Paired

Associate Learning in Deaf Readers

Amanda Strasser, B.S., B.A.1, Daniel Koo, Ph.D.1, Karen Garrido-Nag, Ph.D.2, Lawrence Pick, Ph.D.2
1Department of Psychology, 2Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences

Introduc?on Method Developing Procient

20
10% of profoundly deaf readers, (many without a strong oral All par?cipants were administered the following tests by a graduate 15

Mean
English background) have an 8th grade reading level, which is assistant uent in ASL and trained in the tes?ng of deaf individuals: 10
equivalent to their hearing peers (Traxler, 2000). 5
Demographics QuesOonnaire
In hearing individuals, reading ability is associated with paired- Signed Paired Associates Test (SPAT) 0
associate learning (Hulme, Goetz, Adams & Snowling, 2007). 1 2 3 4 Delayed Delayed Total
Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, 2nd EdiOon (WASI-II)
Free Cue Delay
Like reading, deaf individuals have signicant variance in their Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests, 3rd EdiOon, Reading
Predictors Pearson R Sig. (2-tailed)
English verbal memory (Kelly, 1995). Comprehension Cluster (WRMT-III)
Deaf Parent 0.09 0.572
Factors inuencing literacy and verbal memory in the deaf Addi?onal correla?ons were conducted to conrm reading literacy skills in Support Services -0.034 0.83
popula?on: parental deafness use of supports, level of hearing deaf. WRMT-III skill is highly correlated with ACT Reading performance (r Years in College -1.09 0.496
loss, and use of technological assistance (Yoshinaga-Itano, 2006). = .526, p < .001) and ACT English performance (r = .532, p < .001). The Hearing Aids -0.224 0.154
WRMT-III is also highly correlated with verbal and nonverbal por?ons of
The Signed Paired Associate Test (SPAT), an American Sign
Language analog of the Wechsler Memory Scales-R Paired
the WASI. Conclusion
Associates, was normed to assess paired-associate learning in Correla?ons between developing/procient WRMT-III performance and
Developing deaf readers acquired paired-associates at a slower rate
deaf ASL-users (Pollard, Rediess, & DeMa^eo, 2005). The SPAT selected reading factors (listed below) was run in order to determine the
during ini?al trial of a Signed Paired Associate Test. This suggests
has seven hard to remember pairs and seven easy to recall pairs. role of demographic factors on verbal memory.
that procient readers are be^er to make paired associa?ons
The test was normed on 38 healthy deaf adults and 35 adults with Deaf Parent without prac?ce.
neuropsychological disorders Support Services No signicant dierence on all other trials, indica?ng performance
Purpose: To assess paired associate learning in procient and Years in College between the groups was similar with prac?ce.
developing deaf undergraduate readers with a high level of ASL Hearing Aids Learning was similar to procient deaf readers on later learning trials
uency. Addi?onally, selected demographic factors known to and delayed recall.
impact reading ability were also examined in rela?on to SPAT Results These results parallel established learning paLerns in hearing
performance. readers and do not appear to vary based on level of reading ability.
Therefore, this test should not be used to make assumpOons about
Par?cipants Trial
SPAT Trial 1 D
N
21
M
9.29
SD
3.304
T a deaf individuals reading ability.
Paired-associate learning was not associated with the selected
Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria P 21 11.14 1.905 -2.232* demographic factors that inuence reading. Further sugges?ng that
ASL primary and preferred language SPAT Trial 2 D 21 11.71 3.621 for deaf individuals the paired associates test is not associated with
Hearing loss prior to 2 years of age P 21 13.05 1.717 -1.525 reading.
No cochlear implant SPAT Trial 3 D 21 12.52 3.156
Right-handed P 21 13.52 1.569 -1.300 References
42 undergraduate deaf signers SPAT Trial 4 D 21 12.67 3.230 Hulme, C., Goetz, K., Gooch, D., Adams, J., & Snowling, M. J. (2007). Paired-associate learning, phoneme
P 21 13.48 1.569 -1.033 awareness, and learning to read. Journal of experimental child psychology, 96(2),
Variable Developing Procient SPAT Delay Free D 20 8.60 2.873 150-166.
Male : Female 8:13 4:17 Kelly, L. P. (1995). Processing of bo^om-up and top-down informa?on by skilled and average deaf readers
P 21 9.38 1.830 -1.044 and implica?ons for whole language instruc?on.Excep9onal children.
Age M (SD) 22.52 (3.80) 22.19 (2.93) Luckner, J. L., Sebald, A. M., Cooney, J., Young, J., & Muir, S. G. (2005). An examina?on of the evidence-
SPAT Delay Cued D 20 4.25 1.517 based literacy research in deaf educa?on.American Annals of the Deaf, 150(5), 443-456.
Range of Hearing Loss Severe-Pro : Profound Severe-Pro : Severe-Pro
L Ear : R Ear
P 21 4.52 1.778 -0.529 Meadow-Orlans, K., Spencer, P., Koester, L., & Steinberg, A. (2004). Implica?ons for interven?on with
infants and families. The world of deaf infants: A longitudinal study, 218-228.
WRMT-III Raw Reading Cluster M (SD) 158 (17) 204 (16) SPAT Total Delay D 20 13.35 1.663 Pollard Jr, R. Q., Rediess, S., & DeMa^eo, A. (2005). Development and valida?on of the Signed Paired
WASI-II Raw Verbal M (SD) : Non-verbal M (SD) 110 (13) : 105 (10) 106 (13) : 106 (13) P 21 13.90 0.301 -1.504 Associates Test. Rehabilita9on Psychology,50(3), 258.

This table displays developing and procient deaf undergraduate recall of the 14 pairs. Yoshinaga-Itano, C. (2006). Early iden?ca?on, communica?on modality, and the development of speech
ACT Reading M (SD) : English M(SD) 24 (5) : 20 (5) 18 (4) : 15 (4) and spoken language skills: Pa^erns and considera?ons. Advances in the spoken
*p < .05
language development of deaf and hard-of-hearing children, 298-327.

Acknowledgements: This research was funded by a Priority Grant from Gallaudet Research Ins?tute. For their invaluable help with data collec?on and coding a special thanks goes to:
Donna Guardino, Timothy Ainger, Carmen Jamis, Krys?n Cook, Mariah Ransom, Katherine Glalelter Shu Han Guo, and James Waller.