Complex Language Use in Children With Hearing Loss: A Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Developmental Psychology
• Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

• Understanding complex syntax in children with hearing loss (CHL) is crucial for targeted educational and therapeutic support.
• Identifying specific syntactic challenges faced by CHL informs the development of effective interventions.
• This review focuses on CHL who use spoken language.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review of the existing literature on the complex syntax use of CHL.
• To identify current knowledge regarding the complex syntactic structures and skills of CHL.
• To uncover gaps in the literature to guide future research directions.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review was performed adhering to the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines.
• Covidence software was used for managing the study selection process.
• The review included 42 studies out of an initial 304 identified.

Main Results:

• The reviewed literature predominantly uses broad language assessments.
• There is a limited specific description of the types of complex syntactic structures and skills in CHL.
• School-aged CHL consistently demonstrate difficulties in complex syntax development.

Conclusions:

• There is a need for improved assessment protocols and analysis methods to accurately describe complex syntax profiles in CHL.
• Further research is essential to understand the strengths and vulnerabilities of CHL in complex syntax.
• Investigating how CHL combine ideas and build linguistic complexity is vital for educational and intervention strategies.