Theory of Mind and Deafness

Helping parents and communities to successfully communicate with children who are deaf or hard of hearing at an early age, is vital in order to foster the development of their social and emotional skills. 

In this On-Demand Presentation Professor Morgan explores:

• the social cognitive (Theory of Mind) development of deaf children in hearing families
• how  children perceive and relate to the social world around them
• how children  understand their own mental states and those of others
• how children learn to recognise and judge other people’s emotions in different situations. 

In examining language acquisition and cognitive development, Professor Morgan shows how young children follow both a blue-print for development as well as how they are influenced by the environments they learn in. 

VDEI recommend the use of Google Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Safari (Macintosh users only) as the preferred web browsers to seamlessly register and access this learning.

Please note – Victorian Department of Education staff can access this professional learning offering free of charge. Enter your @education.vic.gov.au email address during the registration process to ensure the registration fee is waivered.

• learn how to develop their knowledge about current research related to factors and mechanisms that impact upon language acquisition and social cognition

• learn how to increase their understanding of the ways in which early childhood language experiences can affect long-term outcomes for social cognition 

• build links between this understanding and the pathways to positively influence the social and emotional outcomes for DHH children.

Professor Gary Morgan is the Professor of Psychology at the City University of London, UK.  He is based at the School of Health Sciences and works in the field of language and communication sciences. 

Professor Morgan researches language acquisition and cognitive development in children. 

Professor Morgan published an influential study in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology with several colleagues, in particular Dr Ros Herman which explored language impairment in deaf children learning British Sign Language. 

At the Economic and Social Research Council-funded Deafness, Cognition and Language Research Centre, Professor Morgan directed several projects examining the relationship between language and cognitive development and most recently the  Executive Functions development of deaf children in hearing families.  

Download On-Demand Flyer

This On-Demand presentation is delivered in spoken English with captioning

Participants who successfully complete this On-Demand Presentation will receive a certificate noting 2 hours of professional learning.