Early intervention helps deaf infants

Infants born with permanent hearing loss benefit in terms of language development from being enrolled very early in an intervention programme.Past research has shown that children who are deaf or who have hearing loss not diagnosed early and who do not receive early intervention for language development, do not catch up to their hearing counterparts in language, social or academic skills and literacy, resulting in lower potential employment levels as adults. Researchers from America examined early language outcomes of 30 infants with mild to profound hearing loss (some of whom had received early intervention) in comparison with 96 infants with normal hearing. Child's language skills were assessed at 12 to 16 months of age. It was found that children with mild to minimal hearing loss and the controls, those with moderate to profound hearing loss had significantly lower scores for phrases understood, words understood, words produced, and gestures. Enrollment in early intervention, up to 3 months of age, was associated with significantly higher scores for number of words understood, words produced, and gestures, compared with infants enrolled at 3 months of age or older.Researchers concluded that children with moderate to profound hearing loss exhibit delayed language skills at 12 to 16 months of age, compared with children with mild to minimal hearing loss. Enrollment in early intervention, up to 3 months of age, was found to be associated with significantly higher scores for number of words understood, words produced, and gestures, compared with infants enrolled at 3 months of age or older. But, it is not known if children with moderate to profound hearing loss would be able to catch up with children with mild to minimal hearing loss. It was also not clear if the mild to minimal hearing loss group would begin to lag behind their normal-hearing peers, as language skills became more complex and exposure to noisy environments increased.

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