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Systematic Hearing Performance Evaluation Process for Adolescents with Cochlear Implantation at Early Ages
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Word fluency performance and strategies in children with cochlear implants: age-dependent effects?
Ulrika Löfkvist1, Ove Almkvist, Björn Lyxell
1Department of Speech and Language Pathology, Cochlear Implant Section, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. ulrika.lofkvist@ki.se
Scandinavian Journal of Psychology
|October 3, 2012
Summary
Children with cochlear implants (CI) aged 8-9 years showed lower word fluency and less efficient retrieval strategies than normally hearing peers, particularly in phonemic tasks. Younger CI users (6-7 years) performed similarly to controls.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Speech and Hearing Sciences
Background:
- Word fluency is crucial for language development and cognitive function.
- Cochlear implants (CI) aim to restore hearing in deaf individuals, but their impact on cognitive skills like word retrieval requires further investigation.
- Age-related differences in cognitive abilities are well-documented, but less is known about how these interact with hearing status and CI use.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare word retrieval abilities in phonemic (FAS letter fluency) and semantic (animal fluency) tasks between deaf children with cochlear implants (CI) and normally hearing (NH) children.
- To examine differences in word retrieval strategies, specifically clustering and switching, between the two groups.
- To investigate the influence of age on word fluency and retrieval strategies in children with and without CI.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 73 Swedish children aged 6-9 years was studied, divided into two age groups (6-7 and 8-9 years).
- Participants included 34 deaf children with CI and 39 age-matched children with normal hearing (NH).
- Word fluency was assessed using phonemic (FAS letter fluency) and semantic (animal fluency) tasks, with analysis of clustering and switching strategies.
Main Results:
- Age was a significant factor influencing word fluency in both CI and NH groups.
- Older children (8-9 years) with CI retrieved fewer words and employed less efficient strategies than their NH peers, especially in the phonemic task.
- Younger children (6-7 years) with CI and NH performed similarly in terms of word retrieval quantity and strategy use.
Conclusions:
- Performance on word fluency tasks, particularly phonemic fluency, is affected by age in children with CI.
- While younger CI users show comparable performance to NH peers, older CI users may face greater challenges in word retrieval and strategy efficiency.
- These findings highlight the importance of considering age and task type when evaluating cognitive development in children with CI.
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