Lexical Development of Deaf Children Acquiring Signed Languages

ABSTRACTThe relationship of gesticulation to speech has received considerable theoretical and empirical attention from investigators interested in the verbal status of gesture, its use in prelinguistic children, and the role of gestures in social and pragmatic communication. The relationship of gesticulation to sign language, in contrast, has received less attention. Although the gestures of deaf children have been investigated in the contexts of language acquisition and linguistic flexibility, the functions of gestures used by deaf versus hearing individuals have not been examined. One difficulty for such a study stems from the fact that gesture and sign language occur in the same modality. Gesture and sign are considered here with an eye toward determining those aspects of manual communication that are specific to users of signed languages and those in common with users of oral languages. This examination reveals that gestures produced by deaf individuals can be distinguished from the sign language in which they are embedded, both in terms of their privilege of occurrence and their semantic and pragmatic functions.

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Equivalent Noise Dose Obtained Through Hearing Aids in the Classrooms of Hearing-Impaired Children

Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools ◽

10.1044/0161-1461.2103.147 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

pp. 147-150

Author(s):

Ronald A. Wilde

Keyword(s):

Hearing Aids ◽

High Gain ◽

Hearing Impaired ◽

Deaf Children ◽

Impaired Children ◽

Very High ◽

Hearing Impaired Children

A commercial noise dose meter was used to estimate the equivalent noise dose received through high-gain hearing aids worn in a school for deaf children. There were no significant differences among nominal SSPL settings and all SSPL settings produced very high equivalent noise doses, although these are within the parameters of previous projections.

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Evaluation of Special Hearing Aids for Deaf Children

Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders ◽

10.1044/jshd.3604.527 ◽

1971 ◽

Vol 36 (4) ◽

pp. 527-537 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Norman P. Erber

Keyword(s):

Hearing Aids ◽

High Frequency ◽

Hearing Aid ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Acoustic Stimulation ◽

Deaf Children ◽

Frequency Range ◽

Frequency Limit ◽

Unpublished Studies ◽

Published Research

Two types of special hearing aid have been developed recently to improve the reception of speech by profoundly deaf children. In a different way, each special system provides greater low-frequency acoustic stimulation to deaf ears than does a conventional hearing aid. One of the devices extends the low-frequency limit of amplification; the other shifts high-frequency energy to a lower frequency range. In general, previous evaluations of these special hearing aids have obtained inconsistent or inconclusive results. This paper reviews most of the published research on the use of special hearing aids by deaf children, summarizes several unpublished studies, and suggests a set of guidelines for future evaluations of special and conventional amplification systems.

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The Use of Real-Time Visual Displays of Speech in the Training of a Profoundly Deaf, Nonspeaking Child: A Case Report

Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders ◽

10.1044/jshd.3603.397 ◽

1971 ◽

Vol 36 (3) ◽

pp. 397-409 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Rachel E. Stark

Keyword(s):

Case Report ◽

Real Time ◽

Speech Production ◽

Behavior Problem ◽

Deaf Children ◽

Developmental Sequence ◽

Visual Displays ◽

Individual Instruction ◽

Academic Record ◽

Extract Information

Real-time amplitude contour and spectral displays were used in teaching speech production skills to a profoundly deaf, nonspeaking boy. This child had a visual attention problem, a behavior problem, and a poor academic record. In individual instruction, he was first taught to produce features of speech, for example, friction, nasal, and stop, which are present in vocalizations of 6- to 9-month-old infants, and then to combine these features in syllables and words. He made progress in speech, although sign language and finger spelling were taught at the same time. Speech production skills were retained after instruction was terminated. The results suggest that deaf children are able to extract information about the features of speech from visual displays, and that a developmental sequence should be followed as far as possible in teaching speech production skills to them.

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