A study investigated whether differences in working memory could account for variance in word recognition and receptive vocabulary skills of children (ages 5-16) using oral communication (n=32) and total communication (n=29). A contribution from working memory was observed only for the span tasks that incorporated an auditory processing component.…

Two online tasks (an auditory same-different task and an auditory lexical decision task) examined the use of phonotactic information by 18 adults with cochlear implants. Cochlear implant patients with better word recognition abilities produced patterns of results similar to results obtained from listeners with normal hearing. (Contains…

An error analysis of the word recognition responses of 20 adult cochlear implant users and 19 typical listeners was conducted to determine the types of partial information used when they identified spoken words under auditory-alone and audiovisual conditions. Results indicate there were no significant interactions with hearing status. (Contains…

A study investigated perception of elliptical speech in an adult cochlear implant patient. Two experiments were conducted using sets of meaningful and anomalous English sentences: one set contained correct place of articulation cues, the other was transformed into elliptical speech. The patient and controls labeled the sentences as the same.…

A structured analysis of three basal readers written for grades 2-5 was conducted using the T-unit (any independent clause) as the primary unit of analysis. The number of T-units per 100 words, the number of words per T-unit, the number of clauses per T-unit, and the number of morphemes per T-unit (a new index of linguistic maturity) are reported.…

A study examined the global language growth rate of 40 children with hearing loss (hearing aid and cochlear implant users) who received intensive auditory-verbal intervention for 1-4 years. Results found these children essentially attained linguistic competency at levels commensurate with peers who had normal hearing. (Contains references.)…

The internal reliability and concurrent validity of the Play Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ) was compared to that of the Minnesota Child Development Inventory with 170 deaf or hard of hearing infants and toddlers. The PAQ was found to be a useful nonverbal tool that assesses symbolic play behaviors and demonstrates a parallel development with…

This study, with 180 deaf or hard of hearing infants and toddlers grouped into four age ranges, found highly significant interrelationships among the four categories of play and the four aspects of communicative development studied. The development of autosymbolic play, age of hearing loss identification, and symbolic object distribution accounted…

A language assessment procedure was used with spontaneous spoken and written language samples of 13 orally trained children with hearing loss in integrated classrooms in two Israeli elementary schools. Results revealed significant differences between spoken and written language samples of these children in various correct syntactic structures,…

A questionnaire on their child's musical involvement and appreciation was completed by parents of 65 children who use cochlear implants. Findings indicated many of these children were involved in some type of formal or informal musical activity and few accommodations were provided in formal music classes. Correlations between speech measures and…

This paper provides an overview of interdisciplinary assessment procedures and criteria for diagnosis of central auditory processing (CAP) disorders. It describes use of a CAP test battery consisting of four measures with results integrated with a comprehensive speech-language pathology assessment. Practical strategies for classroom utilization…

A study involving 113 children (ages 24-37 months) with hearing impairments found expressive vocabulary was related to the child's age, the age of identification of the child's hearing loss (before or after 6 months), the child's cognitive quotient, and the presence or absence of one or more additional disabilities. (Contains extensive…

A study involving eight toddlers (aged 22 months) with hearing loss found significant correlations between the children's receptive vocabulary sources and other subscales of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory, as well as other measures of language, aspects of nonverbal cognition, and an assessment of symbolic play skills. (Contains…

Data are presented from two studies that investigated short- and long-term outcomes of early identification and intervention for young children from birth to age 3. Results from the studies support the immediate and longer-term benefits of early entry into intervention for language, academic, and social-emotional development. (Contains extensive…

A survey of 388 early intervention programs for hearing impairments found the number of children in the first year of life who are enrolled is lower than those enrolled in their second and third years and that parent-centered intervention and child-centered intervention is offered in the majority of programs. (Contains references.) (CR)