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PubMed1989

Communication mode use of two hearing-impaired adolescents in conversation.

Communication mode use in the dyadic conversational speech of adolescent simultaneous communication (SC)-trained hearing-impaired twin boys was investigated. Proportional frequencies of modes and the English structural characteristics of the spoken components of utterances produced in each mode were examined. The results indicated that these adolescents were using an integrated bimodal form of English with a grammatical base that did not vary as a function of the presence or absence of simultaneous signs either in their speech or their partner's speech. Implications of the results are discussed.

Child↗

PubMed1990

A study of the tactual and visual reception of fingerspelling.

A method of communication in frequent use among members of the deaf-blind community is the tactual reception of fingerspelling. In this method, the hand of the deaf-blind individual is placed on the hand of the sender to monitor the handshapes and movements associated with the letters of the manual alphabet. The purpose of the current study was to examine the ability of experienced deaf-blind subjects to receive fingerspelled materials, including sentences and connected text, through the tactual sense. A parallel study of the reception of fingerspelling through the visual sense was also conducted using sighted deaf subjects. For both visual and tactual reception of fingerspelled sentences, accuracy of reception was examined as a function of rate of presentation. In the tactual study, where rates were limited to those that could be produced naturally by an experienced interpreter, highly accurate reception of conversational sentence materials was observed throughout the range of naturally produced rates (i.e., 2 to 6 letters/s). In the visual study, rates in excess of those that can be produced naturally were achieved through variable-speed playback of videotapes of fingerspelled sentences. The results of this study indicate that performance varies systematically as a function of rate of presentation, with scores of 50% correct on conversational sentences obtained at rates of 12 to 16 letters/s (i.e., rates roughly double to triple normal speed). These results suggest that normal communication rates for the visual reception of fingerspelling are restricted by limitations on the rate of manual production. Although maximal rates of natural manual production of fingerspelling correspond to the presentation of a new handshape on the order of once every 150-20 ms, the data from the sped-up visual study suggest that experienced receivers of visual fingerspelling are able to receive sentences at substantially higher rates of fingerspelling (which are, in fact, comparable to communication rates for spoken English).

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Modifications in sign under conditions of impeded visibility.

This study investigated the effects of reduced visibility on the distance of signing hands from the bodies of adult signers who are deaf and on their rates of sign production. Subjects were videotaped as they signed with partners in each of three experimental conditions: unimpeded, moderately impeded, and severely impeded visibility. Visual impedance was created by placing screens between signing partners. The distance of a hand from the body, in terms of lateral, vertical, and forward-depth dimensions, was determined from digitized measurements of single video frames randomly selected from those in which the subject was actively signing. Sign rate was calculated as the number of signs produced in a given segment of time. Signs produced in the severely impeded visibility condition were found to be made at a slower rate and with a mean hand position further forward and vertically higher than signs produced in the unimpeded visibility condition.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

The effects of auditory and visual interference on speech and sign.

Hearing adults produced signed and spoken monologues under conditions of quiet or 80 dB SPL of noise and with their vision unobstructed or obstructed. Their signs were videotaped and a random sample of 24 frames was analyzed in each condition through a computer program that determined the overall distance of the hand from a marker placed on the signer's torso. Vocal intensity was digitized from the tape recordings and analyzed by computer for 1 min of continuous speech in each condition. The visual obstruction had no effect either on the distance of the signs or on the vocal intensity of their speech. The subjects increased vocal intensity by about 55% when the noise was introduced (the usual Lombard effect), but the noise had no effect on the distance of the signs. Sign performance was not influenced by visual feedback, and sign and speech were independent communication systems, even in bilingual speaking and signing subjects.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Acquisition of speech by children who have prolonged cochlear implant experience.

The four purposes of this investigation were to assess whether children acquire intelligible speech following prolonged cochlear-implant experience and examine their speech error patterns, to examine how age at implantation influences speech acquisition, to assess how speech production and speech perception skills relate, and to determine whether cochlear implant recipients who formerly used simultaneous communication (speech and manually coded English) begin to use speech without sign to communicate. Twenty-eight prelinguistically deafened children who use a Nucleus cochlear implant were assigned to one of three age groups, according to age at implantation: 2-5 yrs (N = 12), 5-8 yrs (N = 9), and 8-15 yrs (N = 7). All subjects had worm a cochlear implant for at least 24 mos, and an average of 36 mos. All subjects used simultaneous communication at the time of implantation. Subjects performed both imitative and structured spontaneous sampling speech tasks. The results permit the following conclusions: (a) children who have used a cochlear implant for at least 2 yrs acquire some intelligible speech; (b) children who receive a cochlear implant before the age of 5 yrs appear to show greater benefit in their speech production skills than children who are older, at least after a minimum of 2 yrs of use; (c) children who recognize more speech while wearing their cochlear implants are likely to speak more intelligibly; and, (d) signing does not disappear from a child's communication mode following implantation.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1995

Temporal characteristics of speech in simultaneous communication.

The purpose of this investigation was twofold: (a) to determine if there are changes in specific temporal characteristics of speech that occur during simultaneous communication, and (b) to determine if known temporal rules of spoken English are disrupted during simultaneous communication. Ten speakers uttered sentences consisting of a carrier phrase and experimental CVC words under conditions of: (a) speech, (b) speech combined with signed English, and (c) speech combined with signed English for every word except the CVC word that was fingerspelled. The temporal features investigated included: (a) sentence duration, (b) experimental CVC word duration, (c) vowel duration in experimental CVC words, (d) pause duration before and after experimental CVC words, and (e) consonantal effects on vowel duration. Results indicated that for all durational measures, the speech/sign/fingerspelling condition was longest, followed by the speech/sign condition, with the speech condition being shortest: It was also found that for all three speaking conditions, vowels were longer in duration when preceding voiced consonants than vowels preceding their voiceless cognates, and that a low vowel was longer in duration than a high vowel. These findings indicate that speakers consistently reduced their rate of speech when using simultaneous communication, but did not violate these specific temporal rules of English important for consonant and vowel perception.

Humans↗

PubMed1995

Transparency of one-handed Amer-Ind hand signals to nonfamiliar viewers.

Thirty non-brain-damaged adults viewed 104 videotaped Amer-Ind hand signals. The majority of these hand signals were produced with one hand; 60 originally one-handed gestures and 31 left-hand adaptations of two-handed gestures were included in the data analyses. Nineteen subjects were between the ages of 20 and 30 years (younger group), and 11 subjects were between the ages of 50 and 69 years (older group). After viewing each hand signal twice in succession, the subjects wrote at least one word for that signal's meaning. The mean percentage of one-handed signals correctly identified was 48.2%; these signals varied widely in transparency (0% to 100%). The left-hand adaptations were significantly lower in transparency than the originally one-handed signals. The younger and older subjects did not differ in the mean percentage of one-handed signals they identified correctly (49.0% and 46.4%, respectively). However, some individual hand signals were easier for the younger subjects to identify; the opposite was also true.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

Voice onset time in speech produced during simultaneous communication.

This study investigated speaking rate and voice onset time (VOT) in speech produced during simultaneous communication (SC) by speakers with normal hearing. Stimulus words initiated with voiced and voiceless plosives were embedded in a sentence that was spoken and produced with SC. VOT measures were calculated from acoustic recordings and results indicated significant differences between speech-only and SC conditions, with speech produced during SC demonstrating both slower speaking rate and increased VOT of voiceless consonants. VOTs produced during both SC and speech-only conditions followed English voicing rules and varied appropriately with place of articulation. The somewhat enlarged voicing contrast during SC was consistent with previous findings regarding the influence of rate changes on the temporal fine structure of speech (Miller, 1987) and was similar to the voicing contrast results reported for clear speech by Picheny, Durlach, and Braida (1986).

Communication↗

PubMed1998

Effect of fingerspelling task on temporal characteristics and perceived naturalness of speech in simultaneous communication.

This study investigated the effect of fingerspelling task length on temporal characteristics and perceived naturalness of speech produced during simultaneous communication. Stimulus words at four levels of fingerspelling task length were embedded in a sentence that was spoken and produced with simultaneous communication. Five temporal measures were calculated from acoustic recordings, and perceived speech naturalness was rated by a panel of listeners using a 9-point scale. Results indicated significant differences in temporal measures and naturalness ratings between the speech and simultaneous communication conditions and among levels of fingerspelling task length. Speech produced during simultaneous communication was rated as less natural and demonstrated increased interword interval, diphthong, word, and sentence durations. Regression analysis indicated significant correlations between temporal measures and perceived speech naturalness, and analysis of variance showed significant increases in segmental and interword interval durations and perceived speech unnaturalness as fingerspelling task length increased. These results are discussed in relation to previous findings regarding production and perception characteristics of speech that is altered in temporal parameters by a variety of conditions.

Communication↗

PubMed1998

Modality interactions of speech and signing in simultaneous communication.

This study addresses speech and signing interaction during simultaneous communication (SC). Productions of sentence stimuli by ASL-English bilinguals (CODAs) and signed English (SE) users who know no ASL (SIMCOMs) were compared in two conditions (speech-alone or signing-alone, speech and signing combined). Speech took longer combined than alone, whereas SE took longer alone than combined. The increased duration of speech-combined resulted from increased syllable duration, number of gaps, and gap duration. Rate of signing had a significant effect on speech duration. The decreased duration of signed sentences combined resulted from decreased sign duration, decreased gap duration, and increased sign omissions. Knowledge of ASL was reflected in qualitative differences between the two groups. Sign omissions were analyzed by grammatical category; these are discussed in terms of context-supported permissible deletions and the compensatory use of ASL nonmanual marking devices.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

Cochlear implants.

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Child, Preschool↗

PubMed2003

A morphometric analysis of auditory brain regions in congenitally deaf adults.

We investigated whether variation in auditory experience in humans during development alters the macroscopic neuroanatomy of primary or auditory association cortices. Volumetric analyses were based on MRI data from 25 congenitally deaf subjects and 25 hearing subjects, all right-handed. The groups were matched for gender and age. Gray and white matter volumes were determined for the temporal lobe, superior temporal gyrus, Heschl's gyrus (HG), and the planum temporale. Deaf and hearing subjects did not differ in the total volume or the gray matter volume of HG, which suggests that auditory deafferentation does not lead to cell loss within primary auditory cortex in humans. However, deaf subjects had significantly larger gray matter-white matter ratios than hearing subjects in HG, with deaf subjects exhibiting significantly less white matter in both left and right HG. Deaf subjects also had higher gray matter-white matter ratios in the rest of the superior temporal gyrus, but this pattern was not observed for the temporal lobe as a whole. These findings suggest that auditory deprivation from birth results in less myelination and/or fewer fibers projecting to and from auditory cortices. Finally, the volumes of planum temporale and HG were significantly larger in the left hemisphere for both groups, suggesting that leftward asymmetries within "auditory" cortices do not arise from experience with auditory processing.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Auditory agnosia in children after herpes encephalitis.

Four pediatric patients whose bilateral auditory cortices were damaged by herpes encephalitis at an early age were studied. Their brain CT and MRI scans demonstrated common bilateral lesions of the auditory cortices. Their auditory perception was investigated by means of behavioral and objective hearing tests and auditory perception tests. All four patients showed mild or moderate hearing loss in the behavioral hearing test and normal auditory brainstem responses but did not manifest total deafness. Moreover, perception tests involving speech, environmental sounds and music demonstrated that most auditory perception ability had been lost in all patients. On reaching school age, the patients were enrolled in schools for the deaf or special schools for handicapped children.

Agnosia↗

PubMed1990

The use of hypnosis in a deaf patient with multiple personality disorder: a case report.

We present the first report of multiple personality disorder (MPD) in a prelingually deaf patient and the first description of alter personalities as the source of auditory hallucinations in a nonpsychotic deaf person. This young woman's history and clinical symptoms of MPD did not differ from those of hearing patients. A hypnotic trance was induced by instructing the patient in muscle relaxation, modeling relaxation with exhalation, and having the patient focus her gaze on the hypnotist repeatedly fingerspelling R-E-L-A-X. Hypnosis facilitated automatic handwriting, allowed the first meeting with an alter personality, and speeded the diagnostic process. Fingerspelling has not previously been reported in hypnosis of the deaf. It is a practical means of induction for a therapist who lacks fluent signing skills. It provides a narrow fix of gaze and avoids induction by physical stimulation, a process that some abused patients find upsetting.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Hypnotic responsivity of the deaf: the development of the University of Tennessee Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale for the Deaf.

The purpose of these two studies was to develop and test a measure that assesses the hypnotic responsivity of deaf individuals. The University of Tennessee Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale for the Deaf (UTHSS:D) is a signed, videotaped version of a standard hypnotic induction with 12 standard suggestions. Experiment 1 compared the behavioral and subjective hypnotic responsivity of deaf and hearing individuals using the UTHSS:D and the Field Depth Inventory (FDI), respectively. As compared to hearing subjects, deaf participants were found to be less responsive to hypnosis when assessed behaviorally (UTHSS:D) and equally responsive to hypnosis when assessed subjectively (FDI). Experiment 2 undertook a more comprehensive examination of the hypnotic responsivity of deaf individuals, using hearing individuals as controls. Three dimensions of hypnosis responsivity were assessed: behavioral (UTHSS:D), subjective (FDI), and interpersonal (Archaic Involvement Measure). Additionally, correlates of hypnotic responsivity (absorption, attitudes, expectations) were examined for the two groups. In Experiment 2, no significant differences were found between the deaf and hearing participant groups on any measures of hypnotic responsivity or on any measure of the correlates of hypnotic responsivity.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

A comparison of the hypnotic experience between signing deaf and hearing participants.

This study compared the hypnotic responsiveness of 17 hearing and 34 deaf individuals, all of whom received visual induction and hypnotic suggestions via some form of signing. The comparison between deaf and hearing participants was analyzed on five dependent measures: (a) the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (SHSS:C); (b) participants' individual item performance; (c) overall trance depth; (d) a rapport scale; and (e) a resistance scale measuring attitudes of participants toward the hypnotist. Although all participants showed at least a moderate level of hypnotic responsiveness, the data did not indicate a significant main effect between deaf and hearing participants on any of the dependent measures. However, there was a tendency (p < .08) for hearing participants to show a greater hypnotic responsiveness than deaf participants. Additionally, there was a significant difference between all the signing participants combined when compared to the norming population on three items of the SHSS:C. Clinical and theoretical implications of these data are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Cognitive consequences of congenital deafness.

Comparing congenitally deaf children with hearing children on a variety of information processing tasks provides a natural test of the developmental consequences accompanying the long term loss of a particular sensory input. In this experiment, two sequential and two spatial tasks were used to evaluate the way deaf and hearing individuals process these different types of information. When deaf students were asked to recall the order of a string of lights, they performed as well as hearing students. Deaf students were at a significant disadvantage, however, when processing sequentially presented digits. Deaf students performed as well as hearing students on two complex, standardized spatial tasks. The loss of a major sensory modality had minimal effect on three of the four tasks investigated in the present study. Explanations for the single task with a performance differential are considered.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1981

Short-term memory in deaf children in relation to verbal and dactylo-kinesthetic encoding.

The present study addressed the question, "To what extent does nonstrategic verbal encoding differ in deaf and normally hearing children?" With the use of a probe-type serial memory task, hearing and deaf children matched on chronological age, IQ, and sex were randomly assigned to named, unnamed, or dactylo-kinesthetic (fingerspelled) stimulus pretraining conditions and compared on subsequent serial recall performance. Strong primacy effects were found even though children could not use overt cumulative rehearsal. Analysis of d' scores found no difference between hearing or deaf children on pretrained named instruction; overall inferior recall occurred for deaf children on unnamed condition. Results were interpreted in terms of comparable nonstrategic processes in deaf children that occur prior to the application of mnemonic strategies.

Child↗