Current Issue
What’s in the current issue?
What’s in the current issue?
Job announcements are listed on the Employment Opportunities web page.
Contents of the Spring 2009 (Volume 154, No. 1) Issue of the Annals
Residential Schools for the Deaf and
Academic Placement Past, Preset, and Future [Editorial]
by Donald F. Moores
Deafness and Autistic Spectrum Disorders
by McCay Vernon and Anthony Rhodes
an orientation to autistic spectrum disorders (ASD), also known as autism, is provided, and the specific syndrome of autism and deafness is addressed. The two conditions have in common a major problem: communication. Case histories are provided, the development of treatment for autism is discussed, and the separate disorders that make up ASD are defined. Important medical conditions often present in ASD are named, and their roles in treatment and diagnosis are described. Because autism is generally regarded as increasing in prevalence, some say to epidemic proportions, there is an increase in children who are both deaf and autistic. The resulting pressure on day and residential school programs for the Deaf to accept and educate these difficult, multiply disabled children is increasing. The parents of autistic children are a sophisticated, politically active group who are demanding services through legal and legislative means, among others.
Establishment of Joint Attention in Dyads
Involving Hearing Mothers of Deaf and Hearing Children, and Its Relation
to Adaptive Social Behavior
by Matilda E. Nowakowski, Susan L. Tasker, and Louis A. Schmidt
mounting evidence points to joint attention as a mediating variable in children’s adaptive behavior. Joint attention in interactions between hearing mothers and congenitally deaf (n = 27) and hearing (n = 29) children, ages 18–36 months, was examined. All deaf children had severe to profound hearing loss. Mother-child interactions were coded for maternally initiated and child-initiated success rates in establishing joint attention; mothers completed ratings of their children’s adaptive behavior. Hearing mother–deaf child dyads had significantly lower maternally initiated success rates. No significant between-group differences on child-initiated success rates were shown. Maternal ratings of adaptive behavior were significantly lower for deaf children, and related positively and significantly to both child-initiated and maternally initiated success rates. The findings suggest that mother-child interactions that are low in successful establishment of joint attention might mediate development of socioemotional problems evident in deaf children with hearing families.
An Exploratory Study of Psychosocial Risk
Behaviors of Adolescents Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: Comparisons and
Recommendations
by Kenneth M. Coll, Martin M. Cutler, Patti Thobro, Robin Haas, and
Stephanie Powell
the study compared psychosocial risk behaviors of adolescents who were deaf or hard of hearing with those of their hearing peers in a residential treatment facility. Statistically significant differences emerged between groups. The adolescents who were deaf or hard of hearing demonstrated clinically higher scores than those of their hearing peers on the psychosocial risk behaviors of risk to others, social and adaptive functioning, need for structure, aggression toward people and animals, destruction of property, theft and deceit, and rules violations. Implications and suggestions for helping professionals are included.
The Christian’s Duty Toward the Deaf:
Differing Christian Views on Deaf Schooling and Education in 19th-Century
Dutch Society
by Corrie Tijsseling and Agnes Telling
a historical study is conducted into the founding of three boarding schools for Deaf children in the Netherlands, in 1790, 1840, and 1888. The article focuses on how three different religious views inspired divergent perspectives on citizenship and the role of the state, the church, and charity in helping Deaf people become well-integrated citizens. For each school, a brief general context and a brief description of its political and religious background is given. The founding of the school, with accompanying difficulties, is then described, as well as the fundamental ideas of the founders regarding the image of the Deaf person, Deaf children and their capacities, societal goals of the institution, subject matter considered important in the school, further relevant organizational aspects, and financing and the responsibilities of state, church, charity, and private enterprise. The views of the three institutions are compared and contrasted.
Professional Development for Teachers of
Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: Facing the Assessment Challenge
by Stephanie Cawthon
teachers of students with low-incidence disabilities, such as students who are deaf or hard of hearing, face unique challenges in putting education policy into practice. The present article presents professional development findings from the Third Annual National Survey of Accommodations and Assessment for Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (Cawthon, Hersh, Kim, & Online Research Lab, in press). A total of 391 participants described professional development they had experienced related to assessment of students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Teachers reported greater exposure to topics in school/district sessions and discussion with their colleagues than in their preparation programs. Teaching at a school for the deaf or teaching students in high school were significant predictors of an increased prevalence of professional development opportunities on assessment-related topics for students who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Evaluating Deaf Education Web-Based Course
Work
by Barbara Luetke
some u.s. universities use Web-based formats to offer most of the course work required to become a certified teacher of the deaf. Yet little research exists on how students judge the content and delivery of such courses compared to on-campus instruction. Parton (2005) described previous research concerning this topic as descriptive rather than empirical, and called for data-based investigation. In the present study, 108 consumers of online courses at one university were surveyed. A questionnaire was developed from a literature review and experiences of the author, who has taught long-distance courses since the early 1990s. Responses pertained to as many as five deaf education professors and 12 deaf education courses. Most students were intelligent, hearing, experienced consumers who appreciated Web-based course content and delivery. The majority (65%) felt that they did not know the instructor as well in on-campus courses. Further research is planned.
Learning With a Missing Sense: What Can We
Learn From the Interaction of a Deaf Child With a Turtle?
by Paul Miller
this case study reports on the progress of Navon, a 13-year-old boy with prelingual deafness, over a 3-month period following exposure to Logo, a computer programming language that visualizes specific programming commands by means of a virtual drawing tool called the Turtle. Despite an almost complete lack of skills in spoken and sign language, Navon made impressive progress in his programming skills, including acquisition of a notable active written vocabulary, which he learned to apply in a purposeful, rule-based manner. His achievements are discussed with reference to commonly held assumptions about the relationship between language and thought, in general, and the prerequisite of proper spoken language skills for the acquisition of reading and writing, in particular. Highlighted are the central principles responsible for Navon’s unexpected cognitive and linguistic development, including the way it affected his social relations with peers and teachers.