Is the Window of Learning Only Cracked Open? Parents' Perspectives on Virtual Learning for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, parents quickly assumed the role of teachers to support their children's learning at home. Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students often rely on additional accommodations to access their education. The authors investigated the perspectives of 40 parents of K-12 DHH students on the use of virtual learning during the pandemic. An electronic survey was distributed through Qualtrics to gain an understanding of the new learning environment of remote instruction. The participants' responses revealed that they felt that challenges occurred in the areas of time management, language access, technology, motivation, and children's ability to function independently. The respondents were almost evenly split between satisfaction and dissatisfaction with their child's overall educational experience during the pandemic. The results indicated that degree of access significantly influenced the children's experiences of education in virtual learning settings.

The Spoken Language Checklist: A User-Friendly Normed Language Acquisition Checklist.

There are many variables having an impact on the spoken language acquisition of deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children; therefore, it is critical for parents and professionals to have appropriate tools to monitor language acquisition. The Spoken Language Checklist (SLC) was developed to monitor and identify developmental milestones in a user-friendly checklist format that includes norms. The availability of the SLC will help parents and professionals to monitor the spoken language development of DHH children and provide interventions that should any delays be observed. Recognizing these delays early could prevent any insurmountable effects for cognitive development and further language development.

Early Intervention Protocols: Proposing a Default Bimodal Bilingual Approach for Deaf Children.

Despite advances in hearing technology, a growing body of research, as well as early intervention protocols, deaf children largely fail to meet age-based language milestones. This gap in language acquisition points to the inconsistencies that exist between research and practice. Current research suggests that bimodal bilingual early interventions at deaf identification provide children language foundations that can lead to more effective outcomes. Recommendations that support implementing bimodal bilingualism at deaf identification include early intervention protocols, language foundations, and the development of appropriate bimodal bilingual environments. All recommendations serve as multifaceted tools in a deaf child's repertoire as language and modality preferences develop and solidify. This versatile approach allows for children to determine their own language and communication preferences.

The Odyssey of Deaf Epistemology: A Search for Meaning-Making.

Deaf epistemology made a crucial contribution to an understanding of a Deaf worldview, yet did not quite encompass the "D/deaf experience." It started the conversation but seemingly stalled. In an expansion on earlier studies of Deaf epistemology, the researchers considered the question "What does it mean to be D/deaf?" D/deaf participants submitted narratives that were analyzed for common themes via grounded theory research methodology. Six open codes were identified: school, cultural capital, deficit/The Struggle, difference/empowerment, accessibility/technology, hearing technology. These themes were captured by two axial codes: journey and sense of belonging. The core category was determined to be situated homecoming, reflecting the apex of a long, frustrating journey. In a transition from a largely etic to an emic exploration of Deaf epistemology, new insights were developed about what it means to be D/deaf, as well as a new way of theorizing about Deaf epistemology.

Welcoming Deaf Students into STEM: Recommendations for University Science Education.

Scientists are shaped by their unique life experiences and bring these perspectives to their research. Diversity in life and cultural experiences among scientists, therefore, broadens research directions and, ultimately, scientific discoveries. Deaf individuals, for example, have successfully contributed their unique perspectives to scientific inquiry. However, deaf individuals still face challenges in university science education. Most deaf students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines interact with faculty who have little to no experience working with deaf individuals and who often have preconceptions or simply a lack of knowledge about deaf individuals. In addition to a lack of communication access, deaf students may also feel unwelcome in STEM, as do other underrepresented groups. In this essay, we review evidence from the literature and, where data are lacking, contribute the expert opinions of the authors, most of whom are deaf scientists themselves, to identify strategies to best support deaf students in university STEM education. We describe the journey of a hypothetical deaf student and methods for faculty to create a welcoming environment. We describe and provide recommendations for classroom seating and layout, accommodations, teaching strategies, and research mentoring. We also discuss the importance of including deaf scientists in research about deaf individuals.

Examination of Utricular Response Using oVEMP and Unilateral Centrifugation Rotation Testing.

OBJECTIVES: Significant advancements have been made toward the clinical assessment of utricular function through ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (oVEMP) and unilateral centrifugation (UCF) testing. To date, no study has examined intrasubject relationships between these measures. The study hypothesis was that intrasubject responses from oVEMP and UCF testing would be correlated inasmuch as both tests have been reported to assess utricular function. DESIGN: UCF rotations and oVEMP testing were performed on healthy volunteers, aged 18 to 62 years. A within-subject study design compared and correlated UCF outcome measures of ocular counterroll, subjective visual vertical, and ocular counterroll-gravitational inertial acceleration slope against peak to peak oVEMP N1-P1 amplitude. RESULTS: Correlational analyses failed to reveal any significant relationships between oVEMP amplitude and UCF responses suggesting that these tests may be inciting different response properties within the utricular system. CONCLUSIONS: Various anatomical and physiological differences within the utricle, in addition to the fundamental differences in stimulus properties between the oVEMP and UCF tests, could explain the lack of significant correlations between these measures and suggest that oVEMP and UCF testing may be complimentary in their evaluation of the utricular system. These data reinforce the complexities of the utricular system and provide further insight into the difficulties encountered in its clinical assessment.

The Deaf Mentoring Survey: A Community Cultural Wealth Framework for Measuring Mentoring Effectiveness with Underrepresented Students.

Disabled individuals, women, and individuals from cultural/ethnic minorities continue to be underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Research has shown that mentoring improves retention for underrepresented individuals. However, existing mentoring surveys were developed to assess the majority population, not underrepresented individuals. We describe the development of a next-generation mentoring survey built upon capital theory and critical race theory. It emphasizes community cultural wealth, thought to be instrumental to the success of individuals from minority communities. Our survey targets relationships between deaf mentees and their research mentors and includes Deaf community cultural wealth. From our results, we identified four segregating factors: Being a Scientist, which incorporated the traditional capitals; Deaf Community Capital; Asking for Accommodations; and Communication Access. Being a Scientist scores did not vary among the mentor and mentee variables that we tested. However, Deaf Community Capital, Asking for Accommodations, and Communication Access were highest when a deaf mentee was paired with a mentor who was either deaf or familiar with the Deaf community, indicating that cultural competency training should improve these aspects of mentoring for deaf mentees. This theoretical framework and survey will be useful for assessing mentoring relationships with deaf students and could be adapted for other underrepresented groups.

Deaf/Hearing Research Partnerships.

Deaf individuals typically are seen through the lens of the dominant hearing society's perception, i.e., that being deaf is an impairment. Today, a small but growing number of Deaf and hearing researchers are challenging this perception. The authors examined perceptions of what components are necessary for a successful Deaf/hearing research partnership, and propose that it is essential for Deaf and hearing researchers to embrace a Deaf epistemology. The authors found that a core category of equity is the key to effective teams. This equity is based in part on the mutual understanding that American Sign Language is the lingua franca of the team, as it provides full and easy access between Deaf and hearing team members. Additionally, a transformative paradigm, as a research frame, was found to be necessary to focus on leveling the playing field for Deaf researchers.

Deaf scholars on reading: a historical review of 40 years of dissertation research (1973-2013): implications for research and practice.

Taking a historical view, the authors reviewed 40 years of dissertation research by deaf scholars (1973-2013) related to reading. Using a qualitative interpretive analysis approach (J. Smith & Osborn, 2003), the authors selected 31 dissertations as primary texts, reviewing them for themes over five time periods. The first finding was a trend of themes on communication methodology in the 1970s (first period), to English reading skills in the 1980s (second period), to American Sign Language/English bilingualism to support acquisition of English literacy during the third, fourth and fifth periods (1990-2013). The second finding was that most of the dissertations used a combination of qualitatively similar and qualitatively different epistemologies in their research. These two findings are related to (a) the role of the deaf reading researcher, (b) historical and current trends in reading research, and (c) the qualitative similarity hypothesis (Paul, Wang, & Williams, 2013).

Auditory profile in superficial siderosis of the central nervous system: a prospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To identify auditory pathology resulting from superficial siderosis of the central nervous system (SSCN), auditory site of lesion, and a clinical profile for differential diagnosis and development of recommendations. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: Academic clinical center. PATIENTS: Ten participants with SSCN (the largest prospective evaluation of audiologic status reported to date). INTERVENTION(S): Demographics, clinical characteristics and history, audiometric evaluation, and Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Type and degree of hearing loss, relationship to clinical course of SSCN, and expected results based on age and sex. RESULTS: Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is the most common symptom in SSCN (100%). Tinnitus (100%), imbalance (80%), and gait disorder (80%) were also frequently reported. Hearing loss is typically bilateral, asymmetric, progressive, sloping, and exceeds expected hearing loss related to age and sex. Hearing loss may be cochlear and/or retrocochlear in origin. Decreased word recognition is possible, and traditional amplification may offer limited benefit. CONCLUSION: We observed significant audiometric findings in all participants. SSCN variably and pathologically targets the auditory system without regard for duration of disorder. A long asymptomatic phase and lack of predictive relationship between duration and severity of hearing loss makes suspicion of SSCN based solely on audiometric battery difficult; however, asymmetric hearing loss exceeding expectations, particularly with history of head trauma or previous neurosurgical procedure, should raise a red flag and trigger further medical evaluation including MRI. Diagnosis of SSCN may alter expectations for audiologic prognosis and is a critical component for comprehensive management of SSCN patients.

Black deaf individuals' reading skills: influence of ASL, culture, family characteristics, reading experience, and education.

Previous research on the reading abilities of Deaf individuals from various cultural groups suggests that Black Deaf and Hispanic Deaf individuals lag behind their White Deaf peers. The present study compared the reading skills of Black Deaf and White Deaf individuals, investigating the influence of American Sign Language (ASL), culture, family characteristics, reading experience, and education. (The descriptor Black is used throughout the present article, as Black Deaf individuals prefer this term to African American. For purposes of parallel construction, the term White is used instead of European American.) It was found that Black Deaf study participants scored lower on measures of both reading and ASL. These findings provide implications for possible interventions at the primary, secondary, and college levels of education.

Phonology and reading: a response to Wang, Trezek, Luckner, and Paul.

Four critical responses to an article, "The Role of Phonology and Phonologically Related Skills in Reading Instruction for Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing" (Wang, Trezek, Luckner, & Paul, 2008), are presented. Issue is taken with the conclusions of the article by Wang and colleagues regarding the "necessary" condition of phonological awareness for the development of reading skills among deaf readers. Research findings (not cited by Wang and colleagues) are pointed out that reveal weak correlations between phonemic awareness and reading comprehension, and stronger correlations between other variables such as overall language skill and early exposure to a visual language.