English as the second language of deaf children.

Administered the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) to 13 deaf adolescents with deaf parents and to 13 deaf adolescents with hearing parents. Scores achieved by all Ss on the Paragraph Meaning and Language subtests of the Stanford Achievement Test were also available. Ss with deaf parents scored significantly higher than Ss with hearing parents on all but 1 measure. Performance by hearing, foreign students on the TOEFL was more highly correlated with the performance by Ss with deaf parents than with the performance by Ss with hearing parents. Results indicate that English may be a 2nd language for deaf children and that early experience with sign language may facilitate later learning of English. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of Hispanic Children With and Without Limited English Proficiency on the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test.

Hispanic children with (n=148) and without (n=148) limited English proficiency were given the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT; J. A. Naglieri. 1997a) and the Stanford Achievement Test-9th edition (SAT-9: 1995). The groups were selected from the NNAT standardization sample (N=22.620) and matched on geographic region, gender, socioeconomic status, urbanicity. and ethnicity. There was a very small difference (d ratio=0.1) between the NNAT standard scores for the children with limited English proficiency (M - 98.0) and those without limited English proficiency (M=96.7). The NNAT correlated moderately and similarly with achievement for the 2 groups. The sample of children with limited English proficiency earned considerably lower scores on SAT-9 Reading and Verbal subtests. Results suggest that the NNAT may be useful for the assessment of Hispanic children with and without limited English proficiency. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hearing status and language fluency as predictors of automatic word and sign recognition

In previous studies, evidence concerning the extent of automatic word recognition in deaf children and the influence of language fluency on word and sign recognition (as indexed by the Stroop task) has been contradictory. This study examined the effects of English and sign language fluency in the automatic word and sign recognition of deaf and hearing adults. Results indicated that responding in sign took longer and created more Stroop interference than responding orally. Two groups of certified interpreters revealed this finding to be independent of hearing status. Most important, deaf subjects showed greater automaticity in recognizing signs than words, whereas hearing subjects showed greater automaticity in recognizing words than signs. This pattern was unaffected by language fluency. The findings clarify the results of previous studies both theoretically and methodologically.     

Cognitive processing by prelingual deaf students as a function of language context.

Investigated the influence of language mode (print or sign) and syntax (English or American Sign Language [ASL]) on recall, preference, and comprehension. In Exp I, the effects of reading meaningful print passages in ASL or English were tested for 12 16–29 yr old deaf and 12 16–28 yr old hearing Ss. An effort toward comprehension interpretation was supported for the hearing Ss only. Deaf Ss not trained in ASL exhibited a familiarity with ASL syntax not exhibited by the hearing Ss. In Exp II, meaningful passages were presented to 30 15–19 yr old prelingual deaf Ss in 4 language contexts (signed English, signed ASL, print English, and print ASL) in a free recall task. Results show greater recall from ASL than from English contexts. Findings indicate that the visual orientation of prelingual deaf individuals, regardless of training in ASL, leads to the development of a sign-based encoding system that responds to ASL as a familiar language. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comment on "Linguistic deficiency and thinking: Research with deaf subjects 1964-1969."

In H. Furth's (see record 1972-03464-001) previous review of 39 studies, with some exceptions, deaf children performed as well as hearing children on cognitive tasks. Because Furth believes that deaf subjects are linguistically deficient, he concluded that the thinking processes of deaf children are similar to those of hearing children and therefore must be explained without recourse to verbal processes. He offers as evidence for language deficiency 1 standardization study which shows that the mean reading achievement of deaf students on the nationally standardized Metropolitan Achievement Tests (MAT) falls below 4th grade equivalence. The present authors argue that (a) the MAT was normative referenced and does not provide evidence for an inability to handle English sentences, and (b) there exists still other evidence of deaf student mean achievement at 4th and 5th grade equivalence. Deaf Ss cannot be regarded as language deficient without explicit demonstration to that effect. Failing this, the reviewed studies cannot be said to contribute evidence for or against the hypothesis that language is not related to or required for cognitive development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antecedents of self-esteem in deaf people: A meta-analytic review.

Presents a meta-analysis of 42 empirical studies that assessed the effect of 6 constructs on self-esteem (SE): hearing status, parents' hearing status, type of school attended, communication mode used at home and in school, and group identification. Differences in SE between deaf and hearing people varied based on the SE measure and its format, and the communication mode in which tests were administered. People whose parents were deaf compared favorably to those whose parents were hearing, as did people whose parents used sign language at home compared to those who used oral communication. School setting and classroom communication were unrelated to SE. Finally, group identification was positively related to SE. Recommendations for guiding hearing parents in fostering SE in their deaf children are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teachers' and deaf students' perceptions of communication ease and engagement.

Collected ratings of communication ease and of engagement for 95 deaf junior and senior high school students (aged 12–21 yrs) in a large, urban, multiethnic school for the deaf. Ratings were made by the students' English teachers and by the students themselves. High teacher ratings for communication ease and engagement were associated with high academic achievement as measured by the Stanford Achievement Test. High student ratings for communication ease were also associated with academic achievement. The 2 best predictors of academic achievement were student-rated communication ease and teacher-rated engagement. Findings suggest that it is important for teachers to be sensitive to the level of communication comfort of their students because students who enjoy easier communication may be more likely to be engaged, or more actively involved, in classroom learning and to demonstrate higher academic achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Responses of deaf adolescents to differences in counselor method of communication and disability status.

This study tested the effects of disability status (deaf or hearing) and communication method (sign language, interpreter, or written) on deaf subjects' ratings of counselor social influence, counselor empathy, and willingness to see the counselor. Deaf adolescent subjects (53 female and 53 male) rated one of six videotapes portraying a deaf or hearing counselor using sign language, an intepreter, or written communication in counseling a deaf client on a topic of high relevance. The results indicated that counselors were rated higher on social influence, counselor effectiveness, and empathy if they used sign language rather than written communication. No significant differences were found for counselor or disability status. The subjects indicated a greater willingness to see a hearing counselor who used a sign language or an interpreter rather than written communication, although these results were not replicated for a deaf counselor. We discuss the implications for the use of sign language with deaf adolescent clients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intelligence and achievement in first-grade black children.

Studied the relationship between WISC IQ and academic achievement (Stanford Achievement Test) in 84 regularly placed 1st-grade black children. Subtest scores, intercorrelations, and IQ-achievement relations suggest that this sample differs from the WISC normative population and urge caution in the use of the individual subtests for diagnostic or predictive purposes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Communicative interactions of deaf and hearing children in a day care center. An exploratory study

Interactions were observed in a day care center serving deaf and hearing children. Observations focused on eight children (two deaf with deaf parents, two deaf with hearing parents, two hearing with deaf parents and two hearing with hearing parents) between 2 and 3 years of age. Center classes included deaf and hearing teachers and all children were encouraged to sign. Deaf and hearing children alike frequently interacted with other children and teachers whose hearing status differed from their own. However, each group showed a stronger tendency to initiate communication with same hearing status peers. Hearing children displayed the ability to modify their communications modes to match the hearing status of their intended communication partner. Language ability, not hearing status, was associated with the frequency of communication experienced by each child.     

Relationship between shyness in children and constricted cognitive control as measured by the Stroop Color-Word Test.

103 4th and 5th graders, rated as either shy or nonshy by their teachers, were administered the Stroop Color-Word Test. Results support the hypothesis that shy Ss would have slower reading rates, which indicates high interference proneness (constricted control), whereas nonshy Ss would have more rapid reading rate, which indicates low interference proneness (flexible control). To determine if the procedures for identifying shy Ss also inadvertently differentiated Ss on cognitive skills (verbal ability), and not simply cognitive styles, a subsample of 32 Ss were administered the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT). Results indicate no significant difference between shy and nonshy Ss' group mean stanine scores on the language section of the SAT. Final classroom grades in reading, spelling, and English were also calculated for these 2 groups. Results indicate that the GPA of the shy group exceeded the GPA of their nonshy peers; however, differences were not significant. It appears, therefore, that the results were not confounded by differences in language ability or academic achievement and that these variables do not account for the distractibility findings. Results support the assumption that shy children are unable to maintain effective performance in the presence of interfering or distracting stimuli. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Research-based language intervention strategies adapted for deaf and hard of hearing children

Strategies found to facilitate the language development of young, hearing children are reviewed in this paper, and adaptations and examples for use with deaf and hard-of-hearing children are provided as alternatives to simply advising professionals and parents to increase the quantity of conversation with these children. It is suggested that adults accelerate the language acquisition of deaf and hard-of-hearing students by capitalizing on the linguistic opportunities provided in particular environments, rearranging environments, being responsive to indications that children have comprehended messages and are open to risk communication, and specifically by intervening on form, content, and use skills. The author challenges professionals to document empirically the usefulness of each language intervention technique presented here.     

Communication of oral deaf and normally hearing children at 36 months of age

Eighteen orally educated deaf and 18 normally hearing 36-month-old children were observed in a play session with their mother. Communicative behavior of the child was coded for modality and communicative function. Although the oral deaf children used a normal range of functions, both the quantity and proportions differed from normally hearing children. Whereas the normally hearing 3-year-olds used speech almost exclusively, the deaf children exhibited about equal use of speech, vocalizations, and gestures. Spoken language scores of the deaf children at 5 years of age were best predicted by (a) more frequent use of speech at age 36 months, (b) more frequent use of the Statement function, and (c) relatively infrequent use of the Directive function. It is suggested that some communicative functions are more informative or heuristic than others, and that the early use of these functions is most likely to predict later language competence.     

Communication between deaf children and their hearing mothers: the role of language, gesture, and vocalizations

In the present longitudinal study, 20 deaf and 20 hearing children were observed during free play with their hearing mothers when the children were 22 months and 3 years of age. Compared to hearing children, deaf children were severely language delayed, with deaf 3-year-olds using less language (speech or sign) than hearing 22-month-olds. Deaf children communicated primarily through nonlinguistic vocalizations, with increasing use of gesture from 22 months to 3 years of age. Although mothers of deaf children used more visual communication than mothers of hearing children, they still primarily communicated through speech. In addition, deaf children did not visually attend to much of their mothers' communication. Therefore, deaf children received much less communication than hearing children. These results suggest that intervention efforts should be focused on increasing the quantity of perceived linguistic input by the child.     

Complete eradication of Aspergillus fumigatus from the lung in an immunocompromised patient by oral itraconazole

Fifty-three deaf subjects with a history of prelingual profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, similar language habilitation with hearing aids, and normal velopharyngeal structures underwent a study protocol including speech evaluation, behavioral pure-tone audiometry, videonasopharyngoscopy, multiview videofluoroscopy, and electromyography of the velopharyngeal muscles. Subjects were divided into two groups: the first group included 13 subjects with normal nasal resonance or mild hypernasality (four normals and nine with mild hypernasality); the second group had subjects with severe hypernasality and severe articulation deficits. Pure-tone thresholds, velopharyngeal closure patterns, and electromyographic activity of velopharyngeal muscles were similar for both groups of subjects. However, in subjects with severe hypernasality, despite normal muscle activity as observed by electromyography, velopharyngeal valving activity lacked rhythm and strength during speech. It is concluded that deaf subjects may present a functional disorder of the velopharyngeal sphincter related to absence of auditory regulation during phonation. Visual biofeedback using videonasopharyngoscopy may be useful for treating this disorder.     

Lexidactylophobia: the (irrational) fear of fingerspelling

Fingerspelling is a system of manually representing the graphemes of a spoken language used by members of Deaf communities worldwide. Yet, at least within the North American educational system, fingerspelling appears to be largely discounted in favor of sign usage, despite its high potential for linkage to the orthographical system of English and literacy development. The author describes fingerspelling in connection with how it is used within the American Deaf community, and also describes the development of fingerspelling skills in deaf (and hearing) children. He also describes how deaf adults use fingerspelling to promote literacy development in young deaf children. Strategies for increasing the use of fingerspelling by teachers and parents of the Deaf are outlined.     

An analysis of the predictive value of the Pre-Engineering Ability Test.

148 engineering candidates were given the ACE Psychological Examination, the Cooperative General Achievement Mathematics Test, and the Pre-Engineering Ability Test. The multiple R of the battery (against a first-semester grade-point-average criterion) of .60 was not significantly higher than the best zero-order coefficient of .56 (with the Cooperative General Achievement Mathematics Test). The Pre-Engineering Ability Test "has little selective value compared with other tests in common use." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The structure of precocious reading ability.

The purpose of this study was to describe the cognitive correlates of precocious reading achievement and to identify the structure of individual differences in reading subskill patterns that are compatible with precocious achievement. Several oral reading tasks and selected subtests from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised were administered to 87 postkindergarten children whose Peabody Individual Achievement Test reading comprehension scores ranged from the second- to the fifth-grade level. Parents provided information about the children's reading histories. Factor analysis of 11 reading subskill scores yielded results consistent with a hierarchical modification of the hypothesized model. Three specific factors—Speed, Decoding Rule Use, and Graphic Precision—varied independently of superordinate differences in General Ability. Verbal ability, letter-naming speed, and forward and backward digit span each correlated moderately with one or more reading factors. Many aspects of the results were consistent with findings from studies of average, disabled, and autistic/hyperlexic readers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does growth rate in oral reading fluency matter in predicting reading comprehension achievement?

In this study, we examined the relationship of growth trajectories of oral reading fluency, vocabulary, phonological awareness, letter-naming fluency, and nonsense word reading fluency from 1st grade to 3rd grade with reading comprehension in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades. Data from 12,536 children who were followed from kindergarten to 3rd grade longitudinally were used. These children were administered Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills subtests, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test—Third Edition, and reading comprehension (Stanford Achievement Test, 10th ed.) tasks multiple times in each year. Students' initial status and rate of growth in each predictor within each grade were estimated using individual growth modeling. These estimates were then used as predictors in dominance regression analyses to examine relative contributions that the predictors made to the outcome: reading comprehension. Among the 1st-grade predictors, individual differences in growth rate in oral reading fluency in 1st grade, followed by vocabulary skills and the autoregressive effect of reading comprehension, made the most contribution to reading comprehension in 3rd grade. Among the 2nd- and 3rd-grade predictors, children's initial status in oral reading fluency had the strongest relationships with their reading comprehension skills in 3rd grade. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social interaction between deaf preschoolers and their mothers: The effects of communication method and communication competence.

Examined the effects of both communication mode (oral vs oral plus manual) and level of communicative competence (high vs low) on the play interaction of 28 profoundly deaf preschool children (3–5? yrs old) and their hearing mothers. Mothers and children from 2 groups, oral and simultaneous (oral plus manual) communicators matched on audiologic and demographic variables, were videotaped during free play. The tapes were later subjected to an interaction analysis that examined behavior at the level of the dyad rather than the individual. The duration and complexity of interaction were strongly affected by both the method and level of communication. Simultaneous dyads had interactions that were longer and more complex and contained more cooperation and positive affect than those of oral dyads. Simultaneous communication is discussed in terms of its benefits for both the communicative and social competence of profoundly deaf children. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)