Psychology of Exceptional Individuals

The Effectiveness of Group Play Therapy on Emotion Recognition and Communication Skills in Children with Hearing Impairment

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Shahnaz Hashemi Maleksh 1
Somayeh Mohammadi kashka 2
Mahsa Razmi 3
gholam reza sheykhzadeh 4

1 Ph.D Department of Psychology and Education of Exceptional Children, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

2 M.A. in Psychology and Education of Exceptional Children, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, university of Guilan, Rasht, Iran

3 M.A. in Psychology and Education of Exceptional Children, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran.

4 M.A. Department of Psychology, Ardabil Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ardabil, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22054/jpe.2026.91742.2923
Abstract
Hearing impairment is one of the most prevalent sensory disabilities in children and has widespread effects on their cognitive, emotional, social, and language development. Given the high prevalence and long-term impact of this condition on quality of life, identifying and implementing effective interventions in this field is of great importance. Accordingly, the present study aimed to examine the effectiveness of group play therapy on emotion recognition and communication skills in children with hearing impairment. This applied study employed a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest control group design. The study population consisted of students with hearing impairment in Ardabil City during the 2025–2026 academic year, from whom 30 children aged 10 to 14 years were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups (15 participants in each group). The research instruments included the Ekman and Friesen Facial Emotion Recognition Questionnaire (1976) and the Matson Social Skills Scale (1983). The experimental group participated in ten sessions of group play therapy, held once a week for 60 minutes, while the control group received no intervention. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). The results indicated that group play therapy significantly improved emotion recognition and communication skills in children with hearing impairment (P < 0.01). Therefore, group play therapy can be considered an effective therapeutic approach for promoting mental health and enhancing emotional and communication skills in these children.

Keywords

Hearing impairment
Play therapy
Emotion recognition
Communication skills
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Psychology of Exceptional Individuals
Volume 16, Issue 61
Winter 2026
Pages 116-142

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