Factors affecting the placement of preschool-aged deaf children

The placement in and movement among preschool programs of 131 children with severe and profound hearing losses was monitored over four years. Longitudinal data were obtained on the children's linguistic and social development. In the first year of the study, most of the children were enrolled in auditory/oral (A/O) programs. By the final year, most were enrolled instead in total communication (TC) programs; similar movement occurred from individual to classroom programs. Children in A/O individual programs had the most hearing, highest intelligence and most favorable family profile, followed by children in A/O classes, TC individual programs, and TC classes. Scores on measures of spoken language followed the same pattern. On measures of receptive language and mother-child communication, children in A/O individual programs and those in TC classes had similar scores. Children in TC individual programs came next, and last were children in A/O classes. These findings have implications for the choice of programs for preschool deaf children.