A brief description of hearing impaired children shows that their education is possible both within the school and in special institutions. Hearing impairment (initial defect) leads to speech underdevelopment (secondary defect) and to a slowdown or specific formation of other functions associated with the affected (visual perception, thinking, interest, memory), which delays the psychological formation as a whole. In special psychology, this kind of psychological development is called scarce.
Psychological and pedagogical characteristics of children with hearing impairment
The psychological development of babies with hearing pathologies obeys the same patterns that are revealed in the development of normally hearing children (L. S. Vygotsky). The psychological development of children with hearing pathology occurs under special conditions of limiting external influences and contacts with the world around. As a result of this, the child’s psychological activity is simplified, interactions on external influences will become less difficult and different, and the emerging interfunctional interactions will change.
The psychological and pedagogical characteristic of children with hearing impairments suggests that for a child with such a pathology, the shapes of objects and objects are often presented in the form of inert stereotypes: here is a green bowler, blue is no longer a bowler, another object. The deaf preschoolers who mastered the information during the study often use natural gestures as a means of communication in case of difficulties.
Preschoolers with hearing impairment may experience changes in the pace of psychological formation compared to normally hearing children: inhibition of psychological development after a certain period after birth and / or after hearing loss and forcing in subsequent periods under appropriate circumstances of teaching and upbringing.
Oligophrenia in the functioning of some sensory organs and the conditional preservation of others are characteristic of a child with hearing impairment. For example, dermal susceptibility is preserved, however, in the absence of training, auditory perception does not develop, and visual is formed in special circumstances, compensating for the hearing.
Visual forms of thinking dominate in babies, and written language (according to the teaching methodology, these children learn to read at an early age, up to 3 years) dominates oral. Pathology leads to the characteristics of the formation of the cognitive and individual industries. Characteristic features of the cognitive industry:
- The visual analyzer of the hearing impaired baby will become the main one in comprehending the world around and in mastering the information.
- The formation of visual perception in a child with a hearing pathology has several distinctive features: an analytical type of perception: elements and details of objects are noticed, pictures contain more details and elements.
- Difficulties in synthetic perception: difficulties in recognizing intermittent, inverted pictures, in the perception of pictures that express spatial relationships.
- A preschooler with such a pathology is able to understand the speaker’s speech based on visual understanding.
The role of visual perception
A huge role in compensating for pathology is played by visual perception. The general characteristic of children with hearing and visual impairment traces object recognition slowed down as compared with hearing peers. Thus, deaf and hearing children of primary school age are shown drawings of well-known things for short periods of time (from 22 to 7 s). This allows you to discover how much time children need to recognize objects.
Deaf children understood and recognized more slowly than hearing peers. They need more time in order to note the informative properties of the object. Still considerable obstacles appear when you need to recognize familiar objects of geometric shapes, autonomous elements (groups of points and lines) in an inverted position of 180.
According to the theory of scientists, this is due to a less detailed analysis and synthesis of objects, with a delayed formation in deaf children of an arbitrary course of perception. The emphasis and recognition of the forms of objects is facilitated by mastering the corresponding notation and using them in practice.
Thinking features
Parents and educators need to know a brief description of hearing impaired children. In the development of thinking, experts note that the properties of the verbal memory of a child with hearing impairment are in direct connection with the slowed pace of their speech formation. Characteristic thinking:
- in a child with disabilities, the superiority of visual thinking over verbal-logical is noted;
- the degree of formation of verbal-logical thinking depends on the formation of speech of the hearing impaired.
Distinctive features of a child’s thinking with such a pathology are combined with inhibited mastery of verbal speech. This is more clearly expressed in the formation of verbal-logical thinking. Visual-effective and imaginative thinking of deaf and hard of hearing students also has specific features.
Hearing impairment exerts an influence on the formation of all mental operations, leads to difficulties in applying theoretical knowledge in practice. Studies have shown that a deaf teenager needs more time to comprehend the acquired knowledge than his hearing peer.
Emotional sphere
Characteristic features of the formation of the emotional sphere:
- A hearing impaired preschooler does not always imply the conditions in which the process takes place, and the emotional manifestations of those around him and for this reason cannot empathize with them.
- A preschooler with a pathology of hearing differentiates opposing feelings (crying, laughing, kind evil), has difficulty remembering their names.
- A child with a hearing impairment is not able to fully absorb social experience through speech.
- Oligophrenia of various types of children's activity (subject, game, elementary labor) has a negative impact on the development of individual qualities.
Interpersonal relationships
Characteristics of adolescent children with hearing impairment in interpersonal relationships:
- for a hearing-impaired teenager, a senior guide and interpreter in the course of interaction with the “hearing” community;
- priority interaction with the elder and limited with the children of the group;
- probably an expression of hostile behavior, interconnected with a misunderstanding of children by older and hearing peers;
- “Benevolent hostility” is the use of nonverbal means by children with hearing impairment to attract the interlocutor’s interest.
In accordance with the uniform laws of psychological formation, the personality of a deaf and hard of hearing child is created in the course of communication with peers and adults in the process of mastering social experience.
Non-observance or absolute hearing loss leads to difficulties in communicating with others, delays the process of mastering information, impoverishes the experience of children and is not able not to affect the development of their personality.
Rehabilitation of hearing impaired children
Rehabilitation of children with hearing impairment is divided into several stages
Diagnostics. The main role at this stage is played by doctors who diagnose using specialized equipment. The diagnosis may be affected by such factors.
- the well-being of the child;
- child behavior;
- mental health of the child;
- the age of the child.
At this stage, the sound educator and psychologist also come to the aid of the doctor. The pedagogue conducts his observations and, based on their results, confirms or corrects the diagnosis. The psychologist determines the level of psychological development and distinguishes between mental disorders from visual and hearing impairments.
Correction and rehabilitation. An audiologist selects and adjusts the hearing aid to suit the needs of the child. The adjustment of the hearing aid should occur constantly at the preschool and school age of the child. The device is configured according to age and psychological indicators, and also depends on the capabilities of the family.
Rehabilitation methods
The following rehabilitation methods are distinguished:
- Medical. Treatment and surgery (implantation of a device that converts impulses from an external microphone into signals understandable to the central nervous system).
- Technical Prosthetics with hearing aids.
- Psychological and pedagogical. With the help of audiological and speech therapy methods, hearing, speech, thinking and other mental functions are developed.
- Social rehabilitation includes the ability for parents to choose a place of learning for their child, as well as the provision by the state of free hearing aids and cochlear implants.
- Propulsion. This type of rehabilitation is aimed at the development of physical qualities and motor abilities.
- Verbotonal. When using this method, the child is engaged with the teacher. They speak into the microphone with the help of filters, the sound is carried out not only through the ears, but also turns into vibration, which allows the child to tactilely feel the speech. This method allows the child to more quickly perceive and understand others, and also improves the development of his speech.
Additionally, the psychologist conducts interviews with the child's parents. Describes how to properly handle and communicate with a hearing impaired or deaf child, and what rights they have.
Hearing impaired children
A person develops directly in contact with the environment. Such interaction occurs with certain analyzers, namely auditory, dermal, visual, taste and others.
The auditory analyzer is one of the most important, therefore, whatever the reasons for the child's partial or complete loss of hearing, the consequences are mainly only social:
- restriction of communication with peers;
- isolation;
- impaired memory, speech;
- the development of special thinking, etc.
Based on psychological and medical criteria, children with hearing impairment are divided into:
- Deaf.
- Hard of hearing.
- Late Deaf.
The psychological and pedagogical characteristics of the speech of children with hearing impairment means that physicians, as a rule, classify children who have a minimum of hearing as they can learn the basics of verbal communication without the intervention of specialists, that is, on their own.
In hearing impaired children, the hearing is not completely lost, and the child’s body tries to circumvent this defect and compensate for this deficiency. In this, the child is fundamentally different from deaf and hearing children. In such children, hearing impairment is a fundamental factor in the development of speech features.
Special educational institutions are provided for children with hearing impairment: kindergartens in which there are two groups - for hearing-impaired and deaf children.
Special schools, as a rule, such institutions are distinguished for hearing-impaired and deaf children.
Learning for hearing impaired children
Features of hearing impairment, namely its partial presence, independent training in the basics of verbal communication, as well as adaptation to an auditory defect, not only determines the nuances of development, but also is the way to special education.
Education is based not only on the acquisition and assimilation of new knowledge and skills, it is also aimed at overcoming violations of the social development of such children. So, special training methods have been developed that rely not only on the development of speech, but also develop compensation mechanisms. Such techniques require certain conditions, namely those capable of developing and increasing an already existing compensation fund for a child.
Training in special techniques is aimed at identifying gaps in the development of speech and filling them. Thanks to him, the correct speech, conceptual thinking is formed and memory is improved. Also, special attention is paid to the development of vocabulary.
The features of the methodology and its specificity do not mean at all that the teaching process is different from ordinary schools. It only differs in that a specific method of language teaching plays a special role in it - accumulating vocabulary, correcting vocabulary and understanding phrases and phrases.
Special schools also pay significant attention to polysensory learning - the ability to read words on the lips, based on hearing. Writing and reading are also part of special training. Such skills allow sufficient mastery of the language and speech, as well as contribute to the formation of personality and overcoming psychological barriers.
Special literature occupies an important place, in which a special place is given to illustrations, which should most accurately convey the content of the material.
Deaf children
Teaching of deaf children is carried out using a range of special techniques. The main task, which is the teaching of speech, the correct understanding of complex meanings and adaptation in the social environment.
The main method of teaching deaf children is a bilingual technique, which is based, in fact, on the study of two means of the educational process - based on sign language and the language in written and spoken language. This approach to learning began to be practiced back in the 80s of the last century.
The peculiarity of the technique is that there are no preferences between the means of the learning process. On the contrary, the study of sign language is aimed at accelerating the transfer of information, emotions, that is, eliminating communication barriers.
The elimination of communication barriers between the teacher and the teacher contributes to the rapid assimilation of the material, the transfer of emotional background, and also allows you to establish trusting relationships, which is important in the educational process. However, this method of teaching is not a panacea, there are many unresolved problems, for example, the optimal ratio of learning languages ​​is still unclear. In addition, written language may be national, and sign language international, which complicates the educational process.
Today, for teaching children, in addition to special techniques, they are increasingly using the achievements of science - various sound amplifiers and implants. And also methods with the use of modern technology are increasingly being improved. The use of modern technology in the learning process is not only a means of optimization, but also overcoming deviations in development.