By
Scott Janczak
8/1/11
Mental Impairment and the Deaf
There
are some individuals who not only live in a silent world, but are also
diagnosed with neurological impairments such as Down syndrome. Each year
roughly 3,000 to 5,000 children are born with Down syndrome in the United
States. According to research, of those children born with Down syndrome;
sixty to eighty percent of them are born with some type of hearing deficit
according to Dr. Siegfried M. Pueschel.
Dr. William I Cohen states that “Individuals with Down syndrome may have
sensorineural loss, conductive loss related to otitis media, or both. Small
ear canals are also associated with this syndrome.” (Cohen)
Besides Down syndrome, many other mental impairments have been associated
with deafness, including mental retardation and autism. In 1999, the
department of Audiology in Stockholm, Sweden conducted a study on 199
children: 153 boys and 46 girls. These children were diagnosed with autism
and the test was used to measure their audioligcal levels. The test yielded
the following results:
“Mild to moderate hearing loss was diagnosed in 7.9% and unilateral hearing
loss in 1.6% of those who could be tested appropriately. Pronounced to
profound bilateral hearing loss or deafness was diagnosed in 3.5% of all
cases, representing a prevalence considerably above that in the general
population and comparable to the prevalence found in populations with mental
retardation. Hearing deficits in autism occurred at similar rates at all
levels of intellectual functioning, so it does not appear that the
covariation with intellectual impairment per se can account for all of the
variance of hearing deficit in autism. Hyperacusis was common, affecting
18.0% of the autism group and 0% in an age-matched nonautism comparison
group. In addition, the rate of serous otitis media (23.5%) and related
conductive hearing loss (18.3%) appeared to be increased in autistic
disorder. The study emphasizes the need for auditory evaluation of
individuals with autism in order to refer those with pronounced to profound
hearing loss for aural habilitation and to follow those with mild to
moderate hearing loss because of the risk of deterioration.”
As with autism and Down syndrome, individuals diagnosed as
mentally retarded are also at risk of increased rates of hearing loss. In
fact there is a rare disorder called DOOR syndrome (Deafness, Onychdystrophy,
Osteodystrophy, and Mental Retardation) which not only leaves the individual
Deaf and mentally retarded, but also affects their nails and phalanges on
their hands and feet and can also lead to seizures.
Individuals who are born with mental impairments along with hearing problems
face a difficult struggle each day in an attempt to communicate with others
around them. While many of them are able to learn sign language, it is not
of much benefit to them unless their caregivers also are able to use sign
language. Unfortunately, there are also some individuals who function
at such a low level mentally that they are unable to learn sign language and
depend on basic hand gestures. Perhaps even more tragic is the fact that
many individuals who are born with a mental impairment along with hearing
problems aren’t tested for possible hearing loss. These people fall behind
and in many cases by the time they are diagnosed as having a hearing loss,
they are unable to fully grasp sign language.
I
have seen all of these cases first hand while working at Southeast Works, an
organization that provides residential housing, employment opportunities,
recreational events, and the support needed for individuals born with mental
impairments. I work directly with individuals who are diagnosed with mild
to moderate mental retardation, autism, and down syndrome; and a few of our
consumers (individuals within the agency) have hearing loss as well. As an
agency, we have ten residential houses and one of them is devoted strictly
to those with Down syndrome and of the six individuals living there, three
of them are Deaf. We also have four other individuals within the agency who
are diagnosed as mentally retarded as well as Deaf. In fact, these
individuals are the reason I decided to take a sign language class, so that
I will be able to understand them and better meet their needs. When I first
started working at this agency I noticed that there were a few individuals
walking around with little picture books. They would come up to staff and
point to a picture in their book in hopes that staff would understand what
they were asking for or needed. While these books seemed to work very well
for the consumers, it only met a small aspect of their needs. The book
covered the basics of daily living; it contained pictures of a toilet, food,
beverages, a bed, and a couple of other life necessities. However these
books didn’t help when the consumer wanted to ask you how your day was, or
if there was something bothering them and they wanted to talk about it. It
was easy to see the frustration on the consumers’ faces when all they wanted
to do was communicate with you on a personal level, but was unable to
because of a sign language barrier. Many of these individuals knew sign
language, but it didn’t help them because the staff around them was unable
to understand it.
One of the main frustrations that I have observed seems to affect those that
are diagnosed with a mental impairment and deafness, over those that are
just Deaf, is the ability to comprehend why you can’t understand them. When
working at coffee shop some years ago, we had a customer who would come in
at least four times a week. The customer was an older Deaf lady and was
very understanding of our communication barrier. Contrast that to the
consumers at my work place who have a hearing loss and don’t quite have the
cognitive ability to realize why you are having a difficult time
understanding them. They quickly become frustrated and angry with you
because you are unable to response to them and they don’t quite comprehend
why.
After doing research for this paper, I was discouraged by the lack of
information available on those individuals who are Deaf and mentally
impaired. While I was able to find many individual stories on people living
with both impairments, it was difficult to find information on education,
treatment, and life skills for these individuals. I can only imagine how
frustrating it must be for a parent of one of these children who may be
trying to find information on their child’s diagnosis. Although we have
come a long way in the past few decades in the diagnosis and treatment of
these impairments, there still is a long way to go to allow these
individuals to live a fulfilling life that they deserve.
Works Consulted:
Berke, Jamie. (2010, Sept. 29).
Deaf History - Deaf, Not Retarded:
When Misdiagnoses are Made, Everyone Pays. About.com.
Retrieved 1, Aug. 2011: <http://deafness.about.com/cs/featurearticles/a/retarded.htm>
Berke, Jamie. (2010, Feb. 2). Deafness and Intellectual Disability:
Hearing loss Plus Intellectual Disability. About.com. Retrieved 1, Aug.
2011:
< http://deafness.about.com/cs/multipledisab/a/deafmr.htm>
Moss, Kate. (1998, Summer). Hearing and Vision Loss Associated with
Down Syndrome: tsbvi.edu. Retrieved 6, Aug. 2011: <http://www.tsbvi.edu/seehear/summer98/downsynd.htm>
Mueller, Sandra. (2010, Oct.). Mental Illness in the Deaf Community:
Increasing Awareness and Identifying Needs. Beckner, Chrisanne, Sacramento
News & Review. Retrieved 3, Aug. 2011:
<http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/topics/mentalillness.htm>
Sipsy, Melissa. (2009, Apr. 6). Mental illness in the Deaf Community:
Lifeprint.com. Retrieved 3, Aug. 2011: <http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/topics/mentalillness.htm>
Unknown Author. (1999, Oct. 25). Autism and Hearing Loss: Pubmed.gov.
Retrieve 4, Aug. 2011: Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10587881>