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Early language and academic development in deaf children: Families with and without fathers
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EARLY LANGUAGE AND ACADEMIC DEVEZGPMRNT IN DEAF CHILDREN: FAMILIES WITH AND WITHOUT FATHERS Sabina M. Low and Rosemary Calderon Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 Interest in the role of the father in normal children's development has steadily increased over the past 20 years. Despite these gains, literature on fathers is lagging outside of the context of normal child development. Most of the research over the past 20 years involving parents of special needs children has focused on adaptation and marital satisfaction from the mother's perspective. Research focusing solely on fathers of disabled children yields inconsistent findings, some studies indicate an increase in care shown by fathers to their handicapped children and other studies reporting no differences. Literature on parenting children with a specific chronic disability, such as deafness, is wanting, and research on fathers of deaf children is even more so. This paper addresses the question: Are there differences in outcomes between children whose fathers were continuously present in the study and those who did not have a father? This question reflects the emphasis of this study on appreciating the impact that family factors can have on the child's academic and language outcomes. Participants were twenty-eight children with prelingual, moderatelysevere to profound sensorineural hearing loss who graduated from an early intervention program and were born between 7/01/89 and 11/30/92. Of the 28 subjects who completed the study, 17 had fathers who were present for both the early intervention and follow-up component of the study. Five subjects did not have a father present for either the early intervention or the follow up, and six subjects had fathers who were inconsistently present at the data collection points. For the purposes of this study we focused on the 22 subjects who had a father either consistently present or absent. This study compared child's language at the time of graduation from early intervention (36 months) and language and early academic skills at follow up (up to 48 months post intervention) as a function of father status (present or absent throughout). Measures included the SKI*HI Language Development Scale score at exit from early intervention, and the Geometric Design (WPPSI subtest), Test of Early Reading Ability-Deaf/Hard of Hearing (TERA), and Preschool Language Scale-3 (PLS) at the time of follow up. T-tests for independent samples were conducted in order to determine whether the two groups differed on the academic and language outcomes. Results indicate that children with a father consistently present demonstrated stronger language and academic skills than those without a father present (pe.01 on the SKI*HI Language Development Scale; pc.05 on the TERA and PLS expressive scale). These findings suggest several possibilities: 1) children benefit from greater exposure to language and communication stimuli provided by a second consistent caregiver; 2) indirect positive effects of financial support or allowing the other partner to spend more quality time with the child; or 3) better utilization of services provided. These findings have implications for designing early intervention programs and highlight the importance of familycentered intervention programs that accommodate both caregivers if available.
EARLY LANGUAGE AND ACADEMIC DEVEZGPMRNT IN DEAF CHILDREN: FAMILIES WITH AND WITHOUT FATHERS Sabina M. Low and Rosemary Calderon Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 Interest in the role of the father in normal children's development has steadily increased over the past 20 years. Despite these gains, literature on fathers is lagging outside of the context of normal child development. Most of the research over the past 20 years involving parents of special needs children has focused on adaptation and marital satisfaction from the mother's perspective. Research focusing solely on fathers of disabled children yields inconsistent findings, some studies indicate an increase in care shown by fathers to their handicapped children and other studies reporting no differences. Literature on parenting children with a specific chronic disability, such as deafness, is wanting, and research on fathers of deaf children is even more so. This paper addresses the question: Are there differences in outcomes between children whose fathers were continuously present in the study and those who did not have a father? This question reflects the emphasis of this study on appreciating the impact that family factors can have on the child's academic and language outcomes. Participants were twenty-eight children with prelingual, moderatelysevere to profound sensorineural hearing loss who graduated from an early intervention program and were born between 7/01/89 and 11/30/92. Of the 28 subjects who completed the study, 17 had fathers who were present for both the early intervention and follow-up component of the study. Five subjects did not have a father present for either the early intervention or the follow up, and six subjects had fathers who were inconsistently present at the data collection points. For the purposes of this study we focused on the 22 subjects who had a father either consistently present or absent. This study compared child's language at the time of graduation from early intervention (36 months) and language and early academic skills at follow up (up to 48 months post intervention) as a function of father status (present or absent throughout). Measures included the SKI*HI Language Development Scale score at exit from early intervention, and the Geometric Design (WPPSI subtest), Test of Early Reading Ability-Deaf/Hard of Hearing (TERA), and Preschool Language Scale-3 (PLS) at the time of follow up. T-tests for independent samples were conducted in order to determine whether the two groups differed on the academic and language outcomes. Results indicate that children with a father consistently present demonstrated stronger language and academic skills than those without a father present (pe.01 on the SKI*HI Language Development Scale; pc.05 on the TERA and PLS expressive scale). These findings suggest several possibilities: 1) children benefit from greater exposure to language and communication stimuli provided by a second consistent caregiver; 2) indirect positive effects of financial support or allowing the other partner to spend more quality time with the child; or 3) better utilization of services provided. These findings have implications for designing early intervention programs and highlight the importance of familycentered intervention programs that accommodate both caregivers if available.