The purpose of this study was to determine if the frequent use of LanguageLinks: Syntax Assessment and Intervention (LL), produced by Laureate Learning Systems, Inc., as a supplemental classroom activity, affected morphosyntax structures (determiners, tense, and complementizers) in participants who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing (DHH) and use American Sign Language (ASL). Twenty-six students from an urban day school for the Deaf participated in this study. Two hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) growth curve analyses were used to examine the influence of LL on the comprehension of morphosyntax based on two dependent variables: 1) the scores from LL’s Optimized Intervention (OI; Wilson, 2003) reports; and 2) the scores from a subset of the Comprehension of Written Grammar (CWG; Easterbrooks, 2010) test. The results of the HLM analyses revealed that time was a statistically significant indicator of progress on both dependent variables: 1) LL, t(25) = 4.510, p < .001, and 2) CWG, t(25) = 4.750, p < .001. Two independent variables served as predictors of where the participants started on the level-1 intercept of the growth curve: 1) Degree of Hearing Loss; and 2) Age. The results indicated that Age, t(23) = 2.182, p = .039, was a statistically significant predictor of the level-1 intercept. A second set of independent variables served as predictors of change over time on the growth curve: 1) Diagnostic Evaluation of Language Variation Norm-Referenced (DELV-NR; Seymour, Roeper, & de Villiers, 2005) pretest scores on the syntax and semantic subtest; and 2) the Basic Reading Inventory (BRI; Johns, 2008) scores. The results indicated that the BRI scores, t(22) = 3.522, p = .002, were statistically significant predictors of change over time on the LL program. A dependent t-test was used to examine the comprehension of morphosyntax based on the third dependent variable of the DELV-NR assessment, and revealed statistically significant results on the syntax subtest, t(25) = -2.394, p = .024. The daily use of LL affected the morphosyntax of the participants in this study and may be an evidence-based practice for students who are DHH and use ASL.

In the field of deaf education, a long-standing and still unanswered question is why are the reading levels and academic achievement levels of deaf and hard of hearing children inferior to their hearing peers. Teachers and parents continue to look for reasons to explain the gap and strategies they can use to narrow this gap between the reading achievement of children who are deaf and children who hear. For all children, literacy learning begins at birth. During the early years, children listen to and learn from the language their parents speak to them. The children are affected by the family interactions and experiences of daily life both inside and outside the family. Examination of literacy interactions of deaf children and their parents may provide answers to help us understand the literacy achievement gap deaf children experience. For this research dissertation, my focus was on: (a) How does the communication method of the deaf child affect language learning?; (b) How can the parent-child literacy interactions of deaf children be described?, and (c) How can preschool-age deaf children’s emergent literacy behaviors be described? This naturalistic study looked at the early literacy interactions of preschool deaf children of hearing parents. From an initial group of ten families, three families from an early intervention program were selected. The researcher identified the literacy histories of the deaf children, described the parent-child literacy interactions, and explored emergent literacy behaviors occurring in the home. Data sources included parent questionnaires, parent interviews, literacy logs, and observations of parent-child literacy interactions, including storybook reading. Findings reveal that overall family support, the definitive personality of the parents, and the early diagnosis and amplification of the deaf child defined the difference between the deaf child that excelled as an emergent reader and those who did not. Family support assisted in making each child a successful emergent reader. Parents who made an early decision and commitment to a communication mode, whether manual or oral, allowed their child to progress in areas beyond simple vocabulary. Lastly, the early diagnosis of deafness and early amplification aided the deaf child in emergent literacy achievements.

The aim of the research is to evaluate the intellectual maturity and strengths and difficulties of primary school children with hearing disorders in comparison with healthy children. The following procedures have been employed in the research: Naglieri Jack A. DAP: Draw a Person A Quantitative Scoring System. Goodman R. SDQ: Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. 64 deaf and hard of hearing children from first-forth grade and 40 hearing children of the same age participated in the survey. Results show that intellectual maturity of deaf and hard of hearing children is the same as the hearing children (t = 1,837, p = 0,069), so it doesn’t confirm data that children with hearing disorders have lower intellectual maturity than healthy children. Results of this research confirm data that deaf and hard of hearing children have more conduct problems and peer problems in comparison with hearing children (t = -2,635, p= 0,01; t = -2,711, p = 0,008). Results doesn’t confirm data that children with hearing disorders have lower value of social behavior than healthy children (t = 0,621, p = 0,536).

No description available.

The present study investigated deaf children's performance on several modified tests of the original Halstead Reitan Neuropsychological Battery for Older Children (HRNB-C). Specifically, performance of 42 deaf children (mean age = 13.3 years, SD = 0.7 yrs.) and a matched sample of 42 hearing peers was examined on the HRNB-C Category, Tactual Performance, and Trail Making tests.In Study 1, a computerized version of the Category Test was administered. Step-down F tests were used to examine differences in total errors and the unique contribution of response time. In Study 2, the Tactual Performance and Trail Making scores were dependent variables. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore multivariate intergroup differences.The major finding of this research was that neuropsychological abilities of deaf children who have no additional handicapping conditions or impairments are, in general, similar to matched hearing controls. Few clinically relevant differences were found. No quantitative differences were found on Trail Making Part A or the total number of Category Test errors. Noteworthy, from a qualitative stance, was the role of response time and its unique contribution within the Category Test. Deaf subjects had significantly greater response times to individual items regardless of correctness of answer. Deaf children were also found to take longer on Trails B, although they performed within normals limits. With respect to the Tactual Performance Test (TPT), deaf children did slightly better than their matched hearing peers on TPT total time and location. In addition, Trails B and TPT location scores were the best multivariate composite of discriminators of deaf versus hearing performance. Notwithstanding, overinterpretation of statistical differences found in both studies was cautioned and the similarities of performance between deaf and hearing children emphasized.These findings offered information of deaf children's neuropsychological functioning compared to hearing controls in the clinical setting. Moreover, the results of the present study should be generalizable to other "non-impaired", 12-14 year old deaf children within a residential academic environment. / Department of Educational Psychology

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the reading comprehension of deaf and hearing subjects was affected by the presence of idiomatic language in passages.The Test Of Idioms was constructed to determine the effect of idiomatic language on reading comprehension. It consisted of twelve passages. The four forms differed in the presence or absence of idiomatic language. The Test Of Idioms was evaluated by three judges. Form A and Form D were piloted to standardize the directions for administration and to assess the reliability of the instrument. The reliability for Form A was .93 and .89 for Form D.The subjects in this study were 54 students at the Indiana School for the Deaf who were prelingually, profoundly deaf and had no other handicapping conditions. The hearing subjects consisted of 91 students from the New Castle Community School System who were in grades three or four, had never been retained and had no handicapping conditions. Both deaf and hearing subjects were randomly assigned to take one of the four forms of the Test Of Idioms.The following results were obtained. The deaf subjects did not differ significantly across groups in their ability to comprehend passages with varying levels of idiomatic language. The hearing subjects did not differ significantly across groups in their ability to comprehend passages containing varying levels of idiomatic language. In addition, within groups the deaf and hearing subjects did not differ in their comprehension of passages as a function of the ability or inability to define the idioms contained in the passages.The findings of the study were interpreted to mean that when idioms are embedded in passages where sufficient contextual support is available and extraneous factors are controlled, comprehension is not impaired for deaf or hearing subjects. In addition ability to define an idiom is not an accurate predictor of comprehension ability for reading materials containing idiomatic language.

Video communication of British Sign Language (BSL) is important for remote interpersonal communication and for the equal provision of services for deaf people. However, the use of video telephony and video conferencing applications for BSL communication is limited by inadequate video quality. BSL is a highly structured, linguistically complete, natural language system that expresses vocabulary and grammar visually and spatially using a complex combination of facial expressions (such as eyebrow movements, eye blinks and mouth/lip shapes), hand gestures, body movements and finger-spelling that change in space and time. Accurate natural BSL communication places specific demands on visual media applications which must compress video image data for efficient transmission. Current video compression schemes apply methods to reduce statistical redundancy and perceptual irrelevance in video image data based on a general model of Human Visual System (HVS) sensitivities. This thesis presents novel video image coding methods developed to achieve the conflicting requirements for high image quality and efficient coding. Novel methods of prioritising visually important video image content for optimised video coding are developed to exploit the HVS spatial and temporal response mechanisms of BSL users (determined by Eye Movement Tracking) and the characteristics of BSL video image content. The methods implement an accurate model of HVS foveation, applied in the spatial and temporal domains, at the pre-processing stage of a current standard-based system (H.264). Comparison of the performance of the developed and standard coding systems, using methods of video quality evaluation developed for this thesis, demonstrates improved perceived quality at low bit rates. BSL users, broadcasters and service providers benefit from the perception of high quality video over a range of available transmission bandwidths. The research community benefits from a new approach to video coding optimisation and better understanding of the communication needs of deaf people.

Students who are deaf and use sign language frequently have language delays that affect their literacy skills. Students who use American Sign Language (ASL) often lack fluent language models in both the home and school settings, delaying both the development of a first language and the development of literacy in printed English. Mediated and scaffolded instruction presented by a More Knowledgeable Other (MKO; Vygotsky, 1978, 1994) may facilitate acquisition of a first foundational language. Repeated viewings of fluent ASL models on DVDs paired with adult mediation has resulted in increases in vocabulary skills for DHH students who used ASL (Cannon, Fredrick, & Easterbrooks, 2010; Golos, 2010; Mueller & Hurtig, 2010). Classifiers are a syntactic sub-category of ASL vocabulary that provides a critical link between ASL and the meaning of English phrases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of teacher-mediated repeated viewings of ASL stories on DHH students’ classifier production during narrative retells. This study included 10 student participants in second, third, and fourth grades and three teacher participants from an urban day school for students who are DHH. The researcher used a multiple baseline across participants design followed by visual analysis and calculation of the percentage of non-overlapping data (PND; Scruggs, Mastropieri, & Casto, 1987) to examine the effects of the intervention. All students increased their classifier production during narrative retells following a combination of teacher mediation paired with repeated viewings of ASL models.

This study examined the experiences of Canadian postsecondary learners who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing and have received services from the campus accessibility office. Data collected from interviews with nine learners were analyzed using a constructivist grounded-theory approach, thus allowing the basic social process (BSP) to emerge. I called this process negotiating communication access in postsecondary education. It consisted of three key supporting processes: (a) advocating for self, (b) navigating the learning environment, and (c) building relationships. The research outcomes achieved in this study include (a) a documented analysis and synthesis of the perceptions of Deaf and hard-of-hearing students specific to the theoretical and practical issues involved in accessing communication support services in postsecondary institutions and (b) a theoretical model that depicts the above synthesis. Last, the discussion chapter contains recommendations for increasing accessibility to postsecondary institutions for learners who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing.

Thesis (M. Communication Pathology)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Summary in English and Afrikaans. Includes bibliographical references.