Speech Intelligibility and Psychosocial Functioning in Deaf Children and Teens with Cochlear Implants

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Developmental Psychology
• Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

• Deaf children using cochlear implants (CIs) face risks for psychosocial adjustment challenges.
• Delayed speech-language skills may contribute to these difficulties.
• Speech intelligibility is a crucial aspect of spoken language ability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between speech intelligibility and psychosocial development in prelingually deaf children with CIs.
• To compare speech intelligibility and psychosocial functioning between CI users and typically hearing peers.
• To identify specific psychosocial domains influenced by speech intelligibility in different age groups of CI users.

Main Methods:

• Collected audio-transcription measures of speech intelligibility.
• Utilized parent reports for psychosocial behavior assessments.
• Examined two age groups: preschool and school-age/teen CI users.

Main Results:

• CI users in both age groups demonstrated lower speech intelligibility and poorer performance on several psychosocial scales compared to typically hearing peers.
• For preschool CI users, speech intelligibility correlated with functional communication, attention, atypicality, withdrawal, and adaptability.
• For school-age/teen CI users, speech intelligibility correlated with leadership, daily living activities, anxiety, and depression.

Conclusions:

• Speech intelligibility appears to be a significant factor in the psychosocial functioning of children and teens with CIs.
• Improved speech intelligibility may positively impact socialization, communication, and emotional adjustment in this population.
• Further research can explore interventions to enhance both speech and psychosocial outcomes for pediatric CI recipients.