A Comparison of the Motor Development of Deaf Children of Deaf Parents and Hearing Parents

Abstract

Differences in linguistic, cognitive, and social skills are known to exist between Deaf children of Deaf parents and hearing parents; differences in motor development, however, are not known between the two groups. This study was designed to compare the motor development of 14 Deaf children of Deaf parents and 15 Deaf children of hearing parents. The 11 girls and 18 boys were 4 – 9 years old; 16 were in the 4-6 age group, and 13 were in the 7 - 9 age group. The Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD) was used to assess the motor development of 29 participants who attended two schools for students who are Deaf. Modifications to the procedure for administering the TGMD included visual demonstrations, the use of signing to communicate instructions, and video recordings of performance. The results of the study indicated no significant differences on motor development between Deaf children of Deaf parents and Deaf children of hearing parents.