An investigation of the communication strategies used by mothers of hearing-impaired children

This paper discusses a study to investigate how mothers of hearing impaired children talk to their children and their influence on language development.

Communication breakdowns and repair strategies in oral communication and total communication children with cochlear implants

This study assesses communication breakdowns in children with cochlear implants from oral and total communications backgrounds. More communication breakdowns occurred between the total communication child and the conversational partner than the oral communication child and the conversational partner. Both total and oral communication children used non-specific repair strategies.

The effectiveness of "Word of Mouth" classes on the use of communication strategies, communication attitudes and lipreading skills

This paper examines the effectiveness of aural rehabilitation on persons with an adventitious hearing loss.

Phoneme analysis of cochlear implant recipients' responses to CNC words using the MPEAK and SPEAK speech coding strategies of the Nucleus cochlear implant system

This paper discusses a study done to determine how cochlear implant users perceive speech sounds using MPEAK or SPEAK speech coding strategy.

Perception of speech through a 500 Hz low-pass filter: sensory aids and communication strategies

This paper reviews a study to investigate how a hearing impaired person can learn to discriminate speech distorted by a low pass filter in a sensory aid.

Acceptance of deafness: a study of family strategies and needs

This paper studies the acceptance strategies used by family members of hearing-impaired children. The study looks at how parents view conferences, counseling and meetings with hearing professionals and other parents of deaf children.

Perception of speech through a 500 Hz low-pass filter: sensory aids and communication strategies

This paper reviews a study to investigate how a hearing impaired person can learn to discriminate speech distorted by a low pass filter in a sensory aid.

Students who are deaf/hard of hearing with learning challenges: Strategies for classroom instruction

This paper discusses the prevalence of children who are deaf or hard of hearing with additional learning challenges and the need for further trainings for strategies to better serve this population.

Children with Special Educational Needs as film makers: Using digital video to support Understandings of Narrative

The literature has identified issues around transitions among phases for all pupils (Cocklin, 1999) including pupils with special educational needs (SEN) (Morgan 1999, Maras and Aveling 2006). These issues include pupils’ uncertainties and worries about building size and spatial orientation, exposure to a range of teaching styles, relationships with peers and older pupils as well as parents’ difficulties in establishing effective communications with prospective secondary schools. Research has also identified that interventions to facilitate these educational transitions should consider managerial support, social and personal familiarisation with the new setting as well as personalised learning strategies (BECTA 2004). However, the role that digital technologies can play in supporting these strategies or facilitating the role of the professionals such as SENCos and heads of departments involved in supporting effective transitions for pupils with SEN has not been widely discussed. Uses of ICT include passing references of student-produced media presentations (Higgins 1993) and use of photographs of activities attached to a timetable to support familiarisation with the secondary curriculum for pupils with autism (Cumine et al. 1998).

Targeting medication non-adherence behavior in selected autoimmune diseases: a systematic approach to digital health program development

Background 29 autoimmune diseases, including Rheumatoid Arthritis, gout, Crohn’s Disease, and Systematic Lupus Erythematosus affect 7.6-9.4% of the population. While effective therapy is available, many patients do not follow treatment or use medications as directed. Digital health and Web 2.0 interventions have demonstrated much promise in increasing medication and treatment adherence, but to date many Internet tools have proven disappointing. In fact, most digital interventions continue to suffer from high attrition in patient populations, are burdensome for healthcare professionals, and have relatively short life spans. Objective Digital health tools have traditionally centered on the transformation of existing interventions (such as diaries, trackers, stage-based or cognitive behavioral therapy programs, coupons, or symptom checklists) to electronic format. Advanced digital interventions have also incorporated attributes of Web 2.0 such as social networking, text messaging, and the use of video. Despite these efforts, there has not been little measurable impact in non-adherence for illnesses that require medical interventions, and research must look to other strategies or development methodologies. As a first step in investigating the feasibility of developing such a tool, the objective of the current study is to systematically rate factors of non-adherence that have been reported in past research studies. Methods Grounded Theory, recognized as a rigorous method that facilitates the emergence of new themes through systematic analysis, data collection and coding, was used to analyze quantitative, qualitative and mixed method studies addressing the following autoimmune diseases: Rheumatoid Arthritis, gout, Crohn’s Disease, Systematic Lupus Erythematosus, and inflammatory bowel disease. Studies were only included if they contained primary data addressing the relationship with non-adherence. Results Out of the 27 studies, four non-modifiable and 11 modifiable risk factors were discovered. Over one third of articles identified the following risk factors as common contributors to medication non-adherence (percent of studies reporting): patients not understanding treatment (44%), side effects (41%), age (37%), dose regimen (33%), and perceived medication ineffectiveness (33%). An unanticipated finding that emerged was the need for risk stratification tools (81%) with patient-centric approaches (67%). Conclusions This study systematically identifies and categorizes medication non-adherence risk factors in select autoimmune diseases. Findings indicate that patients understanding of their disease and the role of medication are paramount. An unexpected finding was that the majority of research articles called for the creation of tailored, patient-centric interventions that dispel personal misconceptions about disease, pharmacotherapy, and how the body responds to treatment. To our knowledge, these interventions do not yet exist in digital format. Rather than adopting a systems level approach, digital health programs should focus on cohorts with heterogeneous needs, and develop tailored interventions based on individual non-adherence patterns.

An analysis of pre-reading strategies in deaf/hard of hearing students

This literature review evaluates print knowledge ability in normally hearing pre-readers with and without specific language impairments. It then discusses implications of print knowledge ability in students who are deaf or hard of hearing and early intervention strategies.