Early Intervention Improves Vocabulary of Hearing- Impaired Children

​A recent study conducted at the Institute of Cognitive Science (ICS) at the University of Colorado found that infants born with hearing loss who are identified and treated according to the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) guidelines have markedly better vocabulary outcomes than those who are not. This is the first multi-state study to examine the effectiveness of all three stages of EHDI on vocabulary outcomes.

The study analyzed 448 children (between the ages of 8 to 39 months) with hearing loss participating in the National Early Childhood Assessment Project in 12 states. Fifty-eight percent of the study participants were found to meet the EHDI 1-3-6 guidelines.

The EHDI 1-3-6 guidelines include a hearing loss screening within one month of age, a diagnosis of hearing loss by a specialist within three months of age, and an intervention by six months.

Of the participants who were treated within six months, their Vocabulary Quotients (VQs) had a mean of 82, while 64 percent of those who did not meet EHDI guidelines but had no additional disabilities had a score less than 75 (100 is the norm).

According to Christine Yoshinaga-Itano, PhD, audiologist and researcher at ICS, children who do not receive early intervention in accordance with the EHDI timeframe are considered to have what amounts to an "environmentally induced and preventable secondary disability" and observed to function like children with cognitive delay.

The researchers concluded that future systemic improvement of vocabulary learning will need to focus on "preventing widening delays with chronological age, assisting mothers with lower levels of education, and incorporating adults who are deaf/hard of hearing in the intervention process."

Published: 8/22/2017 8:28:00 AM

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