Deaf infants and development - Essay Example

What is the impact of an infants diminished hearing in regards to language, social and cognitive development? The children with diminished hearing have some of peculiarities in psychological and physical development. These peculiarities prevent healthy growing and getting skills for everyday life. Diminished hearing makes difficult not only speech formation and word thinking, but the process of cognitive activity in general. Communication is the process of real social rehabilitation and integration.

The children with hearing defects should take part in the process of communication of full value.Nowadays children who have problems with hearing are treated in the special educational establishments.Scientists differentiate two categories of the hearing defect – deafness and diminished hearing. It is possible to define the category of the defect with the help of speech perception. Speech always reflects the development of every human. (The Care of Infants and Young Children)There are the following correlations:The age if hearing lossThe speech breach1,5 – 2 years oldChildren lose the sprout of speech during 2 – 3 months and become dumb 2 – 5 years oldSpeech exists for several months until 1 year old and then only a couple of words remain 5 – 6 years oldIn some cases speech disappears completely7 – 11 years oldSpeech does not disappear, but voice gets a strange sounding, there is a intonation breach, stress breach, speech is quick, vocabulary is limited (lack of words that expresses abstract notions, only simple sentences are used)12 – 17 years old Speech skills remain but there is no distinctness Everything mentioned above proves that hearing reduce negatively influences on the speech development.

Besides we should take into consideration that we use different loudness while speaking: there are stressed and unstressed sounds in speech, voiceless consonants, etc. Among the different factors that impact the child’s speech we can outline: the degree of the hearing reduce – the worse a child hears, the worse he/she speaks; age of the speech breach – the earlier it happens the more difficult it is; conditions of the child’s growing – the results of bringing up are better if the child is treated in time; physical and psychological development.

A negative impact has the limitation of the social contacts in infant’s age when a person should take the world through the sounds. The defected children require special treatment and control by the doctors and teachers. Though the sign systems have different meanings for socialization in different periods of childhood. Usually children use verbal, imaginary-moving and imaginary-graphical signs and socialize through the playing games. Role games, painting and drawing are very important for socializing children who have any kind of defects.

All these kind of activity help to form imaginary thinking. (Dr. Eloise Murray) Bringing up the child with diminished hearing, parents should make a responsible choice – method of teaching. Besides the family climate is also very important for the social and cognitive development. The psychologists differentiate several types of relationship with a deaf child: understanding; “overcaring”; non-real treatment (parents treat their child as a healthy one); indifference(the most dangerous type of relationship).

Together with parents and doctors it is possible to achieve good results in teaching and bringing up children with diminished hearing. One of the most important conditions for this is parents’ optimism and confidence.Works citedThe Care of Infants and Young Children: The New American Dilemma by Martinson, Floyd M. (Floyd Mansfield), 1916-2000Copyright © 1999 Floyd M. Martinson, June 2001, 174 p.Dr. Eloise Murray Editor 1980. The child’s first learning enviroinment. Selected reading in home economics.