Speech and language development in hearing impairment: two- case report

This study aims at monitoring the development of speech and language of two children who have hearing loss - one of which is a user of bilateral auditory prosthesis and the other has unilateral cochlear implant and auditory prosthesis. Assessment List of Expressive Vocabulary protocols and Symbolic Maturity were used in both cases, and the children were cared for in the educational audiology outpatient clinic the Federal University of Sao Paulo through aurioral approach. Both were submitted to the application of Symbolic Maturity, having the following recordings: free play, semi-guided play, and action imitation; videos were transcribed and analyzed. Assessment List of Expressive Vocabulary was applied to parents in order to investigate the words that the children were able to pronounce; the number of words was counted and analyzed in conjunction with the results of Symbolic Maturity. Both tests were applied on both children in two moments within an interval of five months. Both had a development in all the tests of the Symbolic Maturity and on Assessment List of Expressive Vocabulary when the two applications were compared. On the first application of Assessment List of Expressive Vocabulary was applied, the girl could say three words (0.9%) and the boy 90 words (29.4%); on the second application, 25 words (8.1%) and 176 words (57.5%) respectively. The boy presented a better development on the tests of Symbolic Maturity and Assessment List of Expressive Vocabulary when compared to the girl. Protocols applied in two different moments of the children's developments were efficient in monitoring the development of speech and language. The better development achieved by the male child could be associated to the degree of auditory loss.

Language; Hearing Loss; Deafness; Child; Speech; Hearing