No abstract

The findings regarding age reinforce the importance of early detection and intervention for children's positive quality of life with cochlear implants later in childhood.

This study explored the language skills of children with cochlear implants (CIs) compared to normal hearing (NH) peers. Standardized speech and language measures, including speech articulation, receptive and expressive vocabulary, syntax and morphology, and metalinguistics, were administered to 39 congenitally deaf children, ages 5 to 14, and a matched sample of NH children. Many CI children demonstrated age-appropriate scores on several language measures, yet their performance was significantly lower than NH peers. Results indicated that (a) age at implant predicted significant variance in receptive vocabulary and short-term auditory memory performance, and (b) duration of CI use predicted receptive syntax performance.

Extant literature suggests that EI makes a critical difference in the developmental course of communication as well as in other learning domains for children with a variety of established conditions. The literature also provides guidance to SLPs who must evaluate and weigh risk factors for children with less clear eligibility for services.

This study examined relationships between oral language and literacy in a two-year, multivariate design. Through empirical cluster analysis of a sample of 88 kindergarten children, four oral language subtypes were identified based on measures of semantics, syntax, metalinguistics, and oral narration. Validation efforts included (a) concurrent and predictive analyses of subtype differences on reading, spelling, and listening comprehension measures based on a priori hypotheses and (b) a comparison of the teacher classification of the children with the empirical classification. The subtypes represented high average, low average, high narrative, and low overall patterns of oral language skill. The high average subtype received the most consistent evidence for validation. The pattern of validation results indicates that the relationship between oral language and literacy is not uniform and suggests a modification of the assumption that oral language skills have a direct role in reading acquisition.