Faculty of Education. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 331-367).

Thesis (MTech(Education))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2009 / When a child enters formal education a certain level of development and experience is expected. If there is a language deficit or shortfall upon entering formal schooling, a negative perception of schooling can develop, resulting in a low level of success in the classroom. Research has clearly shown that learners with a hearing deficit, and who received very little stimulation at an early age, tended to develop a language deficit which hampered their entrance into, as well as their performance in mainstream education. The ideal is thus that a child should experience success in the learning process at the earliest possible stage. Hereupon he can develop and realise his full potential as a human being. Children who experience early success should be more capable of coping with the challenges that schooling and learning present. If these learners receive early intervention to support their language development it could lead to being more successful in mainstream education. Learners with a cochlear implant must receive intensive hearing and communicative training. They are taught how to effectively interpret the sound relayed by the implant, and thereafter, if possible, be able to use this "hearing ability" to enter into interactive spoken language. Motivation and support from parents, family and friends is a determining factor in the successful use of the implant. This should lead to a learner being able to reach his full potential. From the research conducted it has become evident that the language deficit retrogression of the child leads to under-achievement when formal schooling begins.This is because of different hearing difficulties. However, if such a pre-school child is assisted and supported at an early stage through effective intervention strategies, language deficit can be decreased or even completely cured. In this study a learner who had received a cochlear implant, was closely observed. A significant improvement in his language ability was evinced. The action research study was an individualised teaching and learning situation with a learner who had a cochlear implant and with a language deficit. Over a period of 19 months different intervention strategies were used to improve the learner's language ability. The intervention strategies which were successful can be used as a possible point of departure for further research and study to give educators and parents a better insight into this problem. Through intensive research these findings can be developed as a possible support system or methodolgy for educators in the inclusive classroom.

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The cochlear implant represents a radical intervention in the hearing-impaired child's life, which has a profound influence on the feelings and emotions of the child's family. In this study it is endeavoured to identify and to describe this influence. A literature study was done. Families of implanted children in Scotland and in South Africa filled in questionnaires and interviews were held. This study illuminates the fact that parents suffer stress and have various concerns before as well as after the implant. Different reasons why parents decide to give their child a cochlear implant are described. The researcher came to the conclusion that the implanted child functions in a more balanced way and that parents are very satisfied after the implantation. The effect of the implant is described under the following categories: communication, feelings of parents, effect on the deaf child, normality, effect on parents, effect on siblings. / Education / M.Ed.(Guidance and Counselling)

The purpose of this study was to determine if deaf adolescents who scored as Reactive on the Test of Engagement Style would score significantly lower on the Stanford Achievement subtests of Reading, Math Concepts, Math Computations, Math Applications, and Language than would deaf adolescents who scored as Active on the same test. The Test of Engagement Style is a locus of control construct which utilizes a non-verbal, open-ended format. Subject responses are recorded as either Active or Reactive. The subjects of this study were 111 deaf adolescents who attended the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind in Tucson. Cross-tabulation of data between sexes was utilized as was hypothesis testing procedures utilizing one-way analysis of variance with males and females combined in Active and Reactive dimensions for the following variables: IQ, onset of hearing loss, degree of hearing loss (in decibels), age, and the five Stanford Achievement subtests. Split-half procedures were utilized to test for significant correlation in item analysis of the Test of Engagement Style. The TES showed significant internal consistency with an alpha of .74 at the .05 level of significance. The following results were found: (1) There was no significant difference between males and females on TES scores. (2) There was significant difference on mean scores in the subtests of Reading, Math Computations, Math Applications, and Language between Active and Reactive students. (3) There was no significant difference between Active and Reactive subjects on onset of deafness, degree of hearing loss, age, and the Math Concepts subtest. (4) There was significant difference in IQ scores between Active and Reactive subjects. This study suggests that the Test of Engagement Style is useful for making comparisons between Stanford Achievement Test scores and locus of control perceptions.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between hearing mothers' methods of communication with their prelingually deaf childern, and those children's reading comprehension scores, as measured by the Stanford Achievement Test, Special Edition for Hearing Impaired Students, 1973, (SAT-HI). The subjects of this study were 201 prelingually deaf students from six randomly selected residential schools for the deaf from throughout the United States. All subjects had hearing losses of 91db (ANSI) or greater, had lost their hearing before age three, used some form of manual communication as their primary method of learning and communicating, were ages 11.25 through 19.83, had been enrolled for at least the past three years in residential schools which subscribed to the total communication philosophy, had no additional handicapping conditions, had natural mothers who were able to complete the Mother's Questionnaire, came from families who used English as the primary spoken language, and had parents whose hearing was normal. Questionnaires were sent to schools and mothers to obtain information regarding the dependent variable (reading comprehension scores); the primary independent variables (methods of communication used by mothers, ages of the children when signing mothers began to use manual communication, and skill levels of mothers who used manual communication); and a number of secondary independent variables. The date were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients, multiple ANOVA's, multiple regression analysis and analysis of covariance. Chronological age and non-verbal IQ acted as covariates. Results indicated that, for the subjects of this study, the method of communication used by mothers of prelingually deaf children had no significant relationship with their children's reading comprehension scores. Of the subjects whose mothers used manual communication, no significant relationship was found between reading comprehension and the ages of the children when their mothers began to sign with them. Conversely, a significant relationship was found between reading comprehension scores and signing skill levels of mothers as reported by both mothers and schools. Because of questionable validity of some of the measures, difficulties in interpretation of the ANCOVA, inability to control for ethnic background, limitations in subject selection, and the small number of subjects in Group 1; the findings of this study should be considered to be speculative, at best.

No description available.

This study was designed to determine whether or not auditory discrimination could be improved in a group of third-grade students by the use of a tape-recorded program of auditory exercises. Of additional interest was the effect that the program of auditory exercises would have upon the work recognition skills and the spelling skills of the third-grade students involved.

In recent years much interest has been focused on the manner in which the young child acquires language. Some researchers (Chomsky, 1965; McNeil) have postulated an inherent capacity to comprehend and utilize linguistic structures, while others such as Irwin, (1960), Hess and Shipman (1965), and Greenstein, et al, (1974) have focused on experiential determinants of language competence in early childhood. As with all children, the social and emotional behavior of deaf children is greatly influenced by their ability to communicate with significant others. Interactions between the normally developing child and his parents are characterized by mutual responsiveness, where each initiates and reciprocates communication. When a Child's language development is delayed or impaired(as with a hearing loss), this communication process may also become impaired, with parents being unable to respond appropriately to confused or reduced messages from the child. This paper reviews some of the pertinent research regarding the behavioral interaction between the parent and child and its effect on communication and psychosocial development. The implications of this data for the hearing-impaired child and his family are considered. It will address the question," What is it that parents with young hearing impaired children do that facilitates or impedes speech and language development?" A methodology is also presented for developing effective communication between such children and their parents.

This investigation was conducted to determine whether the removal of hearing aids from these children for eighteen hours (+ 1/2 hour and including sleep time) would result in reduced speech intelligibility as perceived by a panel of listening judges who were unfamiliar with the speech of the deaf.