title: Typical consonant cluster acquisition in auditory-verbal children with early-identified severe/profound hearing loss.
abstract: Early-identified severe/profound hearing loss (HL) following universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) has been associated with improved speech and language outcomes. However, speech outcome reports have typically been based on broad measures of speech intelligibility and/or singleton consonant accuracy, with little known about production of consonant clusters. Using a prospective design, the range and accuracy of consonant clusters produced by a homogenous cohort of 12 children early-identified with severe/profound HL aged 3- and 4-years were examined. All children demonstrated bilateral aided thresholds within a range of 15-25 dB HL across all frequencies, were optimally amplified with cochlear implants (11/12) or hearing aids (1/12), and attended auditory-verbal (AV) early intervention. Standardized speech and language assessments were administered. Consonant clusters were strategically sampled in single-word and conversational speech contexts. All standard scores for speech, receptive, and expressive language were within normal limits. All children produced consonant clusters commensurate with expectations for typically-developing hearing peers at 3- and 4- years-of-age. Children's production of phonetically complex morphophonemes (final consonant clusters marking grammatical morphemes) was also in keeping with developmental expectations. Factors which contributed to these encouraging outcomes require further investigation.
authors.affiliation: The University of Sydney , Sydney , Australia.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fulcher
authors.forename: Elise
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Purcell
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Munro
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000367:Age Factors; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D002663:Child Language; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D012048:Correction of Hearing Impairment / Q000295:instrumentation; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D061345:Early Medical Intervention; D005260:Female; D006310:Hearing Aids; D006312:Hearing Loss, Bilateral / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008297:Male; D015997:Neonatal Screening / Q000379:methods; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013061:Speech Acoustics; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D013068:Speech Production Measurement; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome