The aims of this study were to examine vocabulary scores of 5-year-old children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH), as well as the impact of early enrollment in specialized intervention on vocabulary outcomes. Receptive and expressive vocabulary scores were analyzed for 342 five-year-old children who are DHH enrolled in specialized listening and spoken language intervention programs. Regression analyses were utilized to examine the effects of age at enrollment on vocabulary outcomes. Overall, participants achieved scores within normal test limits on receptive and expressive measures of vocabulary. Children who enrolled in intervention prior to 28 months of age had better vocabulary skills at 5 years old. The findings support that children who are DHH can understand and produce vocabulary at skill levels commensurate with their typically hearing peers, regardless of severity of hearing loss. Results highlight the crucial impact of specialized programs on children’s lexical readiness to participate in general education settings by kindergarten.

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Purpose: The aims of this study were to explore expressive vocabulary growth rates of children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) during critical periods of brain development (birth to 3 years) as well as the factors that influence the trajectories of vocabulary growth in these early years of development. Of primary interest was the effect of intervention frequency on expressive vocabulary growth. Method: Hierarchical linear modeling was used to investigate trajectories of expressive vocabulary growth using multiple measures of longitudinal vocabulary scores. A total of 417 assessments across 105 participants were analyzed to determine the average rate of lexical growth in a young population of children who are DHH receiving early intervention before age 3 years. Expected growth trajectories were constructed based on varying frequencies of intervention during critical periods of brain development. Results: Results indicated average growth rates of 5.21 new words expressed per week. Increased intervention hours prior to age 3 years was significantly associated with higher degrees of expressive vocabulary growth. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that greater intervention hours received before age 3 years are associated with higher degrees of expressive vocabulary growth for children who are DHH.

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Objectives: The current study investigates acculturation in a group of teenagers and young adults who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) and who were raised in an age of early identification, early intervention, advanced audiologic technology, and inclusive education. Design: The Deaf Acculturation Scale (Maxwell-McCaw & Zea 2011) was administered via online survey to 106 teenagers and young adults (mean ages = 16.87 and 24.65 years, respectively). All participants were alumni of an early childhood program for children who are DHH in the United States learning listening and spoken language skills. Results: The majority of the participants scored as hearing acculturated (79%), with 1% scoring as deaf acculturated, and 20% as bicultural. Teenagers and adults did not differ significantly on acculturation. Participants who identified as hearing acculturated were less likely to use sign language with their friends, at work, or with their families than those who identified as bicultural. Conclusions: These results are in contrast to acculturation patterns reported in other populations of young DHH adults, indicating the need to continue investigating the diversity in cultural values, beliefs, and practices of people who are DHH.