Intelligence assessment of deaf students with TONI 3

Abstract

The intelligence assessment of deaf and hard-of-hearing students has been a challenge for Brazilian psychologists, due to the lack of standardized and validated instruments for this population. The objective of this study was to assess the intelligence of deaf and hard-of-hearing students with the Test of Nonverbal Intelligence, Third Edition (TONI-3: Forma A) according to external variables: age, education, gender, type of deafness, use of hearing aid and communication mode. Study participants were 205 deaf students of both genders, with an average age of 14 years, from four public schools, ranging from elementary to middle school. Results showed no significant differences between subjects according to gender, type of deafness and communication mode. There was an increase in test scores with increasing age, grade and differences between students that used hearing aids. Thus, the findings demonstrate the validity of the TONI-3 to assess the intelligence of Brazilian deaf students.

National Non-verbal Cognitive Ability Test (BNV) Development Study

“…Non-verbal cognitive ability tests aim to reduce or completely eliminate the emphasis on language with regard to test management and the response of the tested individual (McCallum, 2013). Thus, reducing the emphasis on linguistic and cultural knowledge enables the provision of sufficient data for determining the intellectual abilities of students with limited or no conversation skills, hearing impaired individuals or those with difficulty in hearing as well as those whose native language is not the language of that country (Barbosa et al, 2013;Braden & Athanasiou, 2005).…”