Deaf children and attachment

Joanna Downes is a Deaf researcher from Leicester University and a BSL user. She is interested in finding out how deaf children develop their attachment and what is important for them to become securely attached.

Presenter: Joanna Downes
Title: Deaf children and attachment
Date: 14th October 2009
Time: 7pm - 9pm
Venue: Paterson's Land 1.18, Moray House, EH8 8AQ (how to get there)

All welcome!

Download the poster


Abstract
Joanna's PhD was the first of its kind in administering an attachment test using a dollhouse procedure to deaf children. The initial study showed that an alternative method was required. She then developed a pictorial method which was more successful in obtaining deaf children’s representations of their attachment relationship.

Joanna is now the manager of the Deaf and Hearing Parenting Programme for deaf parents of deaf or hearing children and hearing parents with deaf children. The programme aims to bring together all existing services to share information and is creating materials that are accessible in either English or BSL. Families can ask for intervention and support. tailored to meet each family’s individual needs; including one to one counselling, information leaflets, coffee evenings, parenting courses and social activities for children. The programme is delivered in the cultural model, holding the view that deaf children and adults are equal to their hearing counterparts.