Morpho-Syntactic Deficit in Children with Cochlear Implant: Consequence of Hearing Loss or Concomitant Impairment to the Language System?

Erika Benassi, Sonia Boria, Maria Teresa Berghenti, Michela Camia, Maristella Scorza and Giuseppe Cossu
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Erika Benassi: Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy
Sonia Boria: Center for the Diagnosis, Treatment and Study of Communication and Socialization Disorders, NPIA, AUSL of Parma, 43125 Parma, Italy
Maria Teresa Berghenti: Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, Italy
Michela Camia: Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy
Maristella Scorza: Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy
Giuseppe Cossu: Medical Centre of Phoniatrics, 35142 Padova, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 18, 1-18

Abstract: Background: Among implanted children with similar duration of auditory deprivation and clinical history, the morpho-syntactic skills remain highly variable, suggesting that other fundamental factors may determine the linguistic outcomes of these children, beyond their auditory recovery. The present study analyzed the morpho-syntactic discrepancies among three children with cochlear implant (CI), with the aim of understanding if morpho-syntactic deficits may be characterized as a domain-specific language disorder. Method: The three children (mean age = 7.2; SD = 0.4) received their CI at 2.7, 3.7, and 5.9 years of age. Their morpho-syntactic skills were evaluated in both comprehension and production and compared with 15 age-matched normal-hearing children (mean age = 6.6; SD = 0.3). Results: Cases 1 and 2 displayed a marked impairment across morphology and syntax, whereas Case 3, the late-implanted child, showed a morpho-syntactic profile well within the normal boundaries. A qualitative analysis showed, in Cases 1 and 2, language deficits similar to those of normal hearing children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). Conclusions: We suggest that a severe grammatical deficit may be, in some implanted children, the final outcome of a concomitant impairment to the language system. Clinical implications for assessment and intervention are discussed.

Keywords: children with hearing loss; cochlear implant; morpho-syntactic impairment; language disorder (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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