Related Experiment Videos
Hearing Status, Language Modality, and Young Children's Communicative and Linguistic Behavior
Johanna G. Nicholas1, Ann E. Geers
1The authors are at the Center for Applied Research in Childhood Deafness at Central Institute for the Deaf. This study was supported by Grant No. DC01259Center for Applied Studies of Childhood Deafness and Adult Aural Rehabilitation, Central Institute for the Deaf, 4560 Clayton Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110. jnicholas@cid.wustl.edu
Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education
|September 28, 2004
Summary
Children with hearing loss in simultaneous communication (SC) programs showed earlier word use and more mature communicative functions than those in oral communication (OC) programs, though both groups lagged behind normally hearing peers.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Linguistics
- Audiology
Background:
- Early language development in children with hearing loss is crucial.
- Simultaneous Communication (SC) and Oral Communication (OC) are two primary approaches for language acquisition in deaf children.
- Understanding pragmatic skill development informs early intervention strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare early pragmatic skill development in deaf children using SC versus OC approaches.
- To assess the impact of communication modality on language acquisition in children with severe to profound hearing loss.
- To establish benchmarks for language development in deaf children against normally hearing peers.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 30-minute play sessions between 38 children (1-4 years) with severe/profound hearing loss and their primary caregivers.
- Children were enrolled in either SC or OC language programs.
- Comparison with published data from age-matched deaf children in OC programs and normally hearing children.
Main Results:
- All groups demonstrated age-related improvements in communicative behaviors.
- By age 3, all groups showed distinct patterns of communicative function use.
- Deaf children in SC and OC programs exhibited similar patterns, resembling younger normally hearing children but differing from same-aged normally hearing peers.
- SC children used words earlier and employed mature communicative functions more frequently than OC children.
- OC children demonstrated a broader spoken vocabulary in conversation.
Conclusions:
- While SC did not fully overcome hearing loss effects, it offered early advantages in word use and functional communication.
- Neither SC nor OC fully matched normally hearing children's language development trajectory.
- Findings suggest nuanced benefits for each communication approach, impacting early intervention planning for deaf children.