Vocabulary Development and the Shape Bias in Children With Hearing Loss

Abstract

Purpose Although children with hearing loss (HL) can benefit from cochlear implants (CIs) and hearing aids (HAs), they often show language delays. Moreover, little is known about the mechanisms by which children with HL learn words. One mechanism by which typically hearing (TH) children learn words is by acquiring word learning biases such as the “shape bias,” that is, generalizing the names of novel solid objects by similarity in shape. In TH children, the shape bias emerges out of regularities in the early vocabulary and, once acquired, has consequences for subsequent vocabulary development. Method Here, we ask whether children with HL exhibit similar word learning biases as TH children. In the current study, nineteen 2- to 3.5-year-old children with HL generalized the names of novel objects by similarity in shape or material. We compared their performance to that of 20 TH children matched on age and 20 TH children matched on vocabulary size. Results Children with HL were significantly less likely than age-matched TH children and vocabulary-matched TH children to generalize novel names to objects of the same shape. However, there was also an interaction such that vocabulary has a stronger effect on novel noun generalization for those with HL than for those who are TH. Exploratory analyses of children with HL reveal similar novel noun generalization and vocabulary sizes in children who use CIs and those who use HAs, regardless of hearing age or degree of HL. Conclusion Together, the results suggest that, although vocabulary knowledge drives development of the shape bias in general for all children, it may be especially important for children with HL, who are at risk for language delays.

Effects of Integrating Different Types of Physical Activity Into Virtual Rapid Word Learning Instruction for Children Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing

“…(2020), is more beneficial to children who are neurodiverse than physical activity that depicts an appearance feature. This hypothesis may be consistent with recent work evaluating the shape bias in children who are DHH: children who are DHH may be less likely to extend novel words to objects of the same shape than children with TH (Perry et al., 2021). Additionally, the impact of yoga on academic performance may be more general, increasing attention and decreasing stress, rather than impart a specific benefit to a particular learning task.…”

Margarita glasses and high heels: How attention to shape, age, and vocabulary impacts children's recognition of typical and atypical exemplars

“…These findings also have particular implications for understanding children with disabilities. For instance, generalization is particularly difficult for children with autism (Tek et al, 2008), late talkers (Jones, 2003; Perry & Kucker, 2019), d/Deaf children (Perry et al, 2021), and children with Developmental Language Disorder (Collisson et al, 2015). In many of these cases, disruptions in either visual object recognition (Collisson et al, 2015; Jones & Smith, 2005; Walker & McGregor, 2013) or weak vocabulary structure (Beckage et al, 2011; Perry & Kucker, 2019) is thought responsible, which then has cascading implications for language development.…”

Late bloomer or language disorder? Differences in toddler vocabulary composition associated with long‐term language outcomes

“…Differences in word learning biases and vocabulary composition among late talkers A growing body of evidence suggests that children with language delays, including late talkers (Colunga & Sims, 2017;Jones, 2003;Perry & Kucker, 2019), older children with language impairment (Collisson et al, 2014), and children with other delays related to hearing loss (Perry et al, 2021) or autism spectrum disorder (Potrzeba et al, 2015;Tek et al, 2008) do not show a shape bias at the same age as their typically developing peers. In fact, late talkers have particular difficulty selectively attending to the shape of objects.…”