Jämförelse med kommunikationssätt mellan studenter med hörselnedsättning i Japan och Sverige

Abstract

Background: Many studies have presented the benefit of early detection and intervention for children with a hearing loss. However, the definition of total communication and the share of communication modes by children including a moderate hearing loss are not clearly shown. Furthermore, we know little about audiological habilitation in other countries than the U.S. and Australia.

Aim: To investigate the modes of communication by the Japanese and Swedish children in the school for the Deaf both in Tokyo, Japan and Gothenburg, Sweden.

Material and method: Eight students 10 to 11 years old with a moderate to severe hearing loss at the school for the Deaf in Tokyo and Gothenburg were chosen. Four pairs were composed by matched audiological criteria. The share of the communication modes scaled by the investigator was observed through a class visit and compared in each pair.

Result: We found that the Japanese students mixed oral communication and the sign language whereas the Swedish students used only oral communication.

Discussion: The influences of cultural differences, age of diagnosis, hearing aid fitting, the educational setting emphasized oral communication, the teacher preference of communication modes, and the parent’s choice on school placements were discussed.