2011 Volume 49 Issue 4 Pages 339-350
The purpose of the present study was to examine developmental characteristics of social interactions between children who are congenitally deaf and their mothers without hearing disabilities. Participants were 26 mother-child pairs. The children were 1 to 3 years old, and had moderate or profound hearing loss. After mother-child interactions in free-play settings were videotaped, the recordings of their play behavior were assessed in terms of the play level, and their communications were analyzed in terms of the ways, functions, and maintenance patterns. No significant difference was found between the play level of the 1-year-old children who were deaf and children of the same age with no hearing disabilities. However, a lower level of play was observed in the 2-year-old children who were deaf, compared to that typical of children of the same age with no hearing disabilities. No significant difference was found in the level of play between the 3-year-old children who were deaf and same-aged children with no hearing disabilities. The non-verbal communication of the deaf children differed depending on their age. The 1-year-olds used object-oriented communication, whereas the 2-year-olds used person-oriented communication. In addition, the children who were deaf and had more ways to communicate verbally communicated with a combination of verbal and non-verbal methods. The present findings suggest that characteristics and tendencies of mother-child interactions are different when the child is deaf, compared to the characteristics and tendencies in the interactions of mothers with children of the same age who have no hearing disabilities. Developmental characteristics in social interactions between children who are congenitally deaf and their mothers without hearing disabilities become more active and deep between the ages of 1 and 3, as the children's communication and play skills become more elaborate.
