Virtual environments as a tool for improving sequence ability of deaf and hard of hearing children.

The study examined the efficacy of an early intervention program to improve children's sequential time perception through virtual versus pictorial training in arranging episodes of temporal scripts. The researchers examined 65 deaf and hard of hearing children ages 4-7 years who were divided into two groups: (a) virtual environments technological intervention and (b) pictorial nontechnological intervention. Participants completed pretest and posttest measures. Both groups demonstrated significant improvement in sequential time achievement following intervention. However, the improvement was much more significant in the technological group.

Fathers' involvement in preschool programs for children with and without hearing loss.

The authors compared the involvement in children's development and education of 38 fathers of preschoolers with hearing loss to the involvement of a matched group of 36 fathers of preschoolers with normal hearing, examining correlations between child, father, and family characteristics. Fathers completed self-reports regarding their parental involvement and parenting self-efficacy and reported on their family cohesion and adaptability. Mothers also reported on their husbands' involvement. Similarly high levels of involvement on the part of both groups of fathers were found. Involvement correlated positively with fathers' self-reported parenting self-efficacy, family cohesion, and adaptability, and mother-reported paternal involvement. Implications for professionals and mothers are discussed, including the need to encourage mothers' support for their husbands' involvement and to empower fathers' sense of competency in order to increase their involvement.

[Hearing loss due to chemotherapy and radiation therapy in young children].

INTRODUCTION: Modern treatment of pediatric cancer patients has improved survival and life expectancy. However, treatment is associated with significant side-effects, including hearing loss. Hearing impairment has an important impact on language, communication and social skills, as well as on academic performance in school. AIMS: 1. Characterize hearing loss caused by treatment of pediatric cancer. 2. Define the impact of hearing loss on language development. 3. Describe techniques for intervention. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective review of ten children averaging five years of age who were referred to MICHA, a center specializing in treating hearing impaired children. For each child, at least four hearing tests were obtained, various language acquisition tests administered and methods of interventions recorded. RESULTS: All the subjects had high-tone symmetric sensorineural hearing loss; at 4000 Hz it reached 80 dB HL. Low frequency tones were better preserved. Pure-tone thresholds were worse than speech reception thresholds. Hearing aids improved hearing thresholds. Nine out of the ten children experienced a delay in language acquisition. The treatment plan included: hearing aids, hearing training, intervention in language and communication skills, emotional support and preparation for elementary school. CONCLUSIONS: Hearing loss amongst pediatric cancer patients as a consequence of treatment is extremely common. Delays in acquisition of language skills are seen in the majority of these children. DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY: Pediatric cancer patients should be referred to a proper diagnostic and intervention program. They are likely to benefit from monitoring the hearing before, during and after treatment, and from interventions to improve their hearing, language and communication skills. In addition, audiometry and otoacoustic emissions should be used to identify early damage to the inner ear. Noise and further exposure to ototoxic medications should be avoided.

Social competence, sense of loneliness, and speech intelligibility of young children with hearing loss in individual inclusion and group inclusion.

The study focused on social competence (SC) and perceived sense of loneliness of preschool children with hearing loss (HL) in group inclusion (GI, a small group of children with HL is integrated in a standard classroom) and individual inclusion (II, each child with HL is individually integrated into a standard classroom). The relations between these factors and the child's speech intelligibility were performed. Sixty-four children aged 4-7 years participated: 22 from an II and 42 from a GI. SC, perceived sense of loneliness, and speech intelligibility were evaluated through the use of questionnaires completed by the preschool teachers. The results showed that the SC of children in II was higher than the SC of the children in GI, while interacting with normal hearing (NH) children. In GI, the children's SC with other children with HL was higher compared with their SC with NH children. In both groups, there were relationships between speech intelligibility and SC with NH children. In addition, in the II setting, there were relationships between the speech intelligibility and the perceived sense of loneliness. These relationships were not found in the GI setting. The findings support the need for coenrollment of preschool children with HL and emphasize the crucial impact of speech intelligibility of children with HL on the success of their social enrollment with NH children, already at a young age.

Enhancing sequential time perception and storytelling ability of deaf and hard of hearing children.

A 3-month intervention was conducted to enhance the sequential time perception and storytelling ability of young children with hearing loss. The children were trained to arrange pictorial episodes of temporal scripts and tell the stories they created. Participants (N = 34, aged 4-7 years) were divided into 2 groups based on whether their spoken-language gap was more or less than 1 year compared to age norms. They completed A. Kaufman and N. Kaufman's (1983) picture series subtest and Guralnik's (1982) storytelling test at pretest and posttest. Measures demonstrated significant improvement in sequential time and storytelling achievement postintervention. Three of the examined demographic variables revealed correlations: Participants with genetic etiology showed greater improvement in time sequencing and storytelling than participants with unknown etiology; early onset of treatment correlated with better achievement in time sequencing; cochlear implant users showed greater storytelling improvement than hearing aid users.

Actual versus desired family-centered practice in early intervention for children with hearing loss.

Early intervention programs (EIPs) for children with hearing loss (HL) are increasingly characterized by a growing family-centered orientation. This article examined mothers' and professionals' assessments of actual and desired parental involvement in 6 educational centers in Israel that implement an EIP for young children with HL and their parents. Hundred twenty mothers and 60 professionals participated in the study. Data were collected via FOCAS: Family Orientation of Community and Agency Services questionnaire (family and professional versions) that were initially designed in the United States for measuring the level of collaboration between professionals and parents in the course of early intervention. Descriptive statistics and t-test analyses were calculated. The findings indicated that parental involvement in the programs was perceived by mothers and professionals as satisfactorily family centered. However, these programs also need further improvements. Outcomes suggested that parents should be offered a wide range of services to respond to diverse needs, thus increasing parental motivation to become increasingly involved in EIPs.