Receptive Abilities of Deaf Children Across Five Modes of Communication

Abstract

74 children in 7 preschool programs for the deaf were assessed in a measure of receptive communication. Subjects ranged from 48 to 72 months with a mean chronological age of 61.96 months. Hearing losses ranged from 71 to 100 decibels with a mean loss of 95.49 decibels. Subjects were tested across five modes of communication: (a) sound alone, (b) sound plus speechreading, (c) sound and speechreading plus fingerspelling, (d) sound and speechreading plus signs, and (e) the printed word. Four levels of difficulty were assessed for each mode: (a) number concepts, (b) adjective-noun phrases, (c) noun-conjunction-noun phrases, and (d) noun-verb-prepositional phrase constructions. Results suggest that the most efficient means of receptive communication was simultaneous use of sound and speechreading plus signs. Children using this system receive information at least as efficiently as other deaf children when manual components are removed. Implications of the findings are discussed.

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