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PubMed2001

A review and evaluation of research on the deaf-blind from perceptual, communicative, social and rehabilitative perspectives.

This paper reviews research on deaf-blind individuals, primarily from behavioral and communicative points of view. Inclusion in the population of deaf-blind is qualified by describing a variety of subgroups and genetically based syndromes associated with deaf-blindness. Sensory assessment procedures--based primarily on residual capacities--are appraised. Consequences for everyday life are described briefly. Non-sensory, alternative classificatory schemes and procedures are presented and the results from behavior modification procedures used for correcting maladaptive behaviors are summarized. Methods for communicating tactilely are described and evaluated. Attention is also drawn to some suggestions regarding learning of alphabetic codes and sign acquisition. Finally, suggestions for future research are proposed.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1984

Special needs of the deaf dying patient.

Hospice and hospital personnel who give care to dying patients should be prepared for situations in which a client or family member is hearing impaired. What are the specific concerns of a hearing impaired client? How are needs for meaningful conversation and expression of feelings compromised by the care giver's awkwardness? This article provides practical suggestions for meeting needs of hearing impaired clients with serious illnesses.

Deafness↗
PubMed2000

Work-related cumulative trauma disorders and interpreters for the deaf.

With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), increasing numbers of interpreters for the deaf are being employed in education, industry, or other settings. Professional interpreters are at risk for developing cumulative trauma disorders due to the nature of their work which involves rapid repetitive movements of the arms and hands. One hundred forty-five interpreters for the deaf responded to a survey questionnaire designed to identify their work experiences and development of physical pain/discomfort related to work. Incidence and duration of pain/discomfort is positively correlated with hours worked and time of onset. Regardless of age, training, or work experience, 119 (82%) of these respondents experienced disabling pain/discomfort during and following work. Thirty-nine (33%) of the 119 respondents indicated onset of pain or discomfort in the wrist and hand. These data suggest that interpreting for the deaf may result in debilitating pain/discomfort in hands, arms, shoulders, and back if the interpreter is not appropriately prepared to compensate for physical and attentional stresses. Implications include the need to provide periods of rest while working and to provide training for students learning to interpret for the deaf to minimize physical stress while working.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Etiology and pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.

The diagnosis, genetics, risk factors, neuropathology, and pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are discussed. AD is a degenerative brain disorder and is the leading cause of dementia. Clinical manifestations of AD are primarily the progressive loss of memory and language. Other signs and symptoms of the disease include psychiatric and behavioral disturbances and impairments in the performance of activities of daily living (ADL). To diagnose AD, other causes of dementia-- some of which may be reversible--must be ruled out by laboratory testing and neuroimaging. The pathogenic process that causes AD has not been fully delineated; however, it clearly leads to neuropathology characterized by neuritic plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and loss of cholinergic neurons in the nucleus basalis of Meynert. Genetic factors, including mutations in the amyloid precursor protein and the two presenilin genes, appear important in the development of early-onset familial AD, whereas the apolipoprotein E genotype influences the timing of disease onset after age 65. Genetic factors may promote or accelerate deposition of beta-amyloid protein to form plaques, as well as abnormal phosphorylation of tau protein to form neurofibrillary tangles. Several biochemical factors, such as inflammation, oxidative stress, and hormonal deficiency (estrogen), and other unmodifiable risk factors, notably aging, also play a role in the pathogenic process. The loss of neurons and synaptic connections is selective and causes deficiencies in cholinergic and other neurotransmitter systems, leading to cognitive dysfunction, psychiatric and behavioral disturbances, and eventual loss of ability to perform ADL. The etiology and pathogenesis of AD are highly complex; more effective therapeutic approaches than those currently available will be needed to address these underlying factors more specifically.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed2006

Timing of muscle activation in a hand movement sequence.

Recent studies have described muscle synergies as overlapping, multimuscle groups defined by synchronous covariation in activation intensity. A different approach regards a synergy as a fixed temporal sequence of bursts of activity across groups of motoneurons. To pursue this latter definition, the present study used a principal component (PC) analysis tailored to reveal the across-muscle temporal synergies of human hand movement. Electromyographic (EMG) activity was recorded as subjects used a manual alphabet to spell a list of words. The analysis was applied to the EMG waveforms from 27 letter-to-letter transitions of equal duration. The first PC (of 27) represented the main temporal synergy; after practice, it began to account for more of the EMG variance (up to 40%). This main synergy began with a burst in the 4-finger extensor and a silent period in the flexors. There were then progressively later and shorter bursts in the thumb abductor, thumb flexor, little finger abductor, and finally the finger flexors. The results suggest that hand movements may be generated by activity waves unfolding in time. Because finger muscles are under relatively direct cortical control, this suggests a specific form of cortical pattern generation.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

When parents are deaf versus hard of hearing: patterns of sign use and school placement of deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

This paper investigates the importance of knowing whether or not deaf and hard-of-hearing students have one or more deaf or hard-of-hearing parents. As noted by Mitchell and Karchmer (2004), deaf and hard-of-hearing school-age children and youth in the United States with at least one parent identified as "hearing impaired" are nearly evenly split between having at least one deaf parent and having at least one hard-of-hearing parent. However, there is no literature on the importance, if any, of this distinction. Findings from the investigation reported herein suggest that the distinction between having a deaf versus a hard-of-hearing parent is quite substantial, particularly as it pertains to the use of signing in the home. Further, signing in the home, which is reliably predicted by parental hearing status, is a significant predictor of the school setting in which the student is currently placed and the instructional use of signing in the classroom. Limitations related to the available measure of parental hearing status are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Self-esteem and coping strategies among deaf students.

Research studies on the determinants of self-esteem of deaf individuals often yield inconsistent findings. The current study assessed the effects on self-esteem of factors related to deafness, such as the means of communication at home and severity of hearing loss with hearing aid, as well as the coping styles that deaf people adopt to cope with everyday life in a hearing world. Data were collected among the deaf students of California State University, Northridge. Hierarchical regression modeling showed that identification with the Deaf community significantly contributed to positive self-esteem. Results also revealed that deaf students with greater degree of hearing loss and with bicultural skills that help them function in both the hearing and the Deaf community generally have higher self-esteem. Implications for further study are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2005

Look who's being left behind: educational interpreters and access to education for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

For many deaf and hard-of-hearing students, access to the general education curriculum is provided, in part, by using the services of an educational interpreter. Even with a highly qualified interpreter, full access to the content and social life in a hearing classroom can be challenging, and there are many aspects of the educational placement that can affect success. The skills and knowledge of the educational interpreter are one critical aspect. This study reports results from a study of approximately 2,100 educational interpreters from across the United States. All the interpreters were evaluated using the Educational Interpreters Performance Assessment (EIPA), an evaluation instrument used to assess and certify classroom interpreters (see Schick, Williams, & Bolster, 1999). The results show that approximately 60% of the interpreters evaluated had inadequate skills to provide full access. In addition, educational interpreters who had completed an Interpreter Training Program had EIPA scores only .5 of an EIPA level above those who had not, on average. Demographic data and its relationship with EIPA ratings are explored. In general, the study suggests that many deaf and hard-of-hearing students receive interpreting services that will seriously hinder reasonable access to the classroom curriculum and social interaction.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

National survey of accommodations and alternate assessments for students who are deaf or hard of hearing in the United States.

This paper reports the results of the National Survey of Accommodations and Alternate Assessments for Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing in the United States (National Survey). This study focused on the use of accommodations and alternate assessments in statewide assessments used with students who are deaf or hard of hearing. A total of 258 participants responded to the survey, including 32 representing schools for the deaf, 168 from districtwide/school programs, and 58 from mainstreamed settings. These schools and programs served a total of nearly 12,000 students who are deaf or hard of hearing nationwide. The most prevalent accommodations used in 2003-2004 statewide standardized assessments in mathematics and reading were extended time, an interpreter for directions, and a separate room for test administration. Read aloud and signed question-response accommodations were often prevalent, used more often for mathematics than in reading assessments. Participants from mainstreamed settings reported a more frequent use of accommodations than those in schools for the deaf or districtwide/school programs. In contrast, schools for the deaf were most likely to have students participate in alternate assessments. The top three alternate assessment formats used across all settings were out-of-level testing, work samples, and portfolios. Using the National Survey results as a starting point, future research will need to investigate the validity of accommodations used with students who are deaf or hard of hearing. In the context of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 accountability policies, the accommodations and alternate assessment formats used with students who are deaf or hard of hearing may result in restrictions in how scores are integrated into state accountability frameworks.

Chi-Square Distribution↗
PubMed2006

Parental resources, parental stress, and socioemotional development of deaf and hard of hearing children.

In recent years, empowerment and resource orientation have become vital guidelines for many of the sciences. For the field of deaf education, it is also highly important to look carefully at these guidelines if we are to acquire a better understanding as regards both the situation of the parents involved and the development of the deaf and hard of hearing children themselves. A resource-oriented approach to deaf education has therefore proved especially helpful. If both the theoretical and practical aspects of educating deaf and hard of hearing children are to benefit, research on parental experience with deafness and research on the socioemotional development of the children must always be combined and studied in the context of resource availability. In a study of 213 mothers and 213 fathers of deaf and hard of hearing children, we used an array of different questionnaires (PSI, SDQ, SOC, F-SozU, etc.) to examine the correlation between parental resources, sociodemographic variables, parental stress experience, and child socioemotional problems by way of a path analysis model. The results show that high parental stress is associated with frequent socioemotional problems in the children, thus emphasizing the importance of a resource-oriented consulting and support strategy in early intervention, because parental access to personal and social resources is associated with significantly lower stress experience. Child development seems to profit enormously from a resource-oriented support concept. In addition, the results confirm two earlier findings: parents with additionally handicapped children are especially stressed and the child's communicative competence makes for a more sound prediction than its linguistic medium (spoken language or sign). The path models for mothers and fathers agree in all essential factors. The results are discussed with a view to their meaning for pedagogical practice, and recommendations for further research are given (longitudinal data, more representative samples, cochlear implant).

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Visual constructive and visual-motor skills in deaf native signers.

Visual constructive and visual-motor skills in the deaf population were investigated by comparing performance of deaf native signers (n=20) to that of hearing nonsigners (n=20) on the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test, Wechsler Memory Scale Visual Reproduction subtest, and Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale Paper Folding and Cutting subtest. Deaf signers were found to perform similarly to hearing controls, suggesting that these tests are valid assessment instruments to use with deaf individuals.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Use of interpreters.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Communication Barriers↗
PubMed2001

Neural substrates involved in imitating finger configurations: an fMRI study.

Imitation plays a very important role in human cognition. Because previous neuroimaging studies on human imitation used rather simple actions as target stimuli, some aspects of imitation such as perceiving target actions or manipulating one's own mental image could not be studied. We used complicated non-symbolic (S-) and symbolic (S+) finger configurations as target stimuli in order to study the neural substrates involved in the perception of target actions and mental image manipulation during imitation. Bilateral supramarginal gyrus activation was detected when the S- condition was compared with the S+ condition. Our result suggests the involvement of the supramarginal gyrus especially for the imitation of novel actions.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Hearing-impaired children in Venezuela: 1985.

The first Venezuelan Survey of Deaf Children during the 1984-85 school year was a collaborative effort of the Ministry of Education in Venezuela and Gaullaudet University in the U.S. Limited in its first year to the capital city of Caracas, the study used a survey methodology developed over 18 years in the U.S. Annual Survey of Hearing-Impaired Children and Youth. In its first year of operation the Venezuelan study collected information on 804 deaf students, over 90% of whom were between the ages of 3 and 14, had severe or profound hearing losses (i.e., hearing level of 71 dB or greater in the better ear), and experienced their hearing impairments before the age of 3. Significant findings of the Venezuelan Survey include a large number of children (29%) with hearing losses caused by maternal rubella. This result is important to educators because rubella-deafened children tend to have other handicaps in addition to their hearing impairment. Meningitis was the most frequently reported after-birth cause of hearing losses in Caracas. Thirty-six percent of the Venezuelan students were reported to have other handicaps in addition to their hearing impairments. Survey results also raise questions about the educational status of less severely hearing impaired children and older deaf adolescents; these two groups were not reported in any significant numbers to the survey. Implications of the Venezuelan data are discussed, and, where appropriate, comparisons with data from the U.S. 1985 survey are made.

Adolescent↗