Language therapy outcomes in deaf children with cochlear implant using a new developed program: A pilot study

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Speech and Language Pathology
• Pediatric Audiology

Background:

• Children with cochlear implants (CI) often exhibit challenges in language development, particularly with grammar.
• Limited research exists on grammar treatment interventions for this population.
• CI technology offers potential for language acquisition, necessitating investigation into specific skill development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the efficacy of a structured grammar treatment program for children with cochlear implants.
• To develop and validate a comprehensive grammar treatment program tailored for CI users.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature review identified key grammatical components for program development.
• A manualized treatment program with age-classified sentences was created and validated using the Delphi method.
• Five children with CI participated in the grammar treatment, with assessments before and after using Persian Developmental Sentence Scoring (PDSS) and Mean Length of Utterance (MLU).

Main Results:

• The treatment program included five grammatical classes with 1936 validated sentences.
• Grammar treatment proved effective for all five participating children.
• Significant improvements in PDSS and MLU scores were observed, with sustained gains during follow-up, confirmed by Percentage of Non-overlapping Data (PND) and Improvement Rate Difference (IRD).

Conclusions:

• Cochlear implants support language learning, including grammatical skills.
• A comprehensive grammar treatment program can effectively enhance grammar in children with CI.
• Children with CI demonstrate the capacity to acquire and maintain grammatical structures through targeted intervention.