Summarizes a discussion on cochlear implants from a National Institutes of Health conference. Reviews the cited benefits of the implants in children. Gives comments on research on the language performance of children who are deaf or hearing impaired in oral programs versus those in total communication programs, as well as dissenting opinions on…

This study examined the relationship between the teaching method, oral or total communication, used at children's schools and children's consonant-production accuracy and vocabulary development over time. The children (N=147) had used cochlear implants for between 6 months and 10 years. Results indicated a complex relationship among children's…

The speech intelligibility of 18 children with prelingual deafness was examined after using cochlear implants for an average of 3 years. The average speech intelligibility score of the nine children using oral communication was significantly higher than that of nine children using total communication. (DB)

This collection of 10 papers is intended as a resource book integrating information on pediatric cochlear implants for educators, parents, implant teams, and rehabilitation specialists. The papers focus on the importance of providing an oral educational environment to maximize cochlear implant success. An introduction notes controversies in the…

An overview of an oral school, Child's Voice, for children who are deaf or hard of hearing is presented. Key features include low student-teacher ratios, teachers trained as oral educators, ongoing staff and parent education, specialized curricula, and a strong emphasis on listening and speaking throughout the day. (Contains references.)…

A study investigated whether differences in working memory could account for variance in word recognition and receptive vocabulary skills of children (ages 5-16) using oral communication (n=32) and total communication (n=29). A contribution from working memory was observed only for the span tasks that incorporated an auditory processing component.…

This longitudinal case study examined the emergence of oral language skills in a child with deafness whose cochlear implant was activated at 20 months. Normal or above-normal rates of development were observed in decreased production of nonwords, increased receptive vocabulary, type-token ratio, regular use of word combinations, and phrase…

A study involving 20 children (ages 4-9) using cochlear implants compared the articulation of those who used oral communication only (n=10) and those who used total communication (TC). Results from the Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation indicate those using only oral communication committed significantly fewer errors than TC users. (Contains…

Production of 19 word-initial two-segment consonant clusters was examined in 12 children (ages 6-16) with cochlear implants, including 6 using oral communication and 6 using total communication. Results showed that 48% of the clusters were correctly produced (75% correct for oral communication users and 21% correct for total communication users).…

This conference presentation discusses how the Nucleus 22 cochlear implant, with its ability to improve speech perception, can be capitalized upon to improve the speech production of very profoundly deaf children. The paper is designed to accompany a video presentation demonstrating the speech ability and theory of two young children (ages 3 and…

This study examined the educational development of 22 children (ages 2 to 10), under the supervision of the Cochlear Implant Team of the Medical College of Virginia, who had received implants as a result of deafness (in most cases prelingual and congenital) from 6 months to 3 years prior to the study. Data included a review of the children's case…