Comparison of House-Tree-Person drawings of young deaf and hearing children

The House-Tree-Person (H-T-P) drawings of a matched sample of 80 deaf and 80 hearing school children, ages 7 through 10 years, were compared to assess differences related to the handicap, and the capacity of the H-T-P to distinguish between children rated by their teachers as poorly adjusted and those rated well adjusted. No differences were found between deaf and hearing in the drawing of the ear or mouth of the human figure. There was a very significant difference in the drawing of the branch structure of the tree. There were no differences in numbers of indicators of disturbance in the drawings of the children rated as more or as less well adjusted.