Search

Thomas Holcroft's Deaf and Dumb (1801), an adaptation of J. N. Bouilly's L'Abbé de L'Épée (1799), is a foundational story for deaf justice that models educational access as a route to self-determination for deaf people. Based on the real story of the Comte de Solar, Bouilly's play, and its many translations, recounts the story of an abandoned deaf child who is rescued by the Abbé, taught sign language and restored to his family. This article follows the progress of the tale as it is reworked by deaf and hearing writers, circulating extensively in many genres on both sides of the Atlantic over the next two hundred years. Holcroft's version is closely tied to fundraising for deaf schools, and is an important example of transatlantic exchange between deaf Anglophone and Francophone worlds. Although Holcroft's play was embraced by pioneer deaf educators, such as Laurent Clerc, its sentimentality has proved to be problematic, as this article will also explore. The Solar story is, nevertheless, significant for the attention it pays to a number of deaf justice issues: the rights to family life and name; property ownership and inheritance; education and literacy; access to communication and community; and legal protections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the educational experiences of deaf children in Mexico. Schools for the deaf exist, but no research has examined instructional practices for children in these contexts. In this study, we adopt a sociocultural framework for language acquisition to document and understand how teachers at a bilingual (Mexican Sign Language and Spanish) school for the deaf in central Mexico support the learning of their students. Our findings indicate that teachers at this school prioritized deafness and how to leverage the visual modality to support student growth. They used a number of instructional practices familiar to English-speaking audiences, such as scaffolding, explicit instruction, and individualization, perhaps as a result of the close ties between the school and US-based collaborators. Finally, both teachers and students felt that collaboration, between the administration and teachers, among teachers, and among students, was essential. Findings indicate a need to explore these complex issues and expand burgeoning collaborations between bilingual and deaf education researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evaluation of sign language proficiency needs to be based on measures with well-established psychometric proprieties. To date, no valid and reliable test is available to assess Polish Sign Language (Polski Język Migowy, PJM) skills in deaf children. Hence, our aim with this study was to adapt the British Sign Language Receptive Skills Test (the first standardized test to determine sign language proficiency in children) into PJM, a less researched sign language. In this paper, we present the first steps in the adaptation process and highlight linguistic and cultural similarities and differences between the British Sign Language Receptive Skills Test and the PJM adaptation. We collected data from 20 deaf children who were native signers (age range: 6 to 12) and 30 deaf children who were late learners of PJM (age range: 6 to 13). Preliminary analyses showed that the PJM Receptive Skills Test has acceptable psychometric characteristics (item analysis, validity, reliability, and sensitivity to age). Our long-term goal with this work was to include younger children (age range: 3 to 6) and to standardize the PJM Receptive Skills Tests, so that it can be used in educational settings and in scientific research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the author talks about the egotistical indulgences in the pleasures of competition to create the gaming environments and obstacles. Topics discussed include live-action role-playing game about inventing language; the government brought together deaf children from across the country to form an experimental school with the goal of teaching children to lip read; and absorb themselves in the practical details of communicating inside the severe restrictions of the game.

In this paper, the School for Deaf Children that was opened under the rule of the British Administration in Cyprus is examined. The school was opened in the 1953-1954 academic year and became the second private education institution on the island. Additionally, it was a mixed school that served both the Greek and Turkish communities. Although the school was initially opened with contributions from the Rotary Club, it continued to provide educational services with funds from the British Administration, students' parents and voluntary contributions. During the period of mixed education, the school could not adopt a fully settled structure in terms of the building in which it was locate and was moved to different areas during that period. In the period when the British government transferred responsibility for the education on the island to the Greek and Turkish communities, the school continued to provide services on a mixed basis. However, after the events of 1963, the Turkish teachers and students began to leave the school. Today, it continues its activities in southern Nicosia, whereas in the northern part of the island, the Lapta School for People with Hearing and Speaking Disabilities was opened in 1975 in order for Turkish students to continue their education. The present study is supported with information obtained from Education reports and Cyprus Gazette resources as well as national and international works and verbal resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses issues of language revitalization and linguistic prescriptivism related to the teaching of American Sign Language (ASL) in Canada. I describe the current and historical context for ASL teaching, including the increase in ASL course offerings at some postsecondary institutions, and discuss findings related to challenges in curriculum development and issues of prescriptivism as they recur in my study of developing an ASL curriculum for parents of deaf children that is aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although reading outcomes for children with hearing loss are improving, too many of these children continue to display persistent reading difficulties. Because of these difficulties, there is an ongoing need to understand the nature of the relationships among decoding abilities, language skills, and reading achievement in this population more fully. Coincidentally, there has also been an emerging literature on the subjective fatigue in children with hearing loss, which could be directly or indirectly linked to reading ability. The purpose of this study was to examine associations among language abilities, reading skills, and subjective fatigue in 56 children with mild to moderate hearing loss (CMMHL). The results indicated that both phonological awareness and receptive language ability predicted reading achievement in CMMHL, which replicates findings for children without hearing loss. The results also indicated that CMMHL who had poor reading skills reported significantly higher levels of subjective fatigue relative to the other children with mild to moderate hearing loss in the sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers the author's insights on the Broadway Books First Class, a classroom-based reading program which is designed to promote theater arts and children's literature for deaf and children in New York City. She mentions significant of arts participation on the development of social skills and emotion regulation among children, the importance of the use of high-quality children's literature, and the incorporation of the inclusion of the program on literacy instruction.

The history of deaf education has focused heavily on one major issue: the role of sign language and the rise of oralism as a means of suppressing the use of signs. This was a crucial debate which affected the lives of deaf children, informed social and cultural attitudes towards deafness and in many cases spurred resistance from deaf communities. However, other aspects of daily school life and the curriculum of Victorian and Edwardian deaf schools have rarely been commented upon. Focusing on the Cambrian Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, Wales' first deaf institution, this article will examine the teaching of writing and moral, religious and industrial education, all of which constructed an image of the intellectual and moral capabilities of the deaf child. The article will argue that deaf children were prescribed a moral and religious identity, and played an active role in wider Victorian and Edwardian discourses of education and childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The view of sign languages as bounded systems is often important for deaf community empowerment and for pedagogical practice in terms of supporting deaf children’s language acquisition and second language learners’ communicative competence. Conversely, the notion of translanguaging in the American Sign Language (ASL) community highlights a number of recurring tensions related to standard language ideology and English-based sign systems in deaf education; these tensions can work to obscure the polyglot nature of ASL itself. This paper reports how translingual practices were embedded in an ethnographic action research study of developing and field-testing an ASL curriculum for parents of young deaf children that is aligned with theCommon European Framework of Reference for Languages(CEFR). In this study of teaching parents classical ASL varieties, translingual practices were highlighted where ASL and the visual code of English are regularly in contact with and influence each other in signers’ multimodal repertoires. This data illustrate the history of translanguaging in ASL communities and points to the importance of preserving historic deaf community language practices. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Recent years have seen a significant interest in Theory of Mind (ToM), the specific groups in which it may be restricted and the opportunities which might enhance or suppress development. Previous studies have identified gaps in the literature concerning ideas for intervention and strategies which may augment the development of ToM skills. Published work suggests the use of children’s fiction to support understanding of ToM for young children. However, the current body of evidence does not critically appraise the value of picture books in developing the ToM of deaf children or provide analysis of the elements of ToM they may contain. This paper considers the opportunities held in children’s fiction and details analysis based on a developmental perspective of ToM (Westby, C. and Robinson, L., 2014. A developmental perspective for promoting theory of mind.Topics in language disorders, 34 (4), 362–382). The books analysed were chosen by educators of deaf children and researchers in the field. The opportunity for practitioners and parents to see aspects of ToM in readily accessible fiction is considered with a view to exploiting booksharing for ToM discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Early intervention is widely recommended for children at risk of difficulties with speech, language and communication. Evidence for effective practice remains limited due in part to inherent difficulties in defining complex interventions and measuring change. The innovative Language Environment Analysis (LENA) system has exciting potential for early intervention and for evaluating outcomes. LENA is used widely in the USA; however, there is little to guide the introduction of this new technology in the UK. Successful implementation of new technology is predicted by its perceived acceptability and usefulness. This qualitative pilot study aimed to explore the acceptability of LENA for UK families with a young deaf child. Four families used LENA to record for one day. They received and discussed LENA feedback reports with a specialist speech and language therapist. Using qualitative methodology with a pragmatic epistemology, semi-structured interviews were conducted and the data explored using thematic analysis. Three families were positive about using LENA; they identified benefits of the feedback, suggested important factors for future use and would recommend it to other families. One family chose not to complete the recording. Key to acceptability is parental understanding of LENA’s purpose and the need for a trusted professional to facilitate interpretation and change. LENA is acceptable for some UK families with a young deaf child suggesting there is potential for successful implementation. Further study to explore LENA’s usefulness is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glass Vision 3D was a grant-funded project focused on developing and researching a Google Glass app that would allowed young Deaf children to look at the QR code of an object in the classroom and see an augmented reality projection that displays an American Sign Language (ASL) related video. Twenty five objects and videos were prepared and tested by a focus group. Their suggestions were incorporated into a pilot test at a residential school for the Deaf. Four fifth grade students participated in a usability study. Results were mixed with researchers observing successful use of Google Glass by all participants along with enthusiastic engagement, but also recording a lengthy learning curve and hardware issues that distracted from the learning process. Wearable augmented reality is still in its infancy, but potential was demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A feasibility study was conducted to test a storybook intervention to increase early reading skills of 25 young signing deaf children of ages 4-9 in grades K through third grade. The children had wide ranges of hearing losses, non-verbal IQs, and signing skills. All were at risk for developing early reading skills, reading below the first grade level. Using a pre-experimental pre/post test design, standardized tests and early reading tasks, the children changes in letter, word and story knowledge were documented over a full school year. The intervention included 20 weekly story reading sessions with children receive modelling by Deaf story signers, with children using their signing and fingerspelling to practice storybook reading, story reciting, vocabulary learning, fingerspelling and writing skills with easy-to-read picture word/phrase storybooks after modelling from Deaf caregivers and teachers. Future research directions for intervention studies were outlined based on outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Failing to acquire language in early childhood because of language deprivation is a rare and exceptional event, except in one population. Deaf children who grow up without access to indirect language through listening, speech-reading, or sign language experience language deprivation. Studies of Deaf adults have revealed that late acquisition of sign language is associated with lasting deficits. However, much remains unknown about language deprivation in Deaf children, allowing myths and misunderstandings regarding sign language to flourish. To fill this gap, we examined signing ability in a large naturalistic sample of Deaf children attending schools for the Deaf where American Sign Language (ASL) is used by peers and teachers. Ability in ASL was measured using a syntactic judgment test and language-based analogical reasoning test, which are two sub-tests of the ASL Assessment Inventory. The influence of two age-related variables were examined: whether or not ASL was acquired from birth in the home from one or more Deaf parents, and the age of entry to the school for the Deaf. Note that for non-native signers, this latter variable is often the age of first systematic exposure to ASL. Both of these types of age-dependent language experiences influenced subsequent signing ability. Scores on the two tasks declined with increasing age of school entry. The influence of age of starting school was not linear. Test scores were generally lower for Deaf children who entered the school of assessment after the age of 12. The positive influence of signing from birth was found for students at all ages tested (7;6-18;5 years old) and for children of all age-of-entry groupings. Our results reflect a continuum of outcomes which show that experience with language is a continuous variable that is sensitive to maturational age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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?’) in order to produce their final draft. Results show that there were no significant differences in the revision process and actions of deaf students compared to hearing students. However, the deaf writers made more changes to their texts than their hearing counterparts. Furthermore, that bilinguism does not appear to interfere with the development of narrative writing skills and revision strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study investigates what competencies are needed by teachers of children who are deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH), in the changing circumstances of their profession in Jordan. One hundred and five teachers of children who are DHH from kindergarten up to primary grade took part in this study. A scale was developed in order to achieve the goals of the study. The results revealed that the teachers’ competencies on the development of Instructional Planning Strategies subscale ranked first as the most important teaching competency that teachers need to develop. Competencies in definitions and communication skills, assessment, managing the classroom environment, and team working ranked lower, with developing positive attitude ranked the last. Moreover, the results showed that there were significant differences at (α = 0.05) according to school type in favour of private schools, according to educational settings in favour of local public schools (inclusion settings), and according to teachers’ background in favour of ordinary teachers with general teaching qualifications. Based on the findings, appropriate recommendations for the educational system of the DHH in Jordan were outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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 of practice is based on a study of literacy practices in preschools with deaf and hearing children. The findings revealed that deaf children did not have adequate access to significant literacy events during preschool activities. We will argue that with regard to developing literacy, more attention should be given to the importance of participation, interaction and regularity for deaf children in these communities of practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the contributions of the Dominican Sisters and Sisters of Mercy in running schools for female deaf children in Ireland during the period 1846 to 1946. The schools were established as part of an attempt to educate Catholics in the Catholic faith and provide literacy to female deaf children. In assuming the challenge of educating deaf girls, the sisters adopted a method of teaching and learning through signed language of which they had little prior knowledge. While the history of the schools is contextualised as a central narrative of this paper, the religious orders’ attempt to educate deaf children effectively is examined in the context of teacher role models and sign language pedagogy. This paper argues that the work of the Mercy and Dominican sisters should be recognised for its contribution to the education of female deaf children, whose needs would otherwise have been neglected. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective: There are very few measures of language development in spoken Greek that can be used with young deaf children. This study investigated the use of Cyprus Lexical List (CYLEX), a receptive and expressive vocabulary assessment based on parent report that has recently been adapted to Standard Greek, to measure the vocabulary development of deaf Greek-speaking children with cochlear implants. Design: A Standard Greek version of CYLEX was used to collect data on receptive and expressive vocabulary development from parents of thirteen deaf children with cochlear implants aged between 21 and 71 months. These data were compared with data collected previously from typically developing hearing Greek-speaking children. Results: Use of the test by parents of deaf children was found to be reliable. No correlation was found between children's vocabulary scores and chronological age. A positive correlation was however found between children's post-implant age and expressive vocabulary. The vocabulary skills of implanted children with a mean post-implant age of 20 months were not significantly different from those of typically developing hearing children of similar chronological age. Conclusion: CYLEX is a reliable and useful tool for exploring vocabulary development with this clinical group. Findings confirm the results of other studies in indicating that the vocabulary size of implanted pre-school-aged deaf children is related to the amount of time that children have used their implant, rather than chronological age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 the field to narrow the achievement gap further. The results further suggest that differing methods in two contrasting educational contexts can lead to some similar results and point to the need for different support to children with hearing loss and language disadvantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an overview of the research into deaf children’s bilingualism and bilingual education through a synthesis of studies published over the last 15 years. This review brings together the linguistic and pedagogical work on bimodal bilingualism to inform educational practice. The first section of the review provides a synthesis of the research, addressing linguistic, cognitive and social aspects of bimodal bilingualism. This is followed by a focus on bimodal bilingual language experience and use in different learning contexts. These first two sections provide the context for the main focus of the review: education and learning. The third section reports on links made between bimodal bilingualism and learning with regard to deaf children’s literacy development. The fourth section examines further research into bimodal bilingual pedagogies. The final section considers the theoretical and practical implications of the field to date in developing a contemporary model of bimodal bilingual education for deaf children. It also charts future research priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Modern Language Review is the property of University of Toronto Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Studies to determine the intelligence level of children with special needs are performed by Guidance and Research Centers, university research centers, schools, and the relevant clinics of hospitals for a variety of reasons. International occupational organizations describe that gaining an understanding of the intelligence characteristics of hearing-impaired children in different cultures and societies is of critical importance to ensure that specialists and researchers performing intelligence tests can interpret their results correctly. Based on this consideration, the purpose of this study was to demonstrate the intelligence characteristics of hearing-impaired children through comparisons with children with typical development. In addition, I investigated the relationship of the intelligence quotient (IQ) score with basic demographic, educational, and audiological variables, and evaluated whether IQ scores differed according to these variables. The sample of the study consisted of 329 hearing-impaired children in different educational settings within the Eskişehir province. According to the results of the one sample t-test performed within the frame of the study's main purpose, the total IQ scores of the hearing-impaired children, as determined by the WISC-R performance sub-tests, were higher than the scores of the standardization sample of Turkey. Pearson correlation analysis indicated that the WISC-R performance sub-tests had a moderate correlation with one another, and a high correlation with IQ scores. Among the different demographic variables, the educational level of both the father and mother had a significant effect on total IQ scores, although the fathers' level of education showed a higher correlation with total IQ than the mothers'. In regards to the audiological variables, the degree of hearing loss did not have a significant correlation with total IQ. Based on the ANCOVA, in which the fathers' level of education as covariate, it was determined that with respect to the gender, male children had higher total IQ scores than female children; and that, with respect to the educational setting variable, children receiving education at the Education and Research Center for Hearing Impaired Children (İÇEM) and in inclusive settings had higher total IQ scores than children receiving education at the Ministry of National Education's (MoNE) Elementary Schools for the Hearing Impaired. No significant difference was identified in terms of IQ scores between children using hearing aids and children using cochlear implants. Higher IQ scores were observed for the standardization group during the comparison of Turkey's standardization sample with the hearing-impaired children sample. We believe that this may have been due to the fact that the test's standardization data were somewhat not actual. The study findings indicate that individuals performing intelligence assessments on hearing-impaired children should take into account the socio-economic level of these children's families, as well as the educational setting. Possible recommendations we can make to other researchers include determining the psychometric characteristics of the new version of this test and other non-verbal intelligence tests; conducting norm studies; testing the psychometric characteristics of intelligence tests with groups that have different special needs; and developing tests suitable for the Turkish culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This survey study explored teacher perceptions regarding services for children who are deaf or hard of hearing in southern regions of Vietnam, including educational successes and challenges, the availability and use of hearing technology, and teacher recommendations for improving child outcomes. Method Using a cross-sectional survey design, hard-copy surveys were sent to professionals who provided services to children with hearing loss ages 3–9. Ninety-eight surveys were distributed and seventy seven surveys were returned, resulting in a return rate of 79 per cent. Simple statistics were used to describe the quantitative survey results; content analysis was completed on open-ended survey comments. Results Access to hearing aids and hearing aid repairs are substantial barriers for many families. Survey respondents expressed desire for more training in hearing technology and effective teaching strategies. Twenty-six per cent of children in preschool and kindergarten used listening and spoken language as their primary mode of communication compared with 7 per cent of children in first to fourth grade who used listening and spoken language. Conclusions Expansion of early identification programmes beyond high-risk cases, with increased access to hearing technology and early intervention services from highly trained professionals were recommended to optimize listening and spoken language outcomes of children who are deaf or hard of hearing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated whether core vocabulary intervention (CVT) improved single word speech accuracy, consistency and intelligibility in four 9-11-year-old children with profound sensori-neural deafness fitted with cochlear implants and/or digital hearing aids. Their speech was characterized by inconsistent production of different error forms for the same lexical item. The children received twice weekly therapy sessions for eight weeks. Fifty target words were drilled and changes in production assessed for accuracy and consistency. Generalization of consistency and accuracy was assessed on non-targeted words. There were four assessment points: six weeks pre-therapy; immediately before therapy; immediately following therapy and six weeks post-therapy. In addition, 10 unfamiliar listeners judged the intelligibility of audio recordings of the children's speech before and after therapy. The children's consistency and accuracy of single word production improved following CVT. Consistency generalized to untreated words. Sentence intelligibility ratings improved and more target words were identified after therapy. These case studies suggest that C V T merits further investigation as an effective intervention approach for deaf children, enhancing consistency, accuracy and intelligibility of speech. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to investigate the potential role of parent involvement and parent expectation in postschool outcomes for individuals who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing (DHH). Students who are DHH have lower retention and employment rates than their peers. Recognizing the importance of family in developmental outcomes for all individuals, this article focuses specifically on the role of parents in facilitating postsecondary outcomes. In an effort to address gaps in the literature in this area, this study utilizes the National Longitudinal Transition Survey 2 (NLTS-2) dataset to measure the effect of parental involvement and expectations as individuals who are DHH transition from secondary grades into a variety of postschool settings. Overall, none of the parental involvement variables were statistically significant when controlling for student and parent demographics. The parental expectation variables that had a statistically significant impact on outcomes included expectations to live independently, to be employed, and to pursue postsecondary education. This article discusses findings in the context of operationalization of study constructs in the NLTS-2 and literature related to transition and parental involvement for students who are DHH. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of European Early Childhood Education Research Journal is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Education & Science / Egitim ve Bilim is the property of Turkish Education Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Historically, the valuing of deaf children's voices on their own schooling has been underrepresented in educational policies, curriculum frameworks and discursive practices and, in particular, in the debates and controversies surrounding oralism and Irish Sign Language in deaf education in Ireland. This article discusses children's everyday lived experiences of oralism and Irish Sign Language using ethnographic interviews and observational methods. The data yielded narrative understandings of how deaf children's schooling experiences served as a cauldron for the development of time, space and relational domains for individual and collective self-expression, cultural production and reproduction of the secret lore and understandings of Irish Sign Language and development of a hidden curriculum of sign language in a policy and practice context dominated by oralism. This paper concludes with recommendations for the development of a sign bilingual curriculum across the full scope and sequence of schooling in Ireland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study assessed Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities in a group of oral deaf children and in their hearing mothers using a battery of ToM tasks. It also investigated the connection between mother and child in ToM performance. Participants were: 17 oral deaf children (aged 5 to 14 years) were paired by gender, age, and mental age with 17 hearing children; 17 hearing mothers of deaf children and 17 hearing mothers of hearing children. Compared to the hearing children, the deaf children faced difficulties in all ToM tests, and the hearing mothers of the deaf children were less capable than the mothers of the hearing children in all the ToM tests. Further, a specific ToM interaction model was found between the hearing mothers and the deaf children. The results confirmed ToM poor performance faced by the oral deaf children, showed the ToM level of hearing mothers of deaf children, and the ToM style of hearing mothers-deaf children dyads. Also, findings underline some educational implications related to the socio-relational origin of the ToM deficit in oral deaf children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Comportamentalia is the property of Instituto de Psicologia y Educacion de la Universidad Veracruzana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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 Nicaragua and Thailand. The argument is advanced that these practices constituted a child-led oppositional pedagogy. A connection is drawn to Freire's () theory of critical pedagogy. Deaf children's actions as peer educators are framed as an act of resistance towards the oppression of their language and culture. A contrast is drawn between oralist pedagogy that is historically associated with punitive practices and didactic methods and the experiential and dialogic interaction that characterised peer learning of sign languages. The argument is made that the peer teaching and learning processes enabled the self-actualisation of the Deaf children whereas the oralist methods were based on a deficit model that focused on modifying deaf children according to the norms of hearing society. The implications of this for current policy and practice are inferred to be about access to sign languages and the importance of Deaf communities in deaf children's education. The argument is made that space needs to be created for deaf children to engage in peer learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For all families with deaf children, choosing communication methods is a complex and evolving business. This process is particularly complex for migrant background families, who must not only negotiate the role that speaking or signing will play in their communication practices, but also which spoken language(s) will be used – that of the host society or the heritage language? For many years, it was believed that oral language maintenance was an impossible goal for deaf children. However, recent advances in cochlear implant and hearing aid technology may make language maintenance a more achievable goal. This article reviews the literature and results from a case study of seven migrant background families with deaf children to shed light on the language practices evolving in migrant families with deaf children and the benefits and difficulties inherent in language maintenance with this population. It shows that a number of factors affect the degree to which deaf children are able to develop fluency in the heritage language, such as type of hearing loss and age at cochlear implantation. Regardless of the level of proficiency dveloped, it shows that attempting language maintenance has a positive effect on family relationships, communication and participation in the ethnic community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of the debates in late nineteenth-century Britain regarding the education of deaf children revolved around communication. For many Victorians, sign language was unacceptable; many proponents of oralism attempted to ‘normalise’ the hearing impaired by replacing deaf methods of communication with spoken language and lipreading. While debates on language were raging in late nineteenth-century England, another facet of normalisation, that of occupational training, was being developed at St John’s Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, the only Catholic deaf school in England. This school not only functioned to develop the Catholic faith of the deaf, but also expected to improve the social and economic status of deaf Catholics. Elementary education, and particularly occupational training, was meant to transform the deaf child into a faith-filled, respectable, working-class citizen. This essay aims at moving the normalisation debates away from language skills and towards this alternative mode of integration. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In May 2011 National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS) investigations revealed that almost one in five English local authorities were cutting vital specialist education services for vulnerable deaf children, despite the education budget being protected by the Government. This article looks in detail at why specialist education support for deaf children is so important, at the cuts that have been made and the impact they are having on deaf children and their teachers across the country [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The qualitative study described in this article examines the knowledge of basic concepts demonstrated by six young deaf children* with high/low levels of mathematical ability as measured by performance on a formal (i.e. Bracken Basic Concept Scale) and informal (i.e. classification/sorting task) assessment. Findings indicate that children with lower mathematics ability, as measured by the Test of Early Mathematics Ability (TEMA-3), also demonstrated limited understanding of basic concepts and weaker thinking skills as evidenced by a lack of ability to categorise or classify at a level comparable to their more mathematically able peers. Such performance suggests that a foundation in basic concept knowledge and thinking skills may be critical to the development of early numeracy skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hearing-impaired children need extra help when learning new words and concepts. Because they cannot truly understand and perceive all the information they hear or read, a very effective method is to use images and sign language during the learning process. aSIGNment helps in pro- viding an education for hearing-impaired children, starting from preschool, by using technology to bring a new way in meeting their needs during the learning process and in obtaining the supervision of a qualifed educator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes a development work whose focus was examining whether designing a game as an educational technology based on interdisciplinary dialogue between design and education can contribute to education of deaf children in learning a language. Through methods and techniques of design it was sought to identify how this area of knowledge can be part of the processes of teaching and learning in terms of developing learning materials to enhance the strategies of acquiring knowledge. The work was guided by the Multi-Tracks, which is a game to help the acquisition of a second language by deaf children. This game was developed in light of methods and techniques of design, under the Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Design/Education - LIDE, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in partnership with the National Institute of Education for the Deaf in Rio de Janeiro-INES/RJ. The development work was particularly interested in designing learning materials for deaf children by considering their special traits and dialogue with the surrounding reality. Considering that educational technology research in special education is rather weak, it was thought that this work may contribute to this interdisciplinary area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achievement in mathematics is an issue of great concern not only to students and parents but also to employers and researchers in Kenya. This is because the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) has continuously reported dismal results in this area, and especially in geometry. Also, KNEC indicates that it presents difficulties to both the teachers and learners during instructional sessions. In an extension of research demonstrating causal effects of electronic learning environments on special education learners' achievement and perceptions of mathematics instruction, the present study experimentally examined the effectiveness of a special electronic learning program (SELP) to improve hearing-impaired learners' achievement of basic geometry and their perception of the Geometry learning environment. Sixty-six hearing-impaired learners from four special education schools situated in Rift Valley province were sampled purposively on the basis of the school's accessibility to participate in the study. The study employed the Solomon-Four Group Design research method. The specific dependent measures were the learners' achievement in geometry and their perception of the classroom learning environment. Measurement of achievement and perception were conducted using two instruments: (i) the Geometry Achievement Test (GAT), and (ii) the Special Learners Classroom Environment Questionnaire (SLCEQ). GAT's reliability was computed using K-R20 formula yielding a reliability of 0.78. On the other hand, SLCEQ reliability was determined using Cronbach alpha yielding a reliability coefficient of 0.82. The study established that SELP was modestly effective in improving the achievement of hearing-impaired learners on geometry and their perception of the classroom environment. The study concludes that teachers can arrest the special learners' problem of poor performance in geometry through the use of electronic learning programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bushenyi District Education Department in Uganda, east Africa, is supporting 123 deaf children registered in 14 units attached to primary schools—eight per cent of deaf children in Bushenyi. Yet fewer than two per cent of deaf children attend school in Uganda as a whole. The history of this ground-breaking, parent-led, yet government-funded, community-based initiative is explored in the light of global efforts to promote Education for All. It is argued that government commitment to teacher education, parent involvement and Sign Language development has led to more positive attitudes towards deaf children and their right to attend school in their communities. Furthermore, community involvement is essential in achieving quality education for all for deaf and disabled children, and attempts to implement Northern policies and practices on inclusive education are likely to fail. The imaginative use of community-based human resources can lead to more genuine forms of educational inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article seeks to emphasize the importance of Romanian Sign Language research for the improvement of the communication between the Deaf and the hearing in general and for the education of deaf children and training of interpreters in particular. The article also briefly presents the work we have undertaken in this respect, pointing out several theoretical aspects related to the morphology of Romanian Sign Language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deaf children in the United States who are fluent in American Sign Language and proficient in written English are bilingual, but often those skills must be taught directly in the school setting. This paper explores the development and initial field testing of a system designed to connect technology with tangible books to create interactive stories that model both languages. Interviews with teachers and observations of the students were analyzed. Results indicate that the prototype is feasible to use in classrooms for the Deaf and that it is engaging to the children. Additional research is recommended to test for the effect on literacy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four-year-old Olivia, who is deaf and has used a cochlear implant for 3 years, and her mother, Laura, enjoy looking at storybooks together at home. During storybook reading, Laura notices that Olivia tries to imitate some words that she reads to her yet does not seem to understand many words or story events. Laura is unsure whether to stop the storybook interaction and encourage Olivia’s attempts at word imitation and directly teach her the new vocabulary or continue reading the story for pleasure. Olivia’s preschool teacher, Ms. Lynn, also notices that Olivia displays a keen interest in storybook reading but is not able to answer or ask simple questions about the story. What can Laura and Ms. Lynn do collaboratively to support Olivia’s emerging language and literacy skills to better prepare Olivia for her upcoming transition into kindergarten? [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We report an analysis of lexical noun phrases (NPs) in narrative and expository texts written by Dutch deaf individuals from a bimodal bilingual perspective. Texts written by Dutch deaf children and adults who are either proficient in Sign Language of the Netherlands (SLN) or low-proficient in SLN were compared on structures that either overlap in Dutch and SLN (presence of overt subject and object NPs, NP modifiers, and NP-internal agreement), or are absent in SLN (articles). We found that deaf participants experienced significant difficulty with lexical NPs. Further, deaf proficiently signing children (but not adults) more often omitted obligate articles than deaf low-proficiently signing children. Deaf proficiently signing children and adults did not differ from low-proficiently signing children and adults, however, in the use of NP modifiers, NP-agreement errors and omissions of obligatory NPs. We conclude that proficiency in sign language seems to affect particularly those aspects that differ substantially across sign language and oral language, in this case, articles. We argue that adopting a bimodal bilingual approach is important to understand the writing of deaf children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Language, Interaction & Acquisition / Langage, Interaction et Acquisition is the property of John Benjamins Publishing Co. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)