title: Normal hearing and language development in a deaf-born child.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Congenital deafness leads to major problems in speech, language, education, and social integration. Neonatal hearing screening and cochlear implantation now allow early hearing restoration. This article reports on a prospective longitudinal study of the first infant ever who received two cochlear implants in the prelexical period of her life.
  
  
  METHODS
  The first deaf-born girl ever who received two implants at the ages of 5 and 15 months, respectively, was followed-up with repeated and detailed quantitative assessments from birth to 4 years of age. This consisted of 1) audiologic evaluation (audiometry, speech audiometry, and Categories of Auditory Performance score), 2) linguistic evaluation (monthly video analyses and tests of vocabulary, language skills, grammar, and intelligibility of the child's speech), and 3) descriptive assessment of the educational setting.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All results lie within the 95% confidence interval of hearing peers. The audiologic performance lies at or above average from age 2 years onward. The child started babbling at the normal age of 8 months. Her linguistic skills increased from low percentiles before age 2 to above average from age 2 for comprehension and from age 3 for production. The grammar and intelligibility of the child's speech increased from low percentiles to average at age 4. The girl entered preschool at the normal age of 2.5 years, and this with only very limited special assistance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This case illustrates the fact that congenital deafness no longer has to lead to abnormal hearing and abnormal speech development. It opens the debate of the ethics of not implanting a deaf child in the first few months of life.
authors.affiliation: The Eargroup, Antwerp-Deurne, Department of Linguistics, University of Antwerp, Antwerp-Wilrijk, Belgium.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schauwers
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gillis
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Daemers
authors.forename: Carina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: De Beukelaer
authors.forename: Geert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: De Ceulaer
authors.forename: Marjan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yperman
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Govaerts
mesh_terms: D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D001302:Audiometry, Speech; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019929:Cochlear Implantation; D003638:Deafness / Q000151:congenital* / Q000628:therapy*; D060345:Education of Persons with Hearing Disabilities; D005260:Female; D006309:Hearing; D006801:Humans; D007804:Language Development; D007807:Language Tests; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities / Q000534:rehabilitation; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014741:Video Recording