Speech Intelligibility and Psychosocial Functioning in Deaf Children and Teens with Cochlear Implants

This study investigated associations between a core component of spoken-language ability—speech intelligibility—and the psychosocial development of prelingually deaf CI users. Audio-transcription measures of speech intelligibility and parent reports of psychosocial behaviors were obtained for two age groups (preschool, school-age/teen). CI users in both age groups scored more poorly than typically hearing peers on speech intelligibility and several psychosocial scales. Among preschool CI users, five scales were correlated with speech intelligibility: functional communic ation, attention problems, atypicality, withdrawal, and adaptability. These scales and four additional scales were correlated with speech intelligibility among school-age/teen CI users: leadership, activities of daily living, anxiety, and depression. Results suggest that speech intelligibility may b e an important contributing factor underlying several domains of psychosocial functioning in children and teens with CIs, particularly involving socialization, communication, and emotional adjustment.
Source: Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education - Category: Audiology Source Type: research