Donna A. Morere

Providing psychological services to deaf individuals: A response to new perceptions of diversity.

The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 mandates that psychologists provide equal access to services for persons with disabilities. Disabled individuals, including deaf and hard of hearing persons, form an important part of the diversity spectrum. Deafness and hearing loss significantly affect life experiences, development, and the ability to obtain and use services. Psychologists must develop awareness of the implications thereof in order to provide appropriate services in an ethical manner to such clients. This article presents core knowledge about deafness and hearing loss in an effort to enhance this necessary awareness for practitioners not specializing in this area.

Clinical Evaluation of the Mini-Mental State Exam with Culturally Deaf Senior Citizens

The Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) is commonly used to screen cognitive function in a clinical setting. The measure has been published in over 50 languages; however, the validity and reliability of the MMSE has yet to be assessed with the culturally Deaf elderly population. Participants consisted of 117 Deaf senior citizens, aged 55-89 (M = 69.44, SD = 8.55). Demographic information, including state of residence, age, and history of depression, head injury, and dementia diagnoses, were collected. A standard form of the MMSE was used with modification of test administration and stimuli including translation of English test items into a sign-based form and alteration of two items in order to make them culturally and linguistically appropriate. Significant correlations were observed between overall test score and education level (r = .23, p = .01) as well as test score and age (r = -.33, p < .001). Patterns of responses were analyzed and revealed several items that were problematic and yielded a fewer correct responses. These results indicate that clinicians need to be aware of cultural and linguistic factors associated with the deaf population that may impact test performance and clinical interpretation of test results. On the basis of these data, there is an increased risk of false positives obtained when using this measure. Further research is needed to validate the use of this measure with the culturally Deaf population.

Measures of Expressive Language

This chapter presents the data related to expressive language functioning for the VL2 Psychometric Toolkit Project. The data were generated using two measures of phonemic fluency, F–A–S and the sign-based analogue 5–1–U developed for this study, and two semantic category fluency tasks, animal and food naming. The latter tasks were administered following both of the phonemic fluency tasks to investigate the impacts of linguistic priming. The sample was comprised of deaf college students evaluated as part of the VL2 Psychometric Toolkit. In addition to providing descriptive statistics, correlations with a brief measure of nonverbal intelligence and measures of executive, visuospatial, memory, and other aspects of linguistic functioning and academic achievement administered concurrently as part of the VL2 Toolkit are presented. The relationships observed are discussed in the context of both research in the general population and, when available, previous research with deaf individuals.

Measures of Reading Achievement

This chapter presents the data related to reading skills for the VL2 Psychometric Toolkit Project. The data were generated using multiple reading tasks, including Reading Fluency and Paragraph Comprehension from the Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III) Tests of Achievement as well as the Reading Comprehension from the Peabody Individual Achievement Test-Revised (PIAT-R) and the Test of Silent Word Reading Fluency (TOSWRF). The sample was comprised of deaf college students evaluated as part of the VL2 Psychometric Toolkit. In addition to providing descriptive statistics, correlations with a brief measure of nonverbal intelligence and measures of executive, visuospatial, memory, and linguistic functioning and other areas of academic achievement administered concurrently as part of the VL2 Toolkit are presented. The relationships observed are discussed in the context of both research in the general population and, when available, previous research with deaf individuals.

Measures of Memory and Learning

This chapter presents the data related to a memory and learning for the VL2 Psychometric Toolkit Project. The data were generated for short-term/working memory based on forward and reverse digit and letter span tasks presented in both print and American Sign Language (ASL), while linguistic learning and memory data were generated using a sign-based list learning and memory measure developed specifically for use with deaf signers. The sample was comprised of deaf college students evaluated as part of the VL2 Psychometric Toolkit. In addition to providing descriptive statistics, correlations with a brief measure of nonverbal intelligence and measures of executive, visuospatial, and linguistic functioning and academic achievement administered concurrently as part of the VL2 Toolkit are presented. The relationships observed are discussed in the context of both research in the general population and, when available, previous research with deaf individuals.

Measures of General Cognitive Functioning

This chapter presents the data related to intellectual and executive functioning (EF) for the VL2 Psychometric Toolkit Project. The data were generated using a brief estimate of cognitive functioning using a nonverbal measure, the Matrices subtest of the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, 2nd Edition (K-BIT), and three measures of EF, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test-64 Card Version, Towers of Hanoi, and Tower of London, for a sample of deaf college students evaluated as part of the VL2 Psychometric Toolkit. In addition to providing descriptive statistics, correlations with measures of visuospatial, memory, and linguistic functioning and academic achievement administered concurrently as part of the VL2 Toolkit are presented. The relationships observed are discussed in the context of both research in the general population and, when available, previous research with deaf individuals.

Underlying Neurocognitive and Achievement Factors and Their Relationship to Student Background Characteristics

This chapter presents additional analyses investigating the underlying factors represented in the assessments performed for the VL2 Psychometric Toolkit as well as the relationships between these factors and background characteristics of the sample of deaf college students evaluated for the study. Ten factors were generated using a Principal Components Factor Analysis with Varimax rotation. The factors and the measures which load on them are discussed. Additionally, MANOVAs were performed to investigate relationships between a set of background variables and the first four factors produced in the above analysis. The resulting data are discussed as are the potential translational applications of the data generated by the VL2 Psychometric Toolkit Project.

Establishment of a Phonemic Clustering System for American Sign Language

Executive functioning, the self-regulatory or control system that governs all cognitive, behavioral, and emotional activity, may be measured by means of a variety of psychological and neuropsychological tests, including tests of verbal fluency. A subset of these tasks, phonemic fluency, requires a person to generate words based on a letter cue (e.g., words that begin with the letter f). However, such tests are designed for users of spoken language. This article reports on the use of a measure of verbal fluency for American Sign Language (ASL) for which, in addition to the traditional score based on the total number of words produced during the task, an analysis of ASL-based “clusters” (related signs produced in succession) and “switches” (transitions from one cluster to another) was developed. Previous research with standard verbal fluency tasks has suggested that cluster and switching analysis reflects mental flexibility and cognitive search skills. A system for analyzing phonemic clusters in ASL is described, and its application is demonstrated using a case example.

The VL2 Toolkit Psychometric Study: Summary of Procedures and Description of Sample Characteristics

This chapter presents the development of the VL2 Psychometric Toolkit protocol, including the types of measures (standard, adapted, or developed for the project), the division of the tests into multiple assessment sessions, and the sequencing and counterbalancing of the measures. Sample recruitment, approaches to scoring of measures, and development of the database are described. The Background Questionnaire is introduced and the resulting sample characteristics in the areas of demographics, deafness-related factors, parental characteristics, linguistic practices, and educational history are presented. The similarities and differences between the sample evaluated for the project and the available national data concerning these factors are discussed, as are the implications for the generalizability of the results of the project. The benefits of the Toolkit data representing this unique sample of more severely to profoundly deaf individuals who report American Sign Language as their primary mode of communication for purposes of this project are presented.

Measures of Writing, Math, and General Academic Knowledge

This chapter presents the data related to writing and math skills and general academic knowledge for the VL2 Psychometric Toolkit Project. The data were generated using three subtests from the Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III) Tests of Achievement: Writing Fluency, Math Fluency, and Academic Knowledge. The sample was comprised of deaf college students evaluated as part of the VL2 Psychometric Toolkit. In addition to providing descriptive statistics, correlations with a brief measure of nonverbal intelligence and measures of executive, visuospatial, memory, and linguistic functioning and other areas of academic achievement administered concurrently as part of the VL2 Toolkit are presented. The relationships observed are discussed in the context of both research in the general population and, when available, previous research with deaf individuals.