Language Research

What are best practices as we understand them today in the world of newborn hearing screening, identification, diagnostics and early intervention?

Explore the latest research findings to discover information on important topics for the family journey on raising a child who is deaf or hard of hearing. The research articles and summaries were put together by the Language and Literacy Advisory Board using a consistent format answering the following guiding questions:

  1. The article reference
  2. Keyword
  3. What was studied, how was it studied, and results?
  4. How is this information useful to you and your child?
  5. Who was studied?
  6. What still remains to be answered?
  7. Where can I get more information about this?

Informed parents are in a stronger position to make good decisions for their child.  The links below provide information you may want to consider prior to reviewing research or summaries of research.

https://www.handsandvoices.org/comcon/articles/research.htm

https://www.handsandvoices.org/fl3/resources/research-data.html

Note: If you have a research article summary that is not listed, or you wish to know if there is research on a certain topic area, please email us at FL3@handsandvoices.org  We will share this information with the Language, Literacy, and Social Development Advisory Committee. We are also open to feedback if this information was helpful to you.

Recent Summaries

PCIT as a behavior and spoken language intervention for young children with hearing loss.

Keywords: Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, Behavior Intervention, Spoken Language Intervention, Hearing Loss

Research Summaries

  1. The utility of early developmental assessments on understanding later nonverbal IQ in children who are deaf or hard of hearing
    KEYWORDS: Cognitive Development, Assessment, Evaluation
  2. Influence of implantation age on school-age language performance in pediatric cochlear implant users
    KEYWORDS: Cochlear Implants, Age of implantation, Language
  3. Epilogue: Conclusions and implications for research and practice
    KEYWORDS: Language Interactions, Early Identification, Hearing Aid Use
  4. Consonant Production Accuracy in Young Cochlear Implant Recipients: Developmental Sound Classes and Word Position Effects
    KEYWORDS: Cochlear Implant, Consonant Sounds, Articulation
  5. Vocabulary knowledge of children with cochlear implants: A meta-analysis
    KEYWORDS: Vocabulary, Cochlear Implants
  6. Spoken language development in children following cochlear implantation
    KEYWORDS: Cochlear Implants, Spoken Language, Early Implantation
  7. Exploring cascading effects of multimodal communication skills in infants with hearing loss
    KEYWORDS: Mother-Child Interactions, Gestures, Communication
  8. Symbol-infused joint attention and language use in mothers with deaf and hearing toddlers
    KEYWORDS: Joint Attention
  9. A comparison of the links between emotional availability and language gain in young children with and without hearing loss
    KEYWORDS: Emotional Availability, Vocabulary, Maternal Characteristics
  10. The relation of sensitivity to child expressive language gain in deaf and hard-of-hearing children whose caregivers are hearing
    KEYWORDS: Bonding, Emotional Availability, Expressive Language
  11. Tricks, lies and mistakes: identifying Theory of Mind concepts within storybooks shared with deaf children
    KEYWORDS: Theory of Mind, Shared Book Reading, Cognitive Development, Social Emotional Development
  12. Linguistic input, electronic media, and communication outcomes of toddlers with hearing loss
    KEYWORDS: Auditory Environment, Media, LENA
  13. The deaf mentor experimental project for young children who are deaf and their familiesKEYWORDS: Deaf Mentor, Bi-Bi home Intervention, Language
  14. Characteristics of hearing aid fittings in infants and young children
    KEYWORDS: Audibility, Hearing Aids, Speech Intelligibility Index

  15. Deaf Parents of Cochlear-Implanted Children: Beliefs on Bimodal Bilingualism
    KEYWORDS: Language, Cochlear Implants, Bimodal Bilinguilism

Other Research Resources

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention – JEHDI is a semi-annual scholarly peer-reviewed online publication dedicated to advancing Early Hearing Detection and Intervention by publishing articles that describe current research, evidence - based practice, and standards of care. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/jehdi/all_issues.html

Gallaudet University Visual Language and Visual Learning (VL2) Research Briefs:
http://vl2.gallaudet.edu/research/research-briefs/

Marion Downs Center Research section for Parents with children who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing:  

MDC Research is a website containing research on auditory skills, speech, language, cognitive and social-emotional development of infants and children who are D/HH. This specific section of the MDCR site shares research from a parent’s perspective, helps parents understand why research is important and how to navigate/use that information, and explains how clinical practice is molded and shaped based on research.
http://mdcresearch.net/index.php/for-parents/

Additional Research

Research from a variety of sources/perspectives can help families make decisions about what methods and strategies may apply to their individual child.  In addition to research, families with access to their child’s language assessments, guidance from early intervention providers, and interactions with other diverse families and DHH adults help support the family in this process.  The following information is a sampling of research studies about the language development of children who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Secora, K., & Smith, D. (2021). The Benefit of the “And” for Considerations of Language Modality for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 6(2), 397-401. doi:10.1044/2021_PERSP-20-00267

Li, M.M., Abou Tayoun, A., DiStefano, M., Pandya, A., Rehm, H.L., Robin, N.H., Schaefer, A.M., Yoshinaga-Itano, C. (2022)  Clinical evaluation and etiologic diagnosis of hearing loss: A clinical practice resource of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics

Caselli, N., Pyers, J., Lieberman, A. (2021) Deaf Children of Hearing Parents Have Age-Level Vocabulary Growth When Exposed to American Sign Language by 6 Months of Age  Journal of Pediatrics

Hoffmeister, R., Henner, J., Caldwell-Harris, C., & Novogrodsky, R. (2021). Deaf Children’s ASL Vocabulary and ASL Syntax Knowledge Supports English Knowledge. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education.

Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Makes a Difference Improving Vocabulary Outcomes in Children with Hearing LossThis infographic was developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics Early Hearing Detection and Intervention program through a cooperative agreement (#U38OT000167) with the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Yoshinaga-Itano, C., Sedey, A.L., Wiggin, M., Chung, W. (2017) Early Hearing Detection and Vocabulary of Children With Hearing Loss Pediatrics

Yoshinaga-Itano, C., Sedey, A., Mason, C., Wiggin, M., Chung, W. (2020)
Early Intervention, Parent Talk, and Pragmatic Language in Children With Hearing Loss Pediatrics

Rudge, A., Moog Brooks, B., Grantham, H. (2022) Effects of Early Intervention Frequency on Expressive Vocabulary Growth Rates of Very Young Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: How Much Is Enough? Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research

Holcomb, L., Golos, D., Moses, A., & Broadrick, A. (2021). Enriching Deaf Children’s American Sign Language Phonological Awareness: A Quasi-Experimental Study. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 27(1), 26-36.

Frush Holt, R., Kronenberger, W.G., Pisoni, D.B. (2022) Family Environmental Dynamics Differentially Influence Spoken Language Development in Children With and Without Hearing Loss
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research

Janky, K.L., Yoshinaga-Itano, C. (2022)  The Feasibility of Performing Vestibular Newborn Screening Pediatrics

Wiggin, M., Sedey, A., Yoshinaga-Itano, C., Mason, C., Gaffney, M., Chung, W. (2021) Frequency of Early Intervention Sessions and Vocabulary Skills in Children with Hearing Loss Journal of Clinical Medicine

Lovcevic, I., Kalashnikova, M. (2022) Language Development in Infants with Hearing Loss: Benefits of Infant-directed Speech  Infant Behavior and Development

Goodwin, C., Carrigan, E., Walker, K., & Coppola, M. (2021). Language not auditory experience is related to parent‐reported executive functioning in preschool‐aged deaf and hard‐of‐hearing children. Child Development, 93(1), 209-224.

Yoshinaga-Itano, C., Mason, C.A., Wiggin, M., Grosse, S.D., Gaffney, M., Gilley, P.M. (2021)
Reading Proficiency Trends Following Newborn Hearing Screening Implementation Pediatrics