Language difficulties experienced by some children using a CI seem to be additional to those produced by their deafness and may reflect the same, predominantly inherited basis as specific language impairment.

Language tests, including the CCC-2, could identify communication difficulties in children using CIs, leading to prompt identification, informed intervention strategies, and managed expectations. Evidence from their siblings suggests that these difficulties may not all be determined by their deafness or device characteristics but through the same heritable and environmental factors that influence language development in all children.

No abstract