About Deaf and Hard of Hearing

S515: Disability Project

Kara Lillwitz & Kelsey Miller

Deaf or Hard of Hearing

• Definition of hearing disorder: impaired sensitivity of the physiological auditory system
• May limit the development of comprehension, production, and/or maintenance of speech and language
• Classified by difficulties in perception, detection, recognition, discrimination, and/or comprehension of auditory information
• Definition of hard of hearing: hearing disorder that adversely affects communication
• May be fluctuating or permanent
• Definition of deaf: hearing disorder that limits oral communication performance
• Individual may rely on non-auditory input
• Individual relies primarily on auditory input
• Prevalence
• About 738,000 individuals in the United States have severe to profound hearing loss.
• Of these, almost 8% are under the age of 18 (about 59,000).
• Permanent bilateral: 10-15/1000
• Permanent unilateral: 30-56/1000
• 1-6/1000 newborns are diagnosed with congenital hearing loss.

• Effects on language/literacy development
• Difficulty with numerous aspects of communication
• Access problem – Deaf/HH children simply do not have adequate access to English, an oral-aural language. Environmental modifications, such as increased fingerspelling and early interaction with print, facilitate literacy development (Swanwick & Watson, 2005).
• Vocabulary – Deaf/HH children typically begin school with small vocabularies, a disadvantage that puts them at risk for struggling to learn to read. Strategies to improve their vocabulary include: a) directly teaching vocabulary words, and then providing multiple opportunities to interact with the words in meaningful contexts using props and extension activities; b) providing multiple encounters with target words spread across several days to strengthen understanding; and c) extending/embedding instruction, such that target words are pronounced before the read-aloud and defined/discussed in the context of the reading (Williams, 2012).
• Processing linguistic code and/or focusing attention – Deaf/HH children vary in their abilities (strengths, challenges, and ways of learning) due to individual variation in cognition, neurological history, sensory/physical potential, development, and experience. All of these factors play a role in how well these children focus their attention during tasks involving processing linguistic code. Without focused attention, children will not benefit fully from having literate and knowledgeable models/partners who are there to support and foster language and literacy learning (Truax et al., 2004).
• Reading fluency and comprehension – Deaf/HH children have historically low reading achievement levels (including poor word recognition and reading comprehension). These children also have slowed reading fluency when compared to same-age peers with normal hearing. Reading fluency is often affected because there isn’t a 1:1 correspondence between English words/word meaning and ASL signs. Some children use sign to “read aloud”, while others read orally. In addition, there are children who codeswitch between ASL and English while reading aloud. This lack of correspondence between the two languages makes reading fluency and reading comprehension more difficult for children who are deaf/HH (Schirmer et al., 2012).
• Social ramifications
• Deaf/HH children are fundamentally different (explain what you mean here) than their hearing peers. Therefore, social interactions may be severely limited. To remedy this, a co-enrollment model is recommended (using Total Communication) to provide direct access of the same classroom instruction in the same environment to all students (Wurst, Jones, & Luckner, 2005).
• Literate partners provide appropriate support, adaptations, accommodations, and modifications to meet the child’s needs during the development of language and literacy. These partners also illustrate correct models of reading and writing behaviors, demonstrate what print codes mean, and reveal what strategies to use before, during, and after reading a text (Truax et al., 2004).
• Resources
• ASHA and Council on Education of the Deaf (CED) Joint Committee website – http://www.asha.org/ashaced/
• ASHA’s Roles of SLPs and Teachers of Children Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing in the Development of Communicative and Linguistic Competence – http://www.asha.org/docs/html/GL2004-00202.html
• Reading Rockets: Language and Literacy Development in Children Who Are Deaf or Hearing Impaired – http://www.readingrockets.org/article/37794/

References
Bergeron, J.P., Lederberd, A.R., Easterbrooks, S.R., Miller, E.M., & Connor, C.M. (2009). Building the alphabetic principle in young children who are deaf or hard of hearing. The Volta Review, 109(2-3), 87-119.


Schirmer, B.R., Schaffer, L., Therrien, W.J., & Schirmer, T.N. (2012). Reread-adapt and answer-comprehend intervention with deaf and hard of hearing readers: Effect on fluency and reading achievement. American Annals of the Deaf, 156(5), 469-475.


Swanwick, R. & Watson, L. (2012). Literacy in the homes of young deaf children: Common and distinct features of spoken language and sign bilingual environments. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 5(1), 53-78.


Truax, R.R., Foo, S.F., & Whitesell. K. (2004). Literacy learning: Meeting the needs of children who are deaf or hard of hearing with additional special needs. The Volta Review, 104(4), 307-326.


Williams, C. (2012). Promoting vocabulary learning in young children who are d/Deaf and hard of hearing: Translating research into practice. American Annals of the Deaf, 156(5), 501-508.


Wurst, D., Jones, D., & Luckner, J. (2005). Promoting literacy development with students who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing.. Teaching Exceptional Children, 56-62.