The Voice of the Practitioner: Sharing Fiction Books to Support the Understanding of Theory of Mind in Deaf Children

Reading the Mind or Only the Story? Sharing Fiction to Develop ToM With Deaf Children

“…Although teachers here employed a range of teaching strategies, the findings suggest that this must be paired with a focus on ToM development beyond first-order elements to ensure exposure to the range of concepts within the books. The need for researcher/practitioner collaboration in enabling real-world ToM investigation (Beazley & Chilton, 2015; Swanwick & Marschark, 2010) is becoming more evident and needs to support the explicit exploitation of opportunities for deaf children to demonstrate second- and higher order ToM skills.…”

“…One child in the study responded in ways that suggested he was working at pre-ToM level, having difficulty responding to questions that would demonstrate his first-order ToM skills. In the United Kingdom, assessments of ToM are not widely in use by practitioners (Beazley & Chilton, 2015), and this has been suggested as a research-to-practice gap in the field of ToM study with deaf children (Beazley & Chilton, 2015; Chilton & Beazley, 2014; Swanwick & Marschark, 2010). Although educators in some settings may be placed under pressure to focus on the curriculum, much could be gained by careful assessment of ToM use by both the child and teacher, followed by intervention and monitoring.…”

“…With emphasis on evidence-based practice there is a need to understand not simply the nature of ToM in certain populations but also why, how, and when any intervention should take place to support ToM development (Beazley & Chilton, 2015; Stanzione & Schick, 2014; Swanwick & Marschark, 2010). Some studies detail evidence of specific targeted work in early years (Grazanni-Gavazzi & Ornaghi, 2011) or with learners with ASD (Dodd, Ocampo, & Kennedy, 2011), although a review of interventions has shown a lack of clarity as to whether skills can be maintained and transferred to new contexts (Fletcher-Watson, McConnell, Manola, & McConachie, 2014).…”

“…This lends support to the suggestion that academic consideration of deaf children’s ToM is researcher-led and that stronger links need to be forged between theory and practice (Knoors & Marschark, 2014; Swanwick & Marschark, 2010). Studies which consider practitioners’ views of supporting the development of ToM skills are limited, but one study reports the views of educators of deaf children and calls for assessments and intervention strategies to support endeavors in developing deaf children’s ToM (Beazley & Chilton, 2015).…”

Theory of Mind Development in Deaf Children With Cochlear Implants: Literature Review

“…Additionally, closer collaboration between practitioners working with deaf children and researchers is still needed. Beazley and Chilton [85] conducted qualitative interviews with five educators of deaf children (including deaf children with CIs) in terms of ToM development. In some parts of the interviews, practitioners described techniques they were using that could support ToM ability in children, such as book sharing, role play, or "speech" and "thought" bubbles.…”