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Evaluating the Effects of Aging on American Sign Language Users

DiBlasi, Anita F.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1310670070

Abstract Details

2011, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, Speech Language Pathology.
The purpose of this study was to explore the changes in Deaf individuals’ ASL usage as their cognitive status declines. To date, there have been no published systematic studies describing the deterioration of native ASL users’ signing abilities among those with dementia. This study involved 10 participants: 5 with no cognitive impairments (Control group) and 5 with cognitive impairments (Experimental group) as considered by the Mini-Mental State Examination (adapted version of the MMSE; Dean, Feldman, Morere, & Morton, 2009). Each participant was allowed up to 2 minutes to describe the The Cookie Theft picture (Goodglass & Kaplan, 1972). Discourse was analyzed for the dependent variables of number of utterances, number of words per utterance, correct use of phonology, morphology, and syntax, an error analysis of phonology, morphology and syntax, and content units. The results of this study revealed there were significant differences between the number of words per utterance of the Control group and the Experimental group. The Experimental group produced phonological errors. There were no phonological, morphological, or syntactic errors among the Control group utterances. The frequency of content units was higher in the Control group than the Experimental group. The correlations revealed there is a strong positive relationship among the Experimental groups’ MMSE scores and number of content units. In conclusion, the data revealed ASL usage does change as cognitive status declines, while morphology and syntax remain relatively preserved.
Michelle Bourgeois, PhD (Advisor)
Lisa Milman, PhD (Committee Member)
76 p.
Aging; Behavioral Sciences; Behaviorial Sciences; Cognitive Psychology; Families and Family Life; Foreign Language; Gerontology; Health Care; Language; Linguistics; Mental Health; Modern Language; Morphology; Neurology; Occupational Therapy; Physical Therapy; Psychology
ASL and aging; geriatrics and ASL; phonology, morphology and syntax and ASL; ASL changes; MMSE and Deaf culture; MMSE and ASL

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • DiBlasi, A. F. (2011). Evaluating the Effects of Aging on American Sign Language Users [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1310670070

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • DiBlasi, Anita. Evaluating the Effects of Aging on American Sign Language Users. 2011. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1310670070.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • DiBlasi, Anita. "Evaluating the Effects of Aging on American Sign Language Users." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1310670070

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1310670070
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© 2011, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.