The deaf adult in the nursing home.
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Aged↗
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Results for “Sign Language”
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Cross-setting generalization of manual signs to verbal instructions with severely retarded children.
This study assessed the effects of a procedure of transfer of stimulus control on the cross-setting generalization of manual signs with three severely retarded children. The procedure was designed in order to have the subjects perform appropriate signs to verbal instructions. The dependent variables consisted of manual sign responses at probe sessions in the classroom and on the ward to assess generalization of training across settings and persons, as well as the percentage correct verbal imitations of instructions used during training. The results, gathered within a multiple baseline design across responses show that: Performance of manual signs to verbal instructions generalized across settings, yet acquired signs did not facilitate S's production of the appropriate referent within a verbal imitation paradigm. The importance of choosing appropriate signs is emphasized.
Adolescent↗
Spoken and signed naming of foods after receptive exclusion training in severe retardation.
Two low-functioning mentally retarded subjects learned to name food items after receptive exclusion training, conducted as follows: The subjects first learned to select a small number of foods in a two-choice matching-to-sample task. For one subject, the samples were dictated names; for the other, the samples were manual signs. They also learned to name these "known" foods, either orally or by signing. On exclusion trials, a known food was displayed with a new food whose corresponding name or sign had not yet been learned, and a novel sample (spoken or signed), corresponding to the new food, was presented. The subjects typically selected the new food immediately, apparently by "excluding" the food related to the known sample. If a known sample was presented, however, the subjects continued to select the known food correctly. Periodically during exclusion training with a number of new foods, the subjects were tested for production of food names or signs. With few exceptions, the subjects produced the food names without direct training, often after only a few receptive exclusion trials. The results suggest strategies for teaching simple receptive and expressive relations to severely mentally retarded individuals.
Adolescent↗
A program to increase manual signs with severely/profoundly mentally retarded students in natural environments.
A classroom teacher and 12 residential staff members were taught to increase the opportunities for manual sign use with three severely/profoundly mentally retarded students, to use those opportunities for asking the students to sign-request, and, if necessary, to provide prompts. A multi-faceted package consisting of written instructions, modeling, video presentation, visual cueing, feedback, and group discussion was used in a multiple-baseline design across situations. During intervention, (a) the number of opportunities for sign use increased in both classroom situations but remained stable on the ward, (b) the number of signs made by the students in response to the question increased across each of the situations, and (c) the number of spontaneously emitted signs increased.
Adolescent↗
Deaf and hearing mothers' interactions with normally hearing infants and toddlers.
The purpose of this study was to compare the interactions between Deaf mothers and their normally hearing infants and toddlers with the interactions between hearing mothers and their normally hearing infants and toddlers. The Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale (NCATS), modified to credit Deaf mothers and their children for both spoken and signed communications, was used to assess mother-child interactions. There were no statistically significant differences in scores on the NCATS Parent subscales, NCATS Child subscales, or in total NCATS scores of the Deaf mother/child dyads compared with the hearing mother/child dyads. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.
Adult↗
Assessing the acquisition and generalization of two mand forms with adults with severe developmental disabilities.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether manual sign or the Picture Exchange Communication System (P.E.C.S.) (Frost and Bondy, 1994) would be more effective in teaching mand skills to adults with mental retardation in the severe and profound range. Four participants were taught to mand for four reinforcing items using both communication modalities, in an alternating treatments design. Three of four participants demonstrated criterion performance across all four mands using P.E.C.S. first. Two of those three participants later demonstrated criterion performance for the mands using manual sign. The fourth participant was removed from the study during training due to illness, but her progress indicated greater acquisition with P.E.C.S. Generalization probes conducted at participants' respective residences showed that three participants demonstrated generalization across settings using P.E.C.S., and two participants demonstrated generalization across settings using manual sign. Participants were also more likely to mand for reinforcing items not present using P.E.C.S. than using manual sign.
Adult↗
Communicating with a deafblind person in an emergency.
Deafblind UK is the association of deafblind and dual sensory impaired people in the UK. This paper presents advice on the best way to communicate with people who are disabled in this way, particularly in an emergency.
Blindness↗
Self-injurious behaviour in young children with Lesch-Nyhan syndrome.
The early development of self-injurious behaviour in three young boys (aged 17, 25, and 30 months at start of study) with Lesch-Nyhan syndrome was examined by means of parental interviews and by direct observations completed at 3 to 4 monthly intervals over an 18-month period. Results suggest that the self-injury began in a different way from that of other young children with autism and/or developmental disabilities in that, from the start, self-injurious responses were sudden and violent, rather than emerging gradually over time. Drastic measures, such as removal of the teeth or provision of tooth guards, were often taken to prevent further tissue damage. Direct observations showed that the boys' self-injury occurred at lower rates, but their carers were highly concerned about the behaviour. Sequential analysis of the observational data indicated that on some occasions the children were more likely to self-injure during periods of low social interaction, suggesting that their self-injury may have been influenced by environmental factors. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Child, Preschool↗
Hand use and gestural communication in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).
Hand use in gestural communication was examined in 115 captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Hand use was measured in subjects while they gestured to food placed out of their reach. The distribution of hand use was examined in relation to sex, age, rearing history, gesture type, and whether the subjects vocalized while gesturing. Overall, significantly more chimpanzees, especially females and adults, gestured with their right than with their left hand. Foods begs were more lateralized to the right hand than pointing, and a greater prevalence of right-hand gesturing was found in subjects who simultaneously vocalized than those who did not. Taken together, these data suggest that referential, intentional communicative behaviors, in the form of gestures, are lateralized to the left hemisphere in chimpanzees.
Animal Communication↗
Comprehension of signs by dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).
The authors assessed the ability of 6 captive dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) to comprehend without explicit training 3 human communicative signs (pointing, directed gaze, and replica). Pointing consisted of indicating the target item with the index finger and a fully extended arm. Directed gaze consisted of orienting the head and eyes toward the target item while the rest of the body remained stationary. The replica signal consisted of holding up an exact duplicate of the target item. On the initial series of 12 trials for each condition, 3 dolphins performed above chance on pointing, 2 on gaze, and none for replica. With additional trials, above chance performance increased to 4 dolphins for pointing, 6 for gazing, and 2 for replica. The replica sign seemed to be the most taxing for them (only 2 dolphins achieved results significantly above chance). Taken together, these results indicate that dolphins are able to interpret untrained communicative signs successfully.
Animals↗
The hands that hold the keys.
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Cerebral Cortex↗
Visual stimuli activate auditory cortex in the deaf.
Previous brain imaging studies have demonstrated responses to tactile and auditory stimuli in visual cortex of blind subjects, suggesting that removal of one sensory modality leads to neural reorganization of the remaining modalities. To investigate whether similar 'cross-modal' plasticity occurs in human auditory cortex, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure visually evoked activity in auditory areas of both early-deafened and hearing individuals. Here we find that deaf subjects exhibit activation in a region of the right auditory cortex, corresponding to Brodmann's areas 42 and 22, as well as in area 41 (primary auditory cortex), demonstrating that early deafness results in the processing of visual stimuli in auditory cortex.
Adult↗
Communication with deaf people in the surgery setting.
The terms impairment, disability and handicap are defined, and related to hearing, and current available statistics on the number of people with hearing impairments in the United Kingdom are considered. The problems of treating people with hearing difficulties are discussed and practical solutions suggested, so that these people need not be handicapped with regard to dental care.
Communication↗
Prosodic control in severe dysarthria: preserved ability to mark the question-statement contrast.
Speakers with severe dysarthria are known to have reduced range in prosody. Consistent control within that range, however, has largely been ignored. In earlier investigations speakers with severe dysarthria were able to control pitch and duration for sustained vowel production despite reduced flexibility of control (Patel, 1998). The present experiment examined whether 8 speakers with severe dysarthria due to cerebral palsy used prosodic parameters of pitch contour and syllable duration for phrase-level productions. Speakers with dysarthria (N = 8) produced 3-syllable phrases as questions and statements. Naïve listeners (N = 48) classifed dysarthric productions as either questions or statements. Listeners were able to distinguish questions from statements with accuracy levels ranging from 81% to 98%. We were also interested in studying how dysorthric speakers marked the question-statement contrast. Prosodic features of pitch contour and syllable duration were systematically removed from the original recorded vocalizations to examine the salience of these features on listener classification. Removal of pitch contour cues dramatically reduced listener accuracy scores to almost chance performance. Listeners found pitch contour cues to be information-bearing cues in dysarthric vocalizations even though the range of frequency control in these speakers may be reduced. That speakers with dysarthria were able to exert sufficient control to signal the question-statement contrast has implications for diagnostic and intervention practices aimed to optimally exploit prosodic control for enhancing communication efficiency.
Adult↗
Decision-making processes in augmentative communication.
The potential population for augmentative communication is large, yet no objective assessment criteria exist. This article provides the clinician with a series of matrices designed to facilitate assessment decision making and implementation of augmentative communication. The first matrix addresses the appropriateness of augmentative communication. In the matrix the clinician will find an indepth, systematic decision-making procedure for aiding in the choice of augmentative procedures as primary or complementary methods of communication. The second matrix provides the clinician with information on modes of augmentative communication. These modes include manual systems, communication boards, and electronic devices. The third matrix focuses on code information. Particular attention is given to visual and manual codes. Together, the matrices provide the clinician with an objective procedure for evaluating and organizing available clinical information on nonspeaking clients.
Cognition↗
Relative translucency of ASL signs representing three semantic classes.
One variable that has been shown to facilitate sign learning is the perceived translucency between a sign and its gloss. Unfortunately, there is limited information regarding which signs or what types of signs are translucent for young children. The current investigation is an attempt to determine whether children and adults perceive different amounts of translucency in signs drawn from early sign teaching lexicons and representing three different semantic classes. Results indicate that 4- and 7-year-old children and adults perceive signs that represent action to be more translucent than signs representing nomination and signs that represent nomination to be more translucent than signs representing attribution.
Adult↗
Role of iconicity in sign acquisition.
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Humans↗
Key word signing: listeners' classification of signed and spoken narratives.
Suprasegmental changes in speaker-signers' speech may be an important component of the results obtained in key-word-sign programs. The aim of this study was to investigate whether untrained listeners could tell a difference between the speech of a person using key word signing with speech and using speech only. Fifty untrained listeners heard an audiotape of six speaker-signers who sometimes used key word signing and sometimes used speech only in their production of 24 spoken narratives. The results demonstrated that listeners could accurately classify all keyword-signed communication of three speaker-signers and the spoken-only communication of all four speaker-signers who had been previously identified as demonstrating natural spoken communication. The major perceived differences between the use of key-word-signed communication and spoken-only communication were differences in speech rate and word emphasis and differences in pausing.
Adolescent↗