Hearing Parents Research Articles

The influence of hereditary factor upon the development of thinking skills in confluence of the factors of manual asymmetry and hearing impairment

The subject of this research is the peculiarities of development of thinking skills in confluence of the factors of manual asymmetry and hearing impairment in families in which parents have hearing impairment and preserved hearing. The object of this research is the characteristics of thinking in combination of hearing impairment and manual asymmetry. The author dwells on such aspects as hereditary factor in the formation of thinking skills among left-handed and right-handed students with hearing impairment. Special attention is given to the peculiarities of the formation of thinking in combination of hearing impairment and manual asymmetry among students brought up by deaf or normally hearing parents. The main conclusions are as follows: right-handed students with hearing impairment brought up by deaf parents have higher characteristics of logical and creative thinking than students brought up by normally hearing parents; left-handed students from families of the deaf have higher characteristics of creative thinking if their parents' hearing is preserved, while the characteristics of logical thinking are higher if their parents’ hearing is impaired; a "mirror image" is detected in the development of creative thinking among left-handed and right-handed students, depending on the hearing condition of their parents; connection is established between logical and creative. The author’s special contribution lies in acquisition of data on the influence of hereditary factor upon the development of thinking in combination of hearing impairment and manual asymmetry. The novelty of this research consists in comparative study of creative and mathematical thinking in confluence of the factors of hearing impairment, manual asymmetry and a hereditary factor. New data is obtained on the peculiarities of development of thinking skills among right-handed and left-handed students with hearing impairments brought up by hearing parents and parents with hearing impairment.

DEAF ADULTS AS ROLE MODELS FOR THE HEARING WORLD: A LITERATURE REVIEW

<p>Although deaf role model projects have existed for some time and their benefits and outcomes for deaf children/young people and their parents have been recorded, almost no attention has been paid to the experiences of the deaf people who take on these roles. Additionally, the experiences of being a deaf role model have been little explored in the literature. This paper explores available literature on role models for supporting families of deaf children and hearing practitioners. Most deaf people (about 95%), all over the world, have hearing parents and do not meet deaf adults and sign language before the age that formal primary education starts. The majority of hearing parents do not come in touch with deafness even after their child is diagnosed of being deaf. But it’s really crucial for families to have resources that allow them to help their child develop language and have full interaction with their family. Additionally, deaf role models can play a vital role in the development of deaf children’s knowledge, skills, and perceptions. Further work would be also required to understand the longer-term benefits and further developments that deaf role models may wish to initiate.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0909/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Benefits of Parent Training in the Rehabilitation of Deaf or Hard of Hearing Children of Hearing Parents: A Systematic Review.

The present study is a systematic review on the effectiveness of Parent Training (PT) and coaching in deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) rehabilitation programs which reviews and synthesizes the existing body of evidence to assess the benefits of these programs in enhancing parents’ sensitivity, responsivity and promoting language development in DHH children during the first years after HA fitting or CI activation. Five published studies met the Population, Intervention, Comparison and Outcomes (PICO) inclusion criteria and were eligible to be included, but heterogeneity in terms of the study design, interventions and outcomes did not allow for performing a meta-analysis. All included studies shared the view that a parent’s learning is a circular (rather than frontal) process, and the results appear promising in terms of enhancing parents’ responsiveness and promoting DHH child language development. Nevertheless, the available evidence was judged to not be robust enough due to limitations in the studies’ designs. Further high-quality evidence is needed to evaluate the true degree of clinical value and the cost effectiveness of PT programs aimed at increasing parents’ responsiveness to their DHH children.

Frequency and distribution of GJB2 (connexin 26) and GJB6 (connexin 30) mutations in a large North American repository of deaf probands

Purpose: Profound hearing loss occurs with a frequency of 1 in 1000 live births, half of which is genetic in etiology. The past decade has witnessed rapid advances in determining the pathogenesis of both syndromic and nonsyndromic deafness. The most significant clinical finding to date has been the discovery that mutations of GJB2 at the DFNB1 locus are the major cause of profound prelingual deafness in many countries.1 More recently, GJB2 mutations have been shown to cause deafness when present with a deletion of the GJB6 gene. We report on the prevalence of GJB2 and GJB6 mutations in a large North American Repository of DNA from deaf probands and document the profound effects of familial ethnicity and parental mating types on the frequency of these mutations in the population.Methods: Deaf probands were ascertained through the Annual Survey of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children and Youth, conducted at the Research Institute of Gallaudet University. Educational, etiologic, and audiologic information was collected after obtaining informed consent. DNA studies were performed for the GJB2 and GJB6 loci by sequencing and PCR methods.Results: GJB2 mutations accounted for 22.2% of deafness in the overall sample but differed significantly among Asians, African-Americans and Hispanics and for probands from deaf by deaf and deaf by hearing matings, as well as probands from simplex and multiplex sibships of hearing parents. In our sample, the overall incidence of GJB2/GJB6 deafness was 2.57%.Conclusion: GJB2 mutations account for a large proportion of deafness in the US, with certain mutations having a high ethnic predilection. Heterozygotes at the GJB2 locus should be screened for the GJB6 deletion as a cause of deafness. Molecular testing for GJB2 and GJB6 should be offered to all patients with nonsyndromic hearing loss.

A systematic scoping review of early interventions for parents of deaf infants

BackgroundOver 90% of the 50,000 deaf children in the UK have hearing parents, many of whom were not expecting a deaf child and may require specialist support. Deaf children can experience poorer long-term outcomes than hearing children across a range of domains. After early detection by the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Programme, parents in the UK receive support from Qualified Teachers of the Deaf and audiologists but resources are tight and intervention support can vary by locality. There are challenges faced due to a lack of clarity around what specific parenting support interventions are most helpful.MethodsThe aim of this research was to complete a systematic scoping review of the evidence to identify early support interventions for parents of deaf infants. From 5577 identified records, 54 met inclusion criteria. Two reviewers screened papers through three rounds before completing data extraction and quality assessment.ResultsIdentified parent support interventions included both group and individual sessions in various settings (including online). They were led by a range of professionals and targeted various outcomes. Internationally there were only five randomised controlled trials. Other designs included non-randomised comparison groups, pre / post and other designs e.g. longitudinal, qualitative and case studies. Quality assessment showed few high quality studies with most having some concerns over risk of bias.ConclusionInterventions commonly focused on infant language and communication followed by parental knowledge and skills; parent wellbeing and empowerment; and parent/child relationship. There were no interventions that focused specifically on parent support to understand or nurture child socio-emotional development despite this being a well-established area of poor outcome for deaf children. There were few UK studies and research generally was not of high quality. Many studies were not recent and so not in the context of recent healthcare advances. Further research in this area is urgently needed to help develop evidence based early interventions.

Joint Attention in the Context of Hearing Loss: A Meta-Analysis and Narrative Synthesis.

Joint attention is important for children's language development. We report two meta-analyses that demonstrate that the congruency in hearing status between parent and child affects the establishment and maintenance of joint attention. Dyads consisting of hearing parents and children with hearing loss, achieve fewer and briefer moments of joint attention in comparison to dyads of hearing parents and hearing children and dyads of deaf parents and deaf children. The theoretical and practical implications of these differences are discussed and placed in the context of two narrative syntheses. The first one focusing on parental strategies used to achieve and maintain moments of joint attention and the second one on the relation between joint attention and spoken language proficiency. We also expect that this review may serve as the start of quest towards a more detailed description (taxonomy) and operationalization of joint attention in the context of hearing loss.

Communication Accommodation Theory in Covid-19 Pandemic

BSL exhibits considerable regional lexical variation. Results from previous studies suggest that there has been a reduction in regional differences since the introduction of BSL on television (Woll et al., 1991) and increased regional contact (Woll, 1987). Based on these findings, this project aims to investigate lexical variation and change in BSL and its relationship to regional contact. Regional variation in the signs for colours, countries, numbers and UK place names were analysed from the BSL Corpus Project data (Schembri et al., under review) to consider their correlation with signers’ age, gender, school location, social class, ethnicity, teaching experience and language background (whether the signer has deaf or hearing parents). The results suggest that levelling may be taking place with younger signers using a decreasing variety of regionally distinct variants. Dialect contact and long-term linguistic accommodation are considered to be contributing factors in levelling (Trudgill, 1986). To investigate this as a possible explanation for language change, 25 pairs of BSL signers from different regional backgrounds were involved in a conversational ‘Diapix’ task (Van Engen et al., 2010) and a comprehension task. Observation of the conversational data reveals that, despite conflicting evidence as to the degree of comprehension of BSL regional varieties (e.g., Kyle & Allsop, 1982; Woll et al., 1991), participants had no difficulties understanding one another. It appears that signers from different regions often rely on English mouthing produced simultaneously with signing to disambiguate the meaning of regional signs. Results also suggest that participants performed best comprehending Birmingham and London varieties. Lexical accommodation was found to be minimal suggesting that language change in BSL is not influenced primarily by contact with other varieties but rather that language change appears to be the result of recent changes in language transmission (i.e., the closure of schools for deaf children).

Congenital sensorineural deafness in Australian Cattle dogs in the UK: Prevalence and association with phenotype

The Australian Cattle dog (ACD) is one of many breeds predisposed to congenital sensorineural deafness (CSD). The objective of this study was to estimate CSD prevalence and investigate any association with phenotype in the ACD in the UK. The database of the authors’ institution was searched for ACD puppies undergoing brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) testing for CSD screening (1999–2019). Inclusion criteria were BAER performed at 4–10 weeks of age, testing of complete litters and available phenotypic data. The age, sex, coat and iris colour, presence and location of face and body patches, hearing status and BAER- determined parental hearing status of each puppy were recorded. A multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression model was used to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals to determine whether any of these variables were significantly associated with CSD, while adjusting for clustering at litter level.Inclusion criteria were met for 524 puppies. Hearing was bilaterally normal in 464 puppies (88.6%). The prevalence of unilateral and bilateral CSD was 9.7% and 1.7%, respectively. On the basis of multivariable analysis, the presence of a pigmented face patch was the only phenotypic variable significantly associated with CSD, and was linked to a reduced risk of the condition. The prevalence was similar to that reported in an Australian population of ACDs. The key findings from this study were that overall CSD prevalence in the ACD population in the UK was 11.4%, and puppies with a face patch were at reduced risk of the condition.

Survival of deaf childhood in a society centered in the oral language: the covid-19 case and the viralization of libras

Studies point out challenges for the acquisition of the Brazilian sign language (Libras) by deaf children. Most deaf people are children of hearing parents who do not know Libras and the first contact with this language can occur only in the school environment. With the situation of social isolation and the impossibility of opening schools due to the New Coronavirus pandemic, these problems have worsened. The project called #CasaLibras of virtual attention in Libras for deaf children aimed to produce videos with children's storytelling directly in Libras. The actions are justified as a way of informing, entertaining, as well as, stimulating the contact of this language by deaf children in their homes. This article intends to analyze this political scenario, problematizing: 1) the philosophical-social conceptions about deafness, 2) the struggle for deaf survival, given the lack of public, social and educational policies, in a necropolitics that is affirmed in the production of death (symbolic and real for the deaf, due to the guidelines for the adaptation of deaf bodies to the oral language and the lack of information, exposing them to the risk) of deaf differences; and, finally, 3) the analysis of the results of the #CasaLibras project aimed at deaf children. The data suggest a widespread use of the media and some viralization of Libras, in the pandemic, through the action of the people. It highlights the positivity of the project in promoting accessibility for deaf children and the urgency of expanding inclusive bilingual policies that strengthen the singularities of these lives, leaving them less vulnerable, physically and symbolically.

Eyes Open, Ears On: Supporting Hearing Technology Use in Children with Hearing Loss

Eyes Open, Ears On: Supporting Hearing Technology Use in Children with Hearing Loss

Congenital sensorineural deafness in Dogo Argentino dogs: Prevalence and phenotype associations.

The Dogo Argentino dog breed is affected by hereditary congenital sensorineural deafness (CSD) associated with white pigmentation, but prevalence data and associations with phenotypes have not been reported. In a retrospective study, animals were tested by the brainstem auditory evoked response, and phenotype data of sex, iris color, patch presence/absence and parent hearing status were collected. Chi-square analyses were performed to identify associations between deafness and phenotype traits. BAER results and phenotype data were collected for 811 dogs. Hearing status was 74.23% bilaterally hearing, 20.35% unilaterally deaf and 5.43% bilaterally deaf or an overall prevalence of 25.77%. CSD was not associated with sex, but dogs without a patch had a significantly higher prevalence rate than patched dogs. Blue-eyed dogs had higher prevalence rates than brown-eyed dogs, but because of small sample size the χ2 association was not considered valid. Insufficient numbers of dogs with a unilaterally deaf parent were present to assess the effects of parent hearing status. Approximately one fourth of a US Dogo Argentino population was deaf in one or both ears, but dogs with a patch had a lower prevalence. Dogs with a blue eye were more likely to be deaf, but the association significance could not be reliably assessed.

Exploring the Types of Stories Hearing Parents Tell About Rearing their Children Who Use Cochlear Implants.

The majority of children born in the United States with hearing loss (HL) are born to parents with hearing. Many of these parents ultimately choose cochlear implantation for their children. There are now decades of research showing which these children's speech, language, listening, and education seem to benefit from cochlear implantation. To date, however, we know little about the experiences of the parents who guided these children throughout their journeys. We propose that elucidating the types of stories these parents tell is a first step toward understanding their varied experiences and has the potential to ultimately improve healthcare outcomes for both children and their families. Thus, to better understand parents' experience, we asked the following research question: what types of stories do parents with hearing tell about rearing their children with HL who use cochlear implants? In this prospective qualitative study, we used a narrative approach. Specifically, we conducted narrative interviews with 20 hearing parents who are rearing young children (mean age = 5.4 years) born with HL who use cochlear implants. We then used thematic narrative analysis to identify recurring themes throughout the narratives that coalesced into the types of stories parents told about their experiences. Thematic narrative analysis revealed five story types: (1) stories of personal growth, (2) proactive stories, (3) stories of strain and inundation, (4) detached stories, and (5) stories of persistence. In the present study, different types of stories emerged from parents' experiences that share common events-a family's baby is identified at birth with unexpected permanent HL, the family chooses to pursue cochlear implantation for their child, and then the family raises said pediatric cochlear implant user into adulthood. Despite these similarities, the stories also varied in their sensemaking. Some parents told stories in which a positive life narrative turned bad, whereas others told stories in which a narrative of surviving turned into one of thriving. These findings specifically contribute to the field of hearing healthcare by providing professionals with insight into parents' sensemaking via the types of stories they shared centered on their perceptions and experiences following their child's diagnosis of HL and their decision to pursue cochlear implantation.

Assessing parent-child interaction in infant deafness.

To highlight the importance of parent-child interaction (PCI) in infant deafness and address the lack of robust assessment tools in clinical practice. Most deaf babies are born to hearing parents with little experience in deafness. Deafness can reduce access to spoken language. Despite advancements in amplification technology, deaf children still present with delays in attention and communication skills at the start of nursery. Research reports that hearing parents of deaf infants can be more directive during interaction, spend less time following the child's focus of attention, and have more difficulty achieving successful turn-taking in conversation. Much research tells us that these factors impact on the quality and quantity of PCI. Good PCI, in all infants, but especially so in deafness, is a strong predictor of child language outcomes. Teachers of the Deaf and Speech and Language Therapists are the first professionals to support families in the home. For these professionals, having an objective way of assessing PCI would greatly assist and standardise their practice. However, to date, there are no deaf-specific assessments to observe and appraise a parent's communication behaviours when interacting with their deaf child. Intervention studies with families of deaf children have shown success in improving parental sensitivity and facilitative language techniques. An observational assessment in parent-deaf child interaction would ensure that communication interventions are appropriately targeted on the individual family's needs.

Deaf Children of Hearing Parents Have Age-Level Vocabulary Growth When Exposed to American Sign Language by 6 Months of Age

To examine whether children who are deaf or hard of hearing who have hearing parents can develop age-level vocabulary skills when they have early exposure to a sign language. This cross-sectional study of vocabulary size included 78 children who are deaf or hard of hearing between 8 and 68months of age who were learning American Sign Language (ASL) and had hearing parents. Children who were exposed to ASL before 6months of age or between 6 and 36months of age were compared with a reference sample of 104 deaf and hard of hearing children who have parents who are deaf and sign. Deaf and hard of hearing children with hearing parents who were exposed to ASL in the first 6months of life had age-expected receptive and expressive vocabulary growth. Children who had a short delay in ASL exposure had relatively smaller expressive but not receptive vocabulary sizes, and made rapid gains. Although hearing parents generally learn ASL alongside their children who are deaf, their children can develop age-expected vocabulary skills when exposed to ASL during infancy. Children who are deaf with hearing parents can predictably and consistently develop age-level vocabularies at rates similar to native signers; early vocabulary skills are robust predictors of development across domains.

The challenges experienced by parents when parenting a child with hearing loss within a South African context

ABSTRACT The purpose of the current study was to explore the challenges experienced by hearing parents when parenting a child with hearing loss. Using a qualitative purposive sampling design, interviews were conducted with 13 parents (9 mothers, 4 fathers) residing in Cape Town, South Africa. Four salient themes emerged, namely: 1) communication is difficult, hard, and frustrating; 2) lack of knowledge and information about hearing loss makes it difficult to parent; 3) little or no support makes for a lonely journey; and 4) support identified by parents for parents. The findings of the study have important implications for collaboration and partnerships between parents and health and family practitioners within South Africa for the design and development of supportive interventions for parents parenting a child with hearing loss.

The "Silk Road" to Literacy for Chinese Deaf Students.

The "Silk Road" to Literacy for Chinese Deaf Students Jean F. Andrews (bio) and Gabrielle A. Jones (bio) Special Section: Language Development and Literacy Learning Among Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students in Chinese Communities In this special section of the Fall 2021 issue of the American Annals of the Deaf, the Silk Road, a historic network of trade routes used to import Eastern (Chinese) porcelain, silks, and other products to the West, serves as a metaphor for how our invited scholars bring their ideas about literacy learning of deaf1 students from East Asia to the Western world. Studies exemplifying East-West connections in this particular field of study are scarce; however, we see this scholarship increasing. In one notable study conducted in Nanjing, China, Chinese hearing parents "linked the ability to read and write to the children's need to communicate," and viewed literacy as "contributing to their child's language development" (Callaway, 2000, pp. 184–185). Since 2000, there has been an escalating interest in studies about literacy and Chinese deaf students. For example, in a recent search on ERIC/Professional Development and ComDisDome from 2000 to 2021 using the intersection of the terms deaf, Chinese, reading, and literacy, we found more than 30 peer-reviewed studies. To expand this base, we solicited manuscripts from four distinct regions: Mainland China (People's Republic of China), Taiwan (Republic of China), Macau, and Hong Kong. Before introducing our contributors, we will briefly highlight deaf children's diverse sensory and linguistic experiences, as these serve as a linchpin for an understanding of their language and literacy learning (Emmorey & Lee, 2021; Goldin-Meadow & Mayberry, 2001). Generalizations can, of course, obfuscate more than elucidate. But this much we know is true: Along with a lack of diverse sensory and linguistic experiences, insufficient access to language, either spoken or signed, bars deaf children from literacy learning (Kuntz & Golos, 2020). Diverse Sensory and Linguistic Experiences, But Limited Language Access Catherine McBride, a prolific writer and researcher on literacy and Chinese children, explains that the fundamental difference between language learning and literacy learning is that language unfolds naturally, after which literacy must be directly taught (McBride, 2016). Such a sequence, however, is different for deaf children, according to researchers who suggest that deaf children are often learning the English language at the same time they are learning to read it (Hoffmeister & Caldwell-Harris, 2014). In a retrospective study, Hong, a Chinese deaf adult, [End Page 439] reported that when she was 3 years old, her parents taught her Chinese words by labeling objects in the home with Pinyin and Chinese characters. Admittedly, this is just one case, but it does illustrate the point that Hong, via written language, was learning spoken and written Chinese at the same time she was learning to read it (Q. Wang et al., 2016). Dwelling on this idea further, we see that Chinese children with typical hearing arrive in first grade having internalized 6 years of spoken and listening Chinese-language experiences which they can use to build Chinese literacy skills. In comparison, deaf individuals not only have different sensory and linguistic experiences (Emmorey & Lee, 2021), but have limited language access (Kuntz & Golos, 2020), with both factors influencing the character and amount of linguistic resources they bring to first grade. And while deaf children may use advanced hearing technologies (e.g., hearing aids, cochlear implants), it has nonetheless been shown that using such devices can lead to highly variable literacy learning outcomes (Herman et al., 2021). Combined with diverse sensory and linguistic experiences and limited language access, we were not surprised, in reviewing our six articles, to find other divergences among deaf students in literacy learning as well as in the literacy instruction they receive. Even though China shares cultural traditions with Taiwan, Macau, and Hong Kong, for historical reasons each of these regions has distinct languages (spoken and signed) and dialects, with their own regional educational standards and literacy teaching methods, some of which we highlight here. Our first region, Mainland China, is home to 1.4 billion...

Early language intervention in deaf children of hearing parents

Language development is often hampered by the fact that 90 per cent of deaf children are born into hearing families who do not know Sign language (SL) or haven't had any previous contact with the deaf world. Such parents often use only spoken language to communicate with the child, which results in no or very little language exposure. Many deaf children only start to learn a language, signed or spoken, when they start attending school, usually between the ages of three and seven. As a result, the deaf child has a delay in cognitive and language development and finds it hard to learn a SL, like South African Sign Language (SASL), as well as a written language (e.g., English). This late exposure to SL proves to be a serious cognitive problem for deaf children when compared to those children who acquired language from birth. This problem led to the research question namely, whether deaf children’s language and cognition can still develop to the required level for school readiness if early language intervention (ELI) takes place within the critical period of language acquisition. To answer the question, a case study was done at a school for the deaf and blind with a small group of deaf learners in the foundation phase. The results show that the little language exposure these children received in only one year of school already made a huge difference to their language and cognitive development. This article also makes recommendations to the various stakeholders in deaf education.

Counting Differently: Assessing Mathematics Achievement of Signing Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children Through a Unique Lens.

Limited studies exist that connect using signed language with mathematics performance of deaf and hard of hearing children. In the present study, the authors examined 257 participants and compared their results on the Northwest Evaluation Association: Measures of Academic Progress (NWEA MAP) to their results on an assessment of American Sign Language (ASL) skills. It was found that better ASL skills tended to result in better MAP performance. These results are moderated by factors such as age, gender, parental hearing status, and learning disability identification.

The Effects of Human Resource Challenges on the Implementation of Inclusive Education for the Hearing-Impaired Pupils in Wakiso District, Uganda

Hearing impaired pupils have been a subject of educational attention globally for many years. In fact, systematic teaching of these learners is a relatively young field as a result historical prejudice by hearing educators and parents who believed that HI children were either incapable to learning or had serious limitation to their potentials, fortunately we now have firm evidence that those prejudices were unfounded. The study adopted a descriptive survey design and targeting 86 HI teachers and a sample population of 64 where 79 teachers and 3 head teachers were selected from the 3 primary schools. The data was analyze using SPSS Version 2.0 data was analyze using simple statistics of percentages and frequency tables. The findings on the effect of human resources challenges on inclusive education indicated a significant positive association between Human Resource Challenges and Inclusive Education (r=0.558, Sig-value=0.000). The researcher recommends that schools should be modified to accommodate hearing impaired learners to enable them fit in and to benefit in inclusive education.

Theory of Mind (ToM) Development in Thai Deaf Children.

This study explored theory of mind (ToM) development in school-aged deaf children. To address new questions, we gave a standard, well-controlled false-belief test to a large (n = 200) sample of severely-to-profoundly deaf children aged 8-15years in a non-Western culture (Thailand). There were 190 deaf children of hearing parents and 10 deaf native signers with signing deaf parents, consistent with overall population ratios. Comparing our Thai sample's ToM performance on standard tests of false-belief understanding with that reported in past studies, our results showed a 67% ToM success rate for Thai severely-to-profoundly deaf children of hearing parents similar to collective findings from past research on smaller samples in Australia, Estonia, France, Great Britain, Sweden, and the United States. Our Thai deaf native signers likewise performed equivalently to native signers of similar age studied in past research in Australia and the United States. Collectively, the detailed findings of our study suggest promising new directions for future studies to pursue in order to build upon this novel and theoretically provocative evidence about how ToM development and ToM delay unfold for school-aged deaf children growing up in varied cultures, school settings, and family circumstances.