Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research Vol.55 382-394 April 2012. doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2011/10-0248)
© American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
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Article

Cochlear Implant in the Second Year of Life: Lexical and Grammatical Outcomes

Maria Cristina Casellia
Pasquale Rinaldia
Cristiana Varuzzab,,c
Anna Giulianid
Sandro Burdod
a Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie della Cognizione, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Rome, Italy
b Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy
c Libera Università Maria Ss. Assunta, Rome, Italy
d Servizio di Audiovestibologia, Ospedale di Circolo Fondazione Macchi, Varese, Italy

Corresponding to Maria Cristina Caselli: cristina.caselli{at}istc.cnr.it

Purpose: The authors studied the effect of the cochlear implant (CI) on language comprehension and production in deaf children who had received a CI in the 2nd year of life.

Method: The authors evaluated lexical and morphosyntactic skills in comprehension and production in 17 Italian children who are deaf (M = 54 months of age) with a CI and in 2 control groups of children with normal hearing (NH; 1 matched for chronological age and the other whose chronological age corresponded to the duration of CI activation). The authors also compared children with unilateral CI to children with bilateral CI.

Results: Children with CI appeared to keep pace with NH children matched for time since CI activation in terms of language acquisition, and they were similar to same-age NH children in lexical production. However, children with CI showed difficulties in lexical comprehension when a task required phonological discrimination as well as in grammar comprehension and production. Children with bilateral CI showed better comprehension than did children with unilateral CI; the 2 groups were similar for production.

Conclusions: Activation of CI in the 2nd year of life may provide children who are deaf with a good opportunity to develop language skills, although some limitations in phonological and morphological skills are still present 3 years after auditory reafferentation.

KEY WORDS: unilateral and bilateral cochlear implants, Italian deaf preschoolers, lexical, grammar, comprehension and production


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