South African parents’ views on oral, signing, and bilingual communication for Deaf or hard-of-hearing children

African Journal of Disability

 
 
Field Value
 
Title South African parents’ views on oral, signing, and bilingual communication for Deaf or hard-of-hearing children
 
Creator Khoza-Shangase, Katijah Bent, Jasmine
 
Subject — Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) children; communication modes; South African context; parental decision-making; oral communication; sign language; bilingual communication; cultural influences; communication outcomes
Description Background: Parents of Deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) children are faced with a plethora of overwhelming decisions concerning their children, particularly during the early stages of development. Among these decisions are those concerning assistive devices and the modes of communication for their child.Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of parents of DHH children towards the various modes of communication for their children within the South African context.Method: The study adopted a Q-methodology research design. Participants rated statements according to what they least and most agree with and then answered follow-up questions concerning the statements. Participants were also invited to participate in a live, one-on-one, semi-structured interview with the researcher. Data were analysed through both qualitative and quantitative statistics. Thematic analysis was adopted to analyse the qualitative data, while factor analysis through Ken-Q analysis was used for quantitative data.Results: Although 66% of participants thought that sign language allows DHH children to communicate more freely, 88% agreed that a DHH child should always learn to speak if they can. In terms of decision-making, 88% reported the issue of stigma or marginalisation and 88% cited the lack of Deaf schools as barriers in their decision-making.Conclusion: The study’s findings provide valuable insights into the complex interplay of factors influencing communication mode decisions for DHH children in South Africa.Contribution: These insights are crucial for developing inclusive and effective communication strategies that consider individual needs, societal norms and access to support services.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor Not applicable
Date 2024-12-20
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/ajod.v13i0.1511
 
Source African Journal of Disability; Vol 13 (2024); 12 pages 2226-7220 2223-9170
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1511/3068 https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1511/3069 https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1511/3070 https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1511/3071
 
Coverage — — —
Rights Copyright (c) 2024 Katijah Khoza-Shangase, Jasmine Bent https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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