title: Narrative abilities in early implanted children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effect of age at cochlear implant activation on oral narrative ability in children implanted before 2.5 years of age and to examine the role of other variables (gender, parental education level, stimulation modality) in narrative skills.
  
  
  METHODS
  retrospective nonrandomized group study
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty children (21 females; 9 males) with congenital, bilateral severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss were included in this study. The mean age at cochlear implant activation was 14.7 months (standard deviation [SD] ± 5.3). The Renfrew Bus Story was used to analyze oral narrative skills at mean chronological age of 63 months (SD ± 0.2).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total information on the Renfrew Bus Story raw score ranged from 8 to 40, with a mean of 22.7 (SD ± 8.6). Children produced on average 7.5 words in a sentence (SD ± 1.5). The mean score for complexity was 2.2 (SD ± 1.5). Regression analysis revealed a highly significant and negative linear effect of age at cochlear implant activation on all outcomes. The mother's education level had a positive strong effect on sentence length but a weak effect on total information and complexity. The paternal education score had a weak influence on the sentence length. Gender, age at diagnosis, and stimulation modality were not correlated with the narrative outcomes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Early implanted children can develop narrative skills close to normal hearing children. The sociocultural context, expressed by maternal and paternal educational level, are positively related to the development of oral narrative.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Guglielmo da Saliceto Hospital (a.m., d.c., l.g.), Piacenza, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Murri
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Guglielmo da Saliceto Hospital (a.m., d.c., l.g.), Piacenza, Italy.
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cuda
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Guglielmo da Saliceto Hospital (a.m., d.c., l.g.), Piacenza, Italy.
authors.forename: Letizia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Guerzoni
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Università Cattolica del S. Cuore Piacenza (e.f.), Piacenza, Italy.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fabrizi
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D003638:Deafness / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007804:Language Development; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Narrative ability; Renfrew Bus Story; cochlear implant; language development