Relationship between intellectual functioning and communicative competence in deaf children

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Special Education

Background:

• Assessing intellectual functioning in deaf children presents unique challenges.
• Communication impairments can impact standard intelligence testing.
• Previous research has explored non-verbal assessment methods for this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the intellectual functioning of deaf children using standardized non-verbal and performance-based assessments.
• To investigate the relationship between cognitive abilities and communicative competence in deaf children.
• To determine if communicative competence influences intelligence test outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a modified Stanford-Binet, Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence Performance Scales, and Snijders-Oomen Non-Verbal Intelligence Tests.
• Tested 39 deaf children across two age groups: 2.5–4 years and 5–6.5 years.
• Correlated intelligence scores with an Index of Communicative Competence.

Main Results:

• Deaf children achieved average scores on the selected intelligence tests.
• A significant positive correlation was found between intelligence scores and communicative competence.
• This suggests that communication skills are linked to performance on cognitive assessments.

Conclusions:

• Intellectual functioning in deaf children can be assessed using adapted non-verbal and performance measures.
• Communicative competence is a crucial factor to consider when interpreting intelligence test results for deaf children.
• Interventions aimed at improving communication skills may positively impact cognitive assessment outcomes.