Faculty Sponsor: Anna Shusterman
Nirvaan Mehta
Nirvaan is a rising junior (’27) from Hyderabad, India double majoring in Psychology and Economics with a Certificate in Applied Data Science doing research in the Shusterman Lab. On campus, Nirvaan is a part of the International Student Advisory Board, is an International Student Orientation Leader, and dances in KDC. In his free time he enjoys baking, drawing, and swimming.
Abstract: Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children without early access to a native language show number learning (numeracy) delays. But, DHH children with native sign language exposure do not see these delays. Previous studies have begun to narrow down the relationship between deafness and numeracy, and have found exposure to hearing (and therefore language) as well as language ability as significant pathways to explain the relationship between deafness and numeracy. Additionally, recent work has found Executive Functioning (EF) deficits in DHH children. Taking these findings into account, we hypothesized that EF could help explain the relationship between deafness and numeracy, potentially fitting somewhere in the pathway. Over the summer, using structural equation modeling to run mediation analyses, in an exploratory study, we aimed to understand and uncover this relationship. Our findings suggest that while EF does not directly mediate the relationship between language access and numeracy, it does have a relationship with language ability which in turn has a relationship with numeracy. These findings help understand the complex relationship between deafness, EF, and numeracy.
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