Patterns of Development of Intellectual Functions in Deaf Children 7-12 Years Old

Abstract

Study of the developmental characteristics of higher mental functions in congenitally deaf children who otherwise have no primary mental defects should help us improve differential diagnosis of abnormal mental development in children with this sensory defect and further differentiate remedial, medical, and pedagogical measures that take into account the specifics of both the sensory defect and the cerebral anomaly. Much has been achieved in study of the distinctive features of cognitive development in deaf children, thanks to the efforts of Zh.I. Shif, T.V. Rozanova, N.V. Iakovleva, A.P. Gozova, and N.V. Iashkova [8,9]. Nevertheless, some aspects of the development of intellectual functions in the deaf and, in particular, the nature of the interrelations among the different mental functions in the process of individual development, have not been sufficiently studied at the different ontogenetic stages in children with this sensory impairment.