Pragmatic Skills in Children with Cochlear Implants

Elnaz  Rashed Chitgar; Ali  Ghorbani; Soudabeh Abasi; Reyhane Mohamadi; Mahboobeh Rasouli

doi:10.18502/jmr.v17i1.11294

Elnaz Rashed Chitgar Department of Speech Therapy, Rehabilitation Research Centre, School of Rehabilitation Science, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Ali Ghorbani Department of Speech Therapy, Rehabilitation Research Centre, School of Rehabilitation Science, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Soudabeh Abasi Department of Speech Therapy, Rehabilitation Research Centre, School of Rehabilitation Science, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Reyhane Mohamadi Department of Speech Therapy, Rehabilitation Research Centre, School of Rehabilitation Science, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mahboobeh Rasouli Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jmr.v17i1.11294

Keywords: Pragmatics; Turn-taking; Topic maintenance; Duration of topic maintenance; Cochlear implanted children; Conversational skills

Abstract

Introduction: Pragmatics refers to how language is used in social communication. Pragmatics has different dimensions. This study investigated the turn-taking, topic maintenance, and duration of topic maintenance in children with Cochlear implants (CIs) and normal-hearing children matched with chronological age and language age.

Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, pragmatics were compared in 15 CI children, 15 normal-hearing children matched with chronological age, and 15 normal-hearing children matched with language age. Pragmatic skills of subjects such as turn-taking, topic maintenance, and duration of topic maintenance in verbal conversation were observed and measured in two groups including CI children with age-matched peers and CI children with language-matched normal-hearing children. The children’s conversations were transcribed and the data were analyzed based on the normality of their distribution by independent-sample t-test and Mann-Whitney U tests.

Results: Findings showed no significant difference between the mean of turn-taking, topic maintenance, and duration of topic maintenance skills of CI children with their hearing peers (P>0.05). Also, the results obtained by comparing the mean of turn-taking, topic maintenance, and duration of topic maintenance skills in CI children with normal-hearing children matched with language age did not show a significant difference (P>0.05).

Conclusion: Children with CIs achieved a level of skills in turn-taking, topic maintenance, and duration of topic maintenance, which was similar to age-matched and language-matched normal-hearing children. Probably, the duration of auditory experience after cochlear implantation, age of implantation of the prosthesis, age of diagnosis of hearing loss, age of rehabilitation intervention, and family follow-up have been effective in achieving these skills.