Language development and everyday functioning of children with hearing loss assessed at 3 years of age

Abstract

This paper reports language ability and everyday functioning of 133 children with hearing impairment who were evaluated at 3 years of age, as part of the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment (LOCHI) study. The language abilities of children were evaluated using the Preschool Language Scale (PLS-4), Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology (DEAP) and Child Development Inventory (CDI). Everyday functioning of children was evaluated by interviewing parents using the Parents' Evaluation of Aural/oral performance of Children (PEACH) questionnaire. There were significant correlations among language measures, and also between the standardized language measures and the PEACH. On average, children who had language deficits exhibited difficulties in everyday functioning. The evidence lends support to a systematic use of parents' observations to evaluate communicative functioning of children in real life. On average, children's language attainment decreased as hearing loss increased, more so for children of less highly educated parents. Factors that were not significantly associated with speech and language outcomes at 3 years were age of amplification and socioeconomic status. As multiple factors affect children's outcomes, it will be possible to examine their effects on outcomes of children when all data in the LOCHI study are available.

Keywords:

• Children
• hearing impairment
• language development

Acknowledgments

We gratefully thank all the children and their families for participating in this study. The data were reported at the Speech Pathology Australia Conference of the Speech Pathology Association in Adelaide, May, 2009. We sincerely thank the reviewers for their comments and suggestions on an earlier version of the manuscript. The HEARing CRC collaborating agencies include Catholic Centre for Hearing Impaired Children, Cochlear Implant Clinic of the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Hear and Say Centre, Matilda Rose Early Intervention Centre, Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children, St Gabriel's School for Hearing Impaired Children, The Shepherd Centre and Sydney Cochlear Implant Centre. This study is supported by the National Institutes of Health Grant no. R01DC008080, Office of Hearing Services, Department of Health in Australia, Australian Hearing, New South Wales Department of Health and Oticon Foundation.