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A considerable body of literature suggests that joint engagement between a parent and child develops in the first 3 years of life (Adamson, Bakeman, & Deckner, 2004). This developmental process [...], Purpose: To evaluate joint engagement (JE) in age-matched children with and without hearing and its relationship to oral language skills. Method: Participants were 180 children with severe-to-profound hearing loss prior to cochlear implant surgery, and 96 age-matched children with normal hearing; all parents were hearing. JE was evaluated in a 10-minute videotaped free play task with parents. Engagement states ranged from the lowest (unengaged) to the highest level (symbol-infused coordinated). Standardized language measures were administered. Results: Multivariate analyses were conducted between the groups, stratified by chronological and language age. Children who were deaf (Deaf) spent less time in total symbol-infused JE than children with normal hearing (NH) across all ages. The majority of the Deaf group (83%) fell in the lowest language age group, in comparison to 35% of the NH group, and spent significantly less time in symbol-infused JE than hearing children. These delays were also observed in the Deaf group, who fell into the 18-36 month language age. No children in the Deaf group had achieved a language age of > 36 months. Conclusions: Young children with and without hearing had different developmental trajectories of JE, which were related to oral language skills. Key Words: cochlear implants, children, joint engagement, hearing loss, language

In adolescence, peer groups become relatively structured, consisting of cliques and social groups. Being included in the peer group is an adolescent's everyday worry as adolescents are extremely aware of [...], This study examined the peer relationships and social behaviors of deaf adolescents in the first 2 years of secondary school. Peer nominations and ratings of peer status and behavior were collected longitudinally with 74 deaf and 271 hearing adolescents from Grade 7 to Grade 8. The predictions of deaf adolescents' peer status in Grade 8 from Grade 7 behaviors differed between mainstream education and special education settings. The behaviors of deaf early adolescents in the beginning of secondary school strongly predicted their peer status a year later. For deaf mainstream students, withdrawn behavior was the most important and negative predictor of peer status. For deaf students in special education settings, prosocial behavior was the most important and positive predictor of peer status.

The article discusses the causes of pathophysiology of profound deafness in childhood. The different treatment methodologies and management regime for the same are highlighted.

THE GERMAN VERSION of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used in a study to examine its usefulness in diagnosing socioemotional problems of deaf and hard of hearing children. The SDQ parent version was completed by 213 mothers and 213 fathers. The factor structure and reliability were tested, and the prevalence rate of socioemotional problems determined and compared to the German standardization sample. The statistical data were uniformly satisfactory; thus, the SDQ can serve as a valid yet economical screening procedure to identify endangered children at an early age, and to refer them to more exact diagnosis and subsequent advice and therapy. This is very important, as the prevalence of socioemotional problems in the sample of deaf and hard of hearing children was clearly greater for almost all scores, a result that is nearly identical with findings from many other recent studies.

Abstract While it is known that the mathematics achievement levels of deaf children are substantially below that of their hearing peers, it is not known when or in what capacity […]

THE STUDY describes environmental and personal factors that, from the student perspective, impede participation in education in secondary upper schools by students with postlingual deafblindness. The discussion is framed by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health. The researchers use the theory of social recognition as a theoretical tool in understanding the dynamics between personal factors and environment in the context of secondary upper-school education. Thirty-four students with deafblindness responded to a questionnaire; the survey's findings indicate experiences of barriers in the natural and social environments that restrict participation. Experience of considerateness--such as concern for the special requirements of students with deafblindness--and experience of the lack of considerateness are the most important factors. Negative roles adapted by some students for themselves may be interpreted as resulting from a lack of recognition, in the form of denigration or insults.

THE ARTICLE reports the development of the Structural Analysis of Written Language (SAWL), an instrument designed for use by classroom teachers in objectively documenting the ability of children to write in English. The SAWL allows teachers to use T-unit analysis to quantitatively assess language improvement regardless of whether the student writes perfect English, flawed English, and/or generates 'wordstrings' with minimal English structure. The SAWL introduces two new indexes of linguistic maturity, morphemes per T-unit (MTU) and the word efficiency ratio (WER). The SAWL also allows teachers to (a) objectively compare a child's written composition with printed material and (b) make a seamless comparison of a student's written English across his or her academic life using the same indexes of measurement.

WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK of a longitudinal study of deaf children with cochlear implants, 11 children with implants were interviewed. The objective was to shed light on what it is like for a child to use a cochlear implant, based on these children's own experience with implants, which ranged from 5.0 to 7.5 years. Six of the children were in schools for the deaf, five in regular classes. All but one used an implant daily. The children appreciated that an implant enabled them to perceive sounds in the environment. Some of the children in regular classes could take part in one-to-one conversations with teachers but had difficulty following teaching and discussions. This observation was consistent with what the children's parents and teachers had maintained. Peer interaction was said to be best when other children had the use of at least some signs.

DEAF CHILDREN of Deaf parents perform better academically (Ritter-Brinton & Stewart, 1992), linguistically (Courtin, 2000; M. Harris, 2001; Vaccari & Marschark, 1997), and socially (Hadadian & Rose, 1991: M. Harris, 2001) than Deaf children of hearing parents. Twenty-nine Deaf children in residential schools were assessed to determine if a significant difference also exists in motor development between Deaf children with Deaf parents and Deaf children with hearing parents. In the locomotor area, 78.6% of Deaf children of Deaf parents and 73.3% of Deaf children of hearing parents reached or surpassed average performance levels. In regard to object control, 92.9% of Deaf children of Deaf parents and 93.3% of Deaf children of hearing parents reached or surpassed average performance levels. The study results show no significant difference between the motor development of Deaf children of Deaf parents and Deaf children of hearing parents.

14 mothers of children who were deaf or hard of hearing provided magnitude estimation scaling responses for the speech intelligibility and speech annoyance of narrative speech samples produced by children who were deaf or hard of hearing. Analysis indicated that listeners scaled intelligibility and annoyance the same. As samples became more difficult to understand, they also became more annoying to these listeners. Implications for further research are discussed.

This article discusses the complex nature of family relationships among South Asian deaf children. Topics include racism, ethnicity, identity, and communication.

This qualitative study explored the role of grandparents in hearing/deaf family systems. Specifically, the grandparental role was examined in six family systems across at least three generations (grandparent, parent, deaf grandchild). The study's purpose was to provide insight into personal and interpersonal functioning of extended family systems with a deaf member and to provide a basis for future quantitative research. Results indicated that grandparents were willing to provide diverse support services to their children and grandchildren to the extent permitted by their resources and the nature of their existing relationship with the deaf child's parent(s). The advent of a deaf grandchild appeared to have strong effects on the extended family system, but typically system responses were consistent with the quality of preexisting relationships. Families with weak intrafamilial communication tended to have difficulties with incorrect assumptions. Families with unresolved individuation issues tended to replay these issues within the context of attempts to adapt to their changed circumstances.

Researchers examined the literature concerning the role of parent-child communication in the development of deaf children. Visual-spatial methods of interacting develop naturally between a deaf child and a deaf parent but more than 90% of deaf children have hearing parents. Research indicates that the social and emotional development of deaf children with hearing parents will be inversely related to the level of hearing loss. Many studies indicate the value to the child's social and emotional development of developing visual and tactile communication techniques.

Americanization, a national spirit distinctive to western culture, must be implemented and practiced in the course of instruction in the country's schools for the deaf. It could provide students with a strong foundation for physical and moral disciplines to prepare them as good citizens of the country and members of the society. Although attaining moral and intellectual character are obstructed by various factors, each locality must work together in developing ways to Americanize the deaf youth.

The article begins with a discussion of the sociocultural model of a deaf child as a member of a bilingual minority and examines its implications for deaf education. A case is made for recognizing ethnic diversity within the deaf community in designing and implementing educational programs and policies that strengthen the self-identities of deaf children. Several issues related to the accommodation of the diversity of deaf learners are discussed illustrating how such accommodation would enhance their educational experiences. The use of technology, its potential to accommodate diverse deaf learners, and its influence on the deaf community are also discussed.

Deaf infants appear to use repetitious movements such as waving the arms and kicking the legs more than hearing children do when trying to get their mother's attention. Researchers studied the behavior of 20 deaf and 20 hearing infants to re-engage their deaf or hearing mothers. Overall there appear to be few differences in efforts by deaf and hearing infants, when other signal behaviors such as arm and foot movements are considered.

Full inclusion of deaf and hard of hearing children in regular classrooms can be beneficial if these children receive encouragement and placement options are available. A total of 55 deaf educators and 48 regular teachers with experience in full inclusion from public school districts in Kansas completed questionnaires about inclusive education involving deaf and hard of hearing students. More than two-thirds of the raters replied that inclusion was either positive or strongly positive. Most teachers agreed that successful participation depended on certain educational conditions, especially social encouragement.

The effect of early cognitive, social and communicative experiences on later social and language development in deaf infants with hearing mothers is assessed by observing mothers' and infants' behaviors when the child is 9, 12, 15 and 18 months of age. Social support for mothers in the early months and the mothers' visual and tactile responsiveness when the child is at 9 months contribute to positive interactions. Moreover, the infants' ability to cope with interactive stress and fewer attempts to engage with the social environment at 9 months of age also positively correlated with the deaf infants' language level.

Prelingually and profoundly deaf adolescents' metacognitive knowledge about school-related reading was determined. Results showed that most deaf adolescents were passive readers who utilized skill-based or school-task oriented schemata for reading. Assessment of the schemata revealed an absence of mature metacognitive knowledge necessary for maximizing benefits from reading instruction and for developing reader independence. Metacognitive strategies may be utilized by deaf adolescents to improve their reading achievement levels.

The applicability of the intuitive parenting concept in understanding parent- infant dyads with parent or child deafness was evaluated. Although the intuitive parenting model was developed from studies of hearing dyads, it is of potential value in the identification and comprehension of early adaptive processes in parent-infant interactions involving deafness. Intuitive parental behaviors help infants adapt to post natal environment and to the preverbal-postverbal transition stage of development. Deafness in the parent or child may impede parent-infant interactions.

This paper begins with the assumption that racism exists and influences educational policy and curricula in American schools, including schools for deaf children, and discusses how a multicultural approach to educating deaf children is often limited to the description of ethnic differences. What is also needed is an antiracist approach to education that addresses the social and political ramifications of ethnic differences. It is suggested that schools for the deaf are in a strategic position to respond to the inadequacy of American schools to educate deaf children of color. Correspondence regarding this article should be sent to Oscar P. Cohen, Lexington School for the Deaf, 30th Avenue and 75th Street, Jackson Heights, NY 11370. E-mail: nyceasdl@gteens.com.

A womanist conceptual framework is used to discuss the experiences of nondeaf African American mothers in raising their deaf children.

For a report on the stress experiences of parents with hearing-impaired children in Germany, 317 parents completed a survey on how their families communicate and socialize, among other issues. The report focuses on how contacts with other parents and with hearing-impaired adults affect stress experiences, in the context of the child's hearing status and the means of communication. Parents who frequently meet with other parents show evidence of a warm, accepting, trusting relationship with their child. Parents who have many contacts with hearing-impaired adults show evidence of a strong sense of competence in regard to their child's upbringing. The findings confirm the implication found in most reports describing empirical studies. Social support is to be regarded as a cornerstone of psychosocial intervention and has to play as great a role as possible in institutional programs.

The overall level of self-reported display rule usage by deaf children is similar to that of hearing children, according to research into deaf children's understanding of display rules. It seems that deaf children are as able as hearing children to report regulating their expressive behaviour appropriately. However, in situations needing the concealment of emotion for prosocial reasons, deaf children were less likely than hearing children to report concealment and were also less likely to give prosocial reasons for concealment. It appears that the development of the understanding of prosocial display rules may be connected with the development of the ability to become involved in recursive thinking.