Characteristics of sign language and verbal expression in preschool children with cochlear implants and hearing aids

Abstract

The level of adoption of sign language, from an early age, facilitates the ability of deaf children to familiarize themselves with the world, to develop cognitive abilities, to communicate with their parents and the environment around them. Deaf and hard of hearing children have difficulties in speech and communication, which creates problems for them in their social, emotional and cognitive development. A deaf child learns to pronounce words and their factual meaning, meaning both the word and notion signified by that word. By analyzing the description given by preschool aged children of a picture we can gain insight into what the children see in the picture, what they can explain and interpret and what conclusions they can draw. Depending on their maturity level and the development of their sign and spoken language expression, children will either individually list the entities and activities which can be seen in a picture, or they will form a whole, resulting in a story. The aim of our study was to evaluate the level of adoption sign language and verbal expression in deaf and hard of hearing children of preschool age, when describing pictures. The sample consisted of 11 preschool aged children. Five children had a cochlear implants, whilst six had hearing aids. The study utilized two pictures as stimuli: Autumn in the City and Autumn in the Village. In describing the pictures, the preschool aged children showed better results when using sign language, in comparison with their use of their spoken language. The acquired results showed a higher level of competence when describing the picture Autumn in the City then Autumn in the Village. Deaf and hard of hearing children do not utilize all types of words with equal success. Deaf and hard of hearing children of preschool age utilized on average a larger number of signs than spoken words. In deaf and hard of hearing children of preschool age, it is necessary to develop all functions of verbal and non verbal communication though various spontaneous and directed activities.

Usvojenost znakovnog jezika, od najranijeg uzrasta, pomaže gluvom detetu, da upozna svet, da razvija svoje kognitivne sposobnosti, komunicira sa svojim roditeljima i okolinom. Gluva i nagluva deca imaju teškoće u govoru i komunikaciji, što im stvara probleme u socijalnom, emocionalnom i kognitivnom razvoju. Gluvo dete istovremeno uči da izgovara reči i samo značenje te reči, odnosno i reč i pojam koji je tom rečju označen. Analizom opisa slike dece predškolskog uzrasta može se uočiti šta deca vide na slici, šta mogu da objasne i protumače i kakve zaključke mogu da izvedu. U zavisnosti od svoje zrelosti i razvoja znakovnog i govornog jezičkog izraza, deca će ili pojedinačno nabrajati lica i radnje koje se vrše na slici, ili će formirati celinu i oblikovati priču. Cilj našeg istraživanja bio je ispitivanje stepena usvojenosti znakovnog i govornog jezičkog izraza kod gluve i nagluve dece predškolskog uzrasta, pri opisivanju slika. Uzorak je činilo 11 dece predškolskog uzrasta. Petoro dece je bilo sa kohlearnim implantom, a šestoro dece je nosilo slušne aparate. U istraživanju su korišćene dve stimulans slike: Jesen u gradu i Jesen u selu. Pri opisu slika, deca predškolskog uzrasta, postigla su bolja postignuća u okviru znakovnog jezičkog izraza, u odnosu na govorni jezički izraz. Dobijeni rezultati su bolji pri opisu slike Jesen u gradu, u odnosu na sliku Jesen u selu. Gluva i nagluva deca ne koriste sa podjednakom uspešnošću sve vrste reči. Gluva i nagluva deca predškolskog uzrasta upotrebila su u proseku više znakova (gestova) nego govornih reči. Kod gluve i nagluve dece predškolskog uzrasta, kroz razne spontane i usmerene aktivnosti neophodno je razvijati sve funkcije verbalne i neverbalne komunikacije.