Volubility Characteristic of Toddlers with Cochlear Implants and Its Relation to the Parental Verbal Responsiveness

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of volubility of toddlers with cochlear implants (CIs) and their parental verbal responsiveness (PVR) in comparison with toddlers with typical hearing (TH), and to explore the relationships between toddlers’ volubility and PVR in each group. Methods: 12 pairs of toddlers with CIs and their parents and 14 pairs of toddlers with TH and their parents participated in this study. This study utilized the Face to Face/Still Face paradigm to examine for the differences of the toddlers’ volubility and PVR between the two groups. Results: Toddlers with CIs produced less vocalizations than toddlers with TH. However, there was not a significant difference in the vocalization time per minute between the two groups. Parents of toddlers with CIs used less verbal responsiveness, which was positively associated with toddlers’ language development, than parents of toddlers with TH. In the CI group, the frequency of the PVR to toddler’s focus of attention was significantly correlated with the frequency and time of toddlers’ vocalization. Conclusion: Toddlers with CIs showed lower levels of volubility than toddlers with TH during the mother-toddler interaction. Parents of toddlers with CIs responded less frequently to their toddler’s communicative intentions and behaviors than did parents of toddlers with TH. These findings suggest that speech-language pathologists should educate the parents of toddlers with CIs to promote high-quality parental responsiveness.