A Qualitative Study Evaluating The Relationship of Typically Developing Children with Their Hearing-İmpaired Siblings

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship of typically developing children with their hearing-impaired siblings. Method: In the study, nine-18-year-old typically developing siblings (n=15) of children with hearing impairment who attended a special education and rehabilitation center in Ankara were selected with purposive sampling. The semi-structured interview form developed by the researchers and finalized after peer debriefing was employed as the data collection instrument. After completion, the interviews were numbered, coded and transcribed. Themes and sub-themes were created for each of the questions asked during the interviews. In each sub-theme, the responses of the participants were explained by quoting. Results and Conclusion: The study results indicated that the children with typical development mostly felt sad, and did not mind spending time outside together, shared their positive-negative feelings, did not experience any difficulty in communicating and helped each other with their hearing-impaired siblings. The study also proposed recommendations to parents, educators and specialists.