The prelexical development in children implanted by 16 months compared with normal hearing children

Area of Science:

• Speech-Language Pathology
• Audiology
• Pediatric Medicine

Background:

• Limited research exists on early speech development in German-speaking children, particularly those with cochlear implants.
• Early cochlear implantation is crucial for auditory and speech development in deaf children.

Purpose of the Study:

• To document pre-canonical and canonical speech development in German-speaking deaf children receiving cochlear implants by 16 months.
• To compare the speech development of these children with their normally hearing German-speaking peers.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal study involving 5 deaf children (cochlear implant users) and 5 normally hearing children.
• Video and audio recordings of vocalizations analyzed using the EUDICO Linguistic Annotator and International Phonetic Alphabet transcription.
• Recordings were conducted every 4 weeks over one year, starting shortly after implantation for the cochlear implant group.

Main Results:

• Both groups exhibited individual babbling acquisition patterns, but consonant manner and place acquisition sequences were similar.
• Deaf children with cochlear implants achieved canonical babbling 0-4 months post-implantation, while normally hearing children achieved it between 4-9 months.
• Fricatives and laterals were acquired later in both groups, following initial plosives or nasals.

Conclusions:

• Early cochlear implantation (by 16 months) enables deaf children to reach the canonical babbling milestone faster than typically developing peers.
• Consonant phoneme acquisition sequences are comparable between early-implanted deaf children and their hearing peers.
• These findings underscore the critical role of early identification and intervention in facilitating developmental catch-up for children with cochlear implants.