Inventario para una evaluación global de las principales competencias lingüísticas de la lengua de signos española / Inventory for global assessment to main linguistic skills of spanish sign language

Existen numerosos instrumentos de evaluación de la adquisición de la lengua oral que se pueden adaptar con mayor o menor facilidad al alumnado con sordera. Sin embargo, existen pocas herramientas para valorar el grado de adquisición de la lengua de signos española (LSE). En este sentido, cada vez es mayor la necesidad de contar con instrumentos que nos permitan hacer este tipo de valoración. El objetivo de este trabajo era diseñar y validar un instrumento de evaluación comunicativa de las competencias en LSE que nos permitiera conocer el nivel de los alumnos sordos en diferentes aspectos lingüísticos, de cara a detectar posibles dificultades en la adquisición de esta lengua y dar cuenta del proceso de aprendizaje de la LSE del alumno. El inventario que hemos diseñado permite evaluar de manera discriminativa competencias lingüísticas básicas de la LSE. Sería, por lo tanto, útil tanto para las primeras edades de la etapa escolar como para los inicios de la adquisición de este lenguaje. Los resultados muestran que el inventario es sensible a las variables que tradicionalmente correlacionan con la mejora de los aspectos lingüísticos. En nuestro caso, las variables que están más relacionadas con el desarrollo de las competencias lingüísticas en LSE son el tipo de escolarización y el nivel académico (AU)

There are several tools for assessing oral language acquisition which can be adapted quite easily to deaf students, but there are few tools to assess the extent of acquisition of the Spanish sign language (LSE). In this regard, the need for more specific assessments about the extent of acquisition of the LSE is increasing. The aim of this paper was to design and validate an assessment tool of communicative skills in LSE that will allow us to know the level of competence of deaf students in different linguistic aspects, in order to identify potential difficulties in the acquisition of this language and to account the learning process of the LSE. The inventory serves to evaluate in a discriminative manner basic language skills of LSE. It would therefore be useful for the early ages of the school years or the beginning of the acquisition of this language. Our results show that the inventory is sensible to variables that have traditionally been correlated with the improvement of linguistic aspects. The variables that are more related to the development of language skills in LSE are the type of education and academic level (AU)

The ICF Core Sets for hearing loss--researcher perspective. Part I: Systematic review of outcome measures identified in audiological research.

OBJECTIVE: To review the literature in order to identify outcome measures used in research on adults with hearing loss (HL) as part of the ICF Core Sets development project, and to describe study and population characteristics of the reviewed studies. DESIGN: A systematic review methodology was applied using multiple databases. A comprehensive search was conducted and two search pools were created, pool I and pool II. STUDY SAMPLE: The study population included adults (≥ 18 years of age) with HL and oral language as the primary mode of communication. RESULTS: 122 studies were included. Outcome measures were distinguished by 'instrument type', and 10 types were identified. In total, 246 (pool I) and 122 (pool II) different measures were identified, and only approximately 20% were extracted twice or more. Most measures were related to speech recognition. Fifty-one different questionnaires were identified. Many studies used small sample sizes, and the sex of participants was not revealed in several studies. CONCLUSION: The low prevalence of identified measures reflects a lack of consensus regarding the optimal outcome measures to use in audiology. Reflections and discussions are made in relation to small sample sizes and the lack of sex differentiation/descriptions within the included articles.

The ICF Core Sets for hearing loss: researcher perspective, Part II: Linking outcome measures to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).

OBJECTIVE: To link outcome measures used in audiological research to the ICF classification and thereby describe audiological research from the ICF perspective. DESIGN: Through a peer-reviewed or a joint linking procedure, link outcome measures to the ICF classification system using standardized ICF linking rules. Additional linking rules were developed in combination with the established rules to overcome difficulties when connecting audiological data to ICF. Absolute and relative frequencies of ICF categories were reported. STUDY SAMPLE: The identified outcome measures from the previous study (Part I) constituted the empirical material. RESULTS: In total, 285 ICF categories were identified. The most prevalent categories were related to listening, hearing functions, auditory perceptions, emotions and the physical environment, such as noise and hearing aids. Categories related to communication showed lower relative frequencies, as did categories related to the social and attitudinal environment. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the linked outcome measures, communication as a research topic is subordinated to other research topics. The same conclusion can be drawn for research targeting the social and attitudinal environment of adults with HL. Difficulties in the linking procedure were highlighted and discussed, and suggestions for future revisions of the ICF from the audiological perspective were described.

Self-reported hearing difficulties, communication strategies and psychological general well-being (quality of life) in patients with acquired hearing impairment.

PURPOSE: The aims were to (i) translate the Amsterdam Inventory for Auditory Disability and Handicap (AIADH) into Swedish and evalute its usefulness, (ii) describe hearing difficulties and psychological well-being (quality of life) and (iii) explore variables related to psychological well-being in a Swedish population. METHOD: Seventy-nine consecutive patients, referred to the hearing clinic for hearing examination and audiological rehabilitation, formed the study sample. Along with pure-tone audiometry, the AIADH, the Psychological General Well-being index and the Communication Strategies Scale were used. RESULTS: Men had significantly worse hearing on the high frequencies (2, 3, 4 and 6 kHz) than women but their quality of life was significantly higher than for women. Men scored significantly lower on 'auditory localization' and adopted non-verbal communication strategies less often than women. A stepwise regression analysis showed that 'maladaptive behaviours' and 'intelligibility in quiet' explained 48% of the variance in quality of life. CONCLUSION: Psychosocial consequences of hearing loss, such as lowered quality of life, cannot be predicted from audiometric data alone. The adverse relationship between maladaptive behaviour and quality of life emphasizes the relevance of developing training programs aiming to improve coping with the consequences of a hearing impairment. The AIADH may be useful in assessing self-reported difficulties among patients with hearing problems, but needs to be further developed in terms of psychometric evaluations and reliability testings based on a larger representative sample.

When parents are deaf versus hard of hearing: patterns of sign use and school placement of deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

This paper investigates the importance of knowing whether or not deaf and hard-of-hearing students have one or more deaf or hard-of-hearing parents. As noted by Mitchell and Karchmer (2004), deaf and hard-of-hearing school-age children and youth in the United States with at least one parent identified as "hearing impaired" are nearly evenly split between having at least one deaf parent and having at least one hard-of-hearing parent. However, there is no literature on the importance, if any, of this distinction. Findings from the investigation reported herein suggest that the distinction between having a deaf versus a hard-of-hearing parent is quite substantial, particularly as it pertains to the use of signing in the home. Further, signing in the home, which is reliably predicted by parental hearing status, is a significant predictor of the school setting in which the student is currently placed and the instructional use of signing in the classroom. Limitations related to the available measure of parental hearing status are discussed.

Deficiência auditiva progressiva em crianças e jovens: prevalência das características audiológicas / Progressive hearing loss in children and young adults: prevalence of audiological characteristics

Objetiva verificar a prevalência dos achados audiológicos em um grupo de crianças e jovens deficientes auditivos que tiveram ao logo de suas vidas, perdas auditivas neurossensoriais progressivas. Foram selecionados 30 crianças e jovens com perda auditiva neurossensorial congênita ou adquirida, com qualquer configuraçäo e grau de perda auditiva