This qualitative, exploratory study describes and interprets the perspectives of giftedness of twelve teachers who work with Deaf and hard of hearing students in a variety of educational settings across Canada. Using in-depth interviews, the resulting twenty-five hours of audio tapes were transcribed and analyzed line by line using procedures suggested by Giorgi and Marton. The supporting literature came from four major areas: (a) the construct of giftedness; (b) giftedness among the disabled population; (c) giftedness among the Deaf and hard of hearing population; and (d) theory related to teachers' knowledge and perspectives. Analysis of the data resulted in presentation of the findings from two perspectives: teachers' understandings of the meanings of giftedness and the process through which these teachers appeared to have gained their knowledge. Teachers' practical knowledge was portrayed in detailed stories of forty-three hard of hearing or Deaf students whom they believed to be gifted and in the way they described the students' achieving, learning and behaving in classroom interactions. The teachers' conceptually oriented knowledge was described as they reflected upon the meanings they associated with giftedness. The teachers' knowledge of giftedness was compared to that found in the gifted literature at both the practical and theoretical levels. Through interpretations derived from daily interactions with students and drawing on knowledge gained from personal experience, these teachers constructed perspectives of giftedness. The process that emerged illustrated the teachers' use of comparison groups as ways of gaining insight about the students and teachers' ideas about the use of labeling. The teachers' perspectives suggest that Deaf and hard of hearing students are gifted in ways similar but not identical to hearing students. The abilities of these students appear to be different from others in the "handicapped-gifted" literature and their needs are unique. The teachers' more conceptually oriented ideas also appeared to be similar but not identical to theoretical definitions of giftedness. The findings support collaboration between teachers and researchers to explore ways in which teachers come to recognize and understand gifted students. Future research must also explore the special educational needs of students who are dealing with the effects of having a hearing loss and being gifted. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

That deafness is more than an organic handicap requiring training and education in special schools has been increasingly recognized in recent years. Modern approaches to care for the young deaf child stress the importance of (a) early diagnosis and (b) of pre-school auditory and speech training. It is also recognized (c) that the most influential forces in the emotional and social development of the child are his experiences in his own home during the first five or six years of his life. For these reasons, in newly-developed audiology centres and speech and hearing clinics throughout Britain, the United States, and Canada, social workers take part in a multi-professional team approach to meet the differential needs of individual children and parents. The present study is developed from the operations of the Speech and Hearing Clinic of the Health Centre for Children at the Vancouver General Hospital. The case records selected for study relate to all hearing handicapped pre-school children known to the Clinic and born in 1954 or 1955. Two separate rating scales were developed to make an assessment of (a) the child's emotional and social adjustment and (b) of parental and family strengths. These are compared at the time of (1) initial evaluation, and (2) after a period of two years making it possible to examine the influences which may promote or inhibit the healthy development of the young deaf child and have a bearing on his response to treatment. This is a first exploratory study of the areas significant for the social work contributions to the treatment process. Nevertheless there are sharp evidences of correlation between social environment, especially parent-child relationships and the emotional, social, and intellectual adjustment of the hearing-handicapped child. Effectiveness of treatment seems to depend to a considerable degree on parental attitudes and feelings toward the handicapped child. Parent education and guidance, and, if necessary the modification of parental attitudes is therefore an essential component in the overall treatment process. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

No description available.

See Afrikaans / Dissertation (M(Communication Pathology))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / unrestricted

No description available.

Understanding how a language expresses the existence and action of an entity represents a critical juncture in the development of cognition and the development of language. For deaf children learning a sign language, verbs of motion and location exemplify this critical juncture: these are complex structures that convey substantial morphological, syntactic and semantic information. This dissertation investigated deaf children’s understanding of linguistic representations of motion events as presented in a variety of verbs of motion and location in American Sign Language. The sample for this investigation consisted of 350 deaf children (of Deaf and hearing parents) enrolled in schools for the deaf in the United States. The subjects, who ranged in age from 4-18, were administered the Real Objects and Plurals Arrangement Task (ROPL) of the American Sign Language Assessment Instrument (ASLAI). The following research questions were addressed: (1) To what extent do deaf children understand each of the features of motion events (figure, ground, motion, path, manner, cause) expressed in verbs of motion and location? (2) What (if any) is the implicational structure of these features in the course of acquisition? (3) What role does exposure (i.e. early vs. late input) play on the acquisition of these features? Do age and parental hearing status influence the acquisition of these features? (4) Is there any difference in how deaf children learn to understand events in verbs of motion compared to verbs of location? Results revealed that deaf children's understanding of motion event features follows a sequential process, with features such as motion and figure being acquired in the earliest stages and path and ground being acquired later. Moreover, both age and length of exposure (to a signed language) influenced this acquisition process. These findings suggest that for deaf children, the acquisition of motion event structure in verbs of motion and location is a multifaceted process that is dependent on several factors.

The language-based analogical reasoning abilities of Deaf children are a controversial topic. Researchers lack agreement about whether Deaf children possess the ability to reason using language-based analogies, or whether this ability is limited by a lack of access to vocabulary, both written and signed. This dissertation examines factors that scaffold the development of language-based analogical reasoning through signed language. First it examines how background factors, such as age, race/ethnicity, or additional disabilities can affect the development of language-based analogical reasoning. Second, it looks at how different kinds of American Sign Language (ASL) vocabulary support the development of language-based analogical reasoning. Five-hundred and fifty-six Deaf children were given five tasks from the ASL Assessment Instrument; one analogies task and four vocabulary tasks: an antonyms task, a synonyms task, a definitions task, and a contextual-based vocabulary task. The data showed that background traits can and do affect how well Deaf children reason using language-based analogies. The most important predictor of performance on the analogies task was ASL vocabulary knowledge, although other factors such as age, race/ethnicity, and additional disabilities can impact task performance. The data also showed that ASL vocabulary knowledge that promotes metalinguistic thinking is the best predictor of language-based analogical reasoning abilities. Potential applications to the classroom and to teacher training are also discussed.

Trends of obesity increased over the last 3 decades with the obesity rate doubling from 1980 to 2010. People with disability are more likely to experience health disparities including obesity compared to the general population. Yet research on the determinants of obesity such as self-efficacy, hearing levels, and deaf acculturation styles among those who are deaf or hard of hearing (HoH) is limited. This cross-sectional study, using the social cognitive theory framework, examined BMI and self-efficacy differences between deaf/HoH adults and hearing adults, aged 20 years and older. This study also examined the associations between BMI or self-efficacy and factors of hearing level or deaf acculturation style using the Health Belief and Deaf Acculturation Scale surveys, respectively. A total of 241 participants from Gallaudet University participated in this study. Independent sample t tests and multiple linear regressions were used. There were no differences in BMI (t = -0.285, p = 0.777) and nutritional and physical activity self-efficacy (t = -0.962, p = 0.338 and t =0.766, p = 0.446) between deaf/HoH adults and hearing adults. Among deaf/HoH adults, there were no associations between obesity as well as self-efficacy and factors of average hearing level and deaf acculturation style. This study offers evidence to the literature regarding the relationships between obesity or self-efficacy and factors of average hearing level or deaf acculturation styles among deaf/HoH adults. In addition, this study provided implications for social change as a basis for further research and reducing obesity through adopting current obesity programs while ensuring communication and information access for all deaf/HoH adults with varying levels of hearing and acculturation styles.

Deaf students have unique linguistic and cultural needs that are cultivated in social settings; however, these needs have received minimal consideration from school administrators and policy makers when designing and implementing educational programs. Inquiry regarding how Deaf people learn in social situations and whether these processes are present in formal educational settings is necessary to understand how to better serve this population in school. Observations were used to provide insight on how deaf people teach and learn from one another in social/informal settings. Individual interviews with 11 Deaf people ages 18 to 40 provided insight regarding personal experiences in formal and informal educational settings. Constructivism, sociocultural theory, and multiple intelligences theory were the conceptual frameworks for this study. Trustworthiness was established using member checking and detailed accounts of participants' experiences in their educational placements. The findings revealed that deaf people value facets of Deaf culture in all aspects of their lives, including education. Participants expressed the need for school staff and administrators to understand cultural nuances that are important for deaf students, the need for barrier-free communication, the importance of self-identity, and the need for Deaf mentors and or role models in school. In social settings, deaf people use visual communication and require clear sightlines for communication, use expansion techniques unique to ASL, use scaffolding to support and mentor one another, and use repetition for clarity, understanding, and emphasis. The knowledge gained from this study can help actualize educational curricula that improve literacy and increase job and educational opportunities for deaf people.

The purpose of this study was to assess similarities and differences in marital adjustment between Deaf-Deaf and Deaf-hearing married couples. In examining marital adjustment, Spanier's Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS) was translated from English to American Sign Language (ASL) and administered to 30 Deaf-Deaf and 22 Deaf-hearing couple respondents. Although there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups. Deaf-Deaf couples tended to have higher marital adjustment mean scores than Deaf-hearing couples. Deaf-hearing females reported the lowest levels of marital adjustment. A qualitative component of the study yielded information concerning what Deaf-Deaf and Deaf-hearing couples consider the most important factors contributing to marital happiness. Both Deaf-Deaf and Deaf-hearing couples reported that language and cultural compatability is the most important quality of a successful marriage. The need for continued research on the differences between Deaf-Deaf and Deaf-hearing marriages was addressed. The theoretical Implications of the study were highlighted, along with other recommendations concerning the role of marriage and family therapists who work with Deaf couples.