Early Hearing Detection and Vocabulary of Children With Hearing Loss
Christine Yoshinaga-Itano1, Allison L Sedey2,3, Mallene Wiggin2
1Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado; christie.yoshi@colorado.edu.
Insights
Children who met Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) guidelines showed better vocabulary skills. Factors like age, disability status, hearing loss severity, parental hearing status, and maternal education also impacted language development.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric audiology
- Developmental psychology
- Public health
Background:
- No prior studies evaluated vocabulary outcomes for children meeting all Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) 1-3-6 guidelines.
- The EHDI 1-3-6 guidelines recommend hearing screening by 1 month, diagnosis by 3 months, and intervention by 6 months of age.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the impact of the EHDI 1-3-6 policy on vocabulary outcomes in a large cohort of children.
- To confirm the influence of demographic variables on language development.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of 448 children with bilateral hearing loss (8-39 months old).
- Data collected from children across 12 states participating in the National Early Childhood Assessment Project.
Main Results:
- Meeting EHDI guidelines was associated with significantly higher vocabulary quotients.
- Other factors positively influencing vocabulary included younger age, absence of additional disabilities, mild-to-moderate hearing loss, having deaf or hard-of-hearing parents, and higher maternal education levels.
- Six factors collectively explained 41% of the variance in vocabulary outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Improving adherence to EHDI guidelines may enhance vocabulary development.
- Intervention strategies should address age-related delays, support mothers with lower education levels, and involve deaf/hard-of-hearing adults in the intervention process.
Background And Objectives:
To date, no studies have examined vocabulary outcomes of children meeting all 3 components of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) guidelines (hearing screening by 1 month, diagnosis of hearing loss by 3 months, and intervention by 6 months of age). The primary purpose of the current study was to examine the impact of the current EHDI 1-3-6 policy on vocabulary outcomes across a wide geographic area. A secondary goal was to confirm the impact of other demographic variables previously reported to be related to language outcomes.
Methods:
This was a cross-sectional study of 448 children with bilateral hearing loss between 8 and 39 months of age (mean = 25.3 months, SD = 7.5 months). The children lived in 12 different states and were participating in the National Early Childhood Assessment Project.
Results:
The combination of 6 factors in a regression analysis accounted for 41% of the variance in vocabulary outcomes. Vocabulary quotients were significantly higher for children who met the EHDI guidelines, were younger, had no additional disabilities, had mild to moderate hearing loss, had parents who were deaf or hard of hearing, and had mothers with higher levels of education.
Conclusions:
Vocabulary learning may be enhanced with system improvements that increase the number of children meeting the current early identification and intervention guidelines. In addition, intervention efforts need to focus on preventing widening delays with chronological age, assisting mothers with lower levels of education, and incorporating adults who are deaf/hard-of-hearing in the intervention process.
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