Social-emotional Aspects in a Sample of Young Persons with Usher’s Syndrome Type I

Usher’s Syndrome Type I is characterized by profound congenital deafness in combination with balance problems and symptoms of Retinitis Pigmentosa, which manifest themselves before adolescence. By means of a Q-sort technique we investigated the social-emotional status of 16 young clients with Usher’s Syndrome. Norms for prelingually deaf persons for this Q-sort technique, which is called Nijmeegse California Kinder Sorteertechniek are available. This group with Usher’s Syndrome seems to have a high degree of ego-resilience and pro-social competence. They show a low level of assertiveness, a high amount of ego-overcontrol and a high self-esteem. These findings support our experiences with adult clients with Usher’s Syndrome in therapeutic settings.