Being hearing impaired does not only affect a child’s academic performance, but can also influence a child’s overall development and ability to succeed academically. Evidence suggests that the outlay in early childhood has a large impact on a child’s readiness to learn. Neurodevelopmental movement programmes are generally not accepted as evidenced-based practice and their effect on academic performance is often underrated. Movement, however, is regarded by many as essential to learning and there seems to be a positive interchange between the brain and the body. This study reports on the influence of a neurodevelopmental movement programme on the development, behaviour and performance on a neurodevelopmental evaluation scale of four to eight year-old children with hearing impairment children. The study furthermore provides a report of the results of the psychometric assessment in the form of a neurodevelopmental profile for this specific sample. Children were selected from a special needs school in the rural QwaQwa Free State area of South Africa. Two groups of children (an experimental and comparison group) were used in this study, with both groups undergoing a pretest and posttest phase using three test batteries (Griffiths Mental Developmental Scales- Extended Revised, Child Behaviour Checklist, and a neurodevelopmental evaluation scale). The experimental group was subjected to a fourteen-week neurodevelopmental movement programme. The comparison group underwent a placebo intervention. The results indicate that the children in the experimental group showed an improvement in some aspects of specific development following the intervention (locomotor functioning, performance related abilities, and practical reasoning skills). General developmental age showed significant improvement in both the experimental group and the comparison group. No behavioural aspects showed significant improvements following the intervention, whereas some neurodevelopmental aspects, such as the vestibular system (Tandem Walk and One Leg Stand) and the reflex system (TLR – reflex) showed significant improvements. The results of this empirical investigation aid in understanding the impact of movement programmes on a child with hearing disability’s general development and neurodevelopmental development. / Thesis (PhD (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Small timing differences occur when sounds reach one ear before the other, creating interaural phase differences (IPDs). The phase-locked activity in the auditory nerve can, at low frequencies, preserve IPDs. IPDs are used for localising and separating sounds from different directions. Chapters 3, 5, and 6 report three studies of the independent effects of age and sensorineural hearing loss on the temporal processing of sound that aids spatial hearing. Chapters 2 and 4 describe two supporting methodological studies. Chapter 2 compared the duration of training required for stable IPD-discrimination thresholds for two stimulus presentation procedures. The procedure requiring the least training was adopted for subsequent studies. Age and hearing loss are related and both may affect sensitivity to IPDs. Chapter 3 demonstrated that hearing loss, regardless of listener age, is related to poorer sensitivity to IPDs in the temporal fine structure (TFS), but not in the temporal envelope. Chapter 3 also showed that age, independent of hearing loss, is related to poorer envelope-IPD sensitivity at low modulation rates, and somewhat poorer TFS-IPD sensitivity. In Chapter 5, listener age and IPD sensitivity were both compared to subcortical neural phase locking measured through the frequency-following response (FFR). Phase coherence in the envelope-FFR at 145 Hz modulation and in the TFS-FFR deteriorated with age, suggesting less precise phase locking in old age. However, age-related changes to IPD sensitivity were not strongly related to age-related changes in FFR phase coherence. IPD sensitivity declines may be predominantly caused by deterioration of binaural processing independent of subcortical phase locking. Chapter 4 showed that electrodes at the mastoids recorded TFS-FFR generated earlier in the auditory pathway than electrodes from the nape of the neck to forehead, which recorded FFR generated later in the brainstem. However, these electrode montages did not reveal different age- or hearing-loss-related FFR deficits in Chapter 5. Chapter 6 determined whether hearing loss affected the ability to use TFS IPDs to achieve better speech perception. On average, old hearing-impaired listeners gained a small, but significant, benefit from a lateral separation of the speech sources. Replacing the TFS with binaurally in-phase sine waves (removing the TFS IPDs) significantly reduced the benefit of lateral separation. How much a listener benefitted from intact TFS IPDs in speech perception was strongly related to the extent of their hearing loss at low frequencies and their monaural processing of TFS, but not to their ability to discriminate IPDs. In general, this thesis shows that low-frequency hearing loss is associated with poor sensitivity to TFS IPDs and the ability to benefit from them when sounds are laterally separated. The thesis also shows that old age can reduce sensitivity to IPDs and weaken subcortical temporal coding. Although only partly related, these effects are likely to cause problems for old individuals in challenging listening environments.

Introduction Otitis mediawith effusion is found in almost every patient with cleft palate. Arisk factor for permanent conductive hearing lossis recurring otitis media which is commonly found in cleft palate patients. Several studieshave been conductedto measure the extent of hearing loss in childrenwith cleft palate.Hearing problemsdue to otitis mediaoften persist into adulthood.Thus, it is of interest to see if there are any existing studies onhearing impairments inadultcleft palatepatients. Objective The purpose of this study is tosummarize theexisting literatureon hearing impairments in adult patients with cleft palate and to map the characteristics of the studies found. Method A scoping reviewprotocolproposedby Joanna Briggs Institutewas usedto synthesizeand summerizethe published literaturesearchedinthe PubMed database. Syndromal cleft palates were excluded from this study. Results Onereviewer went through 11full-text articlesthatwere considered relevant.It was possible toidentify five different key areas of research among the included studies. Conclusions It wasfound that there is literature available on this topic,but the heterogeneity of the studies made it impossible to compare the charted data betweenthe studies. We identifieda need for longitudinal studies on this topic and suggest more standardization withregard tothe definitions of cleft palate and hearing impairment.

Advances in instrumentation and computer technology such as electropalatography (EPG) have offered additional types of feedback to more traditional therapy for individuals with speech disorders, specifically those with hearing impairment. The purpose of this study was to document whether therapeutic integration of EPG visual feedback in combination with traditional articulation therapy for a school-aged child with an articulation disorder secondary to hearing impairment was more effective than traditional therapy alone. One participant received five sessions of each therapy approach. Six adult listeners rated the quality of the participant's production of /r/ in words recorded during the therapy sessions. The EPG plus a traditional approach to therapy was more effective in treating the misarticulation of /r/ than traditional therapy alone. The integration of EPG therapy into traditional methods was an effective way of treating an articulation disorder for an individual with hearing impairment.

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My diploma thesis is focused on inclusive education of pupil with hearing impairment in the Czech Republic from the parents' point of view. The theoretical part specializes in the individual chapters on hearing impairment generally, on the possibilities of rehabilitation and use of compensating aids or on logopedic (speech therapy) intervention. Further, the thesis describes education of pupils with hearing impairment in the Czech Republic at schools for pupils with hearing impairment but also at schools with the main education stream. It introduces the possibilities of education and support from the child's birth to the university study. It also introduces foreign models of education of pupils with hearing impairment in 4 chosen countries. The goal of empiric part was to chart the current situation in inclusive education of pupils with hearing impairment from the parents' point of view; to describe pros and cons of inclusion, cooperation with teachers, adaptation and education with intact classmates and also to find out how the inclusion is perceived by teachers and if their opinions are in accordance with parents' opinions. The method of semi-structured interviews with parents of pupils with hearing impairment and with teachers who already have experience with education of these pupils was used...

This diploma thesis deals with the education and communication of students with hearing impairment with a focus on the analysis of the level of understanding of information in sign language for students of special secondary schools for the hearing impaired. The theoretical part presents important concepts in this area, such as the definition of communication and communication options for the hearing impaired, as well as educational opportunities for the hearing impaired from a preschool level to a university and last but not least sign languages, their research in the world and Czech sign language as a native language of people with hearing impairment in the Czech Republic. The empirical part describes the research, which was conducted on 65 probands - high school students of the special school for students with a hearing impairment. The research is focused on the differences in the level of understanding of groups of students according to their identification data and also examined whether comprehension is affected by the complexity of the information transmitted (i.e. whether information at the level of ordinary conversation is better understood than a professional information). The research survey was of a qualitative nature and the main research method was a non-standardized questionnaire...

TITLE: Czech language at primary schools for children with hearing impairment SUMMARY: The topic of graduation thesis is education of students with hearing impairment, focusing on education in the Czech language. The thesis focuses on the recent history of education of students with hearing impairment, but also on the current situation in special education surdopedics and the current legal standards that define it. Sufficient space is devoted to the central theme of the thesis- the Czech language and its teaching. This thesis presents and comments the data that was obtained through quantitative research, which was implemented in four Czech primary schools for children with hearing impairment. In the investigation, we used methods of questioning (questionnaire for students and questionnaire for Czech language and literature teacher) and methods of observation (structured observation during the hours of Czech language and literature) on the 2nd stage of these schools. The aim of this thesis was the most complex mapping of Czech language and literature- in terms of modes of communication, staffing of teaching, used textbooks and teaching aids, and in terms of views of our respondents in the Czech language and literature as well as their opinion of the Czech language as such. KEYWORDS: Czech language, education...

Newborn hearing screening in the Czech Republic Abstract The aim of this diploma thesis is to summarize the important and actual information about a newborn hearing screening and its related topics. The theoretical part of this thesis contains the contemporary knowledge of the issue, the definition of terms for a comprehensive setting of issue in the context, illustrates the current state of knowledge of the issue in the Czech Republic in the comparison to some European and world countries and reveals some more directly and inextricably related topics. The practical part is based on the knowledge of the theoretical part. The practical part focuses on identification of the level of awareness of newborn hearing screening among pregnant women, which was investigated by a questionnaire. This part also analyzes, evaluates and discusses the results and suggestions for practice. The task of the practical part was not only to identify the research data, but also to provide information to expectant mothers about the possibilities and significance of the newborn hearing screening by appropriate form, as this topic is very current for the general public. Key words: early care early diagnosis hearing impairment newborn hearing screening otoacoustic emissions rehabilitation of hearing impairment

The thesis deals with education of pupils with hearing impairment in elementary schools, specifically in the South Bohemian region. It focuses in particular on their inclusive education. In its chapters, the thesis describes individual structures of the hearing analyzer, characterizes the degrees of hearing impairment and classifies persons with hearing impairment into specific categories. The main part of the thesis is a chapter focusing on education of hearing impaired pupils. It deals not only with education in the system of special schools, but concentrates primarily on their study within mainstream education. For this system of education, it is important to identify correctly a support measure, the levels of which are key to ensuring appropriate support for individual pupils. The aim of the work was to map the course of inclusive education of pupils with hearing impairment at elementary schools in the South Bohemian region. The objective was to assess the negatives and positives of inclusion and the impact of hearing impairment on the communication and social abilities of these pupils. During data collection, the methods of interview, observation and questionnaire survey were used, and participants of the research included parents and teaching staff educating pupils with hearing impairment....