Attention deficits in children and adolescents with hearing loss. A survey
D. P. Kelly, B. J. Kelly, M. L. Jones, N. J. Moulton, S. J. Verhulst and S. A. Bell
Department of Pediatrics, Southern Illinois University, Springfield 62794-9230.
OBJECTIVES--To determine the prevalence of reported attention deficits in a
sample of children who are deaf or hard of hearing and to examine
associated variables. DESIGN--Cross-sectional survey. SETTING--Residential
school for the deaf. PARTICIPANTS--All students attending the school (n =
238; median age, 16.0 years; range, 4 to 21 years). Subjects were
subgrouped by cause of deafness for further analyses. INTERVENTION--None.
MEASUREMENTS/MAIN RESULTS--School personnel completed questionnaires that
are commonly used in the assessment of attention problems. Teachers
completed the Attention Deficit Disorder With Hyperactivity (ADD-H)
Comprehensive Teacher Rating Scale (ACTeRS) and an abbreviated version of
the Attention-Activity section of the ANSER (Aggregate Neurobehavioral
Student Health and Education Review) System Questionnaires. Dormitory
supervisors rated students on the Conners' Parent Rating Scale and the
ANSER System Questionnaires. The mean factor scores for the total sample of
deaf and hard-of-hearing students on the Attention and Hyperactivity scales
of the ACTeRS and Conners' questionnaires did not differ from the normative
data. The 64 students with hereditary deafness received significantly
better ratings than the 75 with an acquired cause of deafness such as
bacterial meningitis or congenital rubella. Raw scores on the ACTeRS were
converted to percentile equivalents based on the normative sample. On the
Attention Scale, 38.7% of those with acquired deafness were rated below the
20th percentile (indicative of problems); only 14.1% of the students with
hereditary deafness were in this range (P = .002). CONCLUSIONS--Ratings of
attention for students with hearing loss, attending a residential school,
did not differ from the normative data. However, the subgroup of children
with acquired sensorineural deafness appear to be at increased risk for
attention problems.
