Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Language deprivation syndrome: a possible neurodevelopmental disorder with sociocultural origins

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

There is a need to better understand the epidemiological relationship between language development and psychiatric symptomatology. Language development can be particularly impacted by social factors—as seen in the developmental choices made for deaf children, which can create language deprivation. A possible mental health syndrome may be present in deaf patients with severe language deprivation.

Methods

Electronic databases were searched to identify publications focusing on language development and mental health in the deaf population. Screening of relevant publications narrowed the search results to 35 publications.

Results

Although there is very limited empirical evidence, there appears to be suggestions of a mental health syndrome by clinicians working with deaf patients. Possible features include language dysfluency, fund of knowledge deficits, and disruptions in thinking, mood, and/or behavior.

Conclusion

The clinical specialty of deaf mental health appears to be struggling with a clinically observed phenomenon that has yet to be empirically investigated and defined within the DSM. Descriptions of patients within the clinical setting suggest a language deprivation syndrome. Language development experiences have an epidemiological relationship with psychiatric outcomes in deaf people. This requires more empirical attention and has implications for other populations with behavioral health disparities as well.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Draine J, Salzer MS, Culhane DP, Hadley TR (2002) Role of social disadvantage in crime, joblessness, and homelessness among persons with serious mental illness. Psychiatr Serv 53(5):565–573. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.53.5.565

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Meyer IH (2003) Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence. Psychol Bull 129(5):674–697. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.129.5.674

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Kelly CM, Jorm AF, Wright A (2007) Improving mental health literacy as a strategy to facilitate early intervention for mental disorders. Med J Aust 187(7 Suppl):S26–S30

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Mazza JR, Boivin M, Tremblay RE, Michel G, Salla J, Lambert J, Zunzunegui MV, Cote SM (2016) Poverty and behavior problems trajectories from 1.5 to 8 years of age: Is the gap widening between poor and non-poor children? Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 51(8):1083–1092. doi:10.1007/s00127-016-1252-1

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Mensah FK, Kiernan KE (2010) Parents’ mental health and children’s cognitive and social development: families in England in the Millennium Cohort Study. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 45(11):1023–1035. doi:10.1007/s00127-009-0137-y

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Blackwell DL, Lucas JW, Clarke TC (2012) Summary health statistics for U.S. adults: national health interview survey, 2012. Vital Health Stat 10(260):1–163

    Google Scholar 

  7. Mitchell RE, Karchmer MA (2005) Parental hearing status and signing among deaf and hard of hearing students. Sign Lang Stud 5(2):231–244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Institute GR (2011) Regional and national summary report of data from the 2009-10 annual survey of deaf and hard of hearing children and youth. pp 1–12

  9. Mayberry RI, Lock E (2003) Age constraints on first versus second language acquisition: evidence for linguistic plasticity and epigenesis. Brain Lang 87(3):369–384

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Newport EL (1990) Maturational constraints on language learning. Cognit Sci 14:11–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Leybaert J, D’Hondt M (2003) Neurolinguistic development in deaf children: the effect of early language experience. Int J Audiol 42(Suppl 1):S34–S40

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Lederberg AR, Schick B, Spencer PE (2013) Language and literacy development of deaf and hard-of-hearing children: successes and challenges. Dev Psychol 49(1):15–30. doi:10.1037/a0029558

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Mayberry RI, Chen JK, Witcher P, Klein D (2011) Age of acquisition effects on the functional organization of language in the adult brain. Brain Lang 119(1):16–29. doi:10.1016/j.bandl.2011.05.007

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Penicaud S, Klein D, Zatorre RJ, Chen JK, Witcher P, Hyde K, Mayberry RI (2013) Structural brain changes linked to delayed first language acquisition in congenitally deaf individuals. Neuroimage 66:42–49. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.09.076

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Skotara N, Salden U, Kugow M, Hanel-Faulhaber B, Roder B (2012) The influence of language deprivation in early childhood on L2 processing: an ERP comparison of deaf native signers and deaf signers with a delayed language acquisition. BMC Neurosci 13:44. doi:10.1186/1471-2202-13-44

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Hyde M, Punch R, Komesaroff L (2010) Coming to a decision about cochlear implantation: parents making choices for their deaf children. J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ 15(2):162–178. doi:10.1093/deafed/enq004

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Kral A, Kronenberger WG, Pisoni DB, O’Donoghue GM (2016) Neurocognitive factors in sensory restoration of early deafness: a connectome model. Lancet Neurol 15(6):610–621. doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(16)00034-X

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Duchesne L, Sutton A, Bergeron F (2009) Language achievement in children who received cochlear implants between 1 and 2 years of age: group trends and individual patterns. J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ 14(4):465–485. doi:10.1093/deafed/enp010

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Niparko JK, Tobey EA, Thal DJ, Eisenberg LS, Wang NY, Quittner AL, Fink NE, Team CDI (2010) Spoken language development in children following cochlear implantation. JAMA 303(15):1498–1506. doi:10.1001/jama.2010.451

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. Davidson LS, Geers AE, Blamey PJ, Tobey EA, Brenner CA (2011) Factors contributing to speech perception scores in long-term pediatric cochlear implant users. Ear Hear 32(1 Suppl):19S–26S. doi:10.1097/AUD.0b013e3181ffdb8b

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. Tobey EA, Geers AE, Sundarrajan M, Shin S (2011) Factors influencing speech production in elementary and high school-aged cochlear implant users. Ear Hear 32 (1Suppl):27S–38S. doi:10.1097/AUD.0b013e3181fa41bb

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  22. Lund E (2015) Vocabulary knowledge of children with cochlear implants: a meta-analysis. J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ 21(2):107–121. doi:10.1093/deafed/env060

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  23. Liddell SK (2003) Grammar, gesture, and meaning in American Sign Language. Cambridge University Press, New York, NY

    Book  Google Scholar 

  24. Humphries T, Kushalnagar P, Mathur G, Napoli DJ, Padden C, Rathmann C, Smith SR (2012) Language acquisition for deaf children: reducing the harms of zero tolerance to the use of alternative approaches. Harm Reduct J 9:16. doi:10.1186/1477-7517-9-16

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  25. Lyness C, Woll B, Campbell R, Cardin V (2013) How does visual language affect crossmodal plasticity and cochlear implant success? Neurosci Biobehav Rev 37:2621–2630

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  26. Sugar M (2016) Dispelling myths about deafness. https://web.archive.org/web/20160404050959/http://www.agbell.org/in-the-news/response-nyle-dimarco/?. Accessed 4 Apr 2016

  27. Hassanzadeh S (2012) Outcomes of cochlear implantation in deaf children of deaf parents: comparative study. J Laryngol Otol 126(10):989–994. doi:10.1017/S0022215112001909

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Amraei K, Amirsalari S, Ajallouiyan M  (2016) Comparison of intelligence quotients of first- and second-generation deaf children with cochlear implants. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 92:167–170. doi:10.1016/j.ijporl.2016.10.005

    Google Scholar 

  29. Humphries T, Kushalnagar P, Mathur G, Napoli DJ, Padden C, Rathmann C, Smith SR (2017) Discourses of prejudice in the professions: the case of sign languages. J Med Ethics (in press)

  30. Fellinger J, Holzinger D, Dobner U, Gerich J, Lehner R, Lenz G, Goldberg D (2005) Mental distress and quality of life in a deaf population. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 40(9):737–742. doi:10.1007/s00127-005-0936-8

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Anderson ML, Leigh IW (2011) Intimate partner violence against deaf female college students. Violence Against Women 17(7):822–834

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Pollard RQ Jr, Sutter E, Cerulli C (2014) Intimate partner violence reported by two samples of deaf adults via a computerized American Sign Language survey. J Interpers Violence 29(5):948–965. doi:10.1177/0886260513505703

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. van Gent T, Goehart AW, Treffers PDA (2011) Self-concept and psychopathology in deaf adolescents: Preliminary support for moderating effects of deafness-related characterisitics and peer problems. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 52(6):720–728

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Anderson ML, Wolf Craig KS, Hall WC, Ziedonis DM (2016) A pilot study of deaf trauma survivors’ experiences: Early traumas unique to being deaf in a hearing world. J Child Adolesc Trauma 9(4):353–358. doi:10.1007/s40653-016-0111-2

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Fellinger J, Holzinger D, Pollard R (2012) Mental health of deaf people. The Lancet 379(9820):1037–1044. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(11)61143-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Sinkkonen J (1994) Hearing impairment, communication and personality development. University of Helsinki, Helsinki

    Google Scholar 

  37. Kitson N, Fry R (1990) Prelingual deafness and psychiatry. Br J Hosp Med 44(5):353–356

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Glickman NS (2007) Do you hear voices? Problems in assessment of mental status in deaf persons with severe language deprivation. J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ 12(2):127–147. doi:10.1093/deafed/enm001

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Humphries T, Kushalnagar P, Mathur G, Napoli DJ, Padden C, Pollard R, Smith SR (2014) What medical education can do to ensure robust language development in deaf children. Med Sci Educ 24(4):409–419

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Gulati S (2003) Psychiatric care of culturally deaf people. In: Glickman NS, Gulati S (eds) Mental health care of deaf people: a culturally affirmative approach. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ, pp 33–107

    Google Scholar 

  41. Glickman NS (2009) Summary and conclusions. In: Glickman NS (ed) Cognitive-behavioral therapy for deaf and hearing persons with language and learning challenges. Routledge, New York, NY

    Google Scholar 

  42. Gulati S (2014) Language deprivation syndrome. ASL Lecture Series. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yy_K6VtHJw, Brown University

  43. Humphries T, Kushalnagar P, Mathur G, Napoli DJ, Padden C, Rathmann C, Smith SR (2016) Avoiding linguistic neglect of deaf children. Soc Serv Rev 90(4):589–619. doi:10.1086/689543

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG, Group P (2009) Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. PLoS Med 6(7):e1000097. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  45. Rainer JD, Altshuler KZ (1966) Comprehensive mental health services for the deaf. Columbia University, New York, NY

    Google Scholar 

  46. Basilier T (1964) Surdophrenia. The psychic consequences of congenital or early acquired deafness. Some theoretical and clinical considerations. Acta Psychiatr Scand 40(SUPPL 180):363

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Vernon M (1969) Sociological and psychological factors associated with hearing loss. J Speech Hear Res 12(3):541–563

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Vernon M, Rothstein DA (1968) Prelingual deafness: an experiment of nature. Arch Gen Psychiatry 19(3):361–369

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. Denmark JC, Warren F (1972) A psychiatric unit for the deaf. Br J Psychiatry 120(557):423–428

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Lane H (1976) The wild boy of Aveyron. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA

    Google Scholar 

  51. Vernon M, Raifman LJ (1997) Recognizing and handling problems of incompetent deaf defendants charged with serious offenses. Int J Law Psychiatry 20(3):373–387

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Altshuler KZ (1986) Perceptual handicap and mental illness, with special reference to early profound deafness. Am J Soc Psychiatry 6(2):125–128

    Google Scholar 

  53. Weiler C, Landsberger SA, Diaz DR (2013) Differential diagnosis of psychosis in a deaf inpatient with language dysfluency: a case study. Clin Schizophr Relat Psychos 7(1):42–45. doi:10.3371/CSRP.WELA.032513

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Pollard RQ (1998) Psychopathology. In: Marschark M, Clark MD (eds) Psychological perspectives on deafness, vol 2. Lawrence Erlbaum, Inc., Mahwah, NJ, pp 171–197

    Google Scholar 

  55. Black PA, Glickman NS (2006) Demographics, psychiatric diagnoses, and other characteristics of North American Deaf and hard-of-hearing inpatients. J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ 11(3):303–321. doi:10.1093/deafed/enj042

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  56. Thacker AJ (1994) Formal communication disorder. Sign language in deaf people with schizophrenia. Br J Psychiatry 165(6):818–823

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  57. Schenkel LS, Rothman-Marshall G, Schlehofer DA, Towne TL, Burnash DL, Priddy BM (2014) Child maltreatment and trauma exposure among deaf and hard of hearing young adults. Child Abuse Neglect 38(10):1581–1589. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2014.04.010

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  58. Denmark JC (1971) Psychiatry and the deaf. Curr Psychiatr Ther 11:68–72

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  59. Cooper AF (1976) Deafness and psychiatric illness. Br J Psychiatry 129:216–226

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  60. Long G, Long N, Ouellette SE (1993) Service provision issues with traditionally underserved persons who are deaf. In: Welch OM (ed) Research and practice in deafness: Issues and questions in education, psychology and vocattional service provision. Charles C Thomas, Springfield, pp 107–126

  61. Hauser PC, O’Hearn A, McKee M, Steider A, Thew D (2010) Deaf epistemology: deafhood and deafness. Am Ann Deaf 154(5):486–492

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  62. Barnett S, McKee M, Smith SR, Pearson TA (2011) Deaf sign language users, health inequities, and public health: Opportunity for social justice. Prev Chronic Dis 8(2):A45

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  63. McKee MM, Paasche-Orlow MK, Winters PC, Fiscella K, Zazove P, Sen A, Pearson T (2015) Assessing health literacy in deaf american sign language users. J Health Commun 20(Suppl 2):92–100. doi:10.1080/10810730.2015.1066468

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  64. Altshuler KZ (1971) Studies of the deaf: relevance to psychiatric theory. Am J Psychiatry 127(11):1521–1526. doi:10.1176/ajp.127.11.1521

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  65. Giddan JJ, Milling L, Campbell NB (1996) Unrecognized language and speech deficits in preadolescent psychiatric inpatients. Am J Orthopsychiatry 66(1):85–92

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  66. Gaines J, Meltzer B, Glickman NS (2009) Language and learning challenges in adolescent hearing psychiatric inpatients. In: Glickman NS (ed) Cognitive-behavioral therapy for deaf and hearing persons with language and learning challenges. Routledge, New York, NY, pp 79–102

    Google Scholar 

  67. Horton HK (2010) Linguistic ability and mental health outcomes among deaf people with schizophrenia. J Nerv Ment Dis 198(9):634–642. doi:10.1097/NMD.0b013e3181e9dd23

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  68. Stevenson J, McCann D, Watkin P, Worsfold S, Kennedy C, Hearing Outcomes Study T (2010) The relationship between language development and behaviour problems in children with hearing loss. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 51(1):77–83. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2009.02124.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  69. Barker DH, Quittner AL, Fink NE, Eisenberg LS, Tobey EA, Niparko JK, Team CDI (2009) Predicting behavior problems in deaf and hearing children: the influences of language, attention, and parent-child communication. Dev Psychopathol 21(2):373–392. doi:10.1017/S0954579409000212

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  70. Huber M, Kipman U (2011) The mental health of deaf adolescents with cochlear implants compared to their hearing peers. Int J Audiol 50(3):146–154

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  71. Williams CE (1970) Some psychiatric observations on a group of maladjusted deaf children. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 11(1):1–18

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  72. Mayberry RI (2002) Cognitive development in deaf children. In: Segalowitz SJ, Rapin I (eds) Handbook of Neuropsychology, vol 8. Elsevier Health Sciences, New York, NY, pp 71–107

    Google Scholar 

  73. Bonvillian JD, Charrow VR, Nelson KE (1973) Psycholinguistic and educational implications of deafness. Human Dev 16(5):321–345

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  74. Bailes C, Erting C, Erting L, Thumann-Prezioso C (2009) Language and literacy acquisition through parental mediation in American Sign Language. Sign Lang Stud 9(4):417–456

    Article  Google Scholar 

  75. Stewart DA (1983) The use of sign by deaf children: the opinions of a deaf community. Am Ann Deaf 128(7):878–883

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  76. Goldberg B, Lobb H, Kroll H (1975) Psychiatric problems of the deaf child. Can Psychiatric Assoc J 20(1):75–83

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  77. Fromkin V, Krashen S, Curtiss S, Rigler D, Rigler M (1974) The development of language in Genie: a case of language acquisition beyond the “Critical Period”. Brain Lang 1:81–107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  78. Association AP (2013) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th edn. American Psychiatric Publishing, Arlington, VA

    Book  Google Scholar 

  79. Glickman NS (2009) Adapting best practices in CBT for deaf and hearing persons with language and learning challenges. J Psychother Integr 19(4):354–384

    Article  Google Scholar 

  80. Cantwell DP, Baker L (1977) Psychiatric disorder in children with speech and language retardation. A critical review. Arch Gen Psychiatry 34(5):583–591

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by the Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School and grant no. K12 GM106997 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health. The authors thank Jacqueline Pransky and Peter Hauser, PhD for insights and feedback during the writing process. The authors specially thank Douglas Ziedonis, MD, MPH for conceptualization assistance and initial sponsorship.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical & Translational Science Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA

    Wyatte C. Hall

  2. Lamar Soutter Library, Department of Education and Research, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA

    Leonard L. Levin

  3. Systems and Psychosocial Advances Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA

    Wyatte C. Hall & Melissa L. Anderson

Authors
  1. Wyatte C. Hall
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Leonard L. Levin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Melissa L. Anderson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wyatte C. Hall.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all the authors, the corresponding author states there is no conflict of interest.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 1.

Table 1 Structured summaries and commentaries
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Hall, W.C., Levin, L.L. & Anderson, M.L. Language deprivation syndrome: a possible neurodevelopmental disorder with sociocultural origins. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 52, 761–776 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-017-1351-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-017-1351-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation