Longer-term aspects of the language development of children with cochlear implants

Abstract

This longitudinal study examines the development of spoken language of six prelingually deaf children, five deaf at birth and one after meningitis at 18 months, who have received cochlear implants (CIs). Three were English speakers and three Welsh speakers. These are compared with English and Welsh control groups of children with no reported hearing problems. The study focuses on the acquisition of mental state verbs which can take clausal complements. Mental state verbs play an important role in cognitive development and consequently contribute to educational achievement. The development of these verbs presents some difficulties for children with CIs, especially the third stage of language acquisition when they are used with clausal complements in complex sentences.

• cochlear implant
• language development
• mental verbs
• complex sentences