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8. OXFORD OUTSTATION
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8.1 Verbal Abilities of Deaf School-leavers (Conrad, Kyle, McKenzie, Morris, Weizkrantz) (Project No. 18)
This project represents a two-pronged concern with certain verbal abilities of children who are sufficiently hearing-impaired to justify special education. Tests were given for almost all of them, and this is a logical point at which to evaluate academic attainment - an outcome which the project generated as a major side-issue. Specifically we have examined the principal skills which deaf children need if they are to communicate socially or vocationally with the non-deaf world, namely: reading, comprehension, lip-reading and vocal speech. At the same time, and also pursuing our second concern, a number of other tests were given, more directly related to problems of cognitive development in the relative absence of auditory linguistic input. These were tests of intelligence, memory and the ability to use speech silently as a cognitive tool.
Almost the entire population of such children was tested - nearly 600. There were two reasons for this apparently redundant effort. Firstly, by the time a sample of 600 children is broken down by degree of hearing loss, cause of deafness and level of intelligence, sub—groups are becoming quite small. Secondly, and in any case, the current educational structure is such that sampling by proportion in fact necessitates visiting every school. The effect of achieving a virtual 100% sample is that we now have a unique descriptive analysis of a deaf population in terms of many of its medical, psychological and educational characteristics. This permits us to mention a few minor examples, to compare reading ability of genetically deaf children with those whose deafness is acquired at birth, to relate handedness to cause of deafness, or speech quality to audiogram profile, to compare different educational treatments, and examine the role of onset age of deafness. The main data relate to the development of internal speech in deaf children.
Whilst a little data collection spilled over into 1976—7, most was completed during the first two years. In some cases (reading, intelligence) suitable test instruments were available. In others (speech quality, internal speech) we developed our own tests. Data collection then involved school visits and conventional testing conducted by one member of scientific staff together with one or more technical officers. Testing was carried out in some 40 Special Schools and 48 Partially Hearing Units.
The period 1976-7 was principally devoted to analysis of data - which is available in substantial amount and detail. But concurrently a significant proportion of data reporting has been completed. In view of the comprehensiveness and coherence of the project it was felt that its value would be dissipated in a lengthy series of journal articles. But a small number of such articles have appeared. (40; 41; 42; 43; 44) The data merit extended monograph treatment and arrangements for publication have now been made.
The next year will see completion of this monograph. It will present a detailed account of the ability of deaf children to communicate verbally at the end of their school life. These skills will be assessed with reference to medical history, audiological characteristics, cognitive function and pedagogic implication. In essence we find that degree of pure-tone hearing loss, level of intelligence and ability (and willingness) to "think phonetically", together account for most of the variance in performance data. But the relative contributions of these three variables differ markedly and meaningfully from one skill to another.