Comparison of Reading Speed and Comprehension in Cochlear Implanted Students and Healthy Students in the First Grade of Primary School

Document Type : Original Articles

Authors

1 Mehr Speech Therapy Center, Isfahan, Iran

2 Exceptional Education Organization, Isfahan, Iran

10.22122/jrrs.v12i4.2684

Abstract

Introduction: Hearing is the most important sense for the natural development of speech and language; therefore, deaf individuals more commonly show signs of communication disabilities. Since reading skills depend on natural development of speech and language in childhood, reading impairments are prevalent in deaf people. Cochlear implantation, through providing auditory input and improving speech and language abilities, can improve reading prerequisites and reduce reading problems. This research aimed to compare reading speed and comprehension between cochlear implanted and healthy students in the first grade of primary school.Materials and Methods: The average of text reading speed and percentage of reading comprehension responses was calculated in 11 cochlear implanted children and compared with that of 11 healthy students through statistical methods.Results: The independent t-test showed significant differences between cochlear implanted and healthy students in terms of reading speed and percentage of reading comprehension responses (P < 0.001, α = 0.05).Conclusion: The results indicated that cochlear implanted children had problems in reading fluency and speed and comprehension of written texts since the first grade of elementary school in comparison with their healthy peers. These problems seem to be rooted in language deficits. However, many individual differences were observed among these children.

Keywords

  1. Niparko JK. Cochlear implants: Principles and practices. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; 2009. p. 263-7.
  2. Paul PV. Language and deafness. 4th ed. Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning; 2009.
  3. Schramm B, Bohnert A, Keilmann A. Auditory, speech and language development in young children with cochlear implants compared with children with normal hearing. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2010; 74(7): 812-9.
  4. May-Mederake B. Early intervention and assessment of speech and language development in young children with cochlear implants. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2012; 76(7): 939-46.
  5. Percy-Smith L, Busch G, Sandahl M, Nissen L, Josvassen JL, Lange T, et al. Language understanding and vocabulary of early cochlear implanted children. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2013; 77(2): 184-8.
  6. Flipsen P, Jr. Intelligibility of spontaneous conversational speech produced by children with cochlear implants: a review. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2008; 72(5): 559-64.
  7. Neves AJ, Verdu ACMA, Moret ALM, Silva LTN. The implications of the cochlear implant for development of language skills: a literature review. Revista CEFAC 2015; 17(5): 1643-55.
  8. Spencer LJ, Barker BA, Tomblin JB. Exploring the language and literacy outcomes of pediatric cochlear implant users. Ear Hear 2003; 24(3): 236-47.
  9. Geers AE, Hayes H. Reading, writing, and phonological processing skills of adolescents with 10 or more years of cochlear implant experience. Ear Hear 2011; 32(1 Suppl): 49S-59S.
  10. Vermeulen AM, van Bon W, Schreuder R, Knoors H, Snik A. Reading comprehension of deaf children with cochlear implants. J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ 2007; 12(3): 283-302.
  11. Gueringer K. Reading comprehension and oral reading fluency of deaf children with cochlear implants [MSc Thesis]. St. Louis, MO: Washington University; 2011.
  12. Vereb AF. Predictors of reading comprehension outcomes in school-aged children with cochlear implants [PhD Thesis]. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan; 2012.
  13. Ferraro R. Minority and cross-cultural aspects of neuropsychological assessment: Enduring and emerging trends (Studies on neuropsychology, neurology and cognition). 2nd ed. New York, NY: Psychology Press; 2015. p. 17-43.
  14. Shirazi TS, Nilipour R. Reading diagnostic test. Tehran, Iran: University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences; 2005. [In Persian].
  15. Mayer C. What really matters in the early literacy development of deaf children. J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ 2007; 12(4): 411-31.
  16. Ambrose SE, Fey ME, Eisenberg LS. Phonological awareness and print knowledge of preschool children with cochlear implants. J Speech Lang Hear Res 2012; 55(3): 811-23.
  17. Soleymani Z, Mahmoodabadi N, Nouri MM. Language skills and phonological awareness in children with cochlear implants and normal hearing. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2016; 83: 16-21.
  18. Castles A, Nation K. Learning to be a good orthographic reader. ‎J Read Res 2008; 31(1): 1-7.
  19. Conrad NJ. From reading to spelling and spelling to reading: Transfer goes both ways. J Educ Psychol 2008; 100(4): 869-78.
  20. Schorr EA, Roth FP, Fox NA. A comparison of the speech and language skills of children with cochlear implants and children with normal hearing. Commun Disord Q 2008; 29(4): 195-210.
  21. Asker-Arnason L, Malin W, Bjorn L, Ibertsson T, Sahlen B. The relationship between reading comprehension, working memory and language in children with cochlear implants. Acta Neuropsychologica 2007; 5(4): 163-86.
  22. Boons T, De Raeve L, Langereis M, Peeraer L, Wouters J, van Wieringen A. Expressive vocabulary, morphology, syntax and narrative skills in profoundly deaf children after early cochlear implantation. Res Dev Disabil 2013; 34(6): 2008-22.
  23. Dominguez AB, Carrillo MS, Gonzalez V, Alegria J. How do deaf children with and without cochlear implants manage to read sentences: the key word strategy. J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ 2016; 21(3): 280-92.
  24. Aram D, Most T, Mayafit H. Contributions of mother-child storybook telling and joint writing to literacy development in kindergartners with hearing loss. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch 2006; 37(3): 209-23.
  25. Catts HW, Nielsen DC, Bridges MS, Liu YS. Early identification of reading comprehension difficulties. J Learn Disabil 2016; 49(5): 451-65.
  26. Cupples L, Ching TY, Crowe K, Day J, Seeto M. Predictors of early reading skill in 5-year-old children with hearing loss who use spoken language. Read Res Q 2014; 49(1): 85-104.
  27. Andrews JF, Hamilton B, Dunn KM, Clark D. early reading for young deaf and hard of hearing children: Alternative frameworks. Psychology 2016; 7(4): 510-22.
  28. Snowling MJ, Hulme C. Interventions for children's language and literacy difficulties. Int J Lang Commun Disord 2012; 47(1): 27-34.