This master thesis is about access to literature translated into Swedish sign language for Deaf at the public libraries. It is by now a well-known fact that there is produced very little literature in sign language for Deaf. This is so even though the policies for the library nationally and internationally, and the public law for libraries in Sweden says there should be literature available for all groups of disadvantaged people. People who have problem reading ordinary ink books have the right to get the book adapted into a medium accessible for them. The goal of the Swedish law for disadvantaged says that in 2010 Sweden should be accessible for all irrespective of weather you are Deaf or not.

The purpose of this Masters thesis is to examine the attitudes of Deaf and hear-impaired people towards libraries, information, and culture. The issues are: What are the attitudes of the informants towards libraries and culture? What do reference group theory and the theory of information access-/avoidance implicate concerning the information behaviour of the informants? In-depth interviews with five Deaf and hear-impaired university students have been carried out in this qualitative study. The world of Deaf and hear-impaired people is presented as well as a survey of political guidelines to make, for example, libraries and theatres more available to disabled people. The research overview analyses scholarly studies on Deaf and hear-impaired people.

The aim of this two years master thesis is to explore the relationship between public libraries and Deaf adults. I want to know if Deaf adults are a prioritized group in Swedish public libraries. Deaf adults use Swedish sign language witch is a visual language and differs from Swedish. I discuss the difference in Swedish Sign Language and Swedish and the importance of Sign Language literature. I also explore what methods can be used for mak-ing the library service towards the Deaf group more customer centered and service oriented.The lack of sign language knowledge among the library personnel can lead to communication barriers.

This c-level essay examines how Deaf and hearing impaired individuals use smartphones to live and communicate in a ?hearing world?. The main target is to find some understanding of the struggles of this population and smartphones have made it easier to adapt to the hearing worlds? demands with the applications that follow. To acquire the information for this essay, representatives from both the Deaf and hearing impaired communities were interviewed.

The goal of this Master?s thesis is to explore the approach and general attitude of public libraries regarding Sign Language Literature. There is a need to study and advance how the Deaf can find ways to read in their own language, as it is as important to them to be able to read in their language, as it is to the next hearing person. The purpose is to define and explain the full capacity of the problem. In the process of research, by investigating how library staff approaches and deal with Deaf patrons, the nature of the patron-staff relationship is revealed.

This c-level essay examines how Deaf and hearing impaired individuals use smartphones to live and communicate in a ?hearing world?. The main target is to find some understanding of the struggles of this population and smartphones have made it easier to adapt to the hearing worlds? demands with the applications that follow. To acquire the information for this essay, representatives from both the Deaf and hearing impaired communities were interviewed.

Aim: The aim of this study was to study through papers if early intervention of children and adolescents with Deaf-blindness can be facilitated through early intervention programs, cochlear implants (CI) and communication strategies.Method: The method that we used was a literature study of scientific articles through Pubmed and Cinahl databases. The articles reference lists were also studied which lead to that more papers were found.Results: Children and adolescents with Deaf-blindness can benefit from early intervention programs, when their caregivers were educated to give appropriate response to the children?s behavior. The interaction between children and their caregivers can improve through an early intervention model. Children and adolescents with Deafblindness have variable results from CI.

Abstract The present study examined if early Deaf people and people with severe hearing loss perceive visual information differently than hearing people. An experiment was conducted with eight Deaf participants and eight participants with normal hearing. The participants were between the ages of 18-74 years. The participants were asked to look at fifteen different images portraying manipulated illusions, and then assess if the images were of the same size. Subsequently another image depicting a different illusion with a face hidden in it was presented to the participants.

Abstract The present study examined if early Deaf people and people with severe hearing loss perceive visual information differently than hearing people. An experiment was conducted with eight Deaf participants and eight participants with normal hearing. The participants were between the ages of 18-74 years. The participants were asked to look at fifteen different images portraying manipulated illusions, and then assess if the images were of the same size. Subsequently another image depicting a different illusion with a face hidden in it was presented to the participants.

Title: Elderly Deaf - The significance of an own senior housing. A qualitative interview studyon how special senior housing affects the experience of well-being of elderly Deaf [translated title]The purpose of the study was to examine how elderly Deaf people experience living in aspecial senior housing, which is the country?s first and only housing with sign language forDeaf and Deafblind in the region of Stockholm. The focus was to study how this seniorhousing affected the well-being of the residents and their experience of this accommodation.The study was based on a qualitative method with semi-structured interviews. Interviews wereconducted with four residents who have lived in the senior housing for Deaf and Deafblindpeople since it opened in spring 2013.

BackgroundThe opportunity for cochlear implantation has now extended beyond children who are only Deaf or hard of hearing. Children who are Deaf blind from birth or early in life are receiving implants, but very limited research has been done for this population, and this raises important issues. AimThe aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of hearing and vision impairment or Deaf blindness in children with Cochlear Implants in Sweden and to investigate the diagnoses issues among these groups of subjects. Material and MethodSubjects with an age between 1-18 years were ascertained through multiple sources and almost complete ascertainment was achieved.ResultsA total of 77 subjects with a referring diagnosis of combined hearing and vision disorder or Deaf blindness were ascertained. Out of those, 30 subjects were excluded.

Title: How can everybody learn to sing? A study about methods for meeting students with poor singing abilityI have based my work upon the question if everyone can learn how to sing. This study investigates the physical and psychological impacts that singing may have upon us and examines methods that can be used intuition. Concepts such as tone-Deaf, amusia, poor pitch singing and monotones are discussed, and the expression ?sångsvag? ?singing weakness?) is put forward.

Språkets betydelse för människans utveckling är viktig för individens utveckling. Språket ger oss möjligheten till en god kognitiv förmåga och vägleder oss fram till vår identitet och personlighet. Genom språket uttrycker vi vem vi är och vad vi vill. Men vad händer om språket inte blir en självklarhet och om vi inte får tillgång till det? Den här studien handlar om vilken betydelse språket har för döva, hörselskadade och personer med cochleaimplantat och vad som händer om de inte får tillgång till det språk de är i behov av..

The purpose was to study what significance communication has for the psychosocial health of elderly Deaf people who live in old peoples homes. I also explored how communication works between the staff.- How do the staff feel the communication works between members of the staff and between the staff and the residents?- How do the staffs think that the staffs' knowledge of the culture of the Deaf community and sign language affects the psychological health of the residents?- What changes have the staff noticed in the residents since they moved to the ward?In order to accomplish study this area I have used semi-structured qualitative interviews and observations.The main conclusion of this paper was that the possibility to communicate in ones own language was fundamental for the psychosocial health of the residents. The people I interviewed expressed that communication between the residents and the staff worked well, but communication was a problem between the staff members. Knowledge of the culture of the Deaf and sign language, within the staff, had a positive influence on the psychosocial health of the residents.

The study emanates from the national quality registry for persons with severe and profound hearing impairment. The aim was to examine possible differences between signing Deaf and adults with acquired severe hearing loss, with reference to self-assessed problems, how the hearing loss influences daily life.In total 234 adults aged 30-90 years were included (128 women, 106 men). In the registry, there are background variables and questions that the patients have answered. The results, indicated on a visual analogue scale (VAS) from 0-100, from a question ?To which extent does your hearing loss at present influence your life?? were analysed.The study was performed by pooling the results of VAS and dividing the patients into signing Deaf and those with acquired severe hearing loss, and in age groups 30-60 and 61-90 years.