Catch me if you can! A study on the nature of physical play of children with hearing loss and their parents and its impact on social-emotional and motor development.

Catch me if you can!  A study on the nature of physical play of children with hearing loss and their parents and its impact on social-emotional and motor development.

Physical play, such as rough-and-tumble play, between parents and children is fun and beneficial for child motor and social-emotional development. This is of special interest for children with hearing loss (HL) because they experience more difficulties in gross motor skills and in interactions with peers. Parents of children with HL might be hampered in physical interaction, because of concerns that the hearing equipment might get damaged, but this has not been examined yet. This study aims to examine physical play of fathers and mothers with children with HL and its relation to motor and social-emotional functioning. The outcomes of the study will provide recommendations for early intervention and parents on physical play with children with HL. This will help parents build confidence acquiring new physical interaction skills or building on existing skills that are adapted to the needs of children with HL. Eventually this will promote children's motor and social-emotional development.