DEAF MUTISMA Genetic Case Study

Entitled 

“Talk to my Hand” 

Scope of the ProblemHow congenital deafness occurs?

How congenital deafness leads to Deaf Mutism?

What are the treatments that can be considered?

How to cope up with this kind of situation?

Congenital Deafness

Congenital deafness is deafness that is present at birth.

Congenital Deafness is present in approximately one out of every one or two thousand births.

Congenital hearing loss can be caused by a genetic condition or deformity of the ear. The most common form of congenital deafness is through heredity.

How Congenital Deafness occurs?

Congenital deafness is caused by the abnormal development of the inner ear or of the vestibulocochlear nerve, which transmits electrical impulses from the inner ear to the brain. In about half of all cases, the condition runs in families, suggesting that a genetic factor may be involved.

Causes of Congenital DeafnessCertain infections, such as rubella

or cytomegalovirus (CMV), can also cause congenital deafness if they are transmitted from the mother to the fetus during the early stages of development .

The development of hearing may also be affected if the mother takes certain drugs during pregnancy, particularly some types of antibiotic.

Deaf Mutism

Being mute is often associated with deafness as people who have been unable to hear from birth may not be able to articulate words correctly.

What are the treatments?

There is no cure for congenital deafness, but any hearing that a child has can be maximized with a hearing aid.

Education and support for the child, is highly necessary.

It is important to ensure that a child can communicate. He or she may be taught sign language and lip-reading. Some children are able to learn to speak.

Sign Language

Sign Language uses visually transmitted sign patterns (manual communication, body language) to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's thoughts.

Wherever communities of deaf people exist, sign languages develop. Their complex spatial grammars are markedly different from the grammars of spoken languages.

How to cope up with this kind of situation?

Learning to Communicate, Having Social Group

Maintaining Self-Esteem and Respect for others

Research Framework

ReferencesBauman, Dirksen (2008). Open your eyes: Deaf studies talking.

University of Minnesota Press.Mindess, Anna (2006). Reading Between the Signs:

Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters. Boston, MA: Intercultural Press

Moore, Matthew S. & Levitan, Linda (2003). For Hearing People Only, Answers to Some of the Most Commonly Asked Questions About the Deaf Community, its Culture, and the "Deaf Reality", Rochester, New York: Deaf Life Press

Stokoe, William C. (1976). Dictionary of American Sign Language on Linguistic Principles. Linstok Press n.d (n.d) Congenital Deafness. Right Diagnosis. Retrieved March 10, 2012 from http://www.rightdiagnosis.com/c/congenital_deafness/intro.htm.

Thank you!