing communication with prelingual deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children is lacking. This study examined the effect of a family-focused psychosocial video intervention program on parent-child communication in the context of childhood hearing loss. Fourteen hearing parents with a prelingual DHH child (Mage = 2 years 8 months) completed three sessions of video interaction guidance intervention. Families were assessed in spontaneous free play interactions at pre and postintervention using the Emotional Availability (EA) Scales. The Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale was also used to assess parental report of self-esteem. Compared with nontreatment baselines, increases were shown in the EA subscales: parental sensitivity, parental structuring, parental nonhostility, child responsiveness, and child involvement, and in reported self-esteem at postintervention. Video-feedback enhances communication in families with prelingual DHH children and encourages more connected parent-child interaction. The results raise implications regarding the focus of early intervention strategies for prelingual DHH children. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press.

  11. Non-syndromic sensorineural prelingual deafness: the importance of genetic counseling in demystifying parents' beliefs about the cause of their children's deafness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigues, Fidjy; Paneque, Milena; Reis, Cláudia; Venâncio, Margarida; Sequeiros, Jorge; Saraiva, Jorge

    2013-08-01

    Recent advances in molecular genetics have allowed the determination of the genetic cause of some childhood non-syndromic deafness. In Portugal only a small proportion of families are referred to a clinical genetics service in order to clarify the etiology of the deafness and to provide genetic counseling. Consequently, there are no published studies of the prior beliefs of parents about the causes of hereditary deafness of their children and their genetic knowledge after receipt of genetic counseling. In order to evaluate the impact of genetic counseling, 44 parents of 24 children with the diagnosis of non-syndromic sensorineural prelingual deafness due to mutations in the GJB2 (connexin 26), completed surveys before and after genetic counseling. Before counseling 13.6 % of the parents knew the cause of deafness; at a post-counseling setting this percentage was significantly higher, with 84.1 % of the parents accurately identifying the etiology. No significant differences were found between the answers of mothers and fathers either before or after genetic counseling. Parents' level of education was a significant factor in pre-test knowledge. After genetic counseling 95.5 % of the parents stated that the consultation had met their expectations, 70.5 % remembered correctly the inheritance pattern, and 93.2 % correctly recalled the chance of risk of deafness. These results underline the importance of genetic counseling in demystifying parents' beliefs about the etiology of their children's deafness.

  12. Preoperative cerebral metabolic difference related to the outcome of cochlear implantation in prelingually deaf children

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, J. H.; Lim, G. C.; Ahn, J. H.; Lee, K. S.; Jeong, J. W.; Kim, J. S. [Asan Medical Center, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2007-07-01

    The outcome of cochlear implantation (CI) has known to be variable. The aim of this study was to evaluate the preoperative regional glucose metabolism difference related to the speech perception outcome after CI in prelingually deaf children. Forty-one prelingually deaf children who underwent CI at age 2{approx}10 years were included. All patients underwent F-18 FDG brain PET within one month before CI and measured speech perception using the institute version of the CID at 2 years after CI. Patients were classified into younger (2{approx}6 years) and older (7{approx}10 years) groups. Each group was also divided into a GOOD (CID scores>80) and a BAD (CID scores<60) subgroup. We assessed regional metabolic difference according to CID scores and age by voxel based analysis (SPM2) comparing normal controls (n =8, 20{approx}30 years). Speech perception was good in 19 (68%) of 28 younger patients and 5 (38%) of 13 older patients after CI. Regional metabolism of both younger and older GOOD subgroup was significantly decreased in right temporal, left cerebellar and right frontal regions compared to normal controls (uncorrected p<0.001). In younger GOOD subgroup, left frontotemporal and both parietal regions showed decreased metabolism and right frontal, left temporal and anterior cingulate regions showed increased metabolism compared to BAD subgroup (uncorrected p<0.005). In younger group, regional metabolism in left superior frontal, right temporal and right occipital regions showed a significant negative correlation with CID scores (uncorrected p<0.005). In older group, the pattern of regional metabolic difference correlated with CID score was not similar to that of younger group. Preoperative regional cerebral metabolism is decreased in several brain regions related to the language in preligually deaf patients and the neuralplasty of younger patients are different according to the outcome of speech perception after CI.

  13. Preoperative cerebral metabolic difference related to the outcome of cochlear implantation in prelingually deaf children

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, J. H.; Lim, G. C.; Ahn, J. H.; Lee, K. S.; Jeong, J. W.; Kim, J. S.

    2007-01-01

    The outcome of cochlear implantation (CI) has known to be variable. The aim of this study was to evaluate the preoperative regional glucose metabolism difference related to the speech perception outcome after CI in prelingually deaf children. Forty-one prelingually deaf children who underwent CI at age 2∼10 years were included. All patients underwent F-18 FDG brain PET within one month before CI and measured speech perception using the institute version of the CID at 2 years after CI. Patients were classified into younger (2∼6 years) and older (7∼10 years) groups. Each group was also divided into a GOOD (CID scores>80) and a BAD (CID scores<60) subgroup. We assessed regional metabolic difference according to CID scores and age by voxel based analysis (SPM2) comparing normal controls (n =8, 20∼30 years). Speech perception was good in 19 (68%) of 28 younger patients and 5 (38%) of 13 older patients after CI. Regional metabolism of both younger and older GOOD subgroup was significantly decreased in right temporal, left cerebellar and right frontal regions compared to normal controls (uncorrected p<0.001). In younger GOOD subgroup, left frontotemporal and both parietal regions showed decreased metabolism and right frontal, left temporal and anterior cingulate regions showed increased metabolism compared to BAD subgroup (uncorrected p<0.005). In younger group, regional metabolism in left superior frontal, right temporal and right occipital regions showed a significant negative correlation with CID scores (uncorrected p<0.005). In older group, the pattern of regional metabolic difference correlated with CID score was not similar to that of younger group. Preoperative regional cerebral metabolism is decreased in several brain regions related to the language in preligually deaf patients and the neuralplasty of younger patients are different according to the outcome of speech perception after CI

  14. Cochlear implant outcomes and quality of life in adults with prelingual deafness

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klop, W. Martin C.; Briaire, Jeroen J.; Stiggelbout, Anne M.; Frijns, Johan H. M.

    2007-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: To evaluate sound and speech perception and quality of life in prelingually deafened adults implanted with state of the art devices. To investigate which patient factors influence postoperative performance. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective intervention study. METHODS: Eight prelingually

  15. Configuration and Dynamics of the Earth-Sun-Moon System: An Investigation into Conceptions of Deaf and Hearing Pupils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roald, Ingvild; Mikalsen, Oyvind

    2001-01-01

    Reports and analyzes the day and night cycle, the seasons, and the phases of the moon as seen by Norwegian deaf pupils aged 7, 9, 11, and 17 years, and by hearing Norwegian pupils 9 years old. Among the 9-year-olds there was no difference in the inner coherence of the conceptions between deaf pupils. (Author/SAH)

  16. Deaf English--An Investigation of the Written English Competence of Deaf Adolescents. Technical Report No. 236.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charrow, Veda R.

    Presented is support for the existence of "Deaf English," a non-standard dialect common to the prelingually deaf; and reported is an investigation of the written English competence of deaf adolescents. In the first half of the document the author discusses the historical background of deaf education and the linguistic and cognitive abilities of…

  17. A Phenomenological Study of Online Learning for Deaf Students in Postsecondary Education: A Deaf Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wooten, Patricia Michelle

    2014-01-01

    This qualitative phenomenological study investigated the effects of online learning for deaf college students as opposed to the mainstream classroom setting. This study specifically analyzed the writing and reading skills of deaf students in general and the development of English literacy of prelingually deaf students and those from non-English…

  18. The Music Experiences and Attitudes Of A First Cohort of Prelingually-Deaf Adolescents and Young Adults CI Recipients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gfeller, Kate; Driscoll, Virginia; Smith, Rachel See; Scheperle, Christina

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the musical engagement (participation and attitude) of pediatric CI recipients who were implanted during early childhood and who have reached age 15 or older. A questionnaire was administered to a group of 31 prelingually deaf CI users who receive annual follow up services and assessment in a clinical research center. The questionnaire was used to examine involvement in and attitudes toward music in school, the community, and in the home; social affiliation (hearing, Deaf, both) and mode of communication (oral, manual, both) were also examined. Despite the technical limitations of cochlear implants in transmitting pitch, melody, and tone quality, over two thirds of this sample described music as being important or very important in their lives. A high level of past and present familial involvement in music was associated with higher levels of current involvement and importance of music in the lives of adolescent and young adult CI users. Comparisons were noted with data from prior studies of persons with hearing loss who were non-CI users. PMID:23565029

  19. A Psycholinguistic Analysis of "Deaf English."

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charrow, Veda R.

    The purpose of this study was to identify and provide normative data for weighting of those nonstandard linguistic features that make up deaf English. Subjects were prelingually or congenitally deaf high school students from the California School for the Deaf and a control group of normal-hearing fourth graders from a California public school.…

  20. 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 ...

  1. Language approaches used with deaf pupils in Scottish schools: 2001-2004.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grimes, Marian; Thoutenhoofd, Ernst D; Byrne, Delma

    2007-01-01

    In this article we address "language approach" data as a key variable in quantitative, large-scale research on educational achievement, focusing on our work for the Achievements of Deaf Pupils in Scotland (ADPS) project. The complexity of approaches is addressed, with a particular focus on a "no-exclusion" model of service. In this context 3 years of language-related data are discussed, using constructions of language variables that take into account the variability in deaf pupils' hearing loss levels, types of provision, and professional practice. We see this as a necessary first step toward offering a nuanced context for understanding patterns in the educational outcomes among the ADPS population to be reported in a later article. The ADPS data on language approach can reveal general patterns at macro levels: our analysis suggests that, in Scotland, the extent and quality of British Sign Language/English provision may be determined more by local factors than by linguistic requirements and that ostensibly responsive policies can mask a limited spectrum for pupils and their families. However, the ADPS data are insufficiently sensitive to detailed and local variations to reflect the full complexity of language situations over time-a situation which represents an ongoing challenge for all long-term, large-scale studies.

  2. Rehabilitation of deaf persons with cochlear implants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gstoettner, W.; Hamzavi, J.; Czerny, C.

    1997-01-01

    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.) [de

  3. Cochlear implantation in late-implanted adults with prelingual deafness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Most, Tova; Shrem, Hadas; Duvdevani, Ilana

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of cochlear implantation (CI) on prelingually deafened participants who were implanted as adults. The effect of the CI was examined with regard to the following variables: communication, family, social skills, education, and work satisfaction with one's life, loneliness, and self-esteem. Thirty-eight adults participated. Four self-report questionnaires were used at 2 points in time: before and after CI. The research findings show significant differences in the reports of most variables before and after implantation. The participants felt better with regard to communication, social skills, education, and work and satisfaction with one's life after implantation in comparison to their feelings before implantation. Furthermore, they felt less lonely after implantation. However, there were no significant differences before and after implantation regarding their feelings within the family and regarding their self-esteem. The results demonstrated the need to evaluate the benefits resulting from the CI not only with traditional clinical measures but with additional measures as well. Furthermore, they demonstrated the benefit of the CI on the positive psychosociological implications of prelingually deafened adults. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Regional homogeneity changes in prelingually deafened patients: a resting-state fMRI study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Wenjing; He, Huiguang; Xian, Junfang; Lv, Bin; Li, Meng; Li, Yong; Liu, Zhaohui; Wang, Zhenchang

    2010-03-01

    Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a technique that measures the intrinsic function of brain and has some advantages over task-induced fMRI. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) assesses the similarity of the time series of a given voxel with its nearest neighbors on a voxel-by-voxel basis, which reflects the temporal homogeneity of the regional BOLD signal. In the present study, we used the resting state fMRI data to investigate the ReHo changes of the whole brain in the prelingually deafened patients relative to normal controls. 18 deaf patients and 22 healthy subjects were scanned. Kendall's coefficient of concordance (KCC) was calculated to measure the degree of regional coherence of fMRI time courses. We found that regional coherence significantly decreased in the left frontal lobe, bilateral temporal lobes and right thalamus, and increased in the postcentral gyrus, cingulate gyrus, left temporal lobe, left thalamus and cerebellum in deaf patients compared with controls. These results show that the prelingually deafened patients have higher degree of regional coherence in the paleocortex, and lower degree in neocortex. Since neocortex plays an important role in the development of auditory, these evidences may suggest that the deaf persons reorganize the paleocortex to offset the loss of auditory.

  5. Epidemiology of prelingual sensorineural hearing impairment at a children’s center in Bogotá, Colombia between 1997 and 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...

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

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

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    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.

  10. 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

  11. Handwriting in Signing Deaf Middle-School Students and Relationship with Text Composition and Spelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alamargot, Denis; Morin, Marie-France; Simard-Dupuis, Érika

    2018-01-01

    We set out to (i) assess the handwriting skills of signing deaf students, and (ii) examine the extent to which their text composition and spelling performances are linked to their handwriting efficiency. We asked 15 prelingually and profoundly deaf middle-school students (M = 15.18 years), all sign-language users, and a group of hearing students…

  12. "Do You Hear with Your Ears or with Your Eyes?": The Education of the Deaf Pupils at Casa Pia De Lisboa (c.1820-1950)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martins, Catarina S.

    2009-01-01

    This paper focuses on the education of the deaf pupils at Casa Pia de Lisboa, a Portuguese boarding-school, covering the period from 1820 to 1950. The intention is to show that a historical sedimentation of a scientific discourse about deafness is an effect of a new rationality of government begun by modernity and perfectly fitting a bio-political…

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  14. 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...

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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

  16. 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.

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

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    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

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.…

  19. 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.

  20. Reading characteristics of deaf and hard-of-hearing pupils

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karić Jasmina

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Background/Aim. Speech motor mechanisms play a crucial role in the process of demutization, due to the fact that they cover all the elements of the successive development of spech production movements leading to speech formation (socalled kinesthesia in speach. The aim of this study was to estimate the impact of perceptual motor actions on the cognitive process of reading in 130 students in regular schools and schools for the deaf and hard-of-hearing children in the Republic of Serbia. Methods. Kostić and Vladisavljević test consisted of the ten levels weight was used for the assessment of reading speed. To assess understanding of text read by verbal responses, we used three-dimensional adapted reading test of Helene Sax. Results. The triage-articulation test for assessing reading speed (Kostić and Vladisavljević’s test according to the weight of ten levels, revealed that students in regular schools statistically significantly faster read texts as compared to the deaf students. The results of the threedimensional adapted reading test of Helena Sax, show that the words learned by deaf children exist in isolation in their mind, ie, if there is no standard of acoustic performance for graphic image, in deaf child every word, printed or written, is just the sum of letters without meaning. Conclusion. There is a significant difference in text reading speed and its understanding among the children who hear and the deaf and hard of-hearing children. It is essential that in deaf and heard-of hearing children education, apart from the development of speech, parallelly use the concept of semantic processing in order to get each word by the fullness of its content and the possibility of expanding its meaning in a variety of assets.

  1. [Reading characteristics of deaf and hard-of-hearing pupils].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karić, Jasmina; Ristić, Sinisa; Medenica, Snezana; Tadić, Vaska; Slavnić, Svetlana

    2012-10-01

    Speech motor mechanisms play a crucial role in the process of demutization, due to the fact that they cover all the elements of the successive development of spech production movements leading to speech formation (so-called kinesthesia in speach). The aim of this study was to estimate the impact of perceptual motor actions on the cognitive process of reading in 130 students in regular schools and schools for the deaf and hard-of-hearing children in the Republic of Serbia. Kostić and Vladisavljević test consisted of the ten levels weight was used for the assessment of reading speed. To assess understanding of text read by verbal responses, we used three-dimensional adapted reading test of Helene Sax. The triage-articulation test for assessing reading speed (Kostié and Vladisavljević's test according to the weight of ten levels, revealed that students in regular schools statistically significantly faster read texts as compared to the deaf students. The results of the three-dimensional adapted reading test of Helena Sax, show that the words learned by deaf children exist in isolation in their mind, i.e., if there is no standard of acoustic performance for graphic image, in deaf child every word, printed or written, is just the sum of letters without meaning. There is a significant difference in text reading speed and its understanding among the children who hear and the deaf and hard-of-hearing children. It is essential that in deaf and heard-of-hearing children education, apart from the development of speech, parallelly use the concept of semantic processing in order to get each word by the fullness of its content and the possibility of expanding its meaning in a variety of assets.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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

  3. Should we teach thinking skills to deaf children?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emma Tamsin Kelty

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available This pilot study aimed to identify the benefits of developing thinking skills with KS1 deaf children who used British Sign Language (BSL. It arose as a response to the findings of a variety of researches who had reported a number of ‘failings’ apparent in the educational and learning activity of deaf children. It used a case study approach involving five profoundly deaf Key stage 1 children and explored the extent to which, using materials grounded in the Somerset Thinking Skills Course, the teaching of thinking skills in a supportive environment could remediate some of these issues. The strongly visual nature of the material supported pupil exchanges mediated by the use of sign language. Analysis of video film was used to plot individual pupil development of scanning skills, their use of nouns versus adjectives, micro-skills and macro-abilities. Pupil reasoning skills, how they were supported, their ownership and role of the facilitator were also examined. The results showed that within eight weeks (equivalent to four hours in total the children were more able to express their perceptions. They watched other children in order to access their signed information and appeared to use this to develop, elaborate, extend and provide reasons when it was their turn to present. There was also evidence of enhanced creativity and originality in their contributions. This pilot study urges the need for further research and suggests that a priority should be given to developing this approach in the teaching of deaf children. Due to the complexity of thinking skills it further recommends that this area should be taught as a separate topic that can inform other subjects.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. Detection of Deafness-Causing Mutations in the Greek Mitochondrial Genome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  7. Pupils with sensory disabilities in physical education classes: Attitudes and preferences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petra Kurková

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: The key factor that affects the success of shaping positive attitudes towards regular life-long performance of physical activity (PA is the pupils' level of inner motivation. This is influenced, among other things, by their family background, the educational institution that they attend and the educator's competencies. Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe and analyse the attitudes among pupils with sensory disabilities in physical education (PE classes. A partial objective was to compare the preferences for various PA by pupils with sensory disabilities in PE classes. Method: A non-standardized questionnaire was used to collect the data. The sample was based on the following features: a a participant had to be deaf or hard of hearing, b a participant had to have a visual disability, and c had to have been educated in special educational settings. The data were quantified on the percentage basis. To carry out cross-group statistical testing of differences, a ratio analysis with the help of the Chi-square test was applied. The level of statistical significance was set to p < .05. We analysed the data of 70 pupils attending the second stage of two elementary schools in Slovakia: a 37 pupils (22 boys and 15 girls, age 13.3 ± 1.45 years from a school for the deaf, and b 33 pupils (14 boys and 19 girls, age 13.4 ± 1.41 years from a school for the blind. Results: The differences in the preferences for various PA during PE classes in the cross-group comparison of pupils with sensory disabilities were discovered. A comparison of the opinions of pupils with sensory disabilities pointed out a difference consisting in a higher percentage of positive attitudes among pupils with visual disabilities in indicators of popularity, importance, the pupils' efforts and feelings towards education. A statistically significant difference was discovered only in feelings during PE classes. This result may be considered

  8. 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

  9. 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.

  10. 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-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.

  11. 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.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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

  13. 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

  14. 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

    2012-10-10

    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.

  15. 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.

  16. 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.

  17. 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...

  18. 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.

  19. 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.

  20. 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.

  1. 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. PMID:25583706

  2. Children, Deaf, of Deaf Parents

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    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

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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

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

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    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.

  5. 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.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

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

    OpenAIRE

    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 ...

  8. 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

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

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    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

  10. 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

  11. 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

  12. 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.

  13. 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...

  14. 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.

  15. Attitudes toward condom education amongst educators for Deaf and hard-of-hearing adolescents in South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sumaya Mall

    2014-08-01

    Aim: This study explores the attitudes of educators working in schools for Deaf and hard-of-hearing pupils in South Africa toward condom education for their pupils. Methods: We conducted a combination of individual in-depth and joint interviews with a total of 27 participants. The sample comprised educators, school psychologists, school nurses and teaching assistants. Results: Results showed that educators were aware of the HIV risk for their pupils and reported the risk of sexual abuse or premature sexual activity as being risk factors for HIV infection. None of the schools had a written condom education policy. Whilst some schools were integrating condom education in existing school curricula, others faced moral or religious dilemmas in doing so. There were differences in attitudes, both amongst schools and amongst educators in the same schools. Conclusions: Given the context of a burgeoning HIV epidemic, it is vital to address adequate condom education in schools.

  16. 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…

  17. 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…

  18. THE DEAFNESS, THE DEAF AND HIS DISCURSE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  19. Cryogenic Pupil Alignment Test Architecture for Aberrated Pupil Images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bos, Brent; Kubalak, David A.; Antonille, Scott; Ohl, Raymond; Hagopian, John G.

    2009-01-01

    A document describes cryogenic test architecture for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) integrated science instrument module (ISIM). The ISIM element primarily consists of a mechanical metering structure, three science instruments, and a fine guidance sensor. One of the critical optomechanical alignments is the co-registration of the optical telescope element (OTE) exit pupil with the entrance pupils of the ISIM instruments. The test architecture has been developed to verify that the ISIM element will be properly aligned with the nominal OTE exit pupil when the two elements come together. The architecture measures three of the most critical pupil degrees-of-freedom during optical testing of the ISIM element. The pupil measurement scheme makes use of specularly reflective pupil alignment references located inside the JWST instruments, ground support equipment that contains a pupil imaging module, an OTE simulator, and pupil viewing channels in two of the JWST flight instruments. Pupil alignment references (PARs) are introduced into the instrument, and their reflections are checked using the instrument's mirrors. After the pupil imaging module (PIM) captures a reflected PAR image, the image will be analyzed to determine the relative alignment offset. The instrument pupil alignment preferences are specularly reflective mirrors with non-reflective fiducials, which makes the test architecture feasible. The instrument channels have fairly large fields of view, allowing PAR tip/tilt tolerances on the order of 0.5deg.

  20. 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.

  1. 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.

  2. Deaf Autism: Common Instructional Practices Described by Deaf Educators

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.…

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  4. 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 ...

  5. 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...

  6. 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…

  7. Attitudes toward condom education amongst educators for Deaf and hard-of-hearing adolescents in South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sumaya Mall

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Disabled adolescents are at a critical time in their psychosocial and sexual development.Aim: This study explores the attitudes of educators working in schools for Deaf and hard-of-hearing pupils in South Africa toward condom education for their pupils.Methods: We conducted a combination of individual in-depth and joint interviews with a total of 27 participants. The sample comprised educators, school psychologists, school nurses and teaching assistants.Results: Results showed that educators were aware of the HIV risk for their pupils and reported the risk of sexual abuse or premature sexual activity as being risk factors for HIV infection. None of the schools had a written condom education policy. Whilst some schools were integrating condom education in existing school curricula, others faced moral or religious dilemmas in doing so. There were differences in attitudes, both amongst schools and amongst educators in the same schools.Conclusions: Given the context of a burgeoning HIV epidemic, it is vital to address adequate condom education in schools.

  8. 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.

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  11. 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

  12. Seeing the Deaf in "Deafness"

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  13. Pupil-class determinants of aggressive and victim behaviour in pupils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mooij, T

    1998-09-01

    Aggressive behaviour in pupils is expressed in, e.g., bullying, sexual harassment, and violence. Different kinds of variables could be relevant in explaining a pupil's aggressive or victim behaviour. To develop a multilevel theoretical and empirical explanation for different kinds of aggressive and victim behaviour displayed by pupils in a classroom and school environment. A national survey was carried out to identify different kinds of aggressive and victim behaviour displayed by pupils and to assess other variables related to pupils, classes, and schools. A total of 1998 pupils from 100 third and fourth year classes attending 71 different secondary schools took part in the research. Data were analysed by a series of secondary multilevel analyses using the MLA-program. Being a boy, being more extravert, being more disagreeable, coming across fewer teachers with positive teaching behaviour, and attending a lower type of secondary school, help explain why someone is a perpetrator as such. Being a boy, being more disagreeable, being more emotionally unstable, being open to new ideas, and seeing more teachers as being strict, function as explanatory pupil variables for victim behaviour. Other pupil level variables determine more specific aggressive and victim behaviour aspects. Various other class level and school level variables are relevant, too. Personal and environmental pupil variables are more important than class variables but class variables are in turn more important than school variables in explaining a pupil's aggressive and victim behaviour.

  14. 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

  15. Pupil and Staff Perceptions of Rewards at a Pupil Referral Unit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Capstick, Joanna

    2005-01-01

    The present study investigated the perceptions of both pupils and staff at a pupil referral unit (PRU) towards the reward system currently in use. The main aims were to establish whether teachers and pupils perceived the same rewards as effective, to determine whether staff and pupils perceived that rewards changed behaviour, and finally whether…

  16. 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 ...

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  18. 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…

  19. Does the "Pupil Enterprise Programme" Influence Grades among Pupils with Special Needs?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johansen, Vegard; Somby, Hege M.

    2016-01-01

    This paper asks whether the Pupil Enterprise Programme (PEP) is a suitable working method for improving academic performance among pupils with special needs. Overall, 20% of pupils participate in PEP at some point during lower secondary school. Results from multilevel regression modelling indicate that pupils with special needs who have…

  20. 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.

  1. 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…

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  3. 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.

  4. The Voice of the Pupils: An Experimental Comparison of Decisions Made by Elected Pupil Councils, Pupils in Referenda, and Teaching Staff

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilljam, Mikael; Esaiasson, Peter; Lindholm, Torun

    2010-01-01

    This article tests whether the form of decision-making used in school environments affects pupils' views on the legitimacy of the decisions made, and of the decision-making procedure. Building on political science theory on democratic decision-making, it compares pupils' reactions towards decisions made by pupil councils, by pupils via referendum,…

  5. Pupil Center as a Function of Pupil Diameter

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ahmed, Zaheer; Mardanbegi, Diako; Hansen, Dan Witzner

    2016-01-01

    We investigate the gaze estimation error induced by pupil size changes using simulated data. We investigate the influence of pupil diameter changes on estimated gaze point error obtained by two gaze estimation models. Simulation data show that at wider viewing angles and at small eye...

  6. 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.

  7. 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

  8. 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…

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  10. Appropriate Pupilness

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kofoed, Jette

    2008-01-01

    for football are selected. The article opens up for a microanalysis of everyday practices at the margins and at the core of what this article terms `pupilness'. The concept of intersectionality is suggested as a useful analytical tool to understand the multiple activities of pupils in everyday school life...

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  12. Deaf Culture. NETAC Teacher Tipsheet

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  13. Supporting Deaf Students--and All Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  14. Pupil shape in the animal kingdom: from the pseudopupil to the vertical pupil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    González-Martín-Moro, J; Gómez-Sanz, F; Sales-Sanz, A; Huguet-Baudin, E; Murube-del-Castillo, J

    2014-12-01

    To study the different pupil shapes adopted by the different animal species. Review of the related literature, using PubMed database. The initial search strategy was pupil shape (limited to animals). The first volume of System of Ophthalmology (Duke-Elder) and Evolution's witness (I. Schwab) were also reviewed. An optic illusion called pseudopupil is usually observed in the compound eyes of insects. The pupil is circular in most vertebrates, however slit vertical pupils are present in cats and in some snake species. Vertical pupils could have a photoprotective function, as it makes a more complete closure possible in photopic conditions, and helps to camouflage the predator. It has also been hypothesized that it could help to correct chromatic aberration. Ruminants are usually endowed with horizontal pupils. This shape could improve the capacity of the eye to detect vertical silhouettes. Some marine animals have crescent-shaped pupils. In these animals, a superior operculum helps to protect the inferior retina from the great amount of light coming from above. There is a surprising variability in pupil shape. Through this variability, nature has fitted the eye to different circumstances. The theories proposed to explain this high variability are discussed in detail in the article. Copyright © 2012 Sociedad Española de Oftalmología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  17. Dataset of red light induced pupil constriction superimposed on post-illumination pupil response

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shaobo Lei

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available We collected and analyzed pupil diameter data from of 7 visually normal participants to compare the maximum pupil constriction (MPC induced by “Red Only” vs. “Blue+Red” visual stimulation conditions.The “Red Only” condition consisted of red light (640±10 nm stimuli of variable intensity and duration presented to dark-adapted eyes with pupils at resting state. This condition stimulates the cone-driven activity of the intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGC. The “Blue+Red” condition consisted of the same red light stimulus presented during ongoing blue (470±17 nm light-induced post-illumination pupil response (PIPR, representing the cone-driven ipRGC activity superimposed on the melanopsin-driven intrinsic activity of the ipRGCs (“The Absence of Attenuating Effect of Red light Exposure on Pre-existing Melanopsin-Driven Post-illumination Pupil Response” Lei et al. (2016 [1].MPC induced by the “Red Only” condition was compared with the MPC induced by the “Blue+Red” condition by multiple paired sample t-tests with Bonferroni correction. Keywords: Pupil light reflex, Chromatic pupillometry, Melanopsin, Post-illumination pupil response

  18. Pupils teach to pupils about genetics or global warming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuny, Delphine

    2013-04-01

    The idea of this project is to put pupils in a teaching situation. Classes of teenagers go to primary schools and animate a science workshop. Junior pupils are separated in small groups and they attend two different sessions in the same half-day. The whole workshop consists of 4 sessions. Each session is organized with an activity (microscope observation, counting of chromosomes, drawing of a curve, etc.) in which senior pupils coach the younger, and ends with a debate or an assessment. The first experiment of this type of project was realized with a class of 14 to 15 year old pupils on the theme: How do your parents transmit your characteristics? The four sessions are attended in disorder but when knowledge of other sessions are necessary, senior pupils explain them at the beginning of the session. Junior pupils have a notebook to write their activities and to note their conclusions. Session 1: What did my father give to make me? Drawing and measuring microscopic observations of human spermatozoons. Conclusion: my father gave a spermatozoon which measures less than one mm long, this spermatozoon met my mother's egg and it made my first cell. Session 2: What does the program that made me look like? Microscope observation of blood cells, identification of chromosomes in the core. On microscope pictures, counting of chromosomes. Conclusion: My program is in each cell of my body, inside the core. Sometimes, in this core, we can observe short sticks that are called chromosomes. All human beings have the same number of chromosomes in their cells: 46. Session 3: Where do my chromosomes come from? Counting of chromosomes in spermatozoons or ovums and playing with sets of chromosomes to deduct sex of a baby. Conclusion: Daddy gave me 23 chromosomes and mummy gave me 23 chromosomes too. My program is then constituted from half of daddy's program and half of mummy's program. My brothers and sisters also have half and half, but not the same halves! Session 4: Where is the

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  2. The Identity of Czech Deaf Roma

    OpenAIRE

    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...

  3. The pupil as an indicator of unconscious memory: Introducing the pupil priming effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomes, Carlos Alexandre; Montaldi, Daniela; Mayes, Andrew

    2015-06-01

    We explored whether object behavioral priming and pupil changes occur in the absence of recognition memory. Experiment 1 found behavioral priming for unrecognized objects (Ms) regardless of whether they had been encoded perceptually or conceptually. Using the same perceptual encoding task, Experiment 2 showed greater pupil dilation for Ms than for correct rejections of unstudied objects (CRs) when reaction times were matched. In Experiment 3, there was relatively less pupil dilation for Ms than for similarly matched CRs when objects had been encoded conceptually. Mean/peak pupil dilation for CRs, but not Ms, increased in Experiment 3, in which novelty expectation was also reduced, and the pupillary time course for both Ms and CRs was distinct in the two experiments. These findings indicate that both behavioral and pupil memory occur for studied, but unrecognized stimuli, and suggest that encoding and novelty expectation modulate pupillary memory responses. © 2015 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

  4. Silencing Deafness: Displacing Disability in the Nineteenth Century

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  5. The Active Pupil: Pupil size in attention, working memory, and active vision

    OpenAIRE

    Mathôt, Sebastiaan

    2015-01-01

    Slides for the following talk: Mathôt, S. (2015, June). The Active Pupil: Pupil Size in Attention, Working Memory, and Active Vision. Talk presented at the Laboratoire de Psychologie de la Perception, Paris, France.

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

    OpenAIRE

    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...

  7. 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.

  8. Experimental investigations of pupil accommodation factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Eui Chul; Lee, Ji Woo; Park, Kang Ryoung

    2011-08-17

    PURPOSE. The contraction and dilation of the iris muscle that controls the amount of light entering the retina causes pupil accommodation. In this study, experiments were performed and two of the three factors that influence pupil accommodation were analyzed: lighting conditions and depth fixations. The psychological benefits were not examined, because they could not be quantified. METHODS. A head-wearable eyeglasses-based, eye-capturing device was designed to measure pupil size. It included a near-infrared (NIR) camera and an NIR light-emitting diode. Twenty-four subjects watched two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) stereoscopic videos of the same content, and the changes in pupil size were measured by using the eye-capturing device and image-processing methods: RESULTS. The pupil size changed with the intensity of the videos and the disparities between the left and right images of a 3D stereoscopic video. There was correlation between the pupil size and average intensity. The pupil diameter could be estimated as being contracted from approximately 5.96 to 4.25 mm as the intensity varied from 0 to 255. Further, from the changes in the depth fixation for the pupil accommodation, it was confirmed that the depth fixation also affected accommodation of pupil size. CONCLUSIONS. It was confirmed that the lighting condition was an even more significant factor in pupil accommodation than was depth fixation (significance ratio: approximately 3.2:1) when watching 3D stereoscopic video. Pupil accommodation was more affected by depth fixation in the real world than was the binocular convergence in the 3D stereoscopic display.

  9. 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

  10. Arts Accessibility for the Deaf.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  11. 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...

  12. TAPS for Pupils

    Science.gov (United States)

    Earle, Sarah

    2018-01-01

    By placing the Focused Assessment approach within the TAPS pyramid framework, schools are beginning to find a number of ways in which learning in science can be enhanced for pupils. The quotations in this article provide examples of the ways in which science subject leaders (SSL) describe the impact of TAPS on their pupils.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  14. [History of the rehabilitation of the deaf child].

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  15. Automated Windowing Processing for Pupil Detection

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Ebisawa, Y

    2001-01-01

    .... The pupil center in the video image is a focal point to determine the eye gaze. Recently, to improve the disadvantages of traditional pupil detection methods, a pupil detection technique using two light sources (LEDs...

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  17. The Deaf Child as a Linguistic Minority.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.…

  18. DEAFNESS, RETELLING AND READER FOMATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  19. Suicide in deaf populations: a literature review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kapur Navneet

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Studies have found that deaf individuals have higher rates of psychiatric disorder than those who are hearing, while at the same time encountering difficulties in accessing mental health services. These factors might increase the risk of suicide. However, the burden of suicidal behaviour in deaf people is currently unknown. The aim of the present review was to provide a summary of literature on suicidal behaviour with specific reference to deaf individuals. The objectives of the review were to establish the incidence and prevalence of suicidal behaviour in deaf populations; describe risk factors for suicidal behaviour in deaf populations; describe approaches to intervention and suicide prevention that have been used in deaf populations. Methods A number of electronic databases (e.g. Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL, EMBASE, Dissertation Abstracts International, Web of Science, ComDisDome, ASSIA, Education Sage Full Text, Google Scholar, and the grey literature databases FADE and SIGLE were explored using a combination of key words and medical subject headings as search terms. Reference lists of papers were also searched. The Science and Social Sciences Citation Index electronic databases were used to identify studies that had cited key papers. We also contacted experts and organisations with an interest in the field. Results Very few studies focussed specifically on suicide in deaf populations. Those studies that were included (n = 13 generally involved small and unrepresentative samples. There were limited data on the rate of suicidal behaviour in deaf people. One study reported evidence of hearing impairment in 0.2% of all suicide deaths. Another found that individuals with tinnitus seen in specialist clinics had an elevated rate of suicide compared to the general population. The rates of attempted suicide in deaf school and college students during the previous year ranged from 1.7% to 18%, with lifetime rates as high as 30

  20. Suicide in deaf populations: a literature review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turner, Oliver; Windfuhr, Kirsten; Kapur, Navneet

    2007-10-08

    Studies have found that deaf individuals have higher rates of psychiatric disorder than those who are hearing, while at the same time encountering difficulties in accessing mental health services. These factors might increase the risk of suicide. However, the burden of suicidal behaviour in deaf people is currently unknown. The aim of the present review was to provide a summary of literature on suicidal behaviour with specific reference to deaf individuals. The objectives of the review were to establish the incidence and prevalence of suicidal behaviour in deaf populations; describe risk factors for suicidal behaviour in deaf populations; describe approaches to intervention and suicide prevention that have been used in deaf populations. A number of electronic databases (e.g. Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL, EMBASE, Dissertation Abstracts International, Web of Science, ComDisDome, ASSIA, Education Sage Full Text, Google Scholar, and the grey literature databases FADE and SIGLE) were explored using a combination of key words and medical subject headings as search terms. Reference lists of papers were also searched. The Science and Social Sciences Citation Index electronic databases were used to identify studies that had cited key papers. We also contacted experts and organisations with an interest in the field. Very few studies focussed specifically on suicide in deaf populations. Those studies that were included (n = 13) generally involved small and unrepresentative samples. There were limited data on the rate of suicidal behaviour in deaf people. One study reported evidence of hearing impairment in 0.2% of all suicide deaths. Another found that individuals with tinnitus seen in specialist clinics had an elevated rate of suicide compared to the general population. The rates of attempted suicide in deaf school and college students during the previous year ranged from 1.7% to 18%, with lifetime rates as high as 30%. Little evidence was found to suggest that risk factors for

  1. 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.

  2. Apartheid in Deaf Education: Examining Workforce Diversity

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  3. 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...

  4. 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.

  5. Ethics, Deafness, and New Medical Technologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  6. BILINGUALISM: MULTICULTURALISM HOLOPRAXIOLOGY OF THE VENEZUELAN DEAF

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  7. Objective Lens Optimized for Wavefront Delivery, Pupil Imaging, and Pupil Ghosting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olzcak, Gene

    2009-01-01

    An interferometer objective lens (or diverger) may be used to transform a collimated beam into a diverging or converging beam. This innovation provides an objective lens that has diffraction-limited optical performance that is optimized at two sets of conjugates: imaging to the objective focus and imaging to the pupil. The lens thus provides for simultaneous delivery of a high-quality beam and excellent pupil resolution properties.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  9. Pupil size tracks perceptual content and surprise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kloosterman, Niels A; Meindertsma, Thomas; van Loon, Anouk M; Lamme, Victor A F; Bonneh, Yoram S; Donner, Tobias H

    2015-04-01

    Changes in pupil size at constant light levels reflect the activity of neuromodulatory brainstem centers that control global brain state. These endogenously driven pupil dynamics can be synchronized with cognitive acts. For example, the pupil dilates during the spontaneous switches of perception of a constant sensory input in bistable perceptual illusions. It is unknown whether this pupil dilation only indicates the occurrence of perceptual switches, or also their content. Here, we measured pupil diameter in human subjects reporting the subjective disappearance and re-appearance of a physically constant visual target surrounded by a moving pattern ('motion-induced blindness' illusion). We show that the pupil dilates during the perceptual switches in the illusion and a stimulus-evoked 'replay' of that illusion. Critically, the switch-related pupil dilation encodes perceptual content, with larger amplitude for disappearance than re-appearance. This difference in pupil response amplitude enables prediction of the type of report (disappearance vs. re-appearance) on individual switches (receiver-operating characteristic: 61%). The amplitude difference is independent of the relative durations of target-visible and target-invisible intervals and subjects' overt behavioral report of the perceptual switches. Further, we show that pupil dilation during the replay also scales with the level of surprise about the timing of switches, but there is no evidence for an interaction between the effects of surprise and perceptual content on the pupil response. Taken together, our results suggest that pupil-linked brain systems track both the content of, and surprise about, perceptual events. © 2015 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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

  11. Deafness and Hearing Loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  12. Deaf on the Lifeline of Mumbai

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  13. Perspectives of pupils, parents, and teachers on mental health problems among Vietnamese secondary school pupils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Dat Tan; Dedding, Christine; Pham, Tam Thi; Bunders, Joske

    2013-11-06

    Secondary school can be a stressful period for adolescents, having to cope with many life changes. Very little research has been conducted on the mental health status of secondary school pupils in South East Asian countries, such as Vietnam.The study aimed to explore perceptions of mental health status, risk factors for mental health problems and strategies to improve mental health among Vietnamese secondary school students. A qualitative design was used to address the main study question including: six in-depth interviews conducted with professionals (with two researchers, two psychiatrists, and two secondary school teachers) to learn about their experience of mental health problems among secondary school pupils; 13 focus group discussions (four with teachers, four with parents, and five with pupils); and 10 individual in-depth interviews with pupils who did not take part in the FGDs, to reflect on the collected data and to deepen the authors' understanding. All interviews and FGDs were audio-taped, transcribed and analyzed for the identification of emerging issues using qualitative techniques of progressive coding, analytic memoing and ongoing comparison. Our study confirms the need to pay attention to mental health of pupils in Vietnam. Depression, anxiety, stress, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts were seen as major problems by all stakeholders. Mental health problems were mainly associated with academic pressure, resulting from an overloaded curriculum and pressure from teachers and parents to succeed. The study found that pupils' mental health demands interventions at many levels, including at the level of government (Ministry of Education and Training), schools, communities, families and pupils themselves. Vietnamese secondary school pupils feel that their mental health status is poor, because of many risk factors in their learning and living environment. The need now is to investigate further to identify and apply strategies to improve students' mental

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  15. Pupil Evaluation of Teachers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biggs, John; Chopra, Pran

    1979-01-01

    This investigation is concerned with (a) constructing a pupil evaluation of teachers (PET) scale, for use in grades 7-11, incorporating certain areas of teaching behavior, and affective pupil responses to teachers; and (b) using the scale as a source of feedback to both regular and student teachers. (Author)

  16. 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...

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  18. 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.…

  19. 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…

  20. On written expression of primary school pupils

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stevanović Jelena

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Normative rules of standard Serbian language are acquired during primary and secondary education through curriculum demands of Serbian language instruction, which takes place in three fields: grammar, orthography and culture of expression. Topic of interest in this paper is the quality of written expression of 6th and 7th grade pupils, in the context of all three fields specified to be mastered by the curriculum of Serbian language. Research comprised 148 primary school pupils from Belgrade. Linguistic analysis of spontaneously created written text was performed, in the conditions where it was not explicitly demanded form the pupil to write correctly. The results indicate that the majority of pupils make spelling and grammatical errors, meeting the condition for the basic level of mastering the knowledge in Serbian language according to the standards specified for the end of compulsory education. In addition to this, a considerable majority of pupils has a satisfactory level of culture of written expression. Pupils more often make spelling than grammatical errors. Seventh grade pupils are better than sixth grade pupils with respect to adhering to grammar rules and according to culture of written expression, while the mark in Serbian language and general school achievement of pupils correlate only with the degree of adhering to the orthographic rules. It was concluded that not only individual programs of support for pupils who make more errors are necessary, but also launching national projects for the development of linguistic competence of the young in Serbia.

  1. 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

  2. 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.

  3. 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

  4. Creating Pupils' Internet Magazine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bognar, Branko; Šimic, Vesna

    2014-01-01

    This article presents an action research, which aimed to improve pupils' literary creativity and enable them to use computers connected to the internet. The study was conducted in a small district village school in Croatia. Creating a pupils' internet magazine appeared to be an excellent way for achieving the educational aims of almost all…

  5. 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.

  6. School and Pupil Effects on Secondary Pupils' Feelings of Safety in School, around School, and at Home

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mooij, Ton; Fettelaar, Daan

    2013-01-01

    In line with fear of crime research, schools should be secure places where pupils feel safe in order to function well. Various types of risk and promotive variables at school and pupil level may differently influence a pupil's feelings of safety in school, the school surroundings, and at home. The aim is to elaborate and test a theoretical…

  7. 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.

  8. How pupils percieve the teacher's motivational techniques?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bodroža Bojana

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Current research in the field of education indicates that the behaviour of the teacher affects significantly the quality and level of the pupil's motivation. The aim of our research was to determine the structure of the motivational style of teachers seen from the pupils' perspective, and to find out whether the pupils' perceptions of the teacher's motivational style depend upon cultural-educational influences of the family, and some characteristics of the students (academic achievements, gender. The sample included 856 pupils from 40 elementary schools in Serbia. We used the questionnaire with Likert's scale to obtain the evaluation of the teachers' behaviours. By the factor analysis we extracted three components of the teacher' behaviour: stimulating pupils' interest and competences, de-motivational teachers' behaviours and stimulating freedom of thinking and expression. The results show that the pupils whose parents have lower levels of education think that the behaviour of the teachers is directed to stimulating interest and competencies, as well as freedom of thinking and speech than the pupils of the parents of higher educational status. The control of the influence of the education of parents showed that the pupils of lower academic achievement perceive the teacher's behaviour as de-motivational. Compared to girls boys estimate more highly that teachers stimulate their interests and competencies. A suggestion is offered how a teacher should develop a behavioural style which would positively influence the quality of the pupils' motivation.

  9. 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.…

  10. 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...

  11. 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.

  12. Pupils as Victims of Peer Violence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cvek Mihaela

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available The school is an educational institution that has to provide appropriate control of adults over pupils, which they do. Nevertheless, violence cannot be avoided. Pupils encounter peer violence in different roles, as observers, victims, perpetrators, or both. The objective of our research was to examine how often pupils are victims of peer violence, and to what extent the latter depends on pupils’ gender and age. The results of the research made among pupils in the fifth, seventh, and eighth grades of various primary schools across Slovenia showed that 24.1 per cent of pupils had already been victims of peer violence. The ones that they tend to tell about such episodes are their parents. The results have also shown that school is really a place where violence is very common, and that psychological and verbal abuse are the most common types of violence used.

  13. 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.

  14. Understanding Deaf Readers: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  15. 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…

  16. Perspectives of pupils, parents, and teachers on mental health problems among Vietnamese secondary school pupils

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background Secondary school can be a stressful period for adolescents, having to cope with many life changes. Very little research has been conducted on the mental health status of secondary school pupils in South East Asian countries, such as Vietnam. The study aimed to explore perceptions of mental health status, risk factors for mental health problems and strategies to improve mental health among Vietnamese secondary school students. Methods A qualitative design was used to address the main study question including: six in-depth interviews conducted with professionals (with two researchers, two psychiatrists, and two secondary school teachers) to learn about their experience of mental health problems among secondary school pupils; 13 focus group discussions (four with teachers, four with parents, and five with pupils); and 10 individual in-depth interviews with pupils who did not take part in the FGDs, to reflect on the collected data and to deepen the authors’ understanding. All interviews and FGDs were audio-taped, transcribed and analyzed for the identification of emerging issues using qualitative techniques of progressive coding, analytic memoing and ongoing comparison. Results Our study confirms the need to pay attention to mental health of pupils in Vietnam. Depression, anxiety, stress, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts were seen as major problems by all stakeholders. Mental health problems were mainly associated with academic pressure, resulting from an overloaded curriculum and pressure from teachers and parents to succeed. The study found that pupils’ mental health demands interventions at many levels, including at the level of government (Ministry of Education and Training), schools, communities, families and pupils themselves. Conclusions Vietnamese secondary school pupils feel that their mental health status is poor, because of many risk factors in their learning and living environment. The need now is to investigate further to identify and

  17. 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.

  18. RELATION OF DEAF PERSONS TOWARDS BILINGUALISM AS COMMUNICATION MODE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  19. 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

  20. 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...

  1. 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 ...

  2. 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.

  3. 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…

  4. 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

  5. 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…

  6. 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.

  7. Objective lens simultaneously optimized for pupil ghosting, wavefront delivery and pupil imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olczak, Eugene G (Inventor)

    2011-01-01

    An objective lens includes multiple optical elements disposed between a first end and a second end, each optical element oriented along an optical axis. Each optical surface of the multiple optical elements provides an angle of incidence to a marginal ray that is above a minimum threshold angle. This threshold angle minimizes pupil ghosts that may enter an interferometer. The objective lens also optimizes wavefront delivery and pupil imaging onto an optical surface under test.

  8. 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

  9. 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.

  10. 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...

  11. 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.

  12. 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.

  13. [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.

  14. 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!

  15. Empowering Primary School Pupils through Literacy Remediation ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Empowering Primary School Pupils through Literacy Remediation Project in Uyo ... and retraining in the hope that this will impact on the pupils' literacy development. ... process and often fail to engage the pupils in activities that promote literacy ... In other to empower such children for meaningful learning, reading needs to ...

  16. 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…

  17. 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,…

  18. 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.

  19. [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.

  20. 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…

  1. 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.

  2. 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...

  3. Teachers on Perceived Traits and Academic Achievements of Regular Pupils and Pupils with Special Needs in Mainstream Primary Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lesar, Irena; Cuk, Ivan; Pecek, Mojca

    2014-01-01

    When looking for answers to the question of academic (non)achievement of regular pupils and pupils with special needs, it is necessary to take into account the extraordinary complexity of factors, ranging from psychological across instructional to home environment variables. The academic achievement is not only a reflection of the pupil's…

  4. Widespread auditory deficits in tune deafness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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

  5. 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

  6. Deaf Employees' Empowerment in Two Different Communication Environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  7. 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.

  8. 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…

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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

  10. 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.

  11. 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...

  12. Chimpanzees and humans mimic pupil-size of conspecifics.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariska E Kret

    Full Text Available Group-living typically provides benefits to individual group members but also confers costs. To avoid incredulity and betrayal and allow trust and cooperation, individuals must understand the intentions and emotions of their group members. Humans attend to other's eyes and from gaze and pupil-size cues, infer information about the state of mind of the observed. In humans, pupil-size tends to mimic that of the observed. Here we tested whether pupil-mimicry exists in our closest relative, the chimpanzee (P. troglodytes. We conjectured that if pupil-mimicry has adaptive value, e.g. to promote swift communication of inner states and facilitate shared understanding and coordination, pupil-mimicry should emerge within but not across species. Pupillometry data was collected from human and chimpanzee subjects while they observed images of the eyes of both species with dilating/constricting pupils. Both species showed enhanced pupil-mimicry with members of their own species, with effects being strongest in humans and chimpanzee mothers. Pupil-mimicry may be deeply-rooted, but probably gained importance from the point in human evolution where the morphology of our eyes became more prominent. Humans' white sclera surrounding the iris, and the fine muscles around their eyes facilitate non-verbal communication via eye signals.

  13. 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)

  14. 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

  15. 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.

  16. 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…

  17. 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…

  18. 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

  19. 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

  20. 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.

  1. Make pupils young researchers!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gouhier, Armelle

    2015-04-01

    With the 2011 educational reform in France, a new course has been created in secondary schools : Methods & Practices in Science (MPS). The main goal was to improve the pupils working methods in science, including laboratory and field works. In addition, the pedagogy develops pupils autonomy and creativity, a key factor in a research process. Three teachers are working together (Mathematics, Physics and Geology-Biology), showing how different disciplines complement one another. Eventually, this is aimed at attracting more students in scientific sections. This course is optional, in the "seconde" class in French secondary schools (i.e., for 15 years old students). For the next class, they will have to choose between scientific, economic and literature sections : it is a useful option for them to decide which section has their preference. In my high-school in Clermont-Ferrand, we have chosen a research subject on hydrogeology & water quality improvement in region "Auvergne". The pupils will have to develop and set up appropriate tools to check and improve the water quality, related to different disciplines : - Geology & Biology: hydrogeology, effects of different pollutants on aquatic life, solutions to improve water quality (example of the natural water treatment zone in the lake of "Aydat, Auvergne, France"). - Physics & Chemistry: water potability criteria, pollution tests in water, water treatment plants working. - Mathematics: algorithm development, modeling on excel of the dispersion of pollutants The pedagogy of this course is new in French high-schools : pupils work in groups of three, so as to develop cooperation and autonomy. The teachers give the guidelines at the beginning of each working session, and answer the students questions when necessary. The evaluation is competence-based : instead of a mark, which is the main evaluation method in France, the pupils have to evaluate their own skills. Then, the teachers make an evaluation, and the global process is

  2. 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…

  3. "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…

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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

  5. 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.

  6. 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...

  7. 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.

  8. Deaf murderers: clinical and forensic issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  9. 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.

  10. 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.

  11. 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

  12. Issues in the Sexual Molestation of Deaf Youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  13. Self-Esteem and Coping Strategies among Deaf Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  14. Computational solution for the auxiliary in the literacy of deaf

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  15. Visual perceptual load induces inattentional deafness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  17. 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

  18. 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.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  20. How pupils percieve the teacher's motivational techniques?

    OpenAIRE

    Bodroža, Bojana; Đerić, Ivana; Gutvajn, Nikoleta

    2015-01-01

    Current research in the field of education indicates that the behaviour of the teacher affects significantly the quality and level of the pupil's motivation. The aim of our research was to determine the structure of the motivational style of teachers seen from the pupils' perspective, and to find out whether the pupils' perceptions of the teacher's motivational style depend upon cultural-educational influences of the family, and some characteristics of the students (academic achievements, gen...

  1. 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...

  2. 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

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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…

  6. 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

  7. 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.…

  8. 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.

  9. 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

  10. 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.

  11. 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)

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  13. Sociocultural handicap of foreign pupils and professional qualification of teachers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Markéta Zachová

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The presented text shows the results of research carried out within the dissertation thesis. The main topic is the phenomenon of sociocultural handicap of foreign pupils (pupils with a different mother tongue. The research is based on the expert belief that integration of foreign pupils (pupils with a different mother tongue into Czech schools and the training of teachers in this field is still somewhat marginal, even though there is a growing debate about increasing cultural diversity, increasing heterogeneity of schools and introduction of inclusive measures. The aim of the research was to analyze professional training of teachers in relation to the sociocultural handicap of foreign pupils (pupils with a different mother tongue. The goal was refined by the formulation of research questions: What possible problems (difficulties reflect teachers in the teaching process of foreign pupils? What procedures and strategies do teachers use to help these pupils to be integrated successfully? How do teachers assess their professional readiness for education of foreign pupils (whether they were sufficiently prepared to work with foreign pupils in the course of their undergraduate studies, where they find benefits, deficiencies in this training? How do students assess their undergraduate education for foreign-pupil teaching (whether they were ready to work with foreign pupils in their previous undergraduate education, where they find benefits, deficiencies in this training? The research used questionnaire survey techniques for teachers and students and semi-structured interviews for teachers. The partial technique was the analysis of study subjects focused on the education of foreign pupils at the Faculty of Education at West Bohemian University in Pilsen (hereinafter WBU. The research group was made up of teachers of the 1st grade of primary schools of the Pilsen and Karlovy Vary regions and students of the 4th grade of the field of Teaching for the

  14. Deaf Education in a Planetarium

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  15. 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.

  16. 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…

  17. 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…

  18. 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…

  19. 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…

  20. 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…

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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...

  5. 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

  6. 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.

  7. 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…

  8. 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.

  9. 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

  10. Safe and sensible preprocessing and baseline correction of pupil-size data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathôt, Sebastiaan; Fabius, Jasper; Van Heusden, Elle; Van der Stigchel, Stefan

    2018-02-01

    Measurement of pupil size (pupillometry) has recently gained renewed interest from psychologists, but there is little agreement on how pupil-size data is best analyzed. Here we focus on one aspect of pupillometric analyses: baseline correction, i.e., analyzing changes in pupil size relative to a baseline period. Baseline correction is useful in experiments that investigate the effect of some experimental manipulation on pupil size. In such experiments, baseline correction improves statistical power by taking into account random fluctuations in pupil size over time. However, we show that baseline correction can also distort data if unrealistically small pupil sizes are recorded during the baseline period, which can easily occur due to eye blinks, data loss, or other distortions. Divisive baseline correction (corrected pupil size = pupil size/baseline) is affected more strongly by such distortions than subtractive baseline correction (corrected pupil size = pupil size - baseline). We discuss the role of baseline correction as a part of preprocessing of pupillometric data, and make five recommendations: (1) before baseline correction, perform data preprocessing to mark missing and invalid data, but assume that some distortions will remain in the data; (2) use subtractive baseline correction; (3) visually compare your corrected and uncorrected data; (4) be wary of pupil-size effects that emerge faster than the latency of the pupillary response allows (within ±220 ms after the manipulation that induces the effect); and (5) remove trials on which baseline pupil size is unrealistically small (indicative of blinks and other distortions).

  11. 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)

  12. Pupil Absenteeism and the Educational Psychologist

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carroll, H. C. M.

    2015-01-01

    From a review of the literature, it is concluded that (i) each form of pupil absenteeism relates to a heterogeneous group of children; (ii) because of such heterogeneity, those who are involved in assessment and intervention in relation to pupil absenteeism are faced with a demanding task; (iii) as a consequence of their education and training,…

  13. 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…

  14. 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…

  15. 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...

  16. 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.

  17. Training Literacy Skills through Sign Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rudner, Mary; Andin, Josefine; Rönnberg, Jerker; Heimann, Mikael; Hermansson, Anders; Nelson, Keith; Tjus, Tomas

    2015-01-01

    The literacy skills of deaf children generally lag behind those of their hearing peers. The mechanisms of reading in deaf individuals are only just beginning to be unraveled but it seems that native language skills play an important role. In this study 12 deaf pupils (six in grades 1-2 and six in grades 4-6) at a Swedish state primary school for…

  18. 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.

  19. 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...

  20. 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.

  1. 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

  2. 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…

  3. 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)

  4. 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

  5. PRAGMATIC ABILITIES OF PUPILS WITH MILD INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mateja SHILC

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The research analyses characteristics of pragmatic abilities of storytelling of pupils with mild intellectual disabilities (MID, in the light of vocabulary characteristics, grammar structure and substantive structure of a story, considering their age and gender. The sample consists of 60 pupils with MID, aged 7 to 9, who attend special school. Child’s pragmatic abilities are assessed with The Storytelling Test. The research results reveal considerable progress of the older group in vocabulary, whereas the progress in grammatical and substantive structure was less substantial. When comparing achievements of pupils with MID according to the vocabulary, grammatical and substantive story structure, no gender differences are determined. A comparison of pragmatic abilities of younger and older groups of pupils with MID with the norms for peers with typical development shows minor deviation of the younger group. The research results reveal characteristics of pragmatic abilities of pupils with MID and can provide insights to speech therapists, teachers, special education teachers and counsellors when considering profiles of individuals that are taken as a basis for designing intervention programs. By implementing such program, we would encourage development of pragmatic abilities of pupils, thus affecting their academic achievements, communication competency and social skills.

  6. Holocaust Denial among Slovenian Secondary School Pupils

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maša Pavlič

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The article presents tendencies of Holocaust denial among secondary school pupils in Slovenia. It focuses on research implemented in January 2012, in which 400 Slovenian secondary school pupils were included. In spite of the assumption that Holocaust denial amongst the youth in Slovenia already exists, we also assumed that a degree of Holocaust denial amongs Slovenian pupils is lower that amongst their peers in other EU countries. Research also inquired about the level of anti-Semitism in conjunction with Holocaust denial. The research project confirmed that students on lower levels of high school education and with less history and sociology lessons in curriculum are more receptive for the Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism is more present in this demographic. The level of Holocaust denial amongst secondary school pupils is not negligible; it suggests that this topic should be more thoroughly discussed in secondary schools.

  7. 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.

  8. Assisting Pupils in Mathematics Achievement (The Common Core Standards)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ediger, Marlow

    2011-01-01

    Mathematics teachers must expect reasonably high standards of achievement from pupils. Too frequently, pupils attain at a substandard level and more optimal achievement is necessary. Thus, pupils should have self esteem needs met in the school and classroom setting. Thus, learners feel that mathematics is worthwhile and effort must be put forth to…

  9. 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.

  10. 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 ...

  11. 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,…

  12. 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.

  13. 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.

  14. 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…

  15. 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.

  16. Pupils' Humour Directed at Teachers: Its Types and Functions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Šedová, Klára

    2013-01-01

    Based on an analysis of 137 texts written by pupils, this paper examines pupils' humour directed at teachers, its types and social functions. The collected data are divided into three categories that describe different modes of teachers as targets of pupils' humour. The first mode describes teachers as unintentionally comical, the second as duped…

  17. prevalence of rheumatic heart disease among primary school pupils

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2013-01-01

    Jan 1, 2013 ... ABSTRACT. Objective: To determine the prevalence of RHD among primary school pupils in Egor ... Results: Of the 1764 pupils recruited, 900 (51.02%) were females while 864 (48.98%) were males. The mean age of the pupils was 8.86 ± 2.14 years. ..... of socio-economic class in voluntary infertility control.

  18. Cyberbullying: Its Nature and Impact in Secondary School Pupils

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Peter K.; Mahdavi, Jess; Carvalho, Manuel; Fisher, Sonja; Russell, Shanette; Tippett, Neil

    2008-01-01

    Background: Cyberbullying describes bullying using mobile phones and the internet. Most previous studies have focused on the prevalence of text message and email bullying. Methods: Two surveys with pupils aged 11-16 years: (1) 92 pupils from 14 schools, supplemented by focus groups; (2) 533 pupils from 5 schools, to assess the generalisability of…

  19. 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…

  20. 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.

  1. 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…

  2. 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...

  3. 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.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  5. 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…

  6. Reflections on Deaf Education: Perspectives of Deaf Senior Citizens

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  7. Postnatal development of the endbulb of Held in congenitally deaf cats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  8. Acute cortical deafness in a child with MELAS syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  9. The benefits of sign language for deaf learners with language challenges

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  10. Pupil-mimicry conditions trust in partners: moderation by oxytocin and group membership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kret, Mariska E; De Dreu, Carsten K W

    2017-03-15

    Across species, oxytocin, an evolutionarily ancient neuropeptide, facilitates social communication by attuning individuals to conspecifics' social signals, fostering trust and bonding. The eyes have an important signalling function; and humans use their salient and communicative eyes to intentionally and unintentionally send social signals to others, by contracting the muscles around their eyes and pupils. In our earlier research, we observed that interaction partners with dilating pupils are trusted more than partners with constricting pupils. But over and beyond this effect, we found that the pupil sizes of partners synchronize and that when pupils synchronously dilate, trust is further boosted. Critically, this linkage between mimicry and trust was bound to interactions between ingroup members. The current study investigates whether these findings are modulated by oxytocin and sex of participant and partner. Using incentivized trust games with partners from ingroup and outgroup whose pupils dilated, remained static or constricted, this study replicates our earlier findings. It further reveals that (i) male participants withhold trust from partners with constricting pupils and extend trust to partners with dilating pupils, especially when given oxytocin rather than placebo; (ii) female participants trust partners with dilating pupils most, but this effect is blunted under oxytocin; (iii) under oxytocin rather than placebo, pupil dilation mimicry is weaker and pupil constriction mimicry stronger; and (iv) the link between pupil constriction mimicry and distrust observed under placebo disappears under oxytocin. We suggest that pupil-contingent trust is parochial and evolved in social species in and because of group life. © 2017 The Authors.

  11. Pupil size reflects successful encoding and recall of memory in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kucewicz, Michal T; Dolezal, Jaromir; Kremen, Vaclav; Berry, Brent M; Miller, Laura R; Magee, Abigail L; Fabian, Vratislav; Worrell, Gregory A

    2018-03-21

    Pupil responses are known to indicate brain processes involved in perception, attention and decision-making. They can provide an accessible biomarker of human memory performance and cognitive states in general. Here we investigated changes in the pupil size during encoding and recall of word lists. Consistent patterns in the pupil response were found across and within distinct phases of the free recall task. The pupil was most constricted in the initial fixation phase and was gradually more dilated through the subsequent encoding, distractor and recall phases of the task, as the word items were maintained in memory. Within the final recall phase, retrieving memory for individual words was associated with pupil dilation in absence of visual stimulation. Words that were successfully recalled showed significant differences in pupil response during their encoding compared to those that were forgotten - the pupil was more constricted before and more dilated after the onset of word presentation. Our results suggest pupil size as a potential biomarker for probing and modulation of memory processing.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  13. Antenatal diagnosis of congenital deafness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  14. Bullying in Basic School: the Perspectives of Teachers and Pupils

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katja Posnic

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The main purpose of our study was to investigate how basic school pupils and teachers perceive and understand bullying. The participants in the study were 58 teachers and 396 pupils in basic school. The results indicate that both teachers and pupils perceive verbal bullying as the most frequent form of bullying compared to physical and relational bullying. Pupils report perceiving more bullying than teachers. Both pupils and teachers perceive physical and verbal bullying as more serious forms of bullying compared to relational bullying and report feeling more empathy toward victims of these two forms of bullying. In addition, teachers report that they are more willing to intervene in cases of physical and verbal bullying. There are significant differences between pupils’ and teachers’ reports of the likelihood of teachers’ interventions in cases of bullying; compared to pupils teachers report a higher likelihood of their intervention..

  15. Deaf and Hearing Children: A Comparison of Peripheral Vision Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    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,…

  16. Is Tadpole Pupil in an Adolescent Girl Caused by Denervation Hypersensitivity?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hansen, Jonas Kjeldbjerg; Møller, Hans Ulrik

    2017-06-01

    Tadpole pupil is a rarely encountered phenomenon caused by episodic, segmental iris dilator muscle spasm of short duration (2-15 minutes), occurring in clusters without a known precipitating factor. It has most commonly been described in women aged 28 to 48 years. A few hypotheses on pathogenesis have been discussed but none has been proved. Here, we present an adolescent girl with bilateral tadpole pupil that appeared during physical exercise. This is the first pediatric case of tadpole pupil, not caused by preceding surgery, to be published. Based on (1) this case in which tadpole pupil developed when the norepinephrine level rose during exercise, (2) the high ratio of patients with tadpole pupil who concurrently have or later develop Horner syndrome, in which denervation hypersensitivity is well described, (3) a previous report of a patient with both tadpole pupil and Horner syndrome who had denervation hypersensitivity on pharmacological testing, (4) a 29-year-old man with unilateral tadpole pupil induced by exercise, and (5) a 19-year-old man with bilateral tadpole pupil and possible autonomic neuropathy, we suggest denervation hypersensitivity as a probable pathogenic mechanism causing tadpole pupil. In addition, a suggestion for investigations to be performed in future pediatric cases is provided. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  17. 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.

  18. 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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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

  19. 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...

  20. Inferior ectopic pupil and typical ocular coloboma in RCS rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsuji, Naho; Ozaki, Kiyokazu; Narama, Isao; Matsuura, Tetsuro

    2011-08-01

    Ocular coloboma is sometimes accompanied by corectopia in humans and therefore ectopic pupil may indicate ocular coloboma in experimental animals. The RCS strain of rats has a low incidence of microphthalmia. We found that inferior ectopic pupil is associated exclusively with small-sized eyes in this strain. The objective of the current study was to evaluate whether inferior ectopic pupil is associated with iridal coloboma and other types of ocular coloboma in RCS rats. Both eyes of RCS rats were examined clinically, and those with inferior ectopic pupils underwent morphologic and morphometric examinations. In a prenatal study, coronal serial sections of eyeballs from fetuses at gestational day 16.5 were examined by using light microscopy. Ectopic pupils in RCS rats were found exclusively in an inferior position, where the iris was shortened. Fundic examination revealed severe chorioretinal coloboma in all cases of inferior ectopic pupil. The morphologic characteristics closely resembled those of chorioretinal coloboma in humans. Histopathologic examination of primordia showed incomplete closure of the optic fissure in 4 eyeballs of RCS fetuses. Neither F(1) rats nor N(2) (progeny of RCS × BN matings) displayed any ocular anomalies, including ectopic pupils. The RCS strain is a suitable model for human ocular coloboma, and inferior ectopic pupil appears to be a strong indicator of ocular coloboma.

  1. EFFICIENCY OF READING COMPREHENSION TRAINING IN PUPILS LIVING IN POVERTY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milena Kosak Babuder

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The results of Slovene and foreign studies reveal the connection between literacy levels and the level of education, employment opportunities and consequent socio-economic status of individuals and families. Reading efficiency relating to reading comprehension is an important element of reading literacy performance. The findings of several authors indicate empirical evidence of the existence of deficits and poor reading comprehension in pupils living in poverty and stress the importance of offsetting deficits and developing reading comprehension. Results of both foreign and Slovene studies indicate that the program of reading comprehension should be implemented in this group of pupils. In the article, we want to present effectiveness of the reading comprehension improvement program in pupils living in poverty. According to the findings of our research, in which we structured and implemented the reading comprehension program for pupils living in poverty with the Metacognitive-intersentential model of reading comprehension, the reading comprehension of the experimental group pupils who participated in the program improved compared to the control group pupils who did not participate in the program. Experimental group pupils also significantly improved correctness of their reading, their vocabulary and skills of verbal expression. When the program ended, we tested its efficiency by applied tests. The results on the manifest variables indicated that the program was good and efficient for pupils who live in poverty and experience reading comprehension problems.

  2. 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

  3. Deaf women: experiences and perceptions of healthcare system access.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  5. Year 7 Pupils' Views of the Future

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ken Roberts

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports findings from a study among 610 Year 7 (typically age 12 pupils at 27 nonselective secondary schools in three English regions: Cornwall and Devon, London, and Greater Manchester. Data was gathered in workshops, each with 15–25 pupils, who completed questionnaires and performed individual tasks, all related to their vocational and educational aims, their ideas on what counted as success, and the main influences on their forward thinking, then discussed their answers and results. The discussions were tape recorded. Most pupils expressed robust occupational aims, and most said that they wanted to go to university. Family class did not predict levels of educational or occupational aims, but was related to the importance attached to “the job that I want to do” in the pupils' forward thinking. SAT scores did predict levels of occupational aspiration, ideas on what counted as success, and by whom and what the pupils were most influenced. These findings are interpreted to challenge the view, on which a raft of current policies are based, that social class disparities in educational and labour market outcomes are due to the intergenerational transmission of low aspirations in lower-class families and neighbourhoods. The paper concludes with an alternative model of status transmission processes in which attainments during secondary education are posited as the key intervening variable.

  6. Pupil – Teacher Ratio: Implication for Quality Education in Nigeria ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Significantly, pupil-teacher ratios are very essential to quality of education. They perhaps rank alongside professional knowledge, skill, as well as strategies, in genuinely determining educational success and performance. This paper discusses pupil-teacher ratio and relevance that pupils seem to have a greater impact on ...

  7. PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS IN EKITI STATE, NIGERIA

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    lected from school pupils between. 11.00 and 14.00 hours, a period when the eggs of Schistosoma hae- matobium are concentrated in the urine. Pupils involved in this study were randomly selected using the class register in each endemic school to avoid bias. Examination of the urine specimens was done qualitatively.

  8. 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…

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  11. Joint optimization of source, mask, and pupil in optical lithography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jia; Lam, Edmund Y.

    2014-03-01

    Mask topography effects need to be taken into consideration for more advanced resolution enhancement techniques in optical lithography. However, rigorous 3D mask model achieves high accuracy at a large computational cost. This work develops a combined source, mask and pupil optimization (SMPO) approach by taking advantage of the fact that pupil phase manipulation is capable of partially compensating for mask topography effects. We first design the pupil wavefront function by incorporating primary and secondary spherical aberration through the coefficients of the Zernike polynomials, and achieve optimal source-mask pair under the condition of aberrated pupil. Evaluations against conventional source mask optimization (SMO) without incorporating pupil aberrations show that SMPO provides improved performance in terms of pattern fidelity and process window sizes.

  12. 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

  13. Ability of Slovakian Pupils to Identify Birds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prokop, Pavol; Rodak, Rastislav

    2009-01-01

    A pupil's ability to identify common organisms is necessary for acquiring further knowledge of biology. We investigated how pupils were able to identify 25 bird species following their song, growth habits, or both features presented simultaneously. Just about 19% of birds were successfully identified by song, about 39% by growth habit, and 45% of…

  14. Reaching the Summit: Deaf Adults as Essential Partners in Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  15. 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.

  16. Unilateral Adie's tonic pupil and viral hepatitis: Report of two cases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karadžić Jelena

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Adie’s (tonic pupil is a neuro-ophthalmological disorder characterized by a tonically dilated pupil, which is unresponsive to light. It is caused by damage to postganglionic fibers of the parasympathetic innervation of the eye, usually by a viral or bacterial infection. Adie’s syndrome includes diminished deep tendon reflexes. Outline of Cases. We report data of a 59-year-old female with unequal pupil sizes. She complained of blurred vision and headache mainly while reading. She had a 35-year history of hepatitis B and liver cirrhosis. On exam, left pupil was mydriatic and there was no response to light and at slit lamp we saw segments of the sphincter constrict. We performed 0.125% pilocarpine test and there was a remarkable reduction of size in the left pupil. The second case is a 55-year-old female who was referred to the University Eye Clinic because of a headache and mydriatic left pupil. She had diabetes mellitus type 2, as well as hepatitis A virus 20 years earlier. On exam, the left pupil was mydriatic, with no response to light. Test with diluted pilocarpine was positive. Neurological examinations revealed no abnormality in either case so we excluded Adie’s syndrome. Conclusion. Adie’s tonic pupil is benign neuro-ophthalmological disorder of unknown etiology. Most patients commonly present no symptoms and anisocoria is noticed accidentally. Although the etiology is unknown, there are some conditions that cause tonic pupil. It may be a part of a syndrome in which tonic pupil is associated with absent deep tendon reflexes.

  17. 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 ...

  18. Cooking and Hammering: Primary School Pupils' Concepts of Their Craft Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müürsepp, Mare; Kikkull, Andry

    2014-01-01

    The aim of the study is to clear the significance of craft skills for the pupils in age nine and twelve years. More than 200 pupils were asked to define, what are the most important skills for the pupils of their age. The results bring out that category of the skills related to craft subject is of the most presented categories in pupils' self…

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  20. 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.

  1. Overview on Deaf-Blindness

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... 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 ...

  2. Teaching High-Ability Pupils in Early Primary School

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dijkstra, Elma

    2015-01-01

    This thesis describes the design and implementation of the intervention 'Excel Kwadraat' in primary schools. This intervention aims to improve teachers’ differentiation practices in order to better anticipate pupil differences, including excellent or high-ability pupils. In the end, the intervention

  3. Turkish Primary School Pupils' Views on Punishment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aydin, Bahri

    2010-01-01

    Teachers meet with unwanted behavior when they are acting as facilitators of the learning process and they resort to certain tactics to deal with them. One of these tactics is punishment. This study aimed to identify the views held by Turkish primary school pupils on punishment. According to the results of the study, pupils were punished for…

  4. Inclusive School Is (Not) Possible--Pupil's Voice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavlovic, Slavica

    2016-01-01

    Inclusive education has been the focus of a number of research studies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, most of the research was based on the teachers and to a lesser extent on parents' attitudes towards inclusive education, while pupils' views and voice were mainly neglected. The core of this paper is survey research on primary school pupils'…

  5. 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

  6. 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)

  7. 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…

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  10. [The role of physical education teachers to support overweight and obese pupils].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jodkowska, Maria; Oblacińska, Anna; Tabak, Izabela; Radiukiewicz, Katarzyna

    2010-01-01

    School-based physical education (PE) is often proposed as a strategy for obesity prevention and treatment. Thus the role of PE teachers is crucial on this field. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception of PE teachers towards overweight and obese pupils aged 13-15 years, especially psychosomatic problems and support for obese adolescents in realisation of physical activity programme. A random sample of 185 PE teachers from 112 lower secondary schools in Poland were surveyed regarding their perception of pupils obesity and their support for obese adolescents. PE teachers observed many negative features among obese pupils: Two thirds of teachers (67% male and 74% teachers with work experience 6-10 years) observed decreased physical fitness and exercise capacity in this group of pupils. Body-related barriers in obese pupils and anxiety caused by weight related peer teasing were observed by respectively 30% and 20% teachers more often women teachers and teachers with shorter work experience. PE teachers were engaged in activities to support obese pupils: 90% of them assessed obese pupils by personal development, 70% conducted counseling and 20% cooperated with obese pupils' parents. Two third of teachers reported successes in their work with obese pupils. Their difficulties were connected with body-related barriers in pupils (24%), and aversion to exercise and physical efforts and location of PE lessons at school (9-16%). 1. The PE teachers can play an important role in preventing and combating obesity in pupils. 2. PE teachers should be motivated to organize interesting PE lessons, school sport and competitions for both normal and overweight pupils.

  11. Pupil Response and the Subliminal Mere Exposure Effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshimoto, Sanae; Imai, Hisato; Kashino, Makio; Takeuchi, Tatsuto

    2014-01-01

    The subliminal mere exposure effect (SMEE) is the phenomenon wherein people tend to prefer patterns they have repeatedly observed without consciously identifying them. One popular explanation for the SMEE is that perceptual fluency within exposed patterns is misattributed to a feeling of preference for those patterns. Assuming that perceptual fluency is negatively correlated with the amount of mental effort needed to analyze perceptual aspects of incoming stimuli, pupil diameter should associate with SMEE strength since the former is known to reflect mental effort. To examine this hypothesis, we measured participants’ pupil diameter during exposure to subthreshold stimuli. Following exposure, a preference test was administered. Average pupil diameter throughout exposure was smaller when the SMEE was induced than when the SMEE was not induced. This supports the hypothesis that increasing perceptual fluency during mere exposure modulates autonomic nervous responses, such as pupil diameter, and eventually leads to preference. PMID:24587408

  12. Pupil response and the subliminal mere exposure effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshimoto, Sanae; Imai, Hisato; Kashino, Makio; Takeuchi, Tatsuto

    2014-01-01

    The subliminal mere exposure effect (SMEE) is the phenomenon wherein people tend to prefer patterns they have repeatedly observed without consciously identifying them. One popular explanation for the SMEE is that perceptual fluency within exposed patterns is misattributed to a feeling of preference for those patterns. Assuming that perceptual fluency is negatively correlated with the amount of mental effort needed to analyze perceptual aspects of incoming stimuli, pupil diameter should associate with SMEE strength since the former is known to reflect mental effort. To examine this hypothesis, we measured participants' pupil diameter during exposure to subthreshold stimuli. Following exposure, a preference test was administered. Average pupil diameter throughout exposure was smaller when the SMEE was induced than when the SMEE was not induced. This supports the hypothesis that increasing perceptual fluency during mere exposure modulates autonomic nervous responses, such as pupil diameter, and eventually leads to preference.

  13. Pupil response and the subliminal mere exposure effect.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanae Yoshimoto

    Full Text Available The subliminal mere exposure effect (SMEE is the phenomenon wherein people tend to prefer patterns they have repeatedly observed without consciously identifying them. One popular explanation for the SMEE is that perceptual fluency within exposed patterns is misattributed to a feeling of preference for those patterns. Assuming that perceptual fluency is negatively correlated with the amount of mental effort needed to analyze perceptual aspects of incoming stimuli, pupil diameter should associate with SMEE strength since the former is known to reflect mental effort. To examine this hypothesis, we measured participants' pupil diameter during exposure to subthreshold stimuli. Following exposure, a preference test was administered. Average pupil diameter throughout exposure was smaller when the SMEE was induced than when the SMEE was not induced. This supports the hypothesis that increasing perceptual fluency during mere exposure modulates autonomic nervous responses, such as pupil diameter, and eventually leads to preference.

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  15. 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

  16. Pupil Size Tracks Attentional Performance In Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wainstein, G; Rojas-Líbano, D; Crossley, N A; Carrasco, X; Aboitiz, F; Ossandón, T

    2017-08-15

    Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis is based on reported symptoms, which carries the potential risk of over- or under-diagnosis. A biological marker that helps to objectively define the disorder, providing information about its pathophysiology, is needed. A promising marker of cognitive states in humans is pupil size, which reflects the activity of an 'arousal' network, related to the norepinephrine system. We monitored pupil size from ADHD and control subjects, during a visuo-spatial working memory task. A sub group of ADHD children performed the task twice, with and without methylphenidate, a norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor. Off-medication patients showed a decreased pupil diameter during the task. This difference was no longer present when patients were on-medication. Pupil size correlated with the subjects' performance and reaction time variability, two vastly studied indicators of attention. Furthermore, this effect was modulated by medication. Through pupil size, we provide evidence of an involvement of the noradrenergic system during an attentional task. Our results suggest that pupil size could serve as a biomarker in ADHD.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  19. Adie’s Tonic Pupil in Systemic Sclerosis: A Rare Association

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anusha Venkataraman

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available We report a rare association of Adie’s tonic pupil in a patient with systemic sclerosis who was otherwise systemically stable. This paper is an effort to unravel whether the tonic pupil and systemic sclerosis are an association by chance (which may be the case or systemic sclerosis is the source of the tonic pupil.

  20. Pupils' evaluation and generation of evidence and explanation in argumentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glassner, Amnon; Weinstock, Michael; Neuman, Yair

    2005-03-01

    Studies on argument have found that participants tend to prefer explanations to evidence. This apparent bias toward explanation has been qualified recently by research that has found it to diminish with the availability of evidence. This study examines the use of explanation versus evidence in the context of argumentation with reference to the goals of particular argument situations. Seventy-nine eighth-grade pupils at a regular, urban middle school. The pupils read argumentation scenarios, each having the stated goal of either explaining or proving a claim. The pupils rated the degree to which each of two provided assertions (one a theoretical explanation, and the other evidence-based) helped achieve the goal of the argument. On a second task, the pupils chose which of the two assertions should be more effective in achieving the argument goal. On the third task, the pupils generated either an explanation or evidence for each of the argumentation scenarios. Pupils demonstrated sensitivity to the relative epistemic strength of explanation and evidence. They rated explanations as more advantageous in achieving the explanation goal, and evidence as more advantageous in achieving the proof goal. Conversely, however, when asked to generate or recall an explanation or evidence, pupils produced more explanations than evidence independent of the argumentation goal. The study refines the definition of argumentation context to include specific goals. Pupils were sensitive to the context of the argumentation situation (e.g.goals, availability of evidence). However, they appeared to have a disposition toward explanation when asked to produce an explanation or evidence-based justification.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  2. Inclusive instruction and learning for deaf students in postsecondary education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  3. Memory and Rehearsal Characteristics of Profoundly Deaf Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  4. A Developmental Model Applied to Problems of Deafness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  5. Influences on Academic Achievement of Primary School Pupils in Cambodia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sopheak Song

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Employing education production function approach, this article investigates the influences of school and pupil background factors on academic achievement of primary school pupils in Cambodia. Based on achievement data of 1,080 Grade 6 pupils from one rural and one semi-urban area, the study reveals that school and teacher quality exerts a considerable effect on pupils’ performance. Teachers’ experience and teacher guides are positively correlated with academic achievement, while instructional time loss is significantly associated with poor performance. In light of these results, policies to boost academic achievement of primary school pupils in Cambodia are discussed.

  6. 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)

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  8. 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.

  9. Pedophilia and Deafness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  10. Pupil size reflects the focus of feature-based attention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Binda, Paola; Pereverzeva, Maria; Murray, Scott O

    2014-12-15

    We measured pupil size in adult human subjects while they selectively attended to one of two surfaces, bright and dark, defined by coherently moving dots. The two surfaces were presented at the same location; therefore, subjects could select the cued surface only on the basis of its features. With no luminance change in the stimulus, we find that pupil size was smaller when the bright surface was attended and larger when the dark surface was attended: an effect of feature-based (or surface-based) attention. With the same surfaces at nonoverlapping locations, we find a similar effect of spatial attention. The pupil size modulation cannot be accounted for by differences in eye position and by other variables known to affect pupil size such as task difficulty, accommodation, or the mere anticipation (imagery) of bright/dark stimuli. We conclude that pupil size reflects not just luminance or cognitive state, but the interaction between the two: it reflects which luminance level in the visual scene is relevant for the task at hand. Copyright © 2014 the American Physiological Society.

  11. Ethnic School Segregation and Self-Esteem: The Role of Teacher-Pupil Relationships

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agirdag, Orhan; Van Houtte, Mieke; Van Avermaet, Piet

    2012-01-01

    The authors examine whether school segregation is related to pupils' global self-esteem and whether this association is mediated by teacher-pupil relationships. Multilevel analyses based on a survey of 2,845 pupils (aged 10 to 12) in 68 primary schools in Belgian urban areas reveal that, for native-Belgian pupils, a higher proportion of immigrants…

  12. Cooking and Hammering: Primary School Pupils' Concepts of their Craft Skills

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mare MÜÜRSEPP

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study is to clear the significance of craft skills for the pupils in age nine and twelve years. More than 200 pupils were asked to define, what are the most important skills for the pupils of their age. The results bring out that category of the skills related to craft subject is of the most presented categories in pupils' self description. Thus the primary school pupils essentially defined themselves by the activities they could do practically (building, cooking, repairing of things. The most undefined relation to craft activities is reflected in the answer of smaller boys in our study. A suspicion arisen from the analysis of pupils' sayings, that the craft lessons in the 1st school stage tend to be organized kind of poorly was asserted by the teachers who pointed out the need for special rooms and materials to implement different techniques.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  14. A Sociolinguistic Profile of the Peruvian Deaf Community

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  15. Is Chemistry Attractive for Pupils? Czech Pupils' Perception of Chemistry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kubiatko, Milan

    2015-01-01

    Chemistry is an important subject due to understanding the composition and structure of the things around us. The main aim of the study was to find out the perception of chemistry by lower secondary school pupils. The partial aims were to find out the influence of gender, year of study and favorite subject on the perception of chemistry. The…

  16. Literatura Surda/Deaf Literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  17. Supporting Deaf Students with Intellectual Disabilities through a Specialized Literacy Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  18. Image quality comparison of two multifocal IOLs: influence of the pupil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Domene, Mari Carmen; Felipe, Adelina; Peris-Martínez, Cristina; Navea, Amparo; Artigas, Jose M; Pons, Álvaro M

    2015-04-01

    To evaluate the effect of pupil size on image quality of a sectorial multifocal intraocular lens (IOL), the Lentis Mplus (Oculentis GmbH, Berlin, Germany), and the Acri.LISA IOL (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Jena, Germany). The authors measured the MTFs of the Lentis Mplus LS-312 IOL and the Acri.LISA 366D IOL with three different sizes of pupil diameters: 3, 4, and 5 mm. The MTF was calculated from the cross-line spread function recorded with the OPAL Vector System (Image Science Ltd., Oxford, UK) by using fast Fourier-transform techniques. In distance focus, the image quality provided by the Lentis Mplus IOL was better than that of the Acri. LISA IOL with all pupil diameters. In near focus, the MTF of the Acri.LISA IOL was better with a 3-mm pupil, but poor with larger pupils. The aberration effect was equal in both IOLs in distance focus, but in near focus and with a 3-mm pupil, the Acri.LISA IOL was less affected by the aberration than the Lentis Mplus IOL. The Lentis Mplus IOL provides better distance image quality than the Acri.LISA IOL, whereas the near image quality of the Acri.LISA IOL is better with small-pupil diameter. The sectorial design makes this IOL more suitable for patients with a pupil diameter greater than 3 mm. Copyright 2015, SLACK Incorporated.

  19. 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...

  20. Comparative study of verbal originality in deaf and hearing children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  1. Hearing Disorders and Deafness

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... 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 ...

  2. 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...

  3. Oregon Pupil Transportation Manual. Revised Regulations and Responsibilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oregon State Dept. of Education, Salem.

    Designed for use by Oregon school bus drivers and administrators, this manual answers common questions about school bus transportation in Oregon, including those about the laws governing pupil transportation, the regulations governing pupil transportation administration, and the laws on school bus operation. A chapter of advisory materials covers…

  4. Better for Both--Thoughts on Teacher-Pupil Interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kilburn, John

    1978-01-01

    To remove the adversary emphasis from pupil-teacher interactions, the author presents a simple model, showing how an intervention can potentially make a situation better, worse, or unchanged for the pupil and the teacher. A sample scenario is provided of two teachers dealing with a misbehaving child. (SJL)

  5. Long QT in children with congenital deafness: a brief report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  6. 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 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.

  7. High School Class for Gifted Pupils in Physics and Sciences and Pupils' Skills Measured by Standard and Pisa Test

    Science.gov (United States)

    Djordjevic, G. S.; Pavlovic-Babic, D.

    2010-01-01

    The "High school class for students with special abilities in physics" was founded in Nis, Serbia (www.pmf.ni.ac.yu/f_odeljenje) in 2003. The basic aim of this project has been introducing a broadened curriculum of physics, mathematics, computer science, as well as chemistry and biology. Now, six years after establishing of this specialized class, and 3 years after the previous report, we present analyses of the pupils' skills in solving rather problem oriented test, as PISA test, and compare their results with the results of pupils who study under standard curricula. More precisely results are compared to the progress results of the pupils in a standard Grammar School and the corresponding classes of the Mathematical Gymnasiums in Nis. Analysis of achievement data should clarify what are benefits of introducing in school system track for gifted students. Additionally, item analysis helps in understanding and improvement of learning strategies' efficacy. We make some conclusions and remarks that may be useful for the future work that aims to increase pupils' intrinsic and instrumental motivation for physics and sciences, as well as to increase the efficacy of teaching physics and science.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  9. Critical health literacy in American deaf college students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  10. Future engineers: the intrinsic technology motivation of secondary school pupils

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Lewis C. R.; McDermott, Hilary J.; Tyrer, John R.; Zanker, Nigel P.

    2018-07-01

    The supply of students motivated to study engineering in higher education is critical to the sector. Results are presented from the 'Mindsets STEM Enhancement Project'. Fifty-seven new resources packs, designed to improve STEM education in Design and Technology, were given to schools across London. A modified Intrinsic Motivation Inventory questionnaire measured pupils' (n = 458) motivation towards technology. The results show that although pupils have positive reactions to the technology content within Design and Technology lessons, the type of STEM resources and lessons created through the project had made no significant difference on pupils' interest/enjoyment towards technology. This suggests stand-alone resources do not improve pupil motivation. The impact of this work to engineering higher education is that the existing levels and the inability to improve pupil motivation in technology at school could be a factor affecting the pursuit of a technology or engineering related education or career.

  11. 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...

  12. Safe and sensible preprocessing and baseline correction of pupil-size data

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mathôt, Sebastiaan; Fabius, Jasper; Van Heusden, Elle; Van der Stigchel, Stefan

    Measurement of pupil size (pupillometry) has recently gained renewed interest from psychologists, but there is little agreement on how pupil-size data is best analyzed. Here we focus on one aspect of pupillometric analyses: baseline correction, i.e., analyzing changes in pupil size relative to a

  13. Safe and sensible preprocessing and baseline correction of pupil-size data

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mathôt, Sebastiaan; Fabius, Jasper; Van Heusden, Elle; Van der Stigchel, Stefan

    2018-01-01

    Measurement of pupil size (pupillometry) has recently gained renewed interest from psychologists, but there is little agreement on how pupil-size data is best analyzed. Here we focus on one aspect of pupillometric analyses: baseline correction, that is, analyzing changes in pupil size relative to a

  14. Corneal aberrations in keratoconic eyes: influence of pupil size and centering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Comastri, S A; Perez, G D; Martin, G; Bianchetti, A; Perez, L I

    2011-01-01

    Ocular aberrations vary among subjects and under different conditions and are commonly analyzed expanding the wavefront aberration function in Zernike polynomials. In previous articles, explicit analytical formulas to transform Zernike coefficients of up to 7th order corresponding to an original pupil into those related to a contracted displaced new pupil are obtained. In the present paper these formulas are applied to 20 keratoconic corneas of varying severity. Employing the SN CT1000 topographer, aberrations of the anterior corneal surface for a pupil of semi-diameter 3 mm centered on the keratometric axis are evaluated, the relation between the higher-order root mean square wavefront error and the index KISA% characterizing keratoconus is studied and the size and centering of the ocular photopic natural pupil are determined. Using these data and the transformation formulas, new coefficients associated to the photopic pupil size are computed and their variation when coordinates origin is shifted from the keratometric axis to the ocular pupil centre is analyzed.

  15. The impact of ethnicity on cochlear implantation in Norwegian children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  17. 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.…

  18. The Importance of Engaging Pupils Actively in Demonstrations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suomela, Liisa; Juuti, Kalle; Ahtee, Maija

    2013-01-01

    Demonstrating is a traditional method in teaching science that can raise interest and encourage pupils to think about a topic. While demonstrating, the teacher can focus the pupils' attention on the relevant facts and introduce scientific principles and concepts. Through discussion and actively making observations and inferences, rather than…

  19. Understanding Pupil Behaviour: Classroom Management Techniques for Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Ramon

    2009-01-01

    This book describes a system of successful classroom behaviour management techniques developed by the author over more than twenty-five years. It outlines the difficulties confronting teachers trying to manage pupils' misbehaviour in schools and describes four types of pupil who can be helped to behave responsibly. In "Understanding Pupil…

  20. [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.

  1. 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.)

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  3. 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?")…

  4. 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…

  5. School Xenophobia and Interethnic Relationships Among Secondary Level Pupils in Spain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Blanca Deusdad

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Migratory processes in southern Europe over the last two decades have brought about substantial changes to the ethnic makeup of secondary schools. Classrooms have increased in their complexity in terms of teaching, as there are pupils with different cultural and economic backgrounds and educational needs, but also in the relationships among the peer groups of pupils. What kinds of attitudes and relations can be found among the members of this culturally diverse pupil body? What kinds of views are held by the pupils about each other? The aim of this paper is to shed light on stereotypes and xenophobic attitudes towards immigrant pupils in secondary schools in Spain, principally among peer groups, and on how teachers address this multicultural classroom dynamic and complexity and any possible prejudices towards stereotypes and racist attitudes that surface inside the classroom. Relationships tend to be formed among peer groups of the same ethnicity and there is a marked rejection of pupils from Moroccan origin. Teachers are neither aware of pupils’ stereotypes nor of their own. As a consequence, they are not giving sufficient pedagogical responses to resolve arguments or disrespectful situations against immigrant pupils. This in turn is contributing, on the one hand, to racist and xenophobic societies (Banks 2011; Deusdad 2013. On the other hand, teachers’ low expectations of these immigrant pupils has had an effect on their academic achievements and on dropout rates (Deusdad 2009. The present study is based on 2196 questionnaires administered to pupils at 43 Spanish secondary schools. In-depth interviews with 54 secondary school teachers were also carried out, so as to understand teachers’ discourses and pedagogical resources. 

  6. 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.

  7. Pupils, the Forgotten Partners in Education Action Zones

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitehead, Joan; Clough, Nick

    2004-01-01

    Education action zones (EAZs) involving local partnerships are one of the government's policies set up to help raise standards in pupils' performance and behaviour in areas of economic and social disadvantage. This article explores the nature of these partnerships and the fact that pupils are excluded. It reviews literature on student voice and…

  8. 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...

  9. 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.

  10. Holographic analysis of dispersive pupils in space--time optics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Calatroni, J.; Vienot, J.C.

    1981-01-01

    Extension of space--time optics to objects whose transparency is a function of the temporal frequency v = c/lambda is examined. Considering the effects of such stationary pupils on white light waves, they are called temporal pupils. It is shown that simultaneous encoding both in the space and time frequency domains is required to record pupil parameters. The space-time impulse response and transfer functions are calculated for a dispersive nonabsorbent material. An experimental method providing holographic recording of the dispersion curve of any transparent material is presented

  11. Holographic analysis of dispersive pupils in space--time optics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Calatroni, J.; Vienot, J.C.

    1981-06-01

    Extension of space--time optics to objects whose transparency is a function of the temporal frequency v = c/lambda is examined. Considering the effects of such stationary pupils on white light waves, they are called temporal pupils. It is shown that simultaneous encoding both in the space and time frequency domains is required to record pupil parameters. The space-time impulse response and transfer functions are calculated for a dispersive nonabsorbent material. An experimental method providing holographic recording of the dispersion curve of any transparent material is presented.

  12. 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

  13. 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…

  14. 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

  15. Inverse Argyll Robertson pupil in Burkitt′s lymphoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kakarla V Chalam

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available Kakarla V Chalam, Shailesh K Gupta, Vikram S BrarDepartment of Ophthalmology, University of Florida Health Science Center, Jacksonville, FL, USAAbstract: We present a case of an 18 year old white male with Burkitt’s lymphoma who was operated on for hydrocephalus and subsequently referred for evaluation of new onset diplopia. On examination, his visual acuity (VA was 20/20 in both eyes with a right superior oblique palsy. His pupillary reaction to light was intact while on near gaze there was no constriction of the pupils, bilaterally. The other two responses of the near gaze triad ie, convergence and accommodation were present. These findings were suggestive of an Inverse Argyll Robertson pupil (IARP, a rare entity in the literature. We could not find a specific cause attributable to this manifestation in this patient, though we feel it may be secondary to infiltration from Burkitt’s lymphoma and/or compression from elevated intracranial pressure of the efferent pupillary near reflex pathway.Keywords: Inverse Argyll Robertson pupil, Argyll Robertson pupil, pupillary abnormalities, Burkitt’s lymphoma

  16. 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.…

  17. Are teachers' judgements of pupils' ability influenced by body shape?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shackleton, N L; Campbell, T

    2014-04-01

    Evidence indicates that teachers can judge pupils on the basis of their physical appearance, including their body shape. Teacher bias towards obese pupils has been suggested as a potential pathway through which obese children attain relatively lower academic levels. The aim of this study was to investigate whether teachers' judgements of pupils' ability are influenced by the body shape of the child. The sample includes English, singleton children in state schools from the Millennium Cohort Study. The data were taken from the fourth wave of data collection, when the children were approximately 7 years old. In all, 5086/5072 children had teacher ability ratings of reading and maths. Logistic regression analyses were used to test whether teachers' perceptions of the child's reading and mathematics ability were influenced by the pupil's waist circumference, conditional upon cognitive test scores of reading and maths ability. After adjustment for cognitive test scores, no significant overall relationship was found between the pupil's waist circumference and the teacher's judgements of ability. No statistically significant differences were observed in the probability of being judged as above average after further adjustments were made for potential confounders. There is little evidence that teachers' judgements of pupils' ability are influenced by obesity.

  18. The Predictive Role of Maternal Parenting and Stress on Pupils' Bullying involvement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alizadeh Maralani, Fatemeh; Mirnasab, Mirmahmoud; Hashemi, Touraj

    2016-10-01

    The link between inappropriate parenting style and both bullying and victimization is well documented. However, it is not clear as to which kind of parenting style is associated with victimization. Furthermore, no studies have yet been conducted regarding the role of parental stress in bullying and victimization. This study aimed to examine the role of parenting styles and maternal stress in pupils' bullying and victimization. A total of 300 primary school pupils, enrolled in fourth and fifth grades, participated in the study. Initially, 100 noninvolved pupils were randomly selected using a multistage cluster sampling method. Then using a screening method, 100 bully pupils and 100 victimized peers were selected. Olweus Bullying Scale and teacher nomination were administered for screening these pupils. Baumrind Parenting Style Questionnaire and revised version of Abidin Parental Stress Index (short form) were also applied to all pupils in the study. Data were analyzed using discriminant function analysis. The findings showed that (a) with regard to parenting styles, significant differences were found among groups. Authoritarian parenting style could significantly predict pupils' bullying behavior, whereas victimization was predictable in families with permissive parenting style. In addition, noninvolved pupils were predicted to have authoritative parenting style. (b) Considering maternal stress, significant differences were observed across groups. Parents of bullies and victims were predicted to have higher maternal stress than noninvolved pupils. The implications of the study in relation to the role of mothers in bullying and victimization are discussed.

  19. 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.

  20. 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.

  1. 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.

  2. Roma Pupils' Identification with School in Slovenia and Serbia: Case Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macura-Milovanovic, Suncica; Munda, Milanka; Pecek, Mojca

    2013-01-01

    The research presented in this paper aims to challenge the belief held by some education professionals that Roma pupils do not value education. The research sample included groups of Roma pupils from two countries (Slovenia and Serbia) and from different socio-economic backgrounds. The results suggest that the majority of the pupils are aware of…

  3. 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.

  4. 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…

  5. Assessment of Teacher of Nursing Subjects by Pupils and Students

    OpenAIRE

    Bednářová, Markéta

    2006-01-01

    The dissertation Assessment of a teacher of nursing subjects by pupils and students focuses on finding the opinion of pupils of secondary nursing schools and students of higher nursing schools and universities on teachers of nursing. The subject of the interest was particularly qualities and skills of the nursing teachers which pupils and students consider important and desirable. The theoretical part of the work summarizes conclusions from thematically similar studies. The empirical part of ...

  6. 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…

  7. 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

  8. A teacher's decade passed with pupils and a simple radiometric instrument. Could junior and senior high school pupils see the radiation with their eyes?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kudo, Hiroyuki

    2012-01-01

    The author, a teacher of Naragakuen Junior High School-High School in Nara Prefecture, looks back the history of his given education about radiation to 3rd year pupils for the decade from 2002. The main theme of the education includes an actual radiometric study of the already attained, naturally cleaned-up radioactivity derived from A-bomb from the ground of Hiroshima City, and an asking investigation to know how many people misunderstand, as pupils have done so, that Hiroshima ground surface is still radio-contaminated. In 2011, pupils stayed at Fukushima, not Hiroshima. For the radiometric study, pupils first learn the movement of substances in the ground by rain with a model of naturally abundant 40 KCl using a simple radiometer, HAKARUKUN. Then in Hiroshuma, they measure the ambient dose at >600 spots to compare with the doses in other cities like Nara and Kyoto, and the beta-ray of A-bomb-exposed buildings and air dust to see the same half life as that measured in Nara. Their asking investigation revealed that 32.2% and 31.5% of Hiroshima citizen and the resident in other cities, respectively, misunderstand that radiation in the City is higher than other cities. These results have been presented at the conference for pupils mainly held by the Kinki Branch of Chemical Society of Japan. The author expects the exchange of radiological information between learned pupils and parents who have probably not been taught about radiation as its education has been absent during these 30 years. Though, the education is to be given to all pupils hereafter in Japan. (T.T.)

  9. 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

  10. 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.

  11. 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.

  12. 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…

  13. 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…

  14. 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.

  15. 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....

  16. 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.

  17. 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.

  18. 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

    Deaf individuals have more cardiovascular risks than the general population that are believed to be related to their cardiovascular health knowledge disparities. This phenomenological study describes where 20 deaf sign language-using adolescents from Rochester, New York, many who possess many positive characteristics to support their health literacy, learn cardiovascular health information and their lived experiences accessing health information. The goal is to ultimately use this information to improve the delivery of cardiovascular health education to this population and other deaf adolescents at a higher risk for weak health literacy. Deaf bilingual researchers interviewed deaf adolescents, transcribed and coded the data, and described the findings. Five major sources of cardiovascular health information were identified including family, health education teachers, healthcare providers, printed materials, and informal sources. Despite possessing advantageous characteristics contributing to stronger health literacy, study participants described significant challenges with accessing health information from each source. They also demonstrated inconsistencies in their cardiovascular health knowledge, especially regarding heart attack, stroke, and cholesterol. These findings suggest a great need for additional public funding to research deaf adolescents’ informal health-related learning, develop accessible and culturally appropriate health surveys and health education programming, improve interpreter education, and disseminate information through social media. PMID:26048900

  19. Pupils' liking for school: ability grouping, self-concept and perceptions of teaching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ireson, Judith; Hallam, Susan

    2005-06-01

    Research indicates that affective aspects of development provide a basis for autonomous learning. Pupils' liking for school may be a useful indicator of their relationships with teachers and the school. The aim of the research reported in this paper is to establish the properties of a measure of pupils' liking for school and to examine associations between this measure, pupils' experiences in lessons, their self-concepts and the amount of setting implemented in school. A stratified sample of 45 mixed secondary comprehensive schools was selected for the research. Schools represented a variety of ability-grouping practices in the lower school (Years 7-9), from completely mixed-ability to setting in all academic subjects. All Year 9 pupils were included in the sample. Pupils completed a questionnaire containing items on their self-concept, liking for school, and their perceptions of teaching in English, mathematics, and science. Data on pupils' gender, ethnic origin, social disadvantage and attainment was also collected. The properties and correlates of scales indicating pupils' liking for school and their perceptions of teaching in English, mathematics, and science are established. Liking for school is greater among girls, pupils with higher academic self-concepts, and those with more positive perceptions of teaching. Pupils are more positive about teaching they experience in English than in mathematics or science. When other variables are statistically controlled, there is no significant effect of the extent of ability grouping in the school as a whole. Affective aspects of learning should not be neglected in the drive to raise standards.

  20. Skilled deaf readers have an enhanced perceptual span in reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  1. Pupil size in Jewish theological seminary students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shemesh, G; Kesler, A; Lazar, M; Rothkoff, L

    2004-01-01

    To investigate the authors' clinical impression that pupil size among myopic Jewish theological seminary students is different from pupil size of similar secular subjects. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 28 male Jewish theological seminary students and 28 secular students or workers who were matched for age and refraction. All participants were consecutively enrolled. Scotopic and photopic pupil size was measured by means of a Colvard pupillometer. Comparisons of various parameters between the groups were performed using the two-sample t-test, Fisher exact test, a paired-sample t-test, a two-way analysis of variance, and Pearson correlation coefficients as appropriate. The two groups were statistically matched for age, refraction, and visual acuity. The seminary students were undercorrected by an average of 2.35 diopters (D), while the secular subjects were undercorrected by only 0.65 D (pwork or of apparently characteristic undercorrection of the myopia is undetermined.

  2. Caffeine intake is associated with pupil dilation and enhanced accommodation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abokyi, S; Owusu-Mensah, J; Osei, K A

    2017-04-01

    PurposeIt is purported that caffeine, an autonomic stimulant, affects visual performance. This study sought to assess whether caffeine intake was associated with changes in pupil size and/or amplitude of accommodation.Patients and methodsA double-masked, crossover study was conducted in 50 healthy subjects of age range 19 to 25 years. Subjects were randomized to treatments such that subjects consumed either 250 mg caffeine drink or vehicle on separate days. Amplitude of accommodation was measured by the push-up technique, and pupil size using a millimeter ruler fixed to a slit lamp biomicroscope in dim illumination (5 lux). Amplitude of accommodation and pupil size were taken at baseline, and at 30, 60 and 90 min time points post treatment. Repeated measures one-way ANOVA and paired t-test were used in analyzing data.ResultsAmplitude of accommodation and pupil size after caffeine intake were significantly greater than vehicle (Pcaffeine beverage was associated with significant increases in amplitude of accommodation and pupil size with time (Pcaffeine. This study suggests caffeine may have some influence on visual functions.

  3. Challenges of Knowledge Management and Creation in Communities of Practice Organisations of Deaf and Non-Deaf Members: Requirements for a Web Platform

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Freitas Guilhermino Trindade, Daniela; Guimaraes, Cayley; Antunes, Diego Roberto; Garcia, Laura Sanchez; Lopes da Silva, Rafaella Aline; Fernandes, Sueli

    2012-01-01

    This study analysed the role of knowledge management (KM) tools used to cultivate a community of practice (CP) in its knowledge creation (KC), transfer, learning processes. The goal of such observations was to determine requirements that KM tools should address for the specific CP formed by Deaf and non-Deaf members of the CP. The CP studied is a…

  4. Pupil dilation reveals top-down attentional load during spatial monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lisi, Matteo; Bonato, Mario; Zorzi, Marco

    2015-12-01

    It has long been known that the diameter of human pupil enlarges with increasing effort during the execution of a task. This has been observed not only for purely mechanical effort but also for mental effort, as for example the computation of arithmetic problems with different levels of difficulty. Here we show that pupil dilation reflects changes in visuospatial awareness induced by attentional load during multi-tasking. In the single-task condition, participants had to report the position of lateralized, briefly presented, masked visual targets ("right", "left", or "both" sides). In the multitasking conditions, participants also performed additional tasks, either visual or auditory, to increase the attentional load. Sensory stimulation was kept constant across all conditions to rule out the influence of low-level factors. Results show that event-related pupil dilation strikingly increased with task demands, mirroring a concurrent decrease in visuospatial awareness. Importantly, pupil dilation significantly differed between two dual-task conditions that required to process the same number of stimuli but yielded differed levels of accuracy (difficulty). In contrast, pupil dilation did not differ between two conditions which were equally challenging but differed both in the modality of the dual task (auditory vs. visual) and in the number of stimuli to be attended. We conclude that pupil dilation genuinely reflects the top-down allocation of supramodal attentional resources. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Complex Word Reading in Dutch Deaf Children and Adults

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    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 derivational words and compounds compared to…

  6. PARLOMA – A Novel Human-Robot Interaction System for Deaf-Blind Remote Communication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ludovico Orlando Russo

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Deaf-blindness forces people to live in isolation. At present, there is no existing technological solution enabling two (or many deaf-blind people to communicate remotely among themselves in tactile Sign Language (t-SL. When resorting to t-SL, deaf-blind people can communicate only with people physically present in the same place, because they are required to reciprocally explore their hands to exchange messages. We present a preliminary version of PARLOMA, a novel system to enable remote communication between deaf-blind persons. It is composed of a low-cost depth sensor as the only input device, paired with a robotic hand as the output device. Essentially, any user can perform hand-shapes in front of the depth sensor. The system is able to recognize a set of hand-shapes that are sent over the web and reproduced by an anthropomorphic robotic hand. PARLOMA can work as a “telephone” for deaf-blind people. Hence, it will dramatically improve the quality of life of deaf-blind persons. PARLOMA has been presented and supported by the main Italian deaf-blind association, Lega del Filo d'Oro. End users are involved in the design phase.

  7. Quality of life of deaf and hard of hearing students in Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mofadeke T Jaiyeola

    Full Text Available Quality of Life encompasses an individual's well-being and health, social participation and satisfaction with functional daily living. Disabilities such as deafness can impact on the quality of life with spatial variance to the environment. Deafness causes communicative problems with significant consequences in cognitive, social, and emotional well-being of affected individuals. However, information relating to the quality of life of deaf and hard of hearing individuals, especially students in developing countries like Nigeria, which could be used to design special health-related interventions is sparse. This study examined the quality of life of deaf and hard of hearing students in Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria. One hundred and ten deaf and hard of hearing students participated in this cross-sectional study. Participants were drawn from all four secondary schools for the Deaf in Ibadan metropolis. The 26 item Brief version of the WHO Quality of Life questionnaire was used for data collection. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics at statistical significance of p<0.05. Majority (57.8% of the deaf and hard of hearing students had poor quality of life. Attending the special school for the Deaf, upper socio-economic status and age (≥17years are significantly associated with better quality of life. However, gender and age at onset of hearing loss had no significant influence on the quality of life. The Deaf community available in the special school appeared to protect against stigma and discrimination, while also promoting social interactions between deaf and hard of hearing individuals.

  8. Subtitling for deaf children: Granting accessibility to audiovisual programmes in an educational way

    OpenAIRE

    Zarate, S.

    2014-01-01

    This thesis is a contribution towards the subtitling practice of audiovisual programmes for deaf children. It starts by offering an overview of relevant research on Subtitling for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing (SDH), conducted both in the UK and abroad. A descriptive and comprehensive study on how children’s programmes broadcast in British television are subtitled for deaf children constitutes the starting point of the project. In an attempt to gain an understanding on how deaf children re...

  9. Aetiological diagnosis of child deafness: CODEPEH recommendations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Núñez-Batalla, Faustino; Jáudenes-Casaubón, Carmen; Sequí-Canet, Jose Miguel; Vivanco-Allende, Ana; Zubicaray-Ugarteche, Jose; Cabanillas-Farpón, Rubén

    Important progress in the fields of molecular genetics (principally) and diagnostic imaging, together with the lack of a consensus protocol for guiding the diagnostic process after confirming deafness by neonatal screening, have led to this new work document drafted by the Spanish Commission for the Early Detection of Child Deafness (Spanish acronym: CODEPEH). This 2015 Recommendations Document, which is based on the most recent scientific evidence, provides guidance to professionals to support them in making decisions regarding aetiological diagnosis. Such diagnosis should be performed without delay and without impeding early intervention. Early identification of the causes of deafness offers many advantages: it prevents unnecessary trouble for the families, reduces health system expenses caused by performing different tests, and provides prognostic information that may guide therapeutic actions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Otorrinolaringología y Cirugía de Cabeza y Cuello. All rights reserved.

  10. Motor performance of pupils with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

    OpenAIRE

    Otipková, Zuzana

    2012-01-01

    Title: Motor performance of pupils with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Objectives: The aim of the work was to determine the level of fine and gross motor skills of upper extremities of the pupils with diagnosis ADHD at schools specialized on these pupils and compare it with the fine and gross motor skills of upper extremities of children without this diagnosis at common elementary school. Further work objective was to determine the level of gross motor skills of lower limbs ...

  11. Using Pupil Diameter Changes for Measuring Mental Workload under Mental Processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batmaz, Ihsan; Ozturk, Mustafa

    In this study, it is aimed to evaluate the mental workload by using a practical way which based on measuring pupil diameter changes that occurs under mental processing. To determine the mental effort required for each task, the video record of subjects` eyes are taken while they are performed different tasks and pupils were measured from the records. A group of university student, one female 9 males participated to the experiment. Additionally, NASA-TLX questionnaire is applied for the related mental tasks. For verification of results obtained from both indices, the correlation coefficient is calculated task base. The results show that there is weak and negative correlation between the indices on task base except 3rd task. By investigating pupil diameter measurements data too, it is founded that pupil dilates under mental workload during performing related tasks. For all tasks, pupil diameters of response periods increased according to reference baseline period.

  12. Science investigation: the views of 14 to 16 year old pupils

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toplis, Rob; Cleaves, Anna

    2006-05-01

    This paper reports research about upper secondary school pupils' views about science investigations in school. Although researchers, teachers and examiners have expressed opinions about investigative work in science, there have been relatively few studies of pupils' experiences. The present study identified pupils' concerns about the limited time available, timing of the investigations, lack of familiarity with apparatus and the association of investigation almost exclusively with assessment, all factors which contributed to stress. One exceptional school apart, pupils perceived the teacher's role as a didactic supporter of strategies to maximise performance for assessment. We discuss these views and examine the potential for putting policy into practice.

  13. High School Pupils' Attitudes and Self-Efficacy of Using Mobile Devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nikolopoulou, Kleopatra; Gialamas, Vasilis

    2017-01-01

    This paper regards a study aiming to investigate junior high school pupils' attitudes and self-efficacy of using mobile devices. A 25-item questionnaire was administered to 260 pupils aged 12-15 years old, in Greece. Pupils' attitudes were positive, and four factors were extracted, "perceived usefulness", "affection",…

  14. Junior Secondary School Pupils' Perception of the Relevance of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    cce

    on the data and an independent sample 2-tailed t-test was used to explore the ... pupils' knowledge, attitudes towards and conceptions of the environmental ... challenges with 1200 fifteen-year-old Norwegian pupils as part of ROSE and ... Some comparative studies were carried out among children from different cultures.

  15. Emotion Understanding in Deaf Children with a Cochlear Implant

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiefferink, Carin H.; Rieffe, Carolien; Ketelaar, Lizet; De Raeve, Leo; Frijns, Johan H. M.

    2013-01-01

    It is still largely unknown how receiving a cochlear implant affects the emotion understanding in deaf children. We examined indices for emotion understanding and their associations with communication skills in children aged 2.5-5 years, both hearing children (n = 52) and deaf children with a cochlear implant (n = 57). 2 aspects of emotion…

  16. Effect of Peer Education on Deaf Secondary School Students' HIV ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study evaluated the effect of an AIDS education program on deaf secondary school students' knowledge, attitude and perceived susceptibility to AIDS using peer education. Two secondary schools matched for ownership (government), composition (mixture of hearing and deaf) and teaching arrangement (separate ...

  17. 45 CFR 1308.11 - Eligibility criteria: Hearing impairment including deafness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES THE ADMINISTRATION FOR... impairment including deafness. (a) A child is classified as deaf if a hearing impairment exists which is so... hearing loss can include impaired listening skills, delayed language development, and articulation...

  18. Psychodrama with Deaf People

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clayton, Lynette; Robinson, Luther D.

    1971-01-01

    Observations based on psychodrama with deaf people, relating to interaction between people and the communication process, are made. How role training skills, which involve some of the skills of psychodrama, can be applied by professionals in vocational and social learning situations is illustrated. (KW)

  19. [Megadolichobasilar anomaly causing acute deafness with vertigo].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Unkelbach, M H; Radeloff, A; Bink, A; Gstöttner, W; Ziemann, U

    2008-01-01

    Megadolichobasilar anomaly, a dilatant arteriopathy of the basilar artery attributable to chronic arterial hypertension, can cause cranial nerve compression syndromes of the cerebellopontine angle or infarcts of the vertebrobasilar circulation. In this paper, we report on a patient with known megadolichobasilar anomaly and a partially thrombosed fusiform aneurysm of the basilar artery, who presented with acute-onset vertigo and subsequent deafness due to thromboembolic occlusion of the labyrinthine artery. Because of the vascular origin of the patient's symptoms, his vertigo disappeared over time while the deafness persisted.

  20. Developing Preschool Deaf Children's Language and Literacy Learning from an Educational Media Series

    Science.gov (United States)

    Golos, Debbie B.; Moses, Annie M.

    2013-01-01

    With the increase in research on multiliteracies comes greater interest in exploring multiple pathways of learning for deaf children. Educational media have been increasingly examined as a tool for facilitating the development of deaf children's language and literacy skills. The authors investigated whether preschool deaf children (N = 31)…

  1. 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)

  2. Deaf and hard of hearing students' perspectives on bullying and school climate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weiner, Mary T; Day, Stefanie J; Galvan, Dennis

    2013-01-01

    Student perspectives reflect school climate. The study examined perspectives among deaf and hard of hearing students in residential and large day schools regarding bullying, and compared these perspectives with those of a national database of hearing students. The participants were 812 deaf and hard of hearing students in 11 U.S. schools. Data were derived from the Olweus Bullying Questionnaire (Olweus, 2007b), a standardized self-reported survey with multiple-choice questions focusing on different aspects of bullying problems. Significant bullying problems were found in deaf school programs. It appears that deaf and hard of hearing students experience bullying at rates 2-3 times higher than those reported by hearing students. Deaf and hard of hearing students reported that school personnel intervened less often when bullying occurred than was reported in the hearing sample. Results indicate the need for school climate improvement for all students, regardless of hearing status.

  3. PERSONAL IDENTITY IN DEAF ADOLESCENTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  4. 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…

  5. Deaf Adolescents' Learning of Cardiovascular Health Information: Sources and Access Challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Scott R; Kushalnagar, Poorna; Hauser, Peter C

    2015-10-01

    Deaf individuals have more cardiovascular risks than the general population that are believed to be related to their cardiovascular health knowledge disparities. This phenomenological study describes where 20 deaf sign language-using adolescents from Rochester, New York, many who possess many positive characteristics to support their health literacy, learn cardiovascular health information and their lived experiences accessing health information. The goal is to ultimately use this information to improve the delivery of cardiovascular health education to this population and other deaf adolescents at a higher risk for weak health literacy. Deaf bilingual researchers interviewed deaf adolescents, transcribed and coded the data, and described the findings. Five major sources of cardiovascular health information were identified including family, health education teachers, healthcare providers, printed materials, and informal sources. Despite possessing advantageous characteristics contributing to stronger health literacy, study participants described significant challenges with accessing health information from each source. They also demonstrated inconsistencies in their cardiovascular health knowledge, especially regarding heart attack, stroke, and cholesterol. These findings suggest a great need for additional public funding to research deaf adolescents' informal health-related learning, develop accessible and culturally appropriate health surveys and health education programming, improve interpreter education, and disseminate information through social media. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  6. Quality of life of deaf and hard of hearing students in Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaiyeola, Mofadeke T; Adeyemo, Adebolajo A

    2018-01-01

    Quality of Life encompasses an individual's well-being and health, social participation and satisfaction with functional daily living. Disabilities such as deafness can impact on the quality of life with spatial variance to the environment. Deafness causes communicative problems with significant consequences in cognitive, social, and emotional well-being of affected individuals. However, information relating to the quality of life of deaf and hard of hearing individuals, especially students in developing countries like Nigeria, which could be used to design special health-related interventions is sparse. This study examined the quality of life of deaf and hard of hearing students in Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria. One hundred and ten deaf and hard of hearing students participated in this cross-sectional study. Participants were drawn from all four secondary schools for the Deaf in Ibadan metropolis. The 26 item Brief version of the WHO Quality of Life questionnaire was used for data collection. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics at statistical significance of pdeaf and hard of hearing students had poor quality of life. Attending the special school for the Deaf, upper socio-economic status and age (≥17years) are significantly associated with better quality of life. However, gender and age at onset of hearing loss had no significant influence on the quality of life. The Deaf community available in the special school appeared to protect against stigma and discrimination, while also promoting social interactions between deaf and hard of hearing individuals.

  7. Other subjects, other school? Strategies and practices in the context of specific schools for the deaf

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liane Camatti

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available The deaf community has recursively searched for specific schools for the deaf because it is a space where you could find safety and resistance conditions. Through this article, it seeks to understand how the assumptions that support the school institution are directed, given the nearness with the movements for the deaf. To accomplish this approach, we used excerpts from interviews with deaf, teachers and students from different specifically schools for the deaf of the State of Rio Grande do Sul. The studies of the post-structuralist concern provided the theoretical tools that enabled the analysis. Through this research, it became clear how the deaf community falls within the school, making the assumptions of cultural capital legitimized in the school for the deaf. Nevertheless, it was possible to look at how the processes of discipline inherent in the educational institution happen the same way in the school for the deaf, even though it was taken by the deaf as the site of redemption and as its largest trench.

  8. Bridging the gap between DeafBlind minds: interactional and social foundations of intention attribution in the Seattle DeafBlind community

    OpenAIRE

    Edwards, Terra

    2015-01-01

    This article is concerned with social and interactional processes that simplify pragmatic acts of intention attribution. The empirical focus is a series of interactions among DeafBlind people in Seattle, Washington, where pointing signs are used to individuate objects of reference in the immediate environment. Most members of this community are born deaf and slowly become blind. They come to Seattle using Visual American Sign Language, which has emerged and developed in a field organized arou...

  9. 28 CFR 35.161 - Telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD's).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 28 Judicial Administration 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD's). 35.161 Section 35.161 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE... devices for the deaf (TDD's). Where a public entity communicates by telephone with applicants and...

  10. Understanding Basic Temporal Relations in Primary School Pupils with Hearing Impairments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dulcić, Adinda; Bakota, Koraljka; Saler, Zrinka

    2015-09-01

    Time can be observed as a subjective, as well as an objective phenomenon which is a component of our life, and due to its communicational needs, it is standardized by temporal signs and symbols. The aim of this study was to determine the understanding of basic temporal relations of pupils with hearing impairments. We assumed that the knowledge of basic time relations is a precondition for the acquisition of knowledge that is connected with the understanding of the syllabus in regular school programs. Three groups of pupils have been examined: pupils with hearing impairments who attend the primary school of SUVAG Polyclinic under special condition, integrated hearing impaired pupils with minor additional difficulties who attend regular primary schools in Zagreb with a prolonged expert procedure and pupils of the control group. The subjects have been examined with a measuring instrument constructed by the expert team of the Polyclinic Suvag. Twenty nine subjects have been questioned, chronologically aged between 10 and 12.

  11. Bridging the Gap Between DeafBlind Minds: interactional and social foundations of intention-attribution in the Seattle DeafBlind community

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Terra eEdwards

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available This article is concerned with social and interactional processes that simplify pragmatic acts of intention attribution. The empirical focus is a series of interactions among DeafBlind people in Seattle, Washington, where pointing signs are used to individuate objects of reference in the im-mediate environment. Most members of this community are born deaf and slowly become blind. They come to Seattle using Visual American Sign Language, which has emerged and developed in a field organized around visual modes of access. However, as vision deteriorates, links be-tween deictic signs and the present, remembered, or imagined environment erode in idiosyncratic ways across the community of language-users, and it becomes increasingly difficult for partici-pants to converge on objects of reference. In the past, DeafBlind people have addressed this problem by relying on sighted interpreters. Under the influence of the recent pro-tactile movement, they have turned instead to one another to find new solutions to their referential prob-lems. Drawing on analyses of 120 hours of videorecorded interaction and language-use, detailed fieldnotes collected during twelve months of sustained anthropological fieldwork, and more than 15 years of involvement in this community in a range of capacities, I show how DeafBlind peo-ple are generating new and reciprocal modes of access to their environment, and how this pro-cess is aligning language with context in novel ways. I propose two mechanisms that can account for this process: deictic integration and embedding in the social field. I argue that together, these interactional and social mechanisms yield a deictic system set to retrieve a restricted range of values from the extra-linguistic context, thereby attenuating the cognitive demands of intention-attribution and narrowing the gap between DeafBlind minds.

  12. Bilingual proposal in deaf education: educational practices in literacy process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Márcia Cristina Florêncio Fernandes Moret

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The teaching and use of the LIBRAS, in the deaf people education are indispensable for their development, building of their identity, autonomy, beside the communication with the world. The acquisition of the Portuguese Language is part of the regular school curriculum, and its command provides a relationship between language and society, which is mostly formed by hearing and users of this language. There is a concern related to the deaf people education, especially in literacy phase, which consequently extends through all the regular schooling, where the most part of the deaf students are finishing the high school without knowing how to read and/or produce in Portuguese Language. This problem affects the social development of these subjects, since the Portuguese Language is still required as if it were the deaf mother tongue, not respecting his/her culture, that has LIBRAS as their first language. The object of this research it to verify the methods and techniques in the deaf people literacy process and seek for other models, based on bilingual theory, ensuring the acquisition of LIBRAS, as a natural language and the teaching of Portuguese Language in a second language methodology, so that, in fact, the acquisition of reading and writing skills to materialize.

  13. Pupil-led sex education in England (RIPPLE study): cluster-randomised intervention trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stephenson, J M; Strange, V; Forrest, S; Oakley, A; Copas, A; Allen, E; Babiker, A; Black, S; Ali, M; Monteiro, H; Johnson, A M

    Improvement of sex education in schools is a key part of the UK government's strategy to reduce teenage pregnancy in England. We examined the effectiveness of one form of peer-led sex education in a school-based randomised trial of over 8000 pupils. 29 schools were randomised to either peer-led sex education (intervention) or to continue their usual teacher-led sex education (control). In intervention schools, peer educators aged 16-17 years delivered three sessions of sex education to 13-14 year-old pupils from the same schools. Primary outcome was unprotected (without condom) first heterosexual intercourse by age 16 years. Analysis was by intention to treat. By age 16 years, significantly fewer girls reported intercourse in the peer-led arm than in the control arm, but proportions were similar for boys. The proportions of pupils reporting unprotected first sex did not differ for girls (8.4% intervention vs 8.3% control) or for boys (6.2% vs 4.7%). Stratified estimates of the difference between arms were -0.4% (95% CI -3.7% to 2.8%, p=0.79) for girls and -1.4% (-4.4% to 1.6%, p=0.36) for boys. At follow-up (mean age 16.0 years [SD 0.32]), girls in the intervention arm reported fewer unintended pregnancies, although the difference was borderline (2.3% vs 3.3%, p=0.07). Girls and boys were more satisfied with peer-led than teacher-led sex education, but 57% of girls and 32% of boys wanted sex education in single-sex groups. Peer-led sex education was effective in some ways, but broader strategies are needed to improve young people's sexual health. The role of single-sex sessions should be investigated further.

  14. Education of the Deaf Act: Background and Reauthorization Issues. CRS Report for Congress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aleman, Steven R.

    This summary of the Education of the Deaf Act (Public Law 99-371) discusses the special institutions funded under the act and other issues related to the Act's reauthorization. The National Technical Institute for the Deaf (Rochester, New York) and Gallaudet University (District of Columbia) provide postsecondary training for deaf individuals.…

  15. Failure to Detect Deaf-Blindness in a Population of People with Intellectual Disability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fellinger, J.; Holzinger, D.; Dirmhirn, A.; van Dijk, J.; Goldberg, D.

    2009-01-01

    Background: Early identification of deaf-blindness is essential to ensure appropriate management. Previous studies indicate that deaf-blindness is often missed. We aim to discover the extent to which deaf-blindness in people with intellectual disability (ID) is undiagnosed. Method: A survey was made of the 253 residents of an institute offering…

  16. 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.

  17. A novel connexin 26 mutation in a patient diagnosed with keratitis-ichthyosis-deafness syndrome

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Steensel, Maurice A. M.; van Geel, Michel; Nahuys, Marc; Smitt, J. Henk Sillevis; Steijlen, Peter M.

    2002-01-01

    Keratitis-ichthyosis-deafness syndrome is a rare disorder characterized by erythrokeratoderma, deafness, and keratitis. Scarring alopecia and squamous cell carcinoma can also occur. Most cases described so far were sporadic. Here we present evidence that keratitis-ichthyosis-deafness syndrome is

  18. A novel connexin 26 mutation in a patient diagnosed with keratitis-ichthyosis-deafness syndrome.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Steensel, M.A.M. van; Geel, M. van; Nahuys, M.; Smitt, J.H.; Steijlen, P.M.

    2002-01-01

    Keratitis-ichthyosis-deafness syndrome is a rare disorder characterized by erythrokeratoderma, deafness, and keratitis. Scarring alopecia and squamous cell carcinoma can also occur. Most cases described so far were sporadic. Here we present evidence that keratitis-ichthyosis-deafness syndrome is

  19. A Danish family with dominant deafness-onychodystrophy syndrome

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vind-Kezunovic, Dina; Torring, Pernille M

    2013-01-01

    The rare hereditary disorder "dominant deafness and onychodystrophy (DDOD) syndrome" (OMIM 124480) has been described in a few case reports. No putative DDOD gene or locus has been mapped and the cause of the disorder remains unknown.......The rare hereditary disorder "dominant deafness and onychodystrophy (DDOD) syndrome" (OMIM 124480) has been described in a few case reports. No putative DDOD gene or locus has been mapped and the cause of the disorder remains unknown....

  20. 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.

  1. Sticky Assessments--The Impact of Teachers' Grading Standard on Pupils' School Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keller, Tamás

    2016-01-01

    This paper argues that school grades cannot be interpreted solely as a reward for a given school performance, since they also reflect teachers' assessments of pupils. A teacher's evaluation of a pupil's performance, as reflected in the grade awarded, might influence the effort that the pupil invests in learning. Grades might therefore serve as…

  2. What Can National Data Sets Tell Us about Inclusion and Pupil Achievement?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Florian, Lani; Rouse, Martyn; Black-Hawkins, Kristine; Jull, Stephen

    2004-01-01

    Recent developments in the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) have produced a national pupil database (NPD) that contains information about the attainments of individual pupils. Every child in the country has been allocated a unique pupil number (UPN), which means that the academic progress of individuals can be tracked over time. It is…

  3. Tomorrow's Workforce: School Pupils' Views of a Career in Hospitality. Research Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tregaskis, Olga; And Others

    A survey involving 1,024 secondary pupils and 22 career educators from schools throughout the United Kingdom collected information on pupils' perceptions of entering the hotel and catering industry as a career. The research looked in detail at the job expectations of pupils, the status they associated with hotel and catering and nonhotel and…

  4. The Matthew effect in Dutch primary education, differences between school, cohorts and pupils

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Luyten, Johannes W.; Cremers-van Wees, L.M.C.M.; Bosker, Roel

    2003-01-01

    Secondary analysis of longitudinal data from Dutch primary education was used to assess to what extent differences between educationally disadvantaged pupils and other pupils increase during their school careers. For language and arithmetic the differences between pupils with poorly educated and

  5. Professional determination problems of modern senior pupils

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G.N. Danylenko

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Background. Today, young people are more focused on getting education as such, without taking into account the profession. The relevance of this study is the identification of the level of professional self-determination of senior pupils, the mechanisms of formation of professional preferences. The article contains the concept and content of professional self-determination in adolescence; the results of the study on the formation of professional self-determination in senior pupils are presented. The study conducted among 9th grade pupils of secondary schools has revealed that the further gradual self-determination of the future specialty depends not only on psychological readiness for conscious choice. Materials and methods. The study involved 982 pupils of secondary schools in Ukraine. To study the level of formation of professional readiness, there was conducted a survey on the developed questionnaire. Statistical analysis was carried out using MS Excel and SPSS 17. Results. The results showed that professional intents of 9-graders are a key feature for solving the problem of high school selection and future careers. But for most students, these intentions are contradictory due to objective reasons. Radio, television, books don’t have a significant impact on the choice of professional self-determination. Conclusions. The conducted survey is self-sufficient for the analysis of professional orientation. But the choice of profession by the students is influenced by many factors. Therefore, carrying out the studies on vocational guidance requires an integrated approach.

  6. Investigating how high school deaf students spend their leisure time

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Allahyar Arabmomeni

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an investigation on deaf students' interests in spending their leisure times. We design a questionnaire and distribute among all deaf students who are enrolled in high schools in two provinces of Iran. The questionnaire consists of three parts, in the first part, we ask female and male deaf students about their interests in various entertainment activities in Likert scale. In terms of gender, we find out that walking inside or outside house is number one favorite exercise for female students while male students mostly prefer to walk on the streets. Although male students prefer to go biking or running activities, female students prefer to go for picnic or similar activities. This could be due to limitations on female for running or biking inside cities. While going to picnic with members of family or friends is the third popular activity for male students, stretching exercises is third most popular activity among female students. Breathing exercise is the fourth most popular activity among both male and female students. The second part of the survey is associated with the barriers for having no exercise among deaf students. According to our survey, while lack of good attention from public and ordinary people on exercising deaf students is believed to be number one barrier among male students, female students blame lack of transportation facilities as the most important barrier. However, both female and male students believe these two items are the most important factors preventing them to exercise. Lack of awareness for exercising deaf students and lack of good recreational facilities are the third most important barriers among male and female students. The last part of the survey attempted to detect important entertainment activities. Watching TV, entertaining with mobile devices, chatting with friends and watching DVD or movies were the most important items influencing deaf students' free times.DOI: 10.5267/j.msl.2012

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  8. 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.

  9. The preparation of the deaf instructor and the work market: a necessary relation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Cláudia T. Dornelles

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The work market is a field of extreme importance and concern towards the society, such being the case, the training of the worker must be constantly present in the labor life of this worker. Before this, we question ourselves about the existing relation between the training of the instructor and the work market for the deaf and how this occurs. By means of the investigation of the speech about the identity, the deafness and the work we seek to understand the constitution of the deaf workers performing a semi - structured interview with a deaf adult. This study allowed us a better clearing about the professional preparation of the deaf people, making such as inquiries about the relationship existing between the training of the deaf instructor and the market of work to be best exemplified. Through the interview we could elucidate our personal and academic questionings and realize the importance of this insertion and of its pairs in the work market, just as the methods that could and/ or should be used for this to occur.

  10. 76 FR 58023 - National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-19

    ... Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal... on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, including consideration of personnel qualifications..., National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 5 Research Court, Room 1A13, Rockville...

  11. The experiences of Cypriot hearing adults with Deaf parents in family, school, and society.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadjikakou, Kika; Christodoulou, Despina; Hadjidemetri, Eleni; Konidari, Maria; Nicolaou, Nicoletta

    2009-01-01

    This paper investigates the personal experiences of hearing adults with signing Deaf parents in their families, school, and society. In order to obtain relevant information, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 Cypriot hearing adults with Deaf parents between the ages of 21 and 30 years with different occupation, sex, and educational background. It was found that most of the participants developed a bicultural identity, undertook the interpreter and protector role in their family, and interacted well with their parents, despite the lack of in-depth communication that they noted. The positive role of the extended family was acknowledged. The prejudices of Cypriot hearing people against the Deaf people were identified, as well as the lack of state support toward the Deaf community. This study has implications for Deaf parents, and professionals working, planning, and implementing social, psychological, and educational support services to Deaf-parented families.

  12. Are Polish Primary School Pupils in Favor of Wearing Uniforms? Snapshot Comment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asotska, Julia; Butler, Norman L.; Davidson, Barry S.; Griffith, Kimberly Grantham; Brown, Veda E.; Kritsonis, Wiilliam Allan

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to discuss whether Polish primary school pupils want to wear uniforms, and it is motivated by the Polish government's recently proposed policy: Zero Tolerance for Violence at School. Seventy one pupils, who attend Podstawowka Nr30 school in Cracow, were surveyed, and the authors found that most pupils are not in…

  13. Sampling the Deaf Experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teller, Henry E.; And Others

    1993-01-01

    Two graduate students in deaf education wore ear plugs for two months to simulate hearing loss, and recorded their experiences and feelings. Excerpts from their journals are presented, commenting on such daily activities as shopping at a mall, watching television, driving, babysitting, and attending a football game. (JDD)

  14. Congenital non-syndromal autosomal recessive deafness in Bengkala, an isolated Balinese village.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winata, S; Arhya, I N; Moeljopawiro, S; Hinnant, J T; Liang, Y; Friedman, T B; Asher, J H

    1995-01-01

    Bengkala is an Indonesian village located on the north shore of Bali that has existed for over 700 years. Currently, 2.2% of the 2185 people in this village have profound congenital deafness. In response to the high incidence of deafness, the people of Bengkala have developed a village specific sign language which is used by many of the hearing and deaf people. Deafness in Bengkala is congenital, sensorineural, non-syndromal, and caused by a fully penetrant autosomal recessive mutation at the DFNB3 locus. The frequency of the DFNB3 mutation is estimated to be 9.4% among hearing people who have a 17.2% chance of being heterozygous for DFNB3. PMID:7616538

  15. Assess the physical activity of pupils aged 11

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Đokić Zoran

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to assess physical activity among pupils in primary schools in Novi Sad, aged 11 years. The sample consisted of 185 participants (90 boys and 95 girls. Data were collected through a questionnaire, and modified Beacke Q questionnaire was used. Physical activity related to school - physical education, sports and leisure were assessed. Frequencies were calculated for all data, and significance of differences in inclusion and type of physical activity of pupils by sex was determined by Chi-square test. In all three dimensions of physical activity, the significant differences between boys and girls (p ≤ 0.05 were established. Boys have a higher level of physical activity compared to girls. Regular attendance of physical education is high, but the class intensity is low, while girls exercise with yet lower intensity compared to the boys. Boys are more active in sports and the most common sports for them are: football and basketball, while for girls those are volleyball and tennis. Pupils involved in sports generally carry out their activities more than 4 hours per week and 9 months per year. Most of their leisure time pupils spend with computers and TV, boys spend more time in sports, while girls spend more time walking.

  16. 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,…

  17. Speechreading Development in Deaf and Hearing Children: Introducing the Test of Child Speechreading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kyle, Fiona E.; Campbell, Ruth; Mohammed, Tara; Coleman, Mike; MacSweeney, Mairead

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: In this article, the authors describe the development of a new instrument, the Test of Child Speechreading (ToCS), which was specifically designed for use with deaf and hearing children. Speechreading is a skill that is required for deaf children to access the language of the hearing community. ToCS is a deaf-friendly, computer-based test…

  18. Indoor environment and pupils' health in primary schools

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    van Dijken, F.; van Bronswijk, J.E.M.H.; Sundell, Jan

    2006-01-01

    the associations between indoor environmental quality in Dutch schools and pupils' health, also taking into account the children's home environment and personal factors. A cross-sectional study was performed in 11 classrooms in 11 different schools in the Netherlands. The study included exposure measurements......Dutch children are legally bound to spend 15% of their time in a school setting. The indoor environment in Dutch primary schools is known to be substandard. However, it is unclear to what extent the health of pupils is affected by the indoor school environment. The paper aims to assess......, building inspections, and a questionnaire survey on pupils' health and domestic exposure. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and non-parametric tests were performed to assess relationships. None of the schools complied with all indoor environmental quality standards. The importance of both the school...

  19. 77 FR 47859 - National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-10

    ... Deafness and Other Communication Disorders; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal... Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Advisory Council. The meeting will be open to the public as... privacy. Name of Committee: National Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Advisory Council. Date...

  20. 75 FR 17150 - National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-05

    ... Deafness and Other Communication Disorders; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal... Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Advisory Council. The meeting will be open to the public as... privacy. Name of Committee: National Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Advisory Council. Date...