Causal coherence

As I understand it, causal coherence is the ability to link cause and effect not only in writing but as a cognitive exercise.  In other words, it has two steps: making the link between cause and effect in the mind, and then expressing it.  This paper, “Causal Coherence in Deaf and Hearing Students’ Written Narratives“, looks at differences in how Deaf and hearing students do this in writing.  An interesting sidenote is that the stimulus, “Frog, Where Are You?” is standard in working with a variety of language populations and ages in part because it has no text.

Please note that the word is CAUSAL not CASUAL.  This mistake drives me nuts.  The paper is not about casual coherence, as if structures that hold a narrative together are informal.  It is a study of how Deaf students’ writing reveals their thinking of cause and effect.

Theories of mind in transition

One of the challenges of interpreting for Deaf patients is that as children they are delayed in developing Theory of Mind (ToM).  It is my experience that the development is not as straightforward under some circumstances for deaf children as it is for hearing children; whether this is a deficit or difference I am not qualified to comment on.  Of course, Deaf people are not a homogenous population and there are a number of factors that contribute to the delay.  Some seem to be lack of linguistic input, co-occurring disability, imperfect early socialization and possibly attachment.