Speech Perception in Congenitally Deaf Children Receiving Cochlear Implants in the First Year of Life

We discuss the development of speech perception and its contribution to the acquisition of the native language(s) during the first year of life, reviewing recent empirical evidence as well as current theoretical debates. We situate the discussion in an epigenetic framework in an attempt to transcend the traditional nature/nurture controversy. As we illustrate, some perceptual and learning mechanisms are best described as experience-expectant processes, embedded in our biology and awaiting minimal environmental input, while others are experience-dependent, emerging as a function of sufficient exposure and learning. We argue for a cascading model of development, whereby the initial biases guide learning and constrain the influence of the environmental input. To illustrate this, we first review the perceptual abilities of newborn infants, then discuss how these broad-based abilities are attuned to the native language at different levels (phonology, syntax, lexicon etc.).

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Comparison of Sensory Aids in Deaf Children

Annals of Otology Rhinology & Laryngology ◽

10.1177/00034894890980s801 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 98 (8_suppl) ◽

pp. 2-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Richard T. Miyamoto ◽

Mary Joe Osberger ◽

Wendy A. Myres ◽

Amy J. Robbins ◽

Kathy Kessler ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Speech Perception ◽

Cochlear Implant ◽

Cochlear Implants ◽

Channel Coding ◽

Single Channel ◽

Deaf Children ◽

Implant Design ◽

Detection Level ◽

Coding Scheme ◽

Auditory Speech

A speech perception hierarchy has been developed and applied to assess the influence of cochlear implants and tactile aids on the acquisition of auditory, speech, and language skills in deaf children. Encouraging improvements were noted with both types of sensory aids at the detection level. The House 3M and Nucleus cochlear implant designs appear to offer advantages over the Tactaid II in providing ancillary speech perception cues to deaf children. Preliminary observations suggest that the multichannel cochlear implant design may be superior to the single-channel coding scheme.

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Vocal Development in Young Children With Cochlear Implants

Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools ◽

10.1044/0161-1461(2002/016) ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 33 (3) ◽

pp. 184-195 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

David J. Ertmer ◽

Nancy Young ◽

Kristine Grohne ◽

Jennifer A. Mellon ◽

Claire Johnson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cochlear Implants ◽

Speech Development ◽

Intervention Strategies ◽

Deaf Children ◽

First Year ◽

Clinical Implications ◽

Rapid Progress ◽

Vocal Development ◽

Before And After ◽

Specialized Intervention

Purpose: This article describes prelinguistic vocal development in 2 prelingually deaf children who received multichannel cochlear implants at 10 and 28 months of age, respectively. Methods: Vocalizations were recorded in half-hour mother- child interactions before and after implantation and then classified into three levels of development: precanonical, canonical, and postcanonical. Results: One child made rapid progress in vocal development after her implant was activated. The other child showed slower progress with continued dominance of precanonical vocalizations throughout the first year of implant experience. Increases in vowel, diphthong, and consonant diversity; the establishment of canonical vocalizations; and the emergence of postcanonical forms were found to be indicators of progress in vocal development. Clinical Implications: Observed differences in the rate and completeness of vocal development between the 2 children suggest that some young implant recipients may need specialized intervention strategies to stimulate speech development. The rationale and procedures for implementing Short Periods of Prelinguistic Input (SPPI), a potentially useful approach for stimulating vocal development, are presented.

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