Early Intervention, Parent Talk, and Pragmatic Language in Children With Hearing Loss

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Pragmatic language skills form the foundation for conversational competence, whereas deficits in this area are associated with behavioral problems and low literacy skills. Children who are deaf or hard of hearing demonstrate significant delays in this critical area of language. Our purpose with this research was to identify variables associated with pragmatic language ability in children who are deaf or hard of hearing. METHODS: This was a longitudinal study of 124 children with bilateral hearing loss between 4 and 7 years of age living in Colorado. As part of a comprehensive speech and language assessment, pragmatic language skills were evaluated annually by using the Pragmatics Checklist. RESULTS: The children's pragmatic skills increased significantly with age. Higher levels of pragmatic language ability at 7 years of age were predicted by (1) meeting Early Hearing Detection and Intervention 1-3-6 guidelines (hearing screening by 1 month, identification of hearing loss by 3 months, and receiving intervention by 6 months of age), (2) greater quantity of parent talk, (3) higher nonverbal intelligence, (4) lesser degrees of hearing loss, and (5) higher maternal education. CONCLUSIONS: With the findings of this study, we underscore the importance of pediatricians and other health care professionals counseling parents about the value of adherence to the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention 1-3-6 guidelines with regard to intervention outcomes. The strong association between amount of child-directed parent talk in the first 4 years of life and pragmatic language outcomes at 7 years of age emphasizes the need for professionals to encourage parents to talk to their children as much as possible.

Understanding the Impact of Child, Intervention, and Family Factors on Developmental Trajectories of Children with Hearing Loss at Preschool Age: Design of the AChild Study

“…In this study children within the target age range from 0 to 5 1 2 years are recruited across the duration of the study. Data is gathered at six child ages (9,18,27,36,48, and 66 months and at baseline (at enrolment in family centered early intervention (FCEI)). Thus, depending on the age a child enters the study, there are at least 1 and at a maximum seven measurement points for a child (i.e., a child that enters the study in the first study year at the age of nine months will ideally participate in all seven measurement points, and a 9-month-old child who enters the study in the second year will participate in six measurement points).…”

Family-Centered Early Intervention (FCEI) Involving Fathers and Mothers of Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: Parental Involvement and Self-Efficacy

“…Both fathers and mothers felt supported by their primary EI provider in promoting their child's language and social-emotional development; indeed, these are areas in which FCEI has been shown to be effective in a variety of studies [1,44,57,58]. Both fathers and mothers indicated that they felt supported by their primary EI provider and gained knowledge that assisted in dealing with their child being DHH in daily situations.…”

Communication That Leads to Successful Social Inclusion For Children With Hearing Loss: Are Excellent Speech and Language Skills Sufficient?

“…In order to optimise social interactions and indeed impact on multiple positive life outcomes, Yoshinaga-Itano, Sedey, Mason, Wiggin, and Chung's (2020) research indicates the need to expand the 1-3-6 criteria for best practice for children with HL. The inclusion of a greater quantity of parent talk particularly within the preschool years is proposed.…”