Deaf teenagers with cochlear implants in conversation with hearing peers.

Background: This study investigates the use of requests for clarification in conversations between teenagers with a cochlear implant (CI) and hearing peers. So far very few studies have focused on conversational abilities in children with CI.

Aims: The aim was to explore co-construction of dialogue in a referential communication task and the participation of the teenagers with CI in comparison with individually matched hearing children and teenagers (HC) by studying the use of requests for clarification.

A methodological contribution to the assessment of nonword repetition-a comparison between children with specific language impairment and hearing-impaired children with hearing aids or cochlear implants.

Poor nonword repetition is considered as a clinical marker of specific language impairment (SLI). In children with expressive language problems, the analysis and scoring procedures are often insufficiently described. We argue for a combined analysis of segmental and suprasegmental accuracy in nonword repetition tasks as well as an appreciation of gender differences.

Is age at implant the only factor that counts? The influence of working memory on lexical and grammatical development in children with cochlear implants.

In this study, we explored the influence of time factors (age at implant, time with cochlear implant and age), complex working memory and phonological short-term memory on lexical and grammatical development in congenitally deaf children with cochlear implants. Fifteen children (aged 5 years 4 months to 11 years 5 months) were examined with the use of several linguistic and cognitive measures after a minimum of 18 months of implant use. Phonological short-term memory was assessed with non-word repetition, where the percentage of correctly repeated consonants and vowels was counted.

Language development in hearing-impaired children. Establishment of a reference material for a 'Language test for hearing-impaired children', LATHIC.

Objective: In Sweden, there has previously been no normalised test material for the evaluation of language development in individual hearing-impaired children, and for the assessment of various methods of auditory habilitation. The purpose of the present study was to compose, apply and evaluate a test for language development in hearing-impaired children, and to establish the first set of reference values related to age, sex, type and degree of hearing impairment.

Methods: A test consisting of nine subtests was assembled and developed for, and subsequently applied to, hearing-impaired children in the age range 4-6 years.