Interactions of Deaf Mothers and Deaf Preschool Children: Comparisons with Three Other Groups of Deaf and Hearing Dyads

Videotaped samples of interaction were collected from seven deaf mothers and deaf children, 14 hearing mothers and deaf children using oral-only communication, 14 hearing mothers and deaf children using simultaneous (oral + sign language) communication, and 14 hearing mothers and hearing children. Transcripts were coded for dyadic interaction and for functional communication. Deaf children and hearing mothers using oral-only communication spent significantly less time engaged in interaction than did mothers and children in the other three groups. These dyads also had the least numbers of child-initiated bouts and the highest proportion of nonelaborated bouts. Deaf mothers and deaf children were similar to hearing mothers and hearing children; hearing mothers and deaf children using simultaneous communication were intermediate in interactional complexity. The major finding is that which affirms the similarities between the deaf-mother/deaf-child pairs and the hearing-mother/hearing-child pairs. The children in these two groups share an ability to carry on conversations about themselves, their mothers, and nonpresent objects and events.