Prelinguistic communication and subsequent language acquisition in children with cochlear implants
Mary O'Leary Kane1, Betty Schopmeyer, Nancy K Mellon
1River School, Washington, DC, USA. molearykane@riverschool.net
Archives of Otolaryngology--Head & Neck Surgery
|May 19, 2004
Summary
Prelinguistic communication skills in deaf children show a weak link to later language development after cochlear implantation. Early communication assessments may offer insights but aren't fully predictive.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric audiology
- Developmental psychology
- Speech-language pathology
Background:
- Assessing language potential in prelingually deaf children before cochlear implantation is challenging.
- Predictive tools for language development in this population are needed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the correlation between prelinguistic communication behaviors and subsequent language development in deaf children post-cochlear implantation.
- To evaluate the predictive validity of the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales (CSBS) for language outcomes.
Main Methods:
- A prospective study involving 18 prelingually deaf children who received unilateral cochlear implants.
- Preoperative CSBS assessments were correlated with Reynell Developmental Language Scales (RDLS) scores obtained post-implantation.
Main Results:
- A positive but weak correlation was observed between prelinguistic communication skills (CSBS) and language development (RDLS) after cochlear implantation.
- Statistical significance was not reached for receptive (P=.17) or expressive (P=.13) language comparisons.
Conclusions:
- Prelinguistic communication evaluation, particularly using the CSBS, may offer valuable predictive information for cochlear implant candidates.
- While necessary, early symbolic prelinguistic behaviors are not sufficient for robust language development.
- Challenges remain in developing objective measures for predicting language outcomes in very young deaf children.
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