Finally, Kropka and Williams' 1979 study has similar implications for the final problem facing the deaf in need of mental intervention today. Because the deaf and non-deaf mentally handicapped were proven to be functioning at the same rate, then the two groups should be encouraged to mingle and form relationships. This will not only help both parties feel a sense of meaning in their lives, but also it will be a learning tool for their socialization once they are able to leave institutions and hospitals, a goal that should be foremost in therapists and doctors minds.
Thus, while the deaf in need of mental intervention are challenged by the broken communication barrier, they have proven that they can reconstruct that communication barrier in many ways. If doctors and therapists study that reconstruction, they will quickly be able to develop programs satisfying the need for better care in the three main areas where care is now deficient.
References
Biasini, Fred J., Grupe, Lisa., Huffman, Lisa, and Bray, Norman W. (nd). Mental
Retrieved October 20, 2008, from University of Alabama at Birmingham. Web Site: http://www.uab.edu/cogdev/mentreta.htm
Bicknell, DJ. Communication with the Deaf, Mentally Handicapped in Hospital. Section of Psychiatry 67: p.1029-1031.
Kropka, B. And William C. The Deaf and Partially Hearing in Mentally Handicap
Hospitals: The Disadvantaged Minority? (1979). Retrieved October 20, 2008, from the Royal National Institute for the Deaf. Web Site: http://contents.bjdd.net/oldPDFs/51_89to93.pdf.
Mar, Harvey (1998). Psychological Evaluation of Children who are Deaf-Blind: An Overview with Recommendations for Practice. Retrieved October 20, 2008, from the National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness. Web Site: http://www.dblink.org/lib/eval.htm
The Life of Helen Keller" (2008). Retrieved October 20, 2008, from the Royal National
Institute of Blind People. Web Site: http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/publicwebsite/public_keller.hcsp#P8_883
