[Suprasegmental speech in prelingual hearing-impaired children with cochlear implants, hearing-impaired children...

A review of the relevant literature indicates a lack of knowledge regarding suprasegmental speech characteristics in prelingual hearing impaired children with cochlear implants. This study is aimed at examining certain suprasegmental features in the speech of prelingual hearing impaired children with cochlear implants by perceptual ratings and acoustic analyses, comparing these results to that of prelingual hearing impaired children without implants, and normal hearing children of the same age. Twelve Afrikaansspeaking children between the ages of six and ten years were included in three groups. An integrated view of the perceptual and acoustic results shows that the cochlear implanted children's suprasegmental speech characteristics bear closer resemblance to those of the normal hearing group than those of the hearing impaired group.