Consonant articulation accuracy in paediatric cochlear implant recipients

Area of Science:

• Speech-Language Pathology
• Audiology
• Pediatric Medicine

Background:

• Hearing loss significantly impacts children's spoken language development.
• Cochlear implants (CIs) offer auditory input for children with severe-to-profound hearing loss.
• Auditory-oral communication strategies are crucial for CI users' speech acquisition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze English consonant articulation errors in pediatric CI users utilizing auditory-oral communication.
• To identify specific phoneme error patterns and overall speech production accuracy.
• To compare CI users' articulation with typically developing children and those with unaided hearing loss.

Main Methods:

• Speech samples collected from 45 prelingually deafened pediatric CI users.
• Single-word picture elicitation task for standardized speech production.
• Audio recording, transcription using PRAAT, and calculation of Percentage Consonant Correct (PCC).

Main Results:

• Average PCC was 76.49%, indicating challenges with certain consonants.
• CI users demonstrated better production of fricatives and affricates than unaided peers.
• Unexpectedly lower accuracy was observed for the early-acquired nasal consonant /m/, with more place errors than /b/ or /p/.

Conclusions:

• Pediatric CI users show improved consonant accuracy, particularly for later-developing sounds.
• Specific phonemes, including early-acquired ones like /m/, require targeted intervention.
• Findings highlight the complex interplay of auditory input, developmental stage, and articulation in CI users.