Performance of children with bilateral cochlear implants on selected parts of the ‘Maltese-English speech assessment’ (MESA) and the ‘Language assessment for Maltese children’ (LAMC) : three case studies

Abstract

There is little research that addresses speech and language skills of Maltese children with cochlear implant. The purpose of this research study was to assess and describe the speech and language development of three Maltese children with bilateral cochlear implants, who had a hearing age between 2;10 and 5;3 years. One child was simultaneously implanted and had a hearing age of 2;10 years, another child was sequentially implanted and had a hearing age of 3;6 years, while the third child was sequentially implanted and had a hearing age of 5;3 years. Maltese standardised speech and language assessments were used to gather information on their speech and language development. Data were collected during the children‟s speech and language therapy sessions. Following transcription and analysis, they were compared to their hearing and chronological age matched peers from the available speech and language norms for Maltese children. Additional information regarding the children‟s speech and language history, as well as background information prior to and post-implantation, was also collected to provide a holistic overview of the participants‟ speech and language development. Results indicated that the children presented with speech and language delay when compared to norms obtained by their chronological age matched peers. Variations amongst the participants were found in specific language skills. Similar language patterns were also noted including expressive abilities in advance of receptive skills.