A study of 41 toddlers (ages 18-25 months) with hearing impairments and their hearing mothers and 54 typical toddlers and their hearing mothers, investigated whether the development of a normal mother-child relationship is disrupted by the inability of the child to understand his/her mother's normal means of communication. The study also explored what aspects of the mother-child relationship related to subsequent language and socio-emotional development. A majority of the dyads were reassessed when the children were 3 years old and again assessed when the children were 4 years old. Findings indicate: (1) toddlers with hearing impairments and their mothers miscommunicated much more frequently; (2) toddlers with hearing impairments frequently did not respond to their mothers' communication because they did not seem to hear or see it; (3) toddlers with hearing impairments and their mothers spent less time interacting; (4) toddlers with hearing impairments used more visual and little verbal communication and were more likely to start a new topic rather than continue one; and (5) despite their communicative difficulties and their delayed language development, toddlers with hearing impairments were as likely to establish a positive, reciprocal, secure relationship with their mothers as were typical toddlers. Appendix A contains the coding manuals for the project, including "Microanalysis of Communication between Mother and Child" (Amy R. Lederberg and others); "Interaction Coding Manual: Mother-Child Interaction" (Amy R. Lederberg); and "Quality of Mother-Child Interaction" (Amy R. Lederberg and others); and a reprint of an article, "The Effect of Hearing Impairment on the Quality of Attachment and Mother-Toddler Interaction," by Amy R. Lederberg and Caryl E. Mobley. (Contains 43 references.) (CR)