Fiona Elizabeth Kyle

The current study examined the contributions of vocabulary breadth, vocabulary depth, and speechreading to reading ability in 37 severely and profoundly deaf adolescents aged 14 to 16 years. Participants completed assessments of nonverbal cognitive ability, vocabulary breadth, vocabulary depth, speechreading, word reading, sentence comprehension, and passage comprehension. Vocabulary depth was the most consistent predictor across all reading outcomes, whereas vocabulary breadth was not significantly associated with any reading measure. Nonverbal cognitive ability, vocabulary depth, and speechreading together accounted for 77% of the variance in word reading accuracy and 86% of the variance in sentence-level comprehension. Vocabulary depth and nonverbal cognitive ability were significant predictors of passage comprehension (explaining 67% of variance), as well as performance on both literal and inferential comprehension questions. These findings underscore the importance of rich and precise word knowledge for reading development and suggest that interventions targeting vocabulary depth may enhance reading comprehension in deaf adolescents.

Deafness from birth presents a major challenge to communication development and carries significant public health implications. Cochlear implants (CI) are a key intervention for those with severe to profound deafness. In Chile and across Latin America, policies exist to support early CI access. However, delays in implementation and limited monitoring reduce their effectiveness. As a result, variability persists in spoken language outcomes for deaf children using CI. This study followed 49 Chilean children who received a CI between 2017 and 2019, using hospital records and two parental surveys over a 12-month period. Language outcomes and progress were investigated using validated tools (CAP-II, SIR, CDI Vocabulary), alongside five selected key factors: additional disabilities, age at implantation, daily CI use, socioeconomic factors, parental training and confidence. Findings indicated a modest yet uneven improvement in speech perception and language abilities over the study period. Fewer than one-third of children used only spoken language at home. Auditory performance and speech intelligibility improved slightly, while receptive vocabulary scores plateaued, and vocabulary production increased modestly after one year of CI use. Daily CI use and parental training were the strongest predictors of language outcomes . Despite current/recent policy advances, CI outcomes continue to be limited by delayed access, fragmented services, and socioeconomic inequality. These results underline the need for tailored strategies to strengthen early intervention and language support in Chile and across Latin America.

Words that appear in many contexts/topics are recognised faster than those occurring in fewer contexts. However, contextual diversity benefits are less clear in word learning studies. Mak et al. proposed that diversity benefits might be enhanced if new word meanings are anchored before introducing diversity. In our study, adults ( N = 288) learned meanings for eight pseudowords, four experienced in six topics (high diversity) and four in one topic (low diversity). All items were first experienced five times in one topic (anchoring phase), and results were compared to Norman et al. which used a similar paradigm without an anchoring phase. An old-new decision post-test (did you learn this word?) showed null effects of contextual diversity on written form recognition accuracy and response time, mirroring Norman et al. A cloze task involved choosing which pseudoword completed a sentence. For sentences situated in a previously experienced context, accuracy was significantly higher for pseudowords learned in the low diversity condition, whereas for sentences situated in a new context, accuracy was non-significantly higher for pseudowords learned in the high diversity condition. Anchoring modulated these effects. Low diversity item accuracy was unaffected by anchoring. However, for high-diversity items, accuracy in familiar contexts was better in the current experiment (anchoring) than in Norman et al. (non-anchoring), but accuracy in new contexts did not differ between the two experiments. These results suggest that anchoring facilitates meaning use in familiar contexts, but not generalisation to new contexts, nor word recognition in isolation.

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between speechreading ability, phonological skills, and word reading ability in typically developing children. Method: Sixty-six typically developing children (6-7 years old) completed tasks measuring word reading, speechreading (words, sentences, and short stories), alliteration awareness, rhyme awareness, nonword reading, and rapid automatized naming (RAN). Results: Speechreading ability was significantly correlated with rhyme and alliteration awareness, phonological error rate, nonword reading, and reading ability (medium effect sizes) and RAN (small effect size). Multiple regression analyses showed that speechreading was not a unique predictor of word reading ability beyond the contribution of phonological skills. A speechreading error analysis revealed that children tended to use a phonological strategy when speechreading, and in particular, this strategy was used by skilled speechreaders. Conclusions: The current study provides converging evidence that speechreading and phonological skills are positively related in typically developing children. These skills are likely to have a reciprocal relationship, and children may benefit from having their attention drawn to visual information available on the lips while learning letter sounds or learning to read, as this could augment and strengthen underlying phonological representations.

(1) Background: While spoken language learning delays are assumed for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children after cochlear implant (CI), many catch up with their hearing peers. Some DHH children with CIs, however, show persistent delays in language, despite protective factors being in place. This suggests a developmental language disorder (DLD). However, at present there is little consensus on how to diagnose DLD in DHH children. (2) Methods: Given the lack of consensus in this area, a set of case studies provides an appropriate first step. The goal of this paper is to show the plausibility of a DLD diagnosis, following careful analysis of protective and risk factors. A retrospective case study review was conducted for three children. Their long-term language outcomes up to four years after CI were considered in the context of access to sound, speech sound discrimination, social skills and non-verbal cognition. (3) Results: It was possible to posit DLD in one child who had experienced good access to sound, alongside good speech discrimination abilities and social development, and normal non-verbal cognition, but who presented with severe language learning difficulties. (4) Conclusions: Finding markers for DLD in DHH children is important for diagnosis and intervention. The implications for clinical practice are discussed.

Words that appear in many contexts/topics are recognised faster than those occurring in fewer contexts (Nation, 2017). However, contextual diversity benefits are less clear in word learning studies. Mak et al. (2021) proposed that diversity benefits might be enhanced if new word meanings are anchored before introducing diversity. In our study, adults (N = 288) learned meanings for eight pseudowords, four experienced in six topics (high diversity) and four in one topic (low diversity). All items were first experienced five times in one topic (anchoring phase), and results were compared to Norman et al. (2022) which used a similar paradigm without an anchoring phase. An old-new decision post-test (did you learn this word?) showed null effects of contextual diversity on written form recognition accuracy and response time, mirroring Norman et al.. A cloze task involved choosing which pseudoword completed a sentence. For sentences situated in a previously experienced context, accuracy was significantly higher for pseudowords learned in the low diversity condition, whereas for sentences situated in a new context, accuracy was non-significantly higher for pseudowords learned in the high diversity condition. Anchoring modulated these effects. Low diversity item accuracy was unaffected by anchoring. However, for high diversity items, accuracy in familiar contexts was better in the current experiment (anchoring) than in Norman et al. (non-anchoring), but accuracy in new contexts did not differ between the two experiments. These results suggest that anchoring facilitates meaning use in familiar contexts, but not generalisation to new contexts, nor word recognition in isolation.

Background Post-lingual deafness represents a critical challenge for adults’ well-being with substantial public health burdens. One treatment of choice has been cochlear implants (CI) for people with severe to profound hearing loss (HL). Since 2018, Chile has implemented a high-cost policy to cover CI treatment, the “Ley Ricarte Soto” (LRS) health policy. However, wide variability exists in the use of this device. To date, no study has been published on policy evaluation in Chile or other Latin American countries. Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the LRS policy on the treatment success and labour market inclusion among deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) adults using CI. We examined and characterised outcomes based on self-reports about treatment success and occupation status between 2018 and 2020. Design We performed a prospective study using hospital clinical records and an online questionnaire with 76 DHH adults aged >15 who had received CIs since the introduction of the LRS policy in 2018. Using univariate and multivariate regression models, we investigated the relationship between demographic, audiological, and social determinants of health and outcomes, including treatment success for social inclusion (International Outcome inventory for Hearing Aids and CIs assessment: IOI-HA) for social inclusion and occupation status for labour market inclusion. Results Our study showed elevated levels of treatment success in most of the seven sub-scores of the IOI-HA assessment. Similarly, around 70% of participants maintained or improved their occupations after receiving their CI. We found a significant positive association between treatment success and market inclusion. Participants diagnosed at younger ages had better results than older participants in both outcomes (P=0.078 and P= 0.011, respectively). Regarding social determinants of health, finding suggested participants with high social health insurance and a shorter commute time to the clinic (p=0.070 and p=0.086, respectively) had better results in treatment success. For labour market inclusion, participants with high education levels and better pre-CI occupation (p=0.069 and p=0.021, respectively) had better post-CI occupation status, and findings suggested an impact of high education levels. Conclusions In evaluating the LRS policy for providing CIs for DHH adults in Chile, we found positive effects relating to treatment success and occupation status. Our study supports the importance of age at diagnosis and social determinants of health, which should be assessed by integrating public services and bringing them near each beneficiary. Although evidence-based guidelines for candidate selection given by the LRS policy might contribute to good results, these parameters could limit the policy access to people who do not meet the requirements of the guidelines due to social inequalities.

La adquisición de lengua oral representa un desafío para niñas/os sordas/os o con pérdida auditiva (NSPA) que utilizan audífonos o implante coclear (CI). Tomar decisiones a tiempo durante el tratamiento con dispositivos es esencial y requiere de evaluaciones adecuadas. Dos instrumentos usados en la toma de decisiones son las escalas “Categories of Auditory Performance Index II” (CAP-II) y “Speech Intelligibility Rating Scale” (SIR). Estas escalas han mostrado ser útiles para la evaluación continua del desarrollo de habilidades auditivas y de la lengua oral en variados idiomas, pero estas no están disponibles para el español chileno. El objetivo de este estudio es crear traducciones en español chileno de las escalas CAP-II y SIR, las que puedan ser usadas como auto-reporte online por padres y cuidadores con el fin de asistir a profesionales en el monitoreo del progreso de niños/as NSPA, considerando las restricciones impuestas por el COVID-19. El método usado en el proceso comienza con la traducción de una propuesta de auto-reporte de las versiones originales en inglés de las escalas CAP-II y SIR. Finalmente, las versiones en español chileno fueron testeadas en 107 padres-cuidadores de niñas/os NSPA con CI. Los resultados sugieren que estos instrumentos serían adecuados para su uso en el contexto chileno.

Purpose: We developed and evaluated in a randomized controlled trial a computerized speechreading training program to determine (a) whether it is possible to train speechreading in deaf children and (b) whether speechreading training results in improvements in phonological and reading skills. Previous studies indicate a relationship between speechreading and reading skill and further suggest this relationship may be mediated by improved phonological representations. This is important since many deaf children find learning to read to be very challenging. Method: Sixty-six deaf 5- to 7-year-olds were randomized into speechreading and maths training arms. Each training program was composed of a 10-min sessions a day, 4 days a week for 12 weeks. Children were assessed on a battery of language and literacy measures before training, immediately after training, and 3 months and 11 months after training. Results: We found no significant benefits for participants who completed the speechreading training, compared to those who completed the maths training, on the speechreading primary outcome measure. However, significantly greater gains were observed in the speechreading training group on one of the secondary measures of speechreading. There was also some evidence of beneficial effects of the speechreading training on phonological representations; however, these effects were weaker. No benefits were seen to word reading. Conclusions: Speechreading skill is trainable in deaf children. However, to support early reading, training may need to be longer or embedded in a broader literacy program. Nevertheless, a training tool that can improve speechreading is likely to be of great interest to professionals working with deaf children. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.8856356