Visual-motor integration skills of prelingually deaf children: implications for pediatric cochlear implantation

To investigate visual-motor integration (VI) skills of prelingually deaf (PLD) children before and after cochlear implantation (CI) and investigate correlations with spoken-language and related processing measures.

Study 1 was a longitudinal study in which VI was tested preimplant. Study 2 was a cross sectional study of school-age children who used a CI for >2 years.

In study 1, a standardized design-copying task was administered preimplant, and spoken-language data were obtained at intervals up to 4 years postimplantation. Analyses were conducted to determine if preimplant VI scores were predictive of various spoken-language measures. In study 2, standardized design copying and speeded maze tracing tasks were administered along with speech perception, vocabulary, and related processing measures.

Whereas preimplant VI scores for children in study 1 fell within the typical range based on age-equivalent norms, postimplant VI standard scores in study 2 were low compared to the normative sample. Postimplant VI scores were inversely related to age at implantation. Preimplant VI scores were robustly predictive of most, but not all, spoken-language outcome scores. Postimplant design copying scores were also correlated with spoken-language and related processing measures whereas maze-tracing scores were less robustly related to these measures.

Early auditory and linguistic experience may impact the development of VI skills. VI is a preimplant predictor of later spoken language outcomes. Design copying and speeded maze tracing tasks appear to tap different sets of cognitive resources in PLD children with CIs.