Predictors of phonological change in deaf and hard of hearing children who use cochlear implants or hearing aids

• Objective: The purpose of the present study was to examine cognitive abilities (i.e., working memory (WM), lexical access, phonological processing skills (PhPS), and letter knowledge) in deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) children in relation to a reference group with normal hearing (NH) children pre intervention with a computer-assisted program that focused on phonological coding. A more specific purpose was to explore how cognitive abilities were associated to PhPS pre intervention and to phonological change post intervention in D/HH children in general, and specifically in D/HH children with weak initial PhPS.Methods: Participants were thirty-two children using cochlear implants or hearing aids, or both in combination, and sixteen children with NH 5, 6 and 7 years of age. Children practiced with phonological coding 10 min per day for 4 weeks with support by their parents. Cognitive abilities were examined pre and post intervention.Results: NH and D/HH children displayed a similar performance level on the majority of cognitive tasks, but the D/HH children demonstrated weaker lexical access and PhPS. A significant correlation between complex WM and PhPS pre intervention was only observed in D/HH children. Weak initial performance on one phonological processing task capturing both lower level and higher level auditory processing was the main significant predictor of phonological change in all D/HH children. In D/HH children with weak initial PhPS letter naming was associated with phonological change.Conclusions: The associations between complex working memory and PhPS in D/HH children and the lack of such associations in children with NH may indicate that phonological processing skills require more cognitive resources in the D/HH children. Letter knowledge can act as a driving force for phonological change following intervention in D/HH children with weak PhPS.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Annan hälsovetenskap (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Other Health Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Deaf and hard of hearing

children

cochlear implants

hearing aids

phonological change

cognitive abilities

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vet (ämneskategori)

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