Deaf and hearing impaired children are children with special needs. According to the World Health Organization, deafness is one of the most serious forms of disability. It is an invisible disability, which is not only physical but also affects the cognitive, social-emotional, motor and speech development. Hearing impaired people have difficulty communicating and integrating into the environment where they live, study or spend free time. Children in pre-school education have different perceptions of their deaf peers. Some have had experience with deaf and hearing impaired peers, others have not.
The objective of the study is to determine whether there exist any differences in the attitudes of the children with and without the experience towards deaf and hearing impaired children. 22 children aged 4 to 6 were included into the study, which consisted of a questionnaire dividing statements into four areas: motor skills, cognitive skills, social aspect and speech-language skills. The results show visible differences of the average values of the responses within the group with and without the experience. The largest differences are seen in the area of cognitive skills while the smallest are seen in the area of speech-language skills.
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