An evaluation of recent trends in preschool programming for hearing-impaired children.

A longitudinal study was conducted of 139 children with severe and profound hearing losses. The children were between 3 and 5 years of age at the commencement of the 4-year study. The relationship of several background and educational variables with the linguistic, academic, and social development of the children was investigated. Age, hearing loss, and intelligence were related to most of the dependent measures. Relationships involving communication mode (auditory/oral vs. total communication) varied with the measure being considered. The variable of program type (individual vs. group) interacted with the degree of hearing loss and with communication mode. Although early intervention was related to certain dependent measures, no relationships were found that involved direct instruction by parents or integration.