DESAIN APLIKASI MOBILE PANDUAN SHOLAT DAN DOA UNTUK ANAK GANGGUAN PENDENGARAN

Children with hearing loss are children who have difficulty learning because they have limited language and communication. This limitation hinders them when they study. They need special methods, special media, and special teachers in learning. SLB B karnnamanohara students have difficulty in learning Muslim prayers (sholat and daily prayers). Almost all grade 2 elementary students cannot pronounce Muslim prayers. They need learning resources that are interesting and according to their needs. Muslim prayer guide mobile application that matches the characteristics of children with special needs. The aim of this study wasto build a multimedia mobile application for Muslim prayer guides for children with hearing loss. This application is called M- Shollu.. The method in this study consists of eight stages: data collection, data analysis, create storyboard, prototype design, prototype evaluation, create multimedia, multimedia evaluation, and user experience evaluation. This research has succeeded in designing and developing a multimedia mobile application for Muslim prayer guides for children with hearing loss (M-Sholuu). The evaluation was carried out by multimedia experts and SLB teachers from Carnamanara. The results of M-Sholuu's evaluation were 4.42, out of 5. The multimedia evaluation results carried out by multimedia experts were 4.17 on a scale of 5. The results of multimedia evaluations by Karnnamanohara SLBB teachers were 4.25 on a scale of 5. The user experience evaluation results were 4 , 52 on a scale of 5.

Background. The only way to prevent the negative outcomes of hearing loss in children (speech, mental, learning, socialization disorders) is early diagnosis of the pathology and rehabilitation onset. It can be provided by hearing screening programs for children of different ages, including school-age children. Hearing screening is not performed among school-age children in Russian Federation. Objective. The aim is to study the prevalence and structure of hearing disorders in students in mainstream and special (for children with visual impairments) schools to determine the strategy for implementing hearing screening of school-age children in Russian Federation. Methods. The study included children of two groups who had not previously been diagnosed with hearing disorders: group 1 — students of 1–4 grades of mainstream school, group 2 — students of 1–4 grades of special school (children with visual impairments) (St. Petersburg). The screening stage included otoscopy, tympanometry, otoacoustic emissions, pure tone audiometry. Children with any problems later underwent a complex hearing examination at Center of Pediatric Audiology (St Petersburg) to confirm the presence of hearing disorder and for disease differential diagnosis. The major indicator in this study is the percent (%) of children with confirmed hearing disorder in each group. The additional indicator is the proportion of various pathological conditions in hearing disorders’ structure (persistent disorders and hearing loss degree included). Study methods: otoscopy, tympanometry, pure tone audiometry, speech audiometry, otoacoustic emissions and auditory brainstem responses. Results. We have revealed abnormalities in 23% of 183 children from mainstream school. Hearing disorders were confirmed in 19.7% of children. Most children were diagnosed with temporary mild and moderate conductive hearing loss, whereas 3.9% were diagnosed with permanent (sensorineural) hearing loss. The total percent of children with confirmed hearing disorder was not significantly different in 148 children from special school. Therefore, they have 2.5 times more cases of permanent hearing loss and children with more severe hearing disorder. Conclusion. The obtained data confirm the hearing screening relevance in school-age children. Further studies are required to develop hearing screening protocol for school-age children considering the features of audiologic service and educational system in Russian Federation.

The major preoccupation regarding the actual research is to visualize a theoretical model of the natural forces interaction between a multimedia mobile application deployed upon an educational activity over a group of students and an automatic process of evaluation regarding the final academic results. We implemented a new metric indicator, named here with effectiveness of a multimedia mobile application, correlated with the educational resultant force emerged from a mobile environment learning experiment. The variables involved in our model are connected to the cross-disciplinary curricula, the educational time coverage disclosed by a multimedia mobile application, the multimedia concentration, and the academic performance measured just in time at the interface between formal and informal evaluation. We are proposing another educational force couple, a resultant force, which is represented by the quality attributes allocated to the mobile devices and, furthermore, to the multimedia mobile applications. We are using the assumption that a multimedia mobile application generates an educational field in front of a learner taking into consideration not only the easiness of the process by which the learner’s attention is retaining toward a mobile device. The fact that between a mobile user and a multimedia mobile application could be established a quantitative relation of physical attraction or rejection, disclosed by surveys and questionnaires including qualities attributes, was an argument for our hypothesis that educational forces encountered could be explained by a cloaking educational field where a touch screen electric impulse is only the beginning of the educational magnetism encountered at the learners.KeywordsMobile applicationsMobile learningAndroidImpact on academic performance

The Challenges of Teaching Sign Language to Pupils With Hearing Impairment in Special Education Primary School, Ibom Layout, Calabar

This research aims to prove the differences in psychological well-being (PWB) between students with disabilities in special and inclusive schools. This research is using the quantitative comparative method. The subjects are 69 students with disabilities from special schools and inclusive schools in Surabaya. This study focuses on students with disabilities such as deafness, hearing loss, physical disabilities, and other types of disabilities. The PWB level of each student is measured using Ryff’s multidimensional scales. The Mann-Whitney U analysis finds if the PWB level of students with disabilities in inclusive schools is higher than in special schools. The score of each dimension shows that purpose in life is the dimension with the highest average score in inclusive schools. Meanwhile, personal growth is the dimension with the highest average score in special schools. However, autonomy is the dimension with the lowest average score both in special schools and inclusive schools.

1. Jordan K. Yoeli, MD*,† 2. Daniel Nicklas, MD*,† 1. *Children’s Hospital Colorado, Aurora, CO 2. †University of Colorado, Aurora, CO Screening for congenital and acquired deafness and hearing loss (HL) represents a significant responsibility for clinicians in all newborn units and medical homes. Approximately 1 to 3 infants of 1,000 born in a well infant nursery setting and 2 to 4 of 100 born in a NICU have significant bilateral HL. Outcomes in various developmental domains depend on the early recognition and subsequent intervention for HL. Developmental delay is present in 30% to 40% of children with HL; the goal of hearing screening (HS) and prompt intervention is to optimize a child’s language acquisition, cognitive development, literacy, social-emotional maturity and academic success. This article reviews the most up-to-date standards and practices to aid medical providers in the early detection and intervention for pediatric HL. In the United States, universal screening begins in the neonatal period. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Joint Commission on Infant Hearing (JCIH), all infants should be screened for congenital HL before 1 month of age. Most infants are screened in nursery or NICU settings, except for those born outside of a medical facility. For the latter population or for infants with no documented HS, screening should be completed by the medical home before 1 month of age. In a well nursery setting, most HSs are performed by otoacoustic emission (OAE) testing. During an OAE screen, a sensitive microphone in the ear canal records the cochlear responses (“acoustic emissions”) to acoustic stimuli, thereby testing the peripheral auditory system from the outer/middle ear (conduction zones) to the cochlear outer hair cells (sensory organ). A “pass” indicates that hearing is functional to the level of …

Reading storybooks with children, often referred to as early storybook reading (ESR), is considered among the most important activities parents can undertake to strengthen their children’s language and literacy development. The evidence in favour of ESR for supporting language development with toddlers, preschool, and primary school children is well documented. Given the positive improvements that have been reported from ESR with preschool and primary school children, further examination is warranted to investigate whether these benefits can be observed with even younger children as well as children who are at risk of language and social communication difficulties, such as babies with a hearing loss (HL). The research presented in this thesis examined the effectiveness of ESR with babies with and without a HL using a range of methodologies over four phases. Consistent with previous research with older children, it was hypothesised that ESR would be effective with babies with and without a HL for strengthening spoken language and social communication skills. In Phase 1, the home reading practices and values regarding ESR of parents with normal hearing (NH) babies and young children was examined using a questionnaire. Families (n = 113) from both a less advantaged socioeconomic area and more advantaged socioeconomic area participated. Analysis of the results revealed that parents appeared to value ESR and engaged in regular storybook reading with their children. Differences between the less advantaged area and more advantaged area were observed for frequency of ESR. Parents from both areas also indicated difficulties with selecting age appropriate books for babies and young children and creating a reading environment that promoted early language and social communication learning. The information from Phase 1 was used to develop an ESR intervention that was provided in the second phase of this thesis. In Phase 2, an ESR intervention was delivered to parents with NH babies (3-to 12-months-of-age) to examine the effectiveness of a high and low intensity ESR intervention to support parent-child interactions to strengthen language and social communication development. A pre-test, post-test comparison group design was conducted. The parents were allocated into two intervention conditions: a high intensity intervention group (n = 17) and a low intensity intervention group (n = 15). The findings suggested that ESR was effective for promoting language and broader social communication development for both groups. However, the high intensity group presented with significantly higher language and broader social communication scores with a large effect size immediately following the intervention, and the scores continued to be significantly higher than the low intensity group when the children were tested at 2-years-of-age. Following the findings from Phase 2, the high intensity ESR intervention was then trialled in Phase 3, with parents (n = 4) of babies (aged 9- to 15-months-of-age) with a HL, who are vulnerable to spoken language and social communication difficulties. All of the babies had a permanent HL and used hearing aids or cochlear implants. Using a multiple baseline single case experimental design across behaviours, the effectiveness of the ESR intervention for strengthening parents’ book selection skills, parent-child eye-contact/joint attention, and parent-child turn taking was investigated. Examination of the results revealed that ESR was effective for strengthening parent-child eye-contact/joint attention and parent-child turn taking for all four parent-baby dyads with a large effect size. However, ceiling effects for parents’ book selection skills were observed. The results provided preliminary evidence in favour of the ESR intervention with parents of babies with a HL and highlighted the need for future research to investigate the home reading practices and values regarding ESR of parents with babies and young children with a HL. Further examination of the home reading practices and values regarding ESR of parents with babies and young children with a HL was conducted in Phase 4 using a questionnaire. Following on from Phase 1, the same questionnaire that was provided to parents with NH babies and young children was trialled with parents (n = 12) with babies and young children with a HL (aged from less than 3-months-of-age to 3-yearsof- age). The findings suggested that parents with babies and young children with a HL valued ESR and read with their children frequently. Parents reported limited attendance at libraries and bookstores and demonstrated difficulties with book selection and using a seating position that created opportunities for eye-contact/joint attention and turn taking. Together, the four phases presented in this thesis advance our knowledge of ESR with babies and young children with and without a HL, facilitating a more holistic and comprehensive understanding of ESR. Consistent with our hypothesis, the studies presented in this thesis provide evidence for the effectiveness of ESR for strengthening spoken language and social communication skills for babies with and without a HL. The significance of these findings and clinical relevance is highlighted.

Previous research on e-commerce through multimedia mobile applications primarily focused on the relationships between e-service factors and positive customer behavior. However, these studies did not consider the consumer purchasing decision process sufficiently to develop firms’ strategic priorities in the context of e-commerce services through multimedia mobile applications. To fill this gap, we conducted a choice-based conjoint analysis (CBCA) to identify the preferences for each attribute and the interaction effects between each pair of attributes related to the purchasing decision, and used an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) analysis to calculate the overall priorities for every sub-criterion and partial priorities for each main criterion. The main findings from the integrated CBCA and AHP are that consumers must be able to fulfill their most basic needs through multimedia mobile applications’ e-commerce service, e-commerce service providers using multimedia mobile applications should enhance their existing advantages to complement their shortcomings, and e-commerce service providers besides social commerce operators should change their business structures to adapt to the new e-commerce environment. We also discuss the main contributions and implications to improve e-commerce service satisfaction and strategic decision-making.

Auditory development in children with hearing loss, including the perception of prosody, depends on having adequate input from cochlear implants and/or hearing aids. Lack of adequate auditory stimulation can lead to delayed speech and language development. Nevertheless, prosody perception and production in people with hearing loss have received less attention than other aspects of language. The perception of auditory information conveyed through prosody using variations in the pitch, amplitude, and duration of speech is not usually evaluated clinically. This study (1) compared prosody perception and production abilities in children with hearing loss and children with normal hearing; and (2) investigated the effect of age, hearing level, and musicality on prosody perception. Participants were 16 children with hearing loss and 16 typically developing controls matched for age and gender. Fifteen of the children with hearing loss were tested while using amplification (n = 9 hearing aids, n = 6 cochlear implants). Six receptive subtests of the Profiling Elements of Prosody in Speech-Communication (PEPS-C), the Child Paralanguage subtest of Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy 2 (DANVA 2), and Contour and Interval subtests of the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA) were used. Audio recordings of the children's reading samples were rated using a perceptual prosody rating scale by nine experienced listeners who were blinded to the children's hearing status. Thirty two children, 16 with hearing loss (mean age = 8.71 yr) and 16 age- and gender-matched typically developing children with normal hearing (mean age = 8.87 yr). Assessments were completed in one session lasting 1-2 hours in a quiet room. Test items were presented using a laptop computer through loudspeaker at a comfortable listening level. For children with hearing loss using hearing instruments, all tests were completed with hearing devices set at their everyday listening setting. All PEPS-C subtests and total scores were significantly lower for children with hearing loss compared to controls (p < 0.05). The hearing loss group performed more poorly than the control group in recognizing happy, sad, and fearful emotions in the DANVA 2 subtest. Musicality (composite MBEA scores and musical experience) was significantly correlated with prosody perception scores, but this link was not evident in the regression analyses. Regression modeling showed that age and hearing level (better ear pure-tone average) accounted for 55.4% and 56.7% of the variance in PEPS-C and DANVA 2 total scores, respectively. There was greater variability for the ratings of pitch, pitch variation, and overall impression of prosody in the hearing loss group compared to control group. Prosody perception (PEPS-C and DANVA 2 total scores) and ratings of prosody production were not correlated. Children with hearing loss aged 7-12 yr had significant difficulties in understanding different aspects of prosody and were rated as having more atypical prosody overall than controls. These findings suggest that clinical assessment and speech-language therapy services for children with hearing loss should be expanded to target prosodic difficulties. Future studies should investigate whether musical training is beneficial for improving receptive prosody skills.

You have accessThe ASHA LeaderWorld Beat1 Aug 2007Communication Disorders in China: Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Roberta Aungst, and Dolores E. Battle Roberta Aungst Google Scholar More articles by this author and Dolores E. Battle Google Scholar More articles by this author https://doi.org/10.1044/leader.WB5.12102007.26 SectionsAbout ToolsAdd to favorites ShareFacebookTwitterLinked In The People’s Republic of China may date to at least 551 B.C., but the professions of speech-language pathology and audiology in the country date back to more recent times—the 1980s. In an educational exchange, several ASHA members took a two-week journey to China last summer. We visited the Children’s Hospital and the School for the Deaf and Mute in Xian, and four locations in Beijing—the modern, well-equipped audiology program at Tongren Hospital, the China Rehabilitation Research Center for the Deaf and Deaf Recovery Center, the China Association of Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons, and The College of Pre-School and Special Education at East China Normal University. People to People International’s Ambassador Program, which sends scientific, technical, and professional delegations to meet with their overseas counterparts, organized the trip. Our delegation was led by former ASHA President Dolores Battle and included Constance Dean Qualls, ASHA vice president for research and technology; Roberta Aungst, then ASHA vice president for professional practices in audiology; and ASHA members Audrey Kunz, Miriam Romero, Cara Stein, Rachel Vasquez, and Laura Young Campbell. Opening Doors After a long period of being ruled by dynasties and political control that closed the country from the western world, China opened its doors in 1978. Through the 1980s, the walls that had excluded the world came down, and health providers who had relied on traditional Eastern medicine began using Western medicine and technology. This change included treatment of speech and hearing disorders, although many families still rely on traditional Chinese medicine, including herbal treatments and acupuncture. China is a country with 1.3 billion people from 55 ethnic groups who live in a vast area of 3.7 million square miles with 23 provinces, four municipalities, five autonomous regions, and two special administrations. Hearing Loss According to the Gallaudet Encyclopedia of Deaf People and Deafness (1987) and the Encyclopedia of Deaf and Hearing Impairment (2004), there are an estimated 62 million individuals with a disability in China, including an estimated 20 million with speech and hearing disorders: 3 million who are deaf and 17.7 million who have hearing loss. According to Chen Zhen Sheng, professor at the China Rehabilitation Research Center for the Deaf, major causes of hearing loss in China are presbycusis, otitis media, infection, ototoxic drugs, heredity, and noise-induced hearing loss among those working in construction and in industry who labor without hearing protection. Hua Zhang, director of otolaryngology at Tongren Hospital, reported an estimated 800,000 children under age 7 with hearing loss, a number expected to increase by 20,000–30,000 every year. Only 2% have access to hearing aids. A Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Program (UNHSP) was established in 1996. According to the Chinese Ministry of Public Health (2002), statistics from this program indicate that an estimated 30,000 children are born with hearing loss each year. Audiology and Aural/Audiologic Rehabilitation According to Hua at Tongren Hospital, audiology is a relatively new profession in China, with the first audiologists identified only 20 years ago. Most were physicians trained in otolaryngology with an additional six months’ training in audiology in the United States or Australia. The first program for training audiologists in China was established at Capital Medical Sciences University in 1996; the first six audiologists completed the program in 2001. Since that time, other programs have been established at West China Medical School at Sichuan University (Chengdu) in partnership with Sichuan University and Dalhousie University. Today there are about 400 audiologists in the country—about one for every 300,000 people. (In contrast, there are 42 audiologists for every 300,000 people in the United States.) The Clinical Audiology Center at Tongren Hospital provides 40–100 pure tone tests each day, and is well-equipped to provide otoacoustic emission, auditory brainstem response, videonystagmography, and other assessments. The UNHSP at Tongren Hospital estimates that 120,000 children—or six to eight of every 1,000 births (0.604%–0.82%)—will be identified with a hearing loss each year. Many families initially seek treatment with traditional herbal medicines and/or acupuncture, both of which are available at the hospital. More recently, families are also opting for cochlear implants; Tongren has provided 600 implants since 1996, and expects to implant more than 200 in 2007. Education of the Deaf The first school for the deaf in China was opened in 1887 in Shantung Province by American missionaries. It was not until 1927 that the first public school for the deaf was opened in Nanjing (now Shanghai); the first school for the deaf in Beijing opened in 1935. In 1986 the Ministry of Education mandated that all children with disabilities receive at least nine years of basic education. An estimated 3 million children in China are deaf, but only 33,000 are enrolled in the 664 schools for the deaf. Children brought to the major cities for identification and treatment are generally returned to their home provinces for education. The government runs special-needs schools, located mostly in urban areas, including those for the deaf and those for children with more severe developmental disabilities, but children with mild to moderate hearing loss generally receive no intervention services. When a child is not developing speech, and traditional treatment methods are not producing results, the family will seek intervention with hearing aids and/or cochlear implants. Education and rehabilitation are often delayed or not provided, either because the family believes that medical treatment alone can cure the hearing loss or there are no trained personnel near the child’s home; most rural families cannot afford to send the child to an urban school. (Even though the schools for the deaf are tuition-free, families are expected to make contributions in addition to paying for room and board.) This cost delays access to intervention while the family saves the necessary funds, often until the child is 3 years old. If the family is not able to pay the additional costs, the child will remain in the local community for schooling, in classes led by teachers who may have some training for children who have special needs. Most teachers, however, learn on the job. According to consultants at the School for Deaf Recovery in Beijing and the Xian Deaf Mute School in Xian, there are fewer than 400 specially trained teachers of the deaf in the 664 schools with classes or programs that serve children with hearing loss. Most are employed in urban schools for the deaf. Today, 34,000 children are enrolled in 1,700 special education schools or programs throughout the country, including 2,800 children with hearing loss who are in high school and 6,582 in 145 occupational schools, where they are trained in art, massage, or baking (Lytle, Johnson & Hui, 2005/2006). Although the incidence of children with hearing loss attending special schools has increased, an estimated 54,000 school-aged children who are deaf living in rural areas have no access to education. We visited one such school for the deaf, the Xian Deaf Mute School, where children with hearing impairment attend special programs from pre-school through grade nine. Many of the children in the small (15 children) classrooms had hearing aids and some had cochlear implants. The teachers had little formal training as teachers of the deaf. Students who are deaf were prepared for careers in art, while students who are blind were prepared for vocational careers in baking or massage. There were no computers or other electronic devices for students’ use. Consultations While in Xian, the delegation was asked to consult on two cases treated at the Children’s Hospital. In the first, a 21/2-year-old-boy was receiving weekly acupuncture for a profound hearing loss. He had been diagnosed in Beijing, and his family traveled to Xian from a rural town to receive treatment, which the family had been told would result in normal hearing in six months. The audiologists on the trip reviewed the boy’s audiometric assessments and determined that he would be a candidate for a cochlear implant. The family would have to travel back to Beijing to have the procedure; however, there was no auditory rehabilitation program in his rural community. He would either have to go to boarding school in Xian (with charges for room and board) or attend a special education program in his community. In the second case, a 4-year-old boy appeared to have significant developmental delays, and the family was seeking advice on a cochlear implant. The audiologists in our delegation reviewed the results of his audiometric assessment and determined that his hearing was within normal limits. There was some suggestion of an autism spectrum disorder, our group could not confirm this diagnosis. Autism is little-known in China and there are no special programs in the boy’s rural community that would be able to provide an appropriate education or intervention. Speech-Language Pathology Although Hong Kong has several trained SLPs, speech-language pathology is just emerging as a profession in mainland China. The first program to train SLPs was established in 1988 at the China Rehabilitation Research Center, a teaching hospital at the Capital University of Medical Sciences in Beijing (Shengli Li, 2007). China has fewer than 200 SLPs, but there are approximately 1.5 million persons who have had a stroke; as a result, physicians and neurologists often provide speech-language services. Nurses who receive three to six months of “advanced” education in the medical school or in other countries such as Korea and Australia also provide services. At Tongren Hospital, much of the speech-language pathology treatment is provided by physicians or nurses who have received special training to treat persons with voice disorders, neurological impairment, and dysphagia. Most swallowing treatment, however, is done by nurses. At the Xian Children’s Hospital, language diagnosis and treatment is usually provided by psychologists, who have limited training in the diagnosis of more complex communication disorders such as autism and developmental disorders. A large Children’s Hospital is scheduled to open in Xian this fall; the director expressed the need for staff training in diagnosis and treatment of children with communication disorders. China is emerging as an economic force in the world economy. As its professionals become more aware of the possibilities and potential of persons with disabilities, China will make advances in the identification and treatment of persons with speech-language and hearing impairments that will parallel its economic advances. New hospitals and schools are being built with up-to-date facilities and equipment. The goal is to have an additional 5,000–7,000 special educators by 2015 to improve access to appropriate services, including an additional 5,000 teachers to provide rehabilitation services to children aged birth to 5 years. The hospitals and schools need 130,000 SLPs and audiologists to provide services, train new professionals, and provide professional development for existing personnel. It will be exciting to see how China will use its rapidly developing technology to identify and treat hearing and speech-language disorders. People to People The mission of the People to People Ambassador Program (www.ptpi.org) is to promote world peace and understanding. Its delegations include cultural exchanges as well as professional interactions. Hearing Loss in Developing Countries According to recent WHO (World Health Organization) estimates (Launch of WWHearing and Prevention of Deafness and Hearing Impairment), at least 255 million persons in the world (approximately 4.2% of the world population) are affected by hearing loss. Two-thirds of all persons with hearing impairment live in developing countries and most would benefit from hearing aids if they were available. Less than 6% of the many millions of hearing aids needed worldwide are produced and fitted annually, and only a fraction of these devices go to developing countries. Up to 30 million hearing aids are needed every year to meet the needs in developing countries. References Bu X. (2004). Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Program in China. Paper presented to International Conference on Newborn Screening, Diagnosis and Intervention. Como, Italy, May 27–29, 2004. Google Scholar Callaway A. (2000). Deaf children in China. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press. Google Scholar Gallaudet Encyclopedia of Deaf People and Deafness. (vol 3) (. (vol 3) (1986). Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press. Google Scholar High incidence of hearing loss among newborns in China. Xinhua News Agency, Xinhua Economic News Service, July 2, 2002, retrieved 2/27/2007 fromhttp://www.hear-it.org/page.dsp?page=2405. Google Scholar Li S. (2007). Speech Pathology in China: Now and Future. Retrieved February 27, 2007, from http://www.lit.kyushu-u.ac.jp/ito/paper/paper_Li.pdf. Google Scholar Lytle R. R., Johnson K. E., & Hui Y. J. (2005/2006). Deaf education in china: History, current issues and emerging deaf voices.American Annals of the Deaf, 150(5). CrossrefGoogle Scholar National Rehabilitation Center. (2003). The undertaking of the rehabilitation of children with hearing disability in China. Beijing, China: Author. Google Scholar Turkington C., & Sussman A. (2004). Encyclopedia of Deafness and Hearing Impairments. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press. Google Scholar Author Notes Roberta Aungst, is an audiology consultant in Cape May, New Jersey, and former director of audiology for ENT Associates of Central Montgomery County in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Contact her at [email protected]. Dolores E. Battle, is professor of speech-language pathology and senior advisor to the president for equity and campus diversity at Buffalo State College. Contact her at [email protected]. Advertising Disclaimer | Advertise With Us Advertising Disclaimer | Advertise With Us Additional Resources FiguresSourcesRelatedDetails Volume 12Issue 10August 2007 Get Permissions Add to your Mendeley library History Published in print: Aug 1, 2007 Metrics Current downloads: 1,548 Topicsasha-topicsleader_do_tagasha-article-typesleader-topicsCopyright & Permissions© 2007 American Speech-Language-Hearing AssociationLoading ...

Few quality of life (QOL) assessment tools are available for children with specific chronic conditions, and none have been designed specifically for children with hearing loss (HL). A validated hearing-related QOL questionnaire could help clinicians determine whether an intervention is beneficial and whether one intervention is better than another. To examine QOL in children with HL and assess the validity, reliability, and factor structure of a new measure, the Hearing Environments and Reflection on Quality of Life (HEAR-QL) questionnaire. A descriptive and correlational study of a convenience sample of children. Participants included 35 children with unilateral HL, 45 with bilateral HL, and 35 siblings with normal hearing. Children 7-12 yr old were recruited by mail from a tertiary-care pediatric otolaryngology practice and the local county's Special School District. With parent consent, children completed the validated Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ (PedsQL) 4.0 and a 35-item HEAR-QL questionnaire. The factor structure of the HEAR-QL was determined through principal components analysis (PCA), and mean scores were computed for each subscale and the total HEAR-QL. Three weeks following the return of the initial questionnaires, a second HEAR-QL questionnaire was sent to participants to assess test-retest reliability. Both PedsQL and HEAR-QL scores were compared between children with and without HL, between children with unilateral and bilateral HL, and between children who used and did not use a hearing device using analysis of variance. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for both the HEAR-QL and the PedsQL. A multivariable, hierarchical linear regression analysis was conducted with independent variables associated with the HEAR-QL in unadjusted tests. Using exploratory PCA, the 35-item HEAR-QL was reduced to 26 items (Cronbach's α = 0.97, sensitivity of 91% and specificity of 92% at a cutoff score of 93.5) loading on three factors: difficulty hearing in certain environments/situations (Environments α = 0.97), impact of HL on social/sports activities (Activities α = 0.92), and impact of HL on child's feelings (Feelings α = 0.88). Sensitivity of 78.8% and specificity of 30.9% at a cutoff score of 69.6 on the PedsQL (at risk for impaired QOL) were lower than for the HEAR-QL. Participants with HL reported significantly lower mean total HEAR-QL scores (71 [SD 18] vs. 98 [SD 5], p < .001), but not mean total PedsQL scores (77 [SD 14] vs. 83 [SD 15], p = .47), than participants with normal hearing. Among children with bilateral HL, children who used a hearing device reported lower mean total HEAR-QL scores (p = .01), but not mean total PedsQL scores (p = .55), than children who did not use a hearing device. The intraclass correlation coefficient for test-retest reliability for the 26-item HEAR-QL total score was 0.83. Hearing status and use of a device were independently associated with the HEAR-QL, and the variables in the model accounted for 46% of the HEAR-QL total score variance. The HEAR-QL appears to be a valid, reliable, and sensitive questionnaire for children with HL. The HEAR-QL was better able than the PedsQL to distinguish between children with and without HL and can help evaluate interventions for children with HL.

This paper describes a new VLSI coprocessor architecture implementing the MPEG-4 visual core profile for advanced mobile multimedia terminals and applications. An analysis of the algorithmic requirements and of the constraints in the mobile multimedia applications field leads to an architectural approach based on a RISC core processor and programmable yet specialized coprocessors. We focus on one coprocessor called MacroBlockEngine which supports the tools for the texture processing part in the coding algorithm. The architecture of the MacroBlockEngine is presented in detail and experimental results from the simulations and from the hardware synthesis are given.

Childhood hearing loss is an emerging public health concern. This study aimed to compare the quality of life (QOL) and coping strategies between children with and without hearing loss. It also explored the impact of coping strategies on the QOL of children with hearing loss. The study included 95 children with hearing loss and 107healthy controls aged 6-18 years, recruited from special education schools. QOL was evaluated using the SF-12health survey, and coping strategies were assessed with the Brief COPE inventory. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive and inferential statistics. Children with hearing loss reported lower QOL scores in areas such as role functioning, emotional well-being, mental health, and physical health. They were more likely to use maladaptive coping strategies like denial, behavioral disengagement, and self-blame, whereas healthy children favored adaptive strategies like self-distraction, emotional support, and positive reframing. Problem-focused coping showed a positive association with role functioning (r = 0.46, p < 0.01), emotional roles (r = 0.18, p < 0.05), and mental health (r = 0.19, p < 0.05). Sociodemographic factors, including grade level and rural residence, significantly influenced QOL, with children in rural areas (OR = 4.66; p = 0.03) and lower grades (OR = 8.89; p = 0.05) facing greater challenges. Multiple regression analysis revealed a significant relationship between the self-distraction and physical component summary score (p = 0.01). Self-distraction (p = 0.01) and the acceptance coping strategy (p = 0.02) had a notable effect on the mental summary score of SF-12 scores of children with hearing loss. This study concluded that children with hearing impairment showed poor quality of life and these children use maladaptive coping strategies to combat with the stress caused by hearing loss. Early detection, community awareness, and customized support programs are crucial to enhancing the QOL of children with hearing loss and minimizing the condition's long-term impact.

This study aims to train students' Arabic conversation skills at the elementary school level. The conversation skills of students at the elementary school level are very low, so students at the elementary level are awkward to communicate using Arabic. With Arabic-based conversational learning aimed at encouraging, guiding, developing and fostering abilities and cultivating a positive attitude towards Arabic conversation skills, both receptively and productively, students at the elementary school level can learn Arabic conversation skills. So that these students can communicate using Arabic conversation through the study. The method used by the researcher in conducting this research was a survey method and in-depth interviews, in which at this stage the researcher conducted interviews with elementary level students by asking questions to these students, so that with these answers the researcher could collect data from students at the elementary level. the basis. The researcher hopes that with this research on Arabic conversation skills study, students can add knowledge and insight about the Arabic conversation skills. Therefore, in order to increase the insight and knowledge of elementary level students about the study of conversational Arabic skills, researchers can conduct research related to the study of conversational skills of Arabic students at the elementary school level.

Advances in the Hearing Sciences: Current Research and Clinical Applications