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Visual constructive and visual-motor skills in deaf native signers.
Peter C Hauser1, Julie Cohen, Matthew W G Dye
1Department of Research and Teacher Education, National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY 14623-5604, USA. peter.hauser@rit.edu
Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education
|December 30, 2006
Summary
Deaf native signers and hearing individuals performed similarly on visual-motor and constructive skills tests. This indicates these assessments are valid for evaluating deaf populations.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Audiology
Background:
- Visual-motor and constructive skills are crucial for cognitive development.
- Assessing these skills in deaf populations requires validated instruments.
- Deaf individuals may exhibit unique developmental trajectories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate visual-motor and constructive skills in deaf native signers.
- To compare the performance of deaf signers with hearing non-signers on standardized tests.
- To determine the validity of specific cognitive tests for use with deaf individuals.
Main Methods:
- A comparative study involving 20 deaf native signers and 20 hearing non-signers.
- Administration of the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration.
- Utilized the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test, Wechsler Memory Scale Visual Reproduction subtest, and Stanford-Binet Paper Folding and Cutting subtest.
Main Results:
- Deaf native signers demonstrated performance comparable to hearing non-signers.
- No significant differences were observed between the two groups on the tested visual-motor and constructive skills.
- Performance patterns suggest consistency across groups for these specific assessments.
Conclusions:
- The Beery-Buktenica, Rey-Osterrieth, Wechsler Memory Scale, and Stanford-Binet subtests are valid for assessing deaf individuals.
- Visual-motor and constructive skills appear to be comparable between deaf signers and hearing non-signers.
- These findings support the use of these tests in audiology and developmental psychology research with the deaf population.
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