This study examines the language used by mothers when instructing their hearing and deaf preschool children. Mothers and children from three matched groups, hearing mother — hearing child, hearing mother - deaf child, and deaf mother - deaf child, were videotaped during a problem-solving task. Dependent measures were maternal discourse behaviours and child initiative. The hearing mothers in the mother - deaf child dyads were less likely than the deaf mothers to adapt their discourse strategies to accommodate their children's needs as visual processors of information, and their children showed less initiative in terms of linguistic and construction attempts than the other children. The findings of this study support Vygotsky's dialectical theory of cognitive development.
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