Mothers’ Adaptation to Communication with Deaf Infants Coursework

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The primary theoretical background of the given article was the research dealing with the concept of intuitive parenting, single instances of which date back to the 1970-s. This breeding theory suggests that parents interact with their children based on the visual and vocal signals the child gives; much of the communication is based on nonconscious behaviors and emotional exchange. The previous longitudinal studies had small sample sizes of deaf children and parents and covered limited periods of infants’ life.

The goal of the study was to find out how the age of a child and the hearing status of both mother and child influence the overall caregiving behavior (Koester and Lahti-Harper 9). The authors wanted to examine the peculiarities of the intuitive mothers’ adaptation to the communication with their deaf and hearing infants. Deaf mothers and children were in the key focus of the study as the authors suggested that deaf mothers have more developed skills of non-verbal communication with the infants aging from 6 to 18 months.

The study had both qualitative and quantitative parts. Koester and Lahti-Harper selected 20 pairs of mothers and children, dividing them into four groups due to their hearing status (deaf mother-deaf child, deaf mother-hearing child, hearing the mother-deaf child and hearing mother-hearing child). The age of infants was 6, 9, 12 and 18 months. The researchers conducted observations of the behavior of each dyad during simple interaction and playing; each dyad was videotaped in the laboratory. Every communication sign then was coded and eventually 15 dimensions of communication were distinguished. The comparison was conducted using t-tests (Koester and Lahti-Harper 10-11).

The research showed that deaf mothers with deaf children referred much to sign and tactile methods to attract the children’s attention, while deaf mothers with hearing infants changed palm orientation and moving proximity to follow the infant’s movements. Hearing mothers showed less non-verbal involvement. Facial contact and gestural imitation were the most important in the cases of 6 to 9 and 12 to 18 months-old deaf children (Koester and Lahti-Harper 11-13).

The concept of intuitive parenting is related to what we have learned in the field of educational theory concerning the education of children with disabilities (Adelizzi and Goss 56). Moreover, the focus on the chosen infant groups as the crucial ones can also be seen in the works of child psychologists (Lerner, Bornstein, and Leventhal 230).

The teachers can use the results of the research while providing recommendations to the parents of deaf children. The given information can also be useful for parenting consultants and childcare institutions. The enhanced facial and gesture imitation techniques applied by deaf mothers could be taken as a model by the hearing ones in the breeding of their deaf children.

The article seems to be rather informative, and the conducted research is in many ways innovative; this can be told about the communication signs coding and dimensions. However, there still exists an impression that the study, even with the help of elaborate methods, aims to prove nearly obvious things. Koester and Lahti-Harper state in the conclusion that “The finding that Deaf mothers were rated consistently higher than hearing mothers in their use of visual-gestural attention-getting strategies is a logical reflection of their familiarity with and use of sign language” (16). Isn’t that obvious that deaf people use non-verbal methods in breeding their deaf children? The only justification is that the researchers propose the hearing mothers of deaf children learn something from their deaf counterparts.

References

Adelizzi, Jane Utley, and Diane Goss. Parenting Children with Learning Disabilities. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey, 2001. Print.

Koester, Lynne Sanford, and Eve Lahti-Harper. “Mother-Infant Hearing Status and Intuitive Parenting Behaviors During the First 18 Months.” American Annals of the Deaf 155.1 (2010): 5-18. Print.

Lerner, Richard, Mark Bornstein, and Tama Leventhal. Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2015. Print.

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