Consonant and sign phoneme acquisition in signing children following cochlear implantation

Abstract

Deaf children from signing programs provide new opportunities to investigate changes in sign and speech acquisition following cochlear implantation. We describe the acquisition of sign phonemes (location, movement, and handshapes) and speech phonemes (consonants) in 22 implanted children with diverse demographic backgrounds. New consonants and new sign phonemes emerged in developmentally expected sequences and with statistically significant correlation coefficients between cumulative number of new consonants and new sign phonemes over time. Regression slopes from plotted z scores revealed a burst in consonant and sign growth in early months post-implant, with continuous but plateauing growth over time. These results and documentation of developmental levels of sign and speech phoneme trajectories should be helpful to other researchers and to clinicians working with signing children who have cochlear implants.

Keywords:

• Pediatric cochlear implants
• Consonant acquisition
• Sign phoneme (location, movement, and handshape) acquisition

Acknowledgements

This research was funded in part by the Cochlear Implant Educational Center (CIEC) of the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center at Gallaudet University. Gallaudet funds sponsored JMU audiology doctoral students English King, Kelly Clingempeel, and Kate Belzner, and speech–language pathology master's student, Christi Hess, for transcription and data coding. AuD/PhD student Kate Belzner received additional funding as research assistant. This research was also funded in part by a JMU educational leave to Brenda Seal to investigate spoken and sign language changes in young implanted children. Many thanks are extended to the families who participated, and to Lori Bobsin, CCC-SLP (from the University of Virginia's Medical Center's Cochlear Implant Program), Laura Carr, CCC-AUD (PhD student at JMU), and Sarah Shreckhise, CCC-SLP (Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind in Staunton) for referrals and supervision during the data generation period. Several papers from this project were presented at the 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 annual meetings of ASHA; at the 2006 Beyond Newborn Hearing Screenings International Convention in Lake Como, Italy; at the 2006 Nemours Lecture in Wilmington, Delaware; at the 2007 International Conference on Cochlear Implants in Charlotte, North Carolina; at the 2009 International Conference in Seattle, Washington; and at the Speech and Hearing Association of Virginia's annual conferences in 2006, 2007, and 2008.