[The role of child's play in the relationship between hearing mothers and deaf children]. / O brincar na relação entre mães ouvintes e filhos surdos.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The importance of child's play and its assessment for the therapy of deaf children. AIM: To analyze the organization of the act of playing between hearing mothers and deaf children, how it can be assessed and its relation with language acquisition. METHOD: Analysis of video recordings of six deaf children playing with their mothers in three different moments, with intervals between the recordings of 6 months each. Criteria were established for the analysis of the data. RESULTS: All of the children presented a language acquisition delay and a very poor interaction with their mothers. During one year five out of the six mothers modified their way of playing. CONCLUSION: Playing might (and should) be an efficient parameter to assess the therapy of deaf children.