Simple View of Reading in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Adults.

The present study investigated the relative contribution of the two components in the simple view of reading to the reading comprehension skills of deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) adults in the Netherlands. Eighty DHH adults, aged between 30 and 80 years old, were tested on word reading, reading fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. Regression analyses showed that both decoding skills and vocabulary contributed to the reading comprehension skills of DHH adults, with vocabulary being the strongest predictor. For skilled decoders, the picture was somewhat different with only vocabulary being a predictor of reading comprehension. The results of this study show that the simple view of reading is applicable to DHH adults' reading comprehension skills: both decoding skills and vocabulary contribute to reading comprehension. Also, as in previous studies on the simple view of reading, as readers become more skilled in the decoding process, vocabulary becomes the only predictor of reading comprehension.

Measuring Recovery in Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, and Tinnitus Patients in a Mental Health Care Setting: Validation of the I.ROC.

This study was aimed at validating the Individual Recovery Outcomes Counter (I.ROC) for deaf, hard-of-hearing, and tinnitus patients in a mental health care setting. There is a need for an accessible instrument to monitor treatment effects in this population. The I.ROC measures recovery, seeing recovery as a process of experiencing a meaningful life, despite the limitations caused by illness or disability. A total of 84 adults referred to 2 specialist mental health centers for deaf, hard-of-hearing, and tinnitus adults in the Netherlands completed the Dutch version of I.ROC and 3 other instruments. A total of 25 patients refused or did not complete the instruments: 50% of patients using sign language and 18% of patients using spoken language. Participants completed the measures at intake and then every 3 months. In this sample I.ROC demonstrated good internal consistency and convergent validity. Sensitivity to change was good, especially over a period of 6 or 9 months. This study provides preliminary evidence that the I.ROC is a valid instrument measuring recovery for hard-of-hearing and tinnitus patients using spoken language. For deaf patients using sign language, specifically those with limited language skills in spoken and written Dutch, more research is needed.

The christian's duty toward the deaf: differing christian views on deaf schooling and education in 19th-century Dutch society.

A historical study is conducted into the founding of three boarding schools for Deaf children in The Netherlands, in 1790, 1840, and 1888. The article focuses on how three different religious views inspired divergent perspectives on citizenship and the role of the state, the church, and charity in helping Deaf people to become well-integrated citizens. For each school, a brief general context and a brief description of its political and religious background is given. The founding of the school, with accompanying difficulties, is then described, as well as the fundamental ideas of the founders regarding the image of the Deaf person, Deaf children and their capacities, societal goals of the institution, subject matter considered important in the school, further relevant organizational aspects, and financing and the responsibilities of state, church, charity, and private enterprise. The views of the three institutions are compared and contrasted.

An unhappy and utterly pitiable creature? Life and self-images of deaf people in the Netherlands at the time of the founding fathers of deaf education.

This article describes how young deaf people in the Netherlands between 1809 and 1828 made the transition from living in a school for the Deaf,1 a rather protected community with mostly deaf people and with hearing people who could understand them rather well, to a life in hearing society with mostly hearing people who knew little about deafness. How did they manage to live in that hearing society? The article describes how these deaf people viewed themselves as Deaf persons in a hearing society. The description is based on an analysis of 73 letters written by 35 ex-pupils to the founder of their school, Reverend H. D. Guyot. As it turns out, these deaf ex-pupils managed to live in hearing society remarkably well.