For decades children with
moderate hearing loss (MHL) were “forgotten children”. Most research focused on
deaf children and the needs of children with MHL were underestimated. Children
with MHL have inconsistent access to linguistic input and social-emotional
experiences and that place them at risk for developmental difficulties. In the
present thesis the psychosocial functioning of toddlers with moderate hearing
loss was examined within the context of the caregiving environment. No risk
factors were found in the parent-child affective domain: Toddlers with MHL were
affected by the emotions of others, they were affectively available to their
parents and their parents to them, and their parents did not feel more parental
stress than parents of toddlers without hearing loss. Challenges were found in
the domain of meaningful social interactions: Toddlers with MHL had more
difficulties in understanding the intentions of others and exchanged fewer
social-communicative signals. The episodes of joint engagement during
parent-child interactions were briefer and parents used less rich language
during these interactions than parents of toddlers without hearing loss. To
overcome these challenges parents could ready storybooks with their children.
An interactive reading program for parents of toddlers with hearing loss showed
to be effective in increasing joint engagement. Pathways through Adolescenc