Speech and Language Development in Deaf children after Cochlear implantation

Abstract

Introduction: Cochlear implantation has been proven to cause considerable improvement in oral language of prelingually hearing –impaired children. The main objective of this article was to review those studies that have targeted the speech and language development of children with cochlear implant. Material and Method: We searched Science Direct, Medline, and Google Scholar databases to identify all studies published from 1997 to 2013 that examined the speech and language development of pre-lingual deaf children after receiving cochlear implantation. The keywords used to locate these articles were "cochlear implant", "speech" and "language". Result: Cochlear implantation can help prelingually deaf children in acquiring oral language skills. Early diagnosis of hearing impairment, early cochlear implant surgery, the length of hearing experience after receiving the implant, monolingualism, and the involvement of the parents in rehabilitation processes were the important factors that influence the language development of deaf children. Conclusion: The reception of cochlear implantation within the first 24 months of life decreases the time lag between hearing age and chronological age, which in turn, approximate speech reception ability to speech production. Keywords: Prelingually deaf children, Cochlear implantation, Oral language, Speech reception, Speech production