Deaf Children Research Articles

Speech Perception of Second Cochlear Implant after 6 Years of Age in Prelingually Deaf Children.

Sequential bilateral cochlear implantation in children becomes less effective as the inter-implant interval increases. However, the cause of this and the age at which speech perception becomes impossible are unclear. We examined the cases of 11 prelingually deaf children who underwent unilateral cochlear implantation at our hospitals before the age of 5years old, followed by a second implantation procedure on the contralateral side when they were aged ≥ 6years old (6-12years old). The subjects' hearing thresholds and speech discrimination scores for the second cochlear implant were evaluated at 3 postoperative months and 1-7years. All of the subjects demonstrated improvements in their hearing thresholds to a mean of 30dB HL at 1year. Regarding speech perception, one patient (a 12-year-old), who had developed bilateral hearing loss at 30months of age after contracting mumps, demonstrated a 90% improvement in his speech discrimination score at 1year. However, among the other congenitally deaf children, there were two patients whose speech discrimination scores had improved by ≥ 80% at > 4 postoperative years. The congenitally deaf children exhibited poor speech perception despite showing improved hearing thresholds in the ears that received second cochlear implants. Assuming that the auditory pathway beyond the superior olivary complex remained functional, the reduced speech perception abilities associated with the second cochlear implants may have been attributable to the loss of the spiral ganglion and cochlear nucleus cells due to a lack of auditory input since birth.

Phonological Awareness and Working Memory in Mandarin-Speaking Preschool-Aged Children With Cochlear Implants.

Cochlear implants (CIs) provide significant benefits for profoundly deaf children in their language and cognitive development. However, it remains unclear whether Mandarin-speaking young children with early implantation can develop age-equivalent phonological awareness (PA) skill and working memory (WM) capacity as their normal hearing (NH) peers. The aim of this study was to investigate PA and WM in preschool-aged children with or without hearing loss and to examine the relationship between the two basic skills. The data were collected from 16 Mandarin-speaking preschoolers with CIs and 16 age-matched children with NH. All preschool participants were instructed to complete four phonological detection tasks and four digit span tasks. Linear mixed-effects modeling was performed to evaluate PA and WM performances between two groups across different tasks. CI preschoolers showed comparable performances on par with NH controls in phonological detections and visual digit spans. In addition, Pearson correlation analysis revealed a positive relationship between phonological detections and auditory digit spans in preschool-aged children with CIs. With early implantation, the congenitally deaf children were capable of developing age-appropriate PA skill and WM capacity, which have practical implications for aural rehabilitation in this special pediatric population.

Improving The Ability To Recognize Object Through Flip Chart For Deaf Children (Single Research Subject in SLB Al-Ishlaah, Padang City)

This research is motivated by the problems that researchers found at SLB Al-Ishlaah Padang, a deaf child with the initial A has not been to recognize object in the surrounding environment. Based on this, this study aims to improve the ability to recognize objects correctly and see if this flip cahrt media can have a positive impact.
 This study uses an experimental approach in the form of singgle subject research (SSR) with an A-B-A design. The assessment in this study is consistent with measuring the correct number of objects. The results of this study indicate that the ability of deaf children to recognize objects increases, in the initial baseline conditions carried out four times the child is only able to know four objects, namely mirrors, keys, tables and clocks correctly. In the intervention condition or when given the observed treatment. During the five meetings the child’s ability increased, the child was able to recognize six objects, namely lamps, mirrors, keys, tables, clocks and brooms. Then, at the final baseline the child’s ablity to recognize objects remained good. The result of this study prove that the use of flip chart media can improve the ability to recognize objects in deaf children.

IMPLEMENTASI METODE ABJAD JARI DALAM MENGHAFAL AL-QUR’AN PADA SISWA SLB-B YAYASAN REHABILITAS TUNA RUNGU WICARA (YRTRW) SURAKARTA

The main problem of memorizing the Qur'an in SLB-B YRTRW Surakarta students is the students' limitations in listening and speaking, in addition to the lack of knowledge about Islam which makes them pay less attention to memorizing the Qur'an. The use of the finger alphabet method in memorizing the Qur'an is one of the keys to solving the problem of memorizing the Qur'an in SLB-B YRTRW Surakarta students. This study aims to determine the implementation of the use of the finger alphabet method in memorizing the Qur'an in deaf children and to determine the supporting and inhibiting factors in memorizing the Qur'an. This type of research uses qualitative research by looking at the reality that occurs. The data collection method used in this research is the method of interview, observation, and documentation. This study uses the data analysis technique of the Miles and Huberman model which consists of three paths, namely data reduction, data presentation, and finally drawing conclusions or verification. Based on the data analysis, it can be concluded that the implementation of the finger alphabet method in memorizing the Qur'an in SLB-B YRTRW Surakarta students is a learning plan consisting of determining targets, time allocation, and learning methods. Next is the implementation of learning in the form of initial activities, core activities in which the finger alphabet method is applied, and final activities. The last is learning evaluation which aims to find out to what extent students can understand and follow learning. Supporting factors in memorizing the Qur'an for deaf students are teachers mastering the four teacher competencies, methods that are easy to understand, parental support, and a conducive environment. While the inhibiting factors in memorizing the Qur'an in deaf students are the different levels of hearing ability of deaf children, the lack of knowledge about Islam, especially memorizing the Qur'an, and the existence of students with multiple C disabilities who do not understand the finger alphabet.

Incredible Years Parenting Program: Behavioral Emotion Regulation and Resilience in Mothers of Deaf Children

ABSTRACT Behavioral emotion regulation and resilience are crucial in daily life. This research aimed to investigate the impact of the Incredible Years (IY) parenting program on behavioral emotion regulation and resilience in mothers of deaf children. The present study was a quasi-randomized controlled trial design. Twenty mothers between the ages of 28 and 41 years of age who had deaf children were randomly selected from Baghcheban deaf school in Shahreza, Iran. They were randomly assigned to experimental (n = 10) or control (n = 10) groups. The experimental group participated in the 12-session IY parenting program, while the control group did not participate in this program. Both groups completed the Emotion Behavioral Regulation Questionnaire (EBRQ) and Resiliency Scale (RISC) at pre and post-intervention. The data were analyzed using the Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) test. The results showed that the intervention significantly and positively influenced behavioral emotion regulation and resilience in mothers of deaf children (p < .001). This study suggests that IY parenting program can promote behavioral emotion regulation and resilience in mothers of deaf children. Therefore, this program was feasible and acceptable to these mothers.

READING, WRITING AND COMPREHENSION IN DEAF CHILDREN OF THE ADVERBIAL CLAUSE OF PLACE IN WRITTEN FORM

Writing is an integral part of linguistic education of deaf persons which, due to the lack of auditorysensors, has an insurmountable difficulty achieving, so this shortcoming is directly reflected in the general literacyof deaf children. Many detailed studies in the world suggest that in order to become literate, a deaf child must learnthe language of the community. Je/she must first learn the letters and learn to write. About 50% of young deafpeople after high school read and write worse than a ten-year-old hearing child. The aim of this research is toexamine the usage, reading, writing, and comprehension in deaf children of the adverbial clause of place in writtenform and to determine the statistical significance of differences between deaf and hearing children. The study wasconducted on a sample of 140 respondents. The first subsample of subjects, the experimental group consisted of 70deaf students, and the second subsample, a control group of 70 hearing students, of the same chronological age. Themeasurement instrument “Test of writing, and comprehension of an adverbial clause of place” was applied. Thefrequencies and percentages of respondents' responses to the variables were calculated. The F (Fisher) test was usedto determine the statistical significance of the differences between deaf and hearing subjects. The results showed that1.40 % of deaf children are completely successful in reading and writing priloske odredbe, and thaat 90 % of deafchildren use prislocke odredbe partially successfully. The percentage of children that do not use priloske odredbe inany form in their written communication is 8.60%. The order of use of adverbial clause of place by frequency is asfollows: "in", "on", "below", "behind", "next to", and "between". The largest number of deaf children use theadverbial clause of place "in" in their written expression, 65.70% of them. Then, the adverbial clause of place "on"51.14%, the adverbial clause of place "below" 47.14%, the adverbial clause of place "behind" 31.43%, the adverbialclause of place "beside" 30%, and the adverbial clause of place "between" 22.85%.There is a statistically significant difference between deaf and hearing children in the use of the adverbial clause ofplace at the level of statistical significance of p=0.000.

From policy to practice: Inclusion and the education of the deaf child in Kenya

This paper examines and analyses the challenges that inclusive education poses for children who are deaf and school going. Some of the challenges discussed following Antia and Levine (2001), include but are not limited to: Linguistic diversity, procedural differences and language proficiency. We argue in this paper that as far as inclusion is concerned, the school is just a “place” and one of the circumstances where inclusion can be practiced. However, there are also other experiences such as: the home, family, childcare and other socializing cases that cannot be precluded because of their importance. We further argue that to some extent, students who are deaf may still require a special education environment especially, as Rosenqvist &amp; Gustavsson (1993) assert, it is important to maintain some concepts of difference in humans since in one way or another it may reinforce a person’s sense of identity, peculiarity or proficiencies. The lack of recognition of differences, most of the time in an inclusive setup pose numerous challenges. In this paper we strongly advocate for the bi-bi approach (bilingual- bicultural approach), but we also believe that there is need to relook, rethink and evaluate inclusion policies in a flexible way, taking cognizance of the distinction between the “general class or school for all model” and the “special school model” so as to show that there is a place for special schools, and special units within schools. Research must be conducted to develop inclusive education policies that recognize the importance of having a range of schooling options for students with disabilities and in particular students who are deaf.

Manajemen Pendidikan pada Keluarga Anak Tuli di Desa Bandung Sruni, Alian, Kebumen

Deaf is a person who has lost his ability to hear due to the malfunction of part or all of his hearing apparatus. Educating deaf children is different from educating normal children. The purpose of the study was to analyze the education management of families of deaf children in Bandungsruni Village, Alian, Kebumen. The type of research used is qualitative research using the ethnographic method of communication. The implementation of research activities lasted for 1 month, namely in March 2022. The data collection techniques used observation, interviews, and documentation techniques. The data analysis technique uses the Miles and Huberman model. The results of the analysis show that deaf families in Bandungsruni Village, Alian in terms of education given by parents to their children are very large. The education management function in the family has also been running well starting from planning, implementation, and evaluation. The parenting pattern in the family adheres to a democratic parenting pattern that has a good impact on the development of deaf children.

Using mathematics game-based intervention on children with special educational needs: Preliminary findings

Many video games incorporate positive learning principles, stimulating students' cognitive functioning and promoting problem-solving and spatial abilities. The high levels of engagement and involvement that some students can achieve with video games are notable. Hence, video games for children with a long history of school failure, such as children with special educational needs (SEN). Moreover, it may give educators immediate and ongoing assessment of students' progress. When complemented with human tutoring, video games as a game-based intervention may improve mathematics performance since instruction is more effective when adapted to students' learning needs and pace.&#x0D; As part of the research project "GBl4deaf – Game-based Learning for Deaf Students (PTDC/COM-CSS/32022/2017), the video game "Space adventure: Defend the planet!" was designed to stimulate arithmetic competencies in deaf and hearing children. The player must use elementary arithmetical and spatial concepts to rebuild an abandoned space station. Each challenge has three difficulty levels. In the game challenge used in this study, the player must add or remove particles to collect resources. The current research focuses on two questions: The study follows two research questions: Q1: Did the students make any progress in mathematics achievement after playing the video game?; Q2: Is the gameplay of Space adventure: Defend the planet! an engaging experience for players? A pre-and post-game mathematical test was applied to measure mathematics achievement and an observational grid to gather information about arithmetical procedures. Ten fourth- to ninth-graders participated in the study - four girls and six boys, aged between 9 and 16, three deaf and seven hearing students with different special needs (dyscalculia, cognitive deficits, autism spectrum disorder, deafness and Asperger syndrome). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, children played the video game using Zoom video conference software in 8-12 sessions (50 minutes, two a three times/week). The results show 4% to 19% of mathematics progression after children played the video game and indicate that they maintain the use of counting-based procedures throughout the game sessions. For instance, they kept counting both addends starting from 1 or counting by 1, 2, 5 or 10 using a number line. The current data suggest that the videogame "Space adventure: Defend the planet!" allows educators to gather immediate information about students' difficulties and progression.

Inclusive AR-games for Education of Deaf Children: Challenges and Opportunities

Game-based learning has had a rapid development in the 21st century, attracting an increasing audience. However, inclusion of all is still not a reality in society, with accessibility for deaf and hard of hearing children as a remaining challenge. To be excluded from learning due to communication barriers can have severe consequences for further studies and work. Based on previous research Augmented Reality (AR) games can be joyful learning tools that include activities with different sign languages, but AR based learning games for deaf and hard of hearing lack research. This paper aims to present opportunities and challenges of designing inclusive AR games for education of deaf children. Methods involved conducting a scoping review of previous studies about AR for deaf people. Experts were involved as co-authors for in-depth understanding of sign languages and challenges for deaf people. A set of AR input and output techniques were analysed for appropriateness, and various AR based game mechanics were compared. Results indicate that inclusive AR gameplay for deaf people could be built on AR based image and object tracking, complemented with sign recognition. These technologies provide input from the user and the real-world environment typically via the camera to the app. Scene tracking and GPS can be used for location-based game mechanics. Output to the user can be done via local signed videos ideally, but also with images and animations. Moreover, a civic intelligence approach can be applied to overcome many of the challenges that have been identified in five dimensions for inclusion of deaf people i.e., cultural, educational, psycho-social, semantic, and multimodal. The input from trusted, educated signers and teachers can enable the connection between real world objects and signed videos to provide explanations of concepts. The conclusion is that the development of an inclusive, multi-language AR game for deaf people needs to be carried out as an international collaboration, addressing all five dimensions.

Gamma-Band Modulation in Parietal Area as the Electroencephalographic Signature for Performance in Auditory-Verbal Working Memory: An Exploratory Pilot Study in Hearing and Unilateral Cochlear Implant Children.

This pilot study investigates the neurophysiological patterns of visual and auditory verbal working memory (VWM) in unilateral cochlear implant users (UCIs). We compared the task-related electroencephalogram (EEG) power spectral density of 7- to 13-year-old UCIs (n = 7) with a hearing control group (HC, n = 10) during the execution of a three-level n-back task with auditory and visual verbal (letters) stimuli. Performances improved as memory load decreased regardless of sensory modality (SM) and group factors. Theta EEG activation over the frontal area was proportionally influenced by task level; the left hemisphere (LH) showed greater activation in the gamma band, suggesting lateralization of VWM function regardless of SM. However, HCs showed stronger activation patterns in the LH than UCIs regardless of SM and in the parietal area (PA) during the most challenging audio condition. Linear regressions for gamma activation in the PA suggest the presence of a pattern-supporting auditory VWM only in HCs. Our findings seem to recognize gamma activation in the PA as the signature of effective auditory VWM. These results, although preliminary, highlight this EEG pattern as a possible cause of the variability found in VWM outcomes in deaf children, opening up new possibilities for interdisciplinary research and rehabilitation intervention.

A paediatric English linguistics intervention on spoken language for English-speaking parents of deaf children having hearing problems

Background: This research aimed to find internet information about hearing loss, hearing technology, and spoken language acquisition for Pakistani English-speaking families of deaf or hard-of-hearing children (DHH). Methods: The existence or lack of parent education material on various websites was investigated using an exploratory, descriptive methodology. The research looked at the many Internet resources available. Results: Many websites with information for parents of DHH children acquiring spoken communication were found to be international. Each website was examined in fifteen different content categories. These websites featured English content. According to the present research findings, internet resources for Pakistani English-speaking parents with DHH students struggling with spoken dialect are typically less and less and not deeply involved. Conclusion: A Paediatric English Linguistics Mediation on Spoken Language for Parents of Deaf Children with Hearing Problems in Pakistani English internet alternatives for Pakistani English-speaking parents of DHH children who are having difficulty with spoken dialect are becoming fewer and more uninvolved.

Sign learning and its use in a co-enrollment kindergarten setting.

Experimental studies report positive effects of signing for language acquisition and communication in children with and without language development delays. However, little data are available on natural kindergarten settings. Therefore, our study used questionnaire data to investigate the sign learning in hearing children (aged 3;7–5;9 years) with and without language development delays in an inclusive kindergarten group with a co-enrolled deaf child (aged 3;8 years) and a deaf signing educator. We observed that the hearing children in this co-enrollment group learned more signs than the hearing children from groups with only hearing educators who learned signs in a training program. Hearing children’s sign learning showed a tendency toward correlating positively with their level of spoken language development. However, the individual background for children with language development delays impacted this relationship. Additionally, we examined the modality use of all children in interactions with hearing and deaf educators and peers using questionnaire and video data. Despite acquiring signs, hearing children predominantly used spoken language with hearing educators and predominantly nonverbal communication strategies with the deaf educator and the deaf child. Children with language development delays used code-blending with hearing educators in a few cases. The deaf child used mainly sign language for interactions with the deaf educator and mainly nonverbal communication with hearing educators and peers. Overall, our results suggest that the presence of a deaf educator increases sign learning in hearing children. However, in interactions during free play, they barely used signs making it particularly challenging for the deaf child to participate. This reveals that, in addition to a deaf role model, more sign language competent peers and targeted approaches increasing the use of the visual modality are required.

Early Emergence of Agreement in Yucatec Maya Sign Language

In many sign languages, space is used to express grammatical features. However, verb agreement in space is noticeably slow to appear in emerging sign languages. Many reasons have been proposed to explain this delay or even absence: the reduced size of the community, the recent creation of the sign language and the lack of exposure to a fully formed language. To examine the way space is used to express agreement in Yucatec Maya Sign Language (YMSL), a new signed language from the peninsula of Yucatán (Mexico), a task was conducted using video stimuli created to elicit ditransitive constructions showing transfer events, such as events of giving or taking. Results show that agreement is present early in YMSL, even from the first generation of deaf signers. While many signers used single agreement constructions, the second generation of deaf children systematically employed double agreement constructions, placing them on the high end of the evolutionary path proposed for verb agreement in sign languages. I argue that cultural habits of the surrounding community, namely the preference for a geocentric frame of reference among Yucatec Maya speakers, is what facilitates the early emergence of the use of space to express agreement in YMSL.

Resting-state EEG reveals global network deficiency in prelingually deaf children with late cochlear implantation.

There are individual differences in rehabilitation after cochlear implantation that can be explained by brain plasticity. However, from the perspective of brain networks, the effect of implantation age on brain plasticity is unclear. The present study investigated electroencephalography functional networks in the resting state, including eyes-closed and eyes-open conditions, in 31 children with early cochlear implantation, 24 children with late cochlear implantation, and 29 children with normal hearing. Resting-state functional connectivity was measured with phase lag index, and we investigated the connectivity between the sensory regions for each frequency band. Network topology was examined using minimum spanning tree to obtain the network backbone characteristics. The results showed stronger connectivity between auditory and visual regions but reduced global network efficiency in children with late cochlear implantation in the theta and alpha bands. Significant correlations were observed between functional backbone characteristics and speech perception scores in children with cochlear implantation. Collectively, these results reveal an important effect of implantation age on the extent of brain plasticity from a network perspective and indicate that characteristics of the brain network can reflect the extent of rehabilitation of children with cochlear implantation.

THE BEHAVIOR OF THE FAMILY BEFORE THE DIAGNOSIS OF THE CHILD WITH DEAFNESS

This research concerns the behavior of families regarding the finding that their child is hearing impaired. It reflects on the importance of the family in all aspects to the development of the child, I aim at, which is the first institution in which the child belongs, having the role of caring and educating developing a safe environment. The objective of this work is to identify and analyze the behavior of families regarding the discovery of hearing impairment in a particular member of the child, taking into account reactions, feelings and difficulties. Through a literature review and field research, we sought to know the importance of the family in the development of the deaf child and to identify behaviors regarding the discovery of a deaf child. To support this work, I counted on the contribution of OLIVEIRA (2011) and (SILVA, 2017). It was verified in this study that the diagnosis of hearing impairment causes in parents a great impact and some changes in family dynamics. Shock, suffering and non-acceptance are the main reactions. Feelings of sadness, doubts and uncertainties are constant. However, with the passage of time it is noticed that families accept and overcome such difficulties.

Word production in children with cochlear implant based on chronological age and hearing age

For congenitally deaf children, an early bilateral provision with cochlear implant (CI) is a favourable condition for language acquisition. The objective of the present study was to determine the word production in CI children. The focus was on a comparison of chronological age and hearing age performance and on the evaluation of potential effects of multilingualism, additional disabilities and age at provision. The data of 62 children with bilateral CI (age at provision in months M=12,1; SD=6,2) were retrospectively analysed. Vocabulary was assessed by the test Aktiver Wortschatztest für 3- bis 5-jährige Kinder - Revision and compared for chronological age and hearing age. Group comparisons and correlation analysis was conducted regarding multilingualism, additional disabilities and age at provision. The cohort performed significantly better when referenced to hearing age: level were within or above the norm in more than 50%; referenced to chronological age in around 37%. The descriptive performance differences for multilingualism and additional disabilities were only significant for children with both characteristics. Performance of monolingual children without additional disabilities was not significantly associated with age at provision. CI children may achieve an adequate expressive vocabulary at the age of 3 to 5 years. Multilingualism and additional disabilities seem to be particular challenges for CI children and need a more precise definition in further studies. The use of both chronological and hearing age as reference marks allows a differentiated assessment of the language status. This may lead to benefits in therapeutic interventions and parent councelling.

Examining the Influencing Factors on Deaf Children in Treatment Procedure and Family Environment

Objectives: This paper aims to determine the factors that affect the position of deaf children within the professional treatment procedure and family environment. Methods: The sample consisted of 217 respondents, of which 94 were parents of deaf and hard-of-hearing children and 123 respondents were professionals. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were applied for processing the results. Testing was performed with Wilks lambda, and the tested significance in the discriminant analysis was done via the F test at the statistical significance of 0.01. Results: The results demonstrated a relationship between the influence of the communication system and the attitude of the environment toward deaf children where the communication discriminatory factor was isolated. Insufficient information from the experts and decision-making factors in the education and rehabilitation processes are also isolated. Discussion: The obtained results indicated that it is necessary to carry out a series of systematic activities to improve and enhance the cooperation between parents and professionals to increase the level of information of professionals and to develop better models of counseling, education, and working with parents.

Cross-Modal Reorganization From Both Visual and Somatosensory Modalities in Cochlear Implanted Children and Its Relationship to Speech Perception.

We hypothesized that children with cochlear implants (CIs) who demonstrate cross-modal reorganization by vision also demonstrate cross-modal reorganization by somatosensation and that these processes are interrelated and impact speech perception. Cross-modal reorganization, which occurs when a deprived sensory modality's cortical resources are recruited by other intact modalities, has been proposed as a source of variability underlying speech perception in deaf children with CIs. Visual and somatosensory cross-modal reorganization of auditory cortex have been documented separately in CI children, but reorganization in these modalities has not been documented within the same subjects. Our goal was to examine the relationship between cross-modal reorganization from both visual and somatosensory modalities within a single group of CI children. We analyzed high-density electroencephalogram responses to visual and somatosensory stimuli and current density reconstruction of brain activity sources. Speech perception in noise testing was performed. Current density reconstruction patterns were analyzed within the entire subject group and across groups of CI children exhibiting good versus poor speech perception. Positive correlations between visual and somatosensory cross-modal reorganization suggested that neuroplasticity in different sensory systems may be interrelated. Furthermore, CI children with good speech perception did not show recruitment of frontal or auditory cortices during visual processing, unlike CI children with poor speech perception. Our results reflect changes in cortical resource allocation in pediatric CI users. Cross-modal recruitment of auditory and frontal cortices by vision, and cross-modal reorganization of auditory cortex by somatosensation, may underlie variability in speech and language outcomes in CI children.

Effects of Early ASL Exposure on Fingerspelling Accuracy in Deaf Adults

D/deaf children of Deaf parents reportedly begin learning finger-spelling as young as thirteen months old, but deaf children born to hearing, nonsigning parents lack natural access to the native (spoken) language of their families, often exhibiting later language development. Forty-four deaf adults participated in a fingerspelling test of decoding-encoding pseudowords. The participants offered self-reported demographic information, including age at initial American Sign Language (ASL) exposure and parent hearing status. Analysis of variance using post hoc grouping of participants revealed significantly higher scores on the fingerspelling test among participants with early ASL exposure (p = .000; ηp2 = 0.45), and those with two D/deaf parents (p = .002; ηp2 = 0.23). Development and refinement of a fingerspelling test to be used with both D/deaf and hearing, native, and developing signers should benefit professionals working with D/deaf and hearing children and their D/deaf or hearing parents.