Audition and visual attention: The developmental trajectory in deaf and hearing populations

Author(s): Quittner, A. L., Osberger, M. J., Miyamoto, R.

Journal/Book: Develop Psychol. 1998; 34: 750 First St NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. Amer Psychological Assoc. 840-850.

Abstract: This study examined the development of visual attention in 5- to 13-year-olds who differed in their access to sound. Hearing children, deaf children with cochlear implants, and deaf children without implants participated in a task in which they were to respond to some visual signals and not others. The results of Experiment 1 indicated that the timing of developmental changes in visual selective attention was similar for all 3 groups, occurring around 8 years. The magnitude of age-related change differed among groups; hearing children and older deaf children using a cochlear implant reached higher levels of performance with age than did deaf children without enhanced access to sound. The results of Experiment 2 suggest that the developmental differences between deaf children with and without cochlear implants begin prior to 8 years and may be related to their use of environmental sounds to organize visual attention.

Note: Article Smith LB, Indiana Univ, Dept Psychol, Bloomington,IN 47405 USA

Keyword(s): CHILDREN; INFANTS; COMMUNICATION; PERFORMANCE; SYSTEM; TASK

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