TURKISH FAMILIES WITH DEAF AND HARD-OF-HEARING CHILDREN - A SYSTEMS-APPROACH IN ASSESSING FAMILY FUNCTIONING

The aim of this descriptive study was to determine areas in which fami lies of deaf and hard of hearing children need support for and enhance ment of their children's habilitation process. For this purpose the Fa mily Assessment Device (FAD) was given to 40 families with deaf and ha rd of hearing children and 20 families with hearing children, Results indicated no significant differences between families with deaf and ha rd of hearing children and families with hearing children on communica tion, roles, affective responses, affective involvement, behavior cont rol and general functioning but problem solving. These results are dis cussed in the context of prior research on deaf and hard of hearing ch ildren.