Early Speech Development in Romanian Children with Cochlear Implants Assessed Using the LittlEARS^® Early Speech...

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Pediatric Speech-Language Pathology
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Assessing language development in pediatric cochlear implant (CI) users is crucial for effective rehabilitation.
• Existing tools may not fully capture the nuances of early linguistic progress in this population.
• The Romanian version of the Early Language and Speech Production Questionnaire (LEESPQ) requires validation in CI users.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the validity, clinical applicability, and developmental sensitivity of the Romanian LEESPQ in children with cochlear implants (CIs).
• To analyze the LEESPQ's association with key clinical variables: age at implantation, duration of auditory experience, and implantation laterality.
• To compare the developmental trajectory of CI users with normal-hearing (NH) children.

Main Methods:

• The study assessed the validity, reliability, and clinical sensitivity of the LEESPQ in 47 pediatric CI users (ages 9 months to 5 years).
• Associations between LEESPQ scores and implantation laterality (unilateral/bilateral), age at device activation, and duration of implant use were investigated.
• Responses were analyzed against clinical variables and normative data from NH children.

Main Results:

• The LEESPQ proved to be a reliable and clinically valuable instrument for monitoring post-implant linguistic progress.
• Scores were significantly influenced by age at implantation and duration of auditory experience.
• The questionnaire provided insights into early auditory access, family linguistic environment, and verbal production development.

Conclusions:

• The LEESPQ demonstrates strong clinical utility as a sensitive tool for monitoring early preverbal and verbal development in children with CIs.
• It offers meaningful insights into early post-implant outcomes by capturing score variations related to clinical factors.
• The LEESPQ supports individualized rehabilitation planning and early outcome assessment in pediatric CI users.