Mode use in deaf children: The effects of communication method and communication competence

This study examined the differential mode usage (speech, vocalize, gesture and sign) of profoundly deaf preschoolers and their hearing mothers as a function of their level of communicative competence (high vs. low) and method of communication (simultaneous vs. oral). Language and mode use of twenty-eight hearing mother/deaf child dyads (equally divided into oral and simultaneous dyads) were recorded during free play. Findings indicated significant mode use differences as a result of both method of communication and level of competence within each method. Bimodal or simultaneous use of modes was related to both higher communicative competence in both oral and simultaneous children and specific pragmatic types of communication. Findings are discussed in relation to both theoretical and applied issues in understanding early childhood deafness.