This survey study describes rates of utilization of evidence-informed auditory-verbal strategies among 132 professionals (teachers of the deaf, speech-language pathologists, audiologists, early interventionists, and others) working with children who are deaf or hard of hearing who use listening and spoken language. Relationships between provider…

This study examined the parental and spousal self-efficacy (SE) of adults who are deaf and who are hard of hearing (d/hh) in relation to their speech intelligibility. Forty individuals with hearing loss completed self-report measures: Spousal SE in a relationship with a spouse who was hearing/deaf, parental SE to a child who was hearing/deaf, and…

The impact of spoken language skills on the social inclusion of children with hearing loss is of interest for listening and spoken language early intervention providers. This study used spoken language assessments and a parent-report social inclusion survey to investigate this impact for 95 children with hearing loss (M = 5.1 years of age). The…

This study examined the speech perception, speech, and language developmental progress of 25 children with hearing loss (mean Pure-Tone Average [PTA] 79.37 dB HL) in an auditory verbal therapy program. Children were tested initially and then 21 months later on a battery of assessments. The speech and language results over time were compared with…

This study investigated the effect of speech intelligibility of children with severe/profound hearing losses on evaluations of personal qualities by 60 listeners who were either familiar with or not familiar with the speech of children with hearing impairments. Experienced listeners scored speakers' speech intelligibility, cognitive competence,…

The production and perception of syllable stress by 15 children (ages 10-13) with severe or profound hearing impairments were compared to 15 controls. Children with hearing loss had higher fundamental frequency, duration of syllables were longer across stressed and unstressed syllables, and they were less successful in conveying stress…

In three studies, profoundly hearing-impaired children received speech training using a computerized, physiologically based system in which glossometry or palatometry measures were displayed. Overall, results suggest that visually based speech training is a feasible alternative to traditional auditorily based training. (Author/JDD)

Twenty-two hearing-impaired children (ages 9 to 13) with a hearing loss of 80 dB or greater completed 3 tasks of intonation perception and production. Acoustic analysis suggested a relationship between imitation and discrimination of intonation contours and a relationship between imitation and production of orally read sentences when a rising…

Seventeen children with profound hearing impairments were assessed at baseline and three years later using a speech token imitation task. Significant differences were seen at year 3 between children (ages 3-6 at baseline) using tactile vocoders in addition to auditory amplification and children using amplification only, especially in consonant…

A case study of a child who was stimulated with a cochlear implant at age 25 months is reported. Postimplantation, nasals decreased and other consonant types increased, particularly alveolars. The vowel space expanded, including increased production of diphthongs. Serial organization of speech postimplantation mirrored basic motor propensities in…

The author cites facts about the deaf population, acoustics, and physiology to support her contention that total use of residual hearing in deaf persons should begin as early as possible and should be related to speech. (GW)

This paper describes changes in speech production of deaf children with either cochlear implants (CI), tactile aids, or hearing aids. More accurate production of speech sounds was found for the CI group. The CI group was more accurate on less-visible place features, complex manner features such as glides and fricatives, and some voicing features.…

This paper presents encouraging results concerning speech perception, speech production, and language evaluation for an initial group of five children implanted with cochlear implants under the age of three years at the Children's Cochlear Implant Centre in Sydney, Australia. Preoperative assessment procedures and postoperative management are…

This paper cites published literature and quotations from parents in discussing the pressures of adolescence on hearing-impaired youth, rebellious behaviors that are specific to speaking and listening, adult attitudes regarding speech use and auditory function, and strategies for coping constructively with adolescence. (JDD)