Abstract
Whereas the language development of children with sensorineural hearing impairment (SNHI) has repeatedly been shown to differ from that of peers with normal hearing (NH), few studies have used an experimental approach to investigate the consequences on everyday communicative interaction. This mini review gives an overview of a range of studies on children with SNHI and NH exploring intra- and inter-individual cognitive and linguistic systems during communication. Over the last decade, our research group has studied the conversational strategies of Swedish speaking children and adolescents with SNHI and NH using referential communication, an experimental analog to problem-solving in the classroom. We have established verbal and non-verbal control and validation mechanisms, related to working memory capacity and phonological short term memory. We present main findings and future directions relevant for the field of cognitive hearing science and for the clinical and school-based management of children and adolescents with SNHI.
Highlights
Whereas the language development of children with sensorineural hearing impairment (SNHI) has repeatedly been shown to differ from that of peers with normal hearing (NH), few studies have used an experimental approach to investigate the consequences on everyday communicative interaction
Similar results have been presented by our own research group using referential communication tasks, first introduced by Glucksberg and Krauss (1967), providing a compromise between experimental control and ecological validity, and designed to tap the communicative ability used in everyday activities such as giving instructions, describing things or events to a listener, and asking questions
2014 above), children with SNHI performed significantly below NH controls on non-word repetition and expressive vocabulary, while non-significant differences were found for receptive grammar and complex working memory capacity (WMC)
Summary
Whereas the language development of children with sensorineural hearing impairment (SNHI) has repeatedly been shown to differ from that of peers with normal hearing (NH), few studies have used an experimental approach to investigate the consequences on everyday communicative interaction. Compatible with a delayed language development, Toe and Paatsch (2010) presented results showing 7 to 12 year-old children with mild-to-profound SNHI to request repetition and clarification of questions to a significantly higher extent than NH peers.
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