Demystifying Deafness

Most deaf children in the United States are not educated in specialized schools for the deaf but in public schools. This has had a detrimental effect on these students because many public-school teachers misunderstand deafness and are unable to adjust their teaching strategies to address the needs of this population. The mission of this chapter is to educate teachers on deafness and how to better teach and relate to a child who is deaf or hard of hearing. Specifically, this chapter will provide pertinent information for helping teachers better understand deaf and hard-of-hearing students as well as provide evidence-based practices and teaching tips that can be utilized in the classroom with this group.

Etiologies of Childhood Hearing Impairment in Schools for the Deaf in Mali

Objectives: To identify the etiologies of hearing impairment (HI) in schools for students who are deaf and to use a systematic review to summarize reports on the etiologies and clinical and genetic features of HI in Mali.Methods: We included individuals with HI that started before the age of 15 years old. Patients were carefully evaluated under standard practices, and pure-tone audiometry was performed where possible. We then searched for articles published on HI in the Malian population from the databases' inception to March 30, 2020.Results: A total of 117 individuals from two schools for the deaf were included, and a male predominance (sex ratio 1.3; 65/52) was noted. HI was pre-lingual in 82.2% (n = 117), and the median age at diagnosis was 12 years old. The etiologies were environmental in 59.4% (70/117), with meningitis being the leading cause (40%, 20/70), followed by cases with genetic suspicion (29.3%, 21/117). In 11.3% (8/117) of patients, no etiology was identified. Among cases with genetic suspicion, three were syndromic, including two cases of Waardenburg syndrome, while 15 individuals had non-syndromic HI. An autosomal recessive inheritance pattern was observed in 83.3% of families (15/18), and consanguinity was reported in 55.5% (10/18) of putative genetic cases.Conclusion: This study concludes that environmental factors are the leading causes of HI in Mali. However, genetic causes should be investigated, particularly in the context of a population with a high consanguinity rate.

Indicators of the Wider Social Context and Academic Performance of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students

The evaluation of the educational system is performed through the prism of the relationship between the individual person and society, taking into account social and economic, political, cultural, socio-economic, family tendencies and directions of development. Therefore, the analysis of the influence of social, economic, welfare, psychological and school factors is necessary in order to identify the positive, but also the negative influences of the factors and thus prevents the poor academic results of the deaf and hard of hearing students. The research problem is aimed at a wider understanding of the factors of academic achievement or failure of the deaf and hard of hearing students in order to improve the quality of their education and upbringing of deaf and hard of hearing students in schools for the deaf and hard of hearing, but also in the field of inclusive education. This paper presents a part of the research results related to the correlation between the indicators of the wider social context and the academic performance of the deaf and hard hearing students. The sample consisted of 59 respondents attending schools for the deaf and hard of hearing students in the Republic of Serbia. For this research, the method of theoretical analysis and synthesis was used in the study of the relevant literature and the determination of theoretical facts important for the research problem, and the survey and content analysis were used as the research techniques. The results showed that there were no statistically significant differences in academic achievement in relation to the type of environment in which the students are living, or in relation to the presence of the cultural institutions in the environment. There is a difference in the academic achievements of the deaf and hard of hearing students in whose environment there are or there are no active organizations for the deaf and hard of hearing, which represents important data in order to create strategies to support the deaf and hard of hearing students.

Early Development of Chinese Sign Language in Shanghai Schools for the Deaf

The Shanghai variant of Chinese Sign Language (SCSL) is one of the main variants of Chinese sign languages, greatly influencing other sign languages, such as Hong Kong Sign Language and Singapore Sign Language. This paper is a first attempt to trace its origins and early history and deaf education in Shanghai until 1949. The data are collected in two ways: first, by delving into the archives, i.e., written records of deaf history and education in China during that time; second, by interviewing surviving deaf students who went to school before or around 1949. Our findings are as follows: (a) SCSL began in the 1920s and emerged as a distinct sign language in the 1940s. Two deaf schools were the power shaping its progress among several deaf schools established in Shanghai: Fryer deaf school and Group learning deaf school. The sign variants of these two schools form the backbone of SCSL. (b) Deaf teachers are one of the key factors that affect the early development of a sign language. Chinese deaf played a vital role in the rise and spread of SCSL in the 1930s and 1940s, as some deaf teachers opened deaf schools in Shanghai and other cities, even other countries or areas, thus helping SCSL to spread. (c) Arising in an international and multilingual environment, SCSL is characterized by traces of foreign sign languages, especially ASL, due to language contacts linked to deaf education at that time, e.g., some proper names, like XUJIAHUI, SHANGHAI-1 and some high-frequency words like water. (d) However, foreign sign languages' direct influence is negligible due to the lack of participation of deaf foreigners in deaf education in Shanghai and oralism advocated by foreign educators in relevant deaf schools. To sum up, deaf teachers for deaf schools are key to the early development and spread of SCSL.

Physical Education and Leisure Time Activities Among Pupils With and Without Hearing Loss

The objective of this study was to analyse differences among Czech pupils’ with/without hearing loss related to feelings and opinions on physical education classes; sport preferences in physical education classes; and leisure time activities at the lower secondary schools for the deaf. Materials and methods. Participants were 83 pupils with hearing loss (n = 41; 49.4%) and pupils without hearing loss (n = 42; 50.6%); an average age of them was 14.3 ± 1.3 years. The non-parametric Mann-Whitney U-test, Fisher exact test, Chi-square test were used for statistical analyses. For calculation of effect size coefficient abs(r) was used. All tests were performed at a level of 0.05. Results. Pupils without hearing loss are more likely to express disappointment due to cancellation of a physical education class than pupils without hearing loss (Z = –2.168; p = 0.029). A statistically significant difference was found in preference for the various physical education activities and in leisure activities, where pupils without hearing loss prefer dancing (χ2 = 8.622; p = 0.003), whereas pupils with hearing loss prefer volleyball (χ2 = 14.833; p = 0.00001). In terms of leisure time activities, pupils with hearing loss spent their leisure time watching television significantly more often (χ2 = 5.198; p = 0.023). Conclusion. Both groups do not differ in feelings and opinions on physical education in terms of popularity, difficulty, importance, effort during physical education. On the contrary, differences in feelings associated with the cancellation of physical education or preference of activities in physical activities in physical education and leisure time appeared.

Perception and learning of relative pitch by musicians using the vibrotactile mode

This study investigated the perception and learning of relative pitch using vibrotactile stimuli by musicians with and without a hearing impairment. Notes from C3 to B4 were presented to the fingertip and forefoot. Pre- and post-training tests in which 420 pairs of notes were presented randomly were carried out without any feedback to participants. After the pre-training test, 16 short training sessions were carried out over six weeks with 72 pairs of notes per session and participants told whether their answers were correct. For amateur and professional musicians with normal hearing and professional musicians with a severe or profound hearing loss, larger pitch intervals were easier to identify correctly than smaller intervals. Musicians with normal hearing had a high success rate for relative pitch discrimination as shown by pre- and post-training tests, and when using the fingertips, there was no significant difference between amateur and professional musicians. After training, median scores on the tests in which stimuli were presented to the fingertip and forefoot were >70% for intervals of 3–12 semitones. Training sessions reduced the variability in the responses of amateur and professional musicians with normal hearing and improved their overall ability. There was no significant difference between the relative pitch discrimination abilities between one and 11 semitones, as shown by the pre-training test, of professional musicians with and without a severe/profound hearing loss. These findings indicate that there is potential for vibration to be used to facilitate group musical performance and music education in schools for the deaf.

The predictive influence of gender, onset of deafness and academic self-efficacy on the attitudes of deaf learners towards Biology

In the study reported on here we examined the attitudes of deaf learners towards biology in Ibadan, Nigeria. Forty-one deaf learners (28 males; 13 females) in the Secondary School II science classes from 3 government-funded secondary schools for the deaf were purposively selected for the study. In the study we adopted a descriptive survey research design of the correlational type. Four research questions were raised and answered. A structured questionnaire, “Deaf Learners and Biology Questionnaire” with a reliability coefficient of 0.81, was used for data collection. Data were analysed with descriptive statistics and inferential statistics of Pearson product moment correlation, multiple regression and t-test at 0.05 level of significance. There was a positively significant relationship between academic self-efficacy and the attitudes of deaf learners towards biology (r = 0.511; p < 0.05); a significant but negative relationship between gender and the attitudes of deaf learners towards biology (r = 0.15; p < 0.05). No significant relationship between the onset of deafness and the attitudes of deaf learners towards biology (r = 0.810; p > 0.05) was observed. A total of 58.1% of the variance of the independent variables accounted for the attitudes towards biology among deaf learners who participated in the study. We conclude that academic self-efficacy has a great effect on the attitude of deaf learners towards biology. Gender contributes to and is inversely proportional to learners’ disposition towards biology. In light of the findings, appropriate recommendations are made.

Menstrual Hygiene Management Challenges Among In-School Deaf Adolescents in Ghana

Background: Whiles challenges associated with menstrual hygiene management among adolescents are universal, some sub-populations, such as deaf girls, have peculiar challenges that requires special attention. Although there have been numerous studies on menstrual hygiene management among adolescents in the school setting in Ghana, the experiences of students with disabilities, particularly, deaf girls have not attracted adequate scholarly attention.Objective: The objective of the study was to generate new empirical evidence on menstrual hygiene management challenges of deaf adolescent girls in the special schools for the deaf in Ghana. The overall objective was to obtain data that could be used to improve menstrual hygiene practices among the target population, and, to bridge the gap in the existing literature regarding menstrual hygiene management experiences of in-school adolescent deaf girls in Ghana.Method: This study adopted a mixed method approach to investigate the menstrual hygiene management challenges of in-school deaf adolescent girls in Ghana. A total of 152 participants comprising 118 schoolgirls, 15 boys, seven school heads, six teachers, and six school housemothers from seven special schools were involved in the study.Results: The findings identified five challenges facing the girls. These are inadequate access to sanitary pads, inappropriate school WASH facilities, health related problems, negative attitude of male colleagues, and academic related challenges.Conclusion: The findings indicate that the quality of WASH facilities in the schools require improvement. We recommend that access to sanitary kits for underprivileged girls should be made a priority issue, boys and male teachers should be included in all menstrual hygiene management awareness programs, whiles the capacity of school housemothers on menstrual hygiene management should be enhanced. The study made important contributions to the existing literature on disability and menstrual health in Africa.

SURDEZ E VISUALIDADE NO ENSINO DE HISTÓRIA: UM ESTUDO DE CASO DE PESQUISA-AÇÃO

Teaching in bilingual schools for the deaf, due to the specificities of the students served, whose communication occurs mainly through a sign and visual language, has been using visual resources in the classroom. This article discusses the use of these resources in History classes, based on research carried out in 2017, at a school for the deaf in a city in Rio Grande do Sul. This investigation used action research as a methodology, with the objective of to test methodologies and didactic resources for the teaching of History in deaf students. The use of visual resources for teaching history was explored - images, videos, collages, models, etc. - based on discussions in the area of Deaf Studies that understand visual experience as the basis of deaf culture. As results, it was understood that there are different ways of using visual resources, that images cannot be isolated from the content discussed in the classroom, on the contrary, they need to be contextualized so that deaf students are able to appropriate historical knowledge.