How to improve communication with deaf children in the dental clinic

It may be difficult for hearing-impaired people to communicate with people who hear. In the health care area, there is often little awareness of the communication barriers faced by the deaf and, in dentistry, the attitude adopted towards the deaf is not always correct. A review is given of the basic rules and advice given for communicating with the hearing-impaired. The latter are classified in three groups - lip-readers, sign language users and those with hearing aids. The advice given varies for the different groups although the different methods of communication are often combined (e.g. sign language plus lip-reading, hearing-aids plus lip-reading). Treatment of hearing-impaired children in the dental clinic must be personalised. Each child is different, depending on the education received, the communication skills possessed, family factors (degree of parental protection, etc.), the existence of associated problems (learning difficulties), degree of loss of hearing, age, etc.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: San Bernardino Alsmark,Silvia, Nova García,Joaquín de, Mourelle Martínez,María Rosa, Gallardo López,Nuria Esther
Format: Digital revista
Language:English
Published: Sociedad Española de Medicina Oral 2007
Online Access:http://scielo.isciii.es/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1698-69462007000800007
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