title: Speech sound production in 2-year-olds who are hard of hearing.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the study was to (a) compare the speech sound production abilities of 2-year-old children who are hard of hearing (HH) to children with normal hearing (NH), (b) identify sources of risk for individual children who are HH, and (c) determine whether speech sound production skills at age 2 were predictive of speech sound production skills at age 3.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy children with bilateral, mild-to-severe hearing loss who use hearing aids and 37 age- and socioeconomic status-matched children with NH participated. Children's speech sound production abilities were assessed at 2 and 3 years of age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At age 2, the HH group demonstrated vowel production abilities on par with their NH peers but weaker consonant production abilities. Within the HH group, better outcomes were associated with hearing aid fittings by 6 months of age, hearing loss of less than 45 dB HL, stronger vocabulary scores, and being female. Positive relationships existed between children's speech sound production abilities at 2 and 3 years of age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Assessment of early speech sound production abilities in combination with demographic, audiologic, and linguistic variables may be useful in identifying HH children who are at risk for delays in speech sound production.
authors.forename: Sophie E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Ambrose
authors.forename: Lauren M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Unflat Berry
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: Melody
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oleson
authors.forename: Mary Pat
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Moeller
mesh_terms: D002663:Child Language; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006310:Hearing Aids; D006312:Hearing Loss, Bilateral / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D010700:Phonetics; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013060:Speech; D013068:Speech Production Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D013066:Speech-Language Pathology / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome