Comparison of deaf and hearing children on body-object localization

20 profoundly deaf and 20 normal hearing children from ages 10 to 13 were compared as to their ability to locate visually the position of apparent vertical and the apparent location of the longitudinal axis of the body under erect and 30 degrees left and right body-tilt. Both deaf and normal hearing children were able accurately to locate a rod to the apparent visual vertical, but deaf children were significantly more accurate in aligning a rod to their apparent body-position than hearing children. This finding is discussed from both a learning view and from a hypothesis of developmental lag.