social skills 125
How to manage your child’s behavior
Deafness does not cause bad behavior, though it may seem like it does.
A child who cannot hear well communicates mainly through his
behavior — just like a hearing child whose communication skills have
not yet developed.
Learn to recognize the signals that tell you problem behavior is
about to begin.
We have to
go home right
now, Paulo.
Paulo looks
surprised and
unhappy. He
may start to yell
and cry soon.
If Paulo could hear, he
would have heard his
mother and grandmother
talking and known they
were leaving soon.
He would have been
better prepared for what
would happen next.
Since Paulo cannot hear well, he is surprised when his
grandmother tells him they have to go home. Like Paulo, deaf
children experience surprises all the time.
Parents need to pay close attention to how a child who is deaf or cannot
hear well is behaving. It takes patience to understand what your child is
communicating to you with his behavior and learn how to communicate
your expectations.
Children who can hear learn good behavior more easily, and at a
younger age, than children who cannot hear. Children may go through
times when they say ‘no’ to everything a parent wants them to do. These
behaviors can be very frustrating to a child’s family, but they are normal
and usually go away when a child learns better self-control.
It is much more difficult for a child who cannot hear well to learn
self-control. When people cannot
communicate with deaf children,
the children become frustrated,
upset, or angry. They cannot
Aaaah!
understand why they must do
certain things or what is
happening around them.
Helping Children Who Are Deaf (2004)