Family Functioning, Early Intervention Support, and Spoken Language and Placement Outcomes for Children with Profound Hearing Loss

• Published in: Deafness & education international Vol. 8; no. 4; pp. 207 - 226
• Main Authors: Brown, P. Margaret, Bakar, Zaharah Abu, Rickards, Field W, Griffin, P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-01-2006
• Subjects: Case Studies; Deafness; Early Intervention; Evaluation Methods; Family Environment; Hearing Impairments; Mainstreaming; Oral Language; Parent Attitudes; Questionnaires; Special Schools; Speech Skills; Student Placement
• ISSN: 1464-3154
• DOI: 10.1002/dei.203

This study investigated parents' perceptions of their family's functioning and the level of early intervention support they received as they reflected on their involvement at an oral early intervention centre for children with hearing loss. Overall, parents reported high levels of family functioning and satisfaction with the services they had received. Parental ratings of family functioning were not associated with either the child's language performance or the device used. The parents of the four children who entered mainstream classes on exit from the early intervention programme appeared to rate their family functioning slightly lower than did parents of the children who entered oral facilities or special schools for the deaf. Case studies indicated that family functioning is dependent on many factors and that early intervention professionals should be sensitive to individual needs, strengths and priorities. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)