Advances in Cognition, Education, and Deafness

Identification of Additional Learning Difficulties in Hearing-Impaired Children

Identification of Additional Learning Difficulties in Hearing-Impaired Children D. Yvonne Aplin Educational psychologists who assess hearing-impaired children are particularly concerned with identifying any learning difficulties, in addition to deafness, that might hinder the child's progress in developing language. Van Uden's suggestion (e.g., Van Uden 1981, 1983) that some deaf children also have dyspraxia is of interest in this context. His concept of dyspraxia differs somewhat from that outlined in the literature on "clumsy" children and involves a number of features that constitute a syndrome. He describes it as a motor handicap that affects fine-finger movements, the development of rhythm, and movements of the speech musculature, so that those who are clumsy with their fingers are also clumsy in their speaking. In addition, he has noted that these dyspraxic children have a strong memory for simultaneously presented visual data (as opposed to memory for successively presented visual data). Eupraxic children (those showing fluent fine-motor and speech movements) have strengths in those areas that dyspraxics find difficult. The complete version of this paper is available in microfiche or hard-copy from ERIC Document Reproduction Service. Ask for Document No. ED 313 835. I would like to thank Professor Ian Taylor for his help, advice, and support throughout the duration of the research and subsequent writing. Thanks are also due to Dr. Vijay Das for the audiological and etiological information used, and the Headteachers and staff of the schools concerned for their cooperation in the research, which was supported in part by a grant from the North West Regional Health Authority. Raw data from Van Uden (1983) have been re-analyzed with the permission of the author and Swets and Zeitlinger B.V., Lisse, Holland. 39 40 Cognitive Assessment Van Uden reported results of a factor-analytic study that identified a eupraxia! dyspraxia main factor for 83 children aged seven to ten years. Fifteen subtests were used in the test battery. The children all had mean hearing losses in excess of 90 dBHL and a Performance IQ of 90 or above. They all were being educated by oral methods in the primary school department for the "normal deaf" at Holland's Instituut voor Doven in Sint Michielsgestel, and they had no major additional handicaps that would have necessitated placement in a special class. The analysis showed that tests relating to the fine-motor functions of the fingers and mouth (imitation and memory of finger movements, paper folding, speech rhythms, and words) showed clustered results with positive loadings on the first, main factor. Negative loadings on this factor were found for tests of memory for simultaneously presented visual information (pictures, designs, symbols , and colors), indicating that those who were less fluent on motor tests performed better on such memory tests and vice versa. The importance of the factor increased with age. Van Uden also reported that a relatively high percentage (more than 30 percent) of deaf children show some dyspraxic features. The children in his research have all attended one particular school for the deaf, and they do not represent the total population of hearing-impaired children. This should therefore be considered when interpreting the research findings. The more severe cases are classified as severely dysphasic and are taught one-handed fingerspelling in addition to speech to assist their development of communication. The suggestion throughout Van Uden's work is that dyspraxic children can be identified early in their school life by means of his test battery. He has stated that decisions about the need for additional special educational treatment may be made in some cases at the school in Holland when a child is about five and a half years old. Educational psychologists in Britain and elsewhere are also involved in deciding the appropriate educational placement for young hearing-impaired children . In addition, they frequently see hearing-impaired children at the ages of eight, nine, or even older, who are referred for investigation of specific languagelearning difficulties, such as dyspraxia, because they have failed to make the expected linguistic progress. The idea of identification and early remediation of such learning difficulties in hearing-impaired children is clearly of great interest to psychologists, teachers, and others who work with deaf children. There are also, however, possible dangers inherent in such an approach since it could lead to an educational self-fulfilling prophecy. Van Uden's work has been influential worldwide through papers read at conferences and courses he has given for educators. Although his work has been...