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Development of speech perception and production in children with cochlear implants
Liat Kishon-Rabin1, Riki Taitelbaum, Chava Muchnik
1Department of Communication Disorders, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Israel. lrabin@post.tau.ac.il
Summary
Children with cochlear implants develop speech perception and production skills similarly to hearing peers, with vowels mastered early and voicing challenges persisting initially. This highlights the impact of cochlear implants on phonological development.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Speech-Language Pathology
- Developmental Pediatrics
Background:
- Children with cochlear implants (CIs) face challenges in developing speech perception and production due to early auditory deprivation.
- Understanding the developmental trajectory of phonological contrasts in CI users is crucial for intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the hierarchy of perceived and produced speech pattern contrasts in children with CIs.
- To compare this hierarchy with developmental data from children with normal hearing.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Hebrew Speech Pattern Contrast (HeSPAC) and Hebrew Picture Speech Pattern Contrast (HePiSPAC) tests.
- Assessed 35 prelingual children with multichannel CIs, comparing results to normal-hearing children's data.
Main Results:
- CI users' auditory speech perception reached an asymptote around 76% between 4-6 years post-implantation.
- Vowel perception was strong initially; initial voicing perception improved significantly after 2-3 years.
- Phonetic feature production hierarchy mirrored perception: vowels first, voicing last.
Conclusions:
- The hierarchy of speech pattern contrast perception and production in CI users is similar to normal-hearing children, with a notable exception for vowels.
- Findings contribute to understanding phonological development in children with CIs and the interplay between perception and production.