Long-term trajectories of the development of speech sound production in pediatric cochlear implant recipients.
OBJECTIVE
This study characterized the development of speech sound production in prelingually deaf children with a minimum of 8 years of cochlear implant (CI) experience.


METHODS
Twenty-seven pediatric CI recipients' spontaneous speech samples from annual evaluation sessions were phonemically transcribed. Accuracy for these speech samples was evaluated in piecewise regression models.


RESULTS
As a group, pediatric CI recipients showed steady improvement in speech sound production following implantation, but the improvement rate declined after 6 years of device experience. Piecewise regression models indicated that the slope estimating the participants' improvement rate was statistically greater than 0 during the first 6 years postimplantation, but not after 6 years. The group of pediatric CI recipients' accuracy of speech sound production after 4 years of device experience reasonably predicts their speech sound production after 5-10 years of device experience.


CONCLUSIONS
The development of speech sound production in prelingually deaf children stabilizes after 6 years of device experience, and typically approaches a plateau by 8 years of device use. Early growth in speech before 4 years of device experience did not predict later rates of growth or levels of achievement. However, good predictions could be made after 4 years of device use.
Tomblin
J Bruce
JB
University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA.
Peng
Shu-Chen
SC
Spencer
Linda J
LJ
Lu
Nelson
N
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D003638:Deafness / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007804:Language Development; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D010700:Phonetics; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D013060:Speech; D013068:Speech Production Measurement