Role of speech therapy training in a young patient affected by severe sensorineural hearing loss and concomitant visual impairment

Abstract

The article aims to describe in a detailed way the logopedic intervention made on a young patient affected by Peroxisome Biogenesis Disorders (PBD). In particular, the focus is the relationship between the two affected senses: sight and hearing. Our patient is a 10-year-old female with an early onset Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SNHL) and a mild cognitive impairment. The child has been precociously prothesized with a good prosthetic outcome and underwent both speech therapy and neuro-psychomotor therapy. A stability in her hearing abilities was detected, but the growing visual impairment was accompanied by a deficiency of attention abilities, of visual perception abilities and of visual-motor integration.