The development of speech and language skills in hearing impaired children at the preschool level is discussed in terms of a model of communication which includes listening, speech and language, social interaction, cognition, and academics. Sample learning activities illustrate the incorporation of multiple objectives into one lesson. (DB)

The chapter examines audition and early intervention with hearing impaired infants, the normal development of audition, a model of auditory learning and teaching (involving discrimination, identification, comprehension, and detection), progression along the developmental sequence, natural interactions which aid learning, and parent role. (DB)