Interpersonell kommunikation. En studie av elever med hörselnedsättning i särskolan

Sammanfattning: Pupils with impaired hearing and moderate to severe learning difficulties usually go to special schools for the severely learning disabled. Few studies have been conducted on the interpersonal communication among these pupils. The all-embracing aim of this study is to look closer into the communication that takes place during the school day between children and adults, in cases where Sign Language and Sign Supported Speech are used. The purpose is to describe and interpret interaction patterns as well as use, form and content in the communication between the participants. The purpose is also to study possibilities and limitations within the environment as well as the individual, which might have an impact on the communication process. The study has a micro-ethnographical onset; data consists of video-observations during one year in eight school-classes, supplemented with questionnaires, interviews, field notes and participation observations. The results show that there are both possibilities and obstacles that respectively facilitate and obstruct communicative and linguistic development. These can be related to micro, mesa, exo and macro levels. Informal communication was characterised by participation and mutual exchange, pleasure in communicating and adults adapting to the child?s perspective. Formal communication was characterised by adults choosing topics for conversation and being purpose-oriented, asking questions, giving instructions and expecting certain answers from the child. The children?s communication was mostly functional, but the adults did not always notice their intentions. The pupils were met by staff members with varied skills in Sign Language and it was evident that the children?s communicative and linguistic needs were not necessarily accompanied by a supportive environment that facilitated communication development