A Literature Analysis of Themes in Paediatric Cochlear Implant Research

Abstract

Research on children with cochlear implants (CI) has documented positive outcomes, but also that many still experience language delays. The aim of this article is to explore how research on children with cochlear implants cover topics of early language development compared to research on children with typical hearing and children with hearing impairment without CI. Published research in the period 1990-2013 on language development was analysed with respect to frequency of selected search terms reflecting different language acquisition themes among children with typical hearing, children with hearing impairment without CI, and children with CI, respectively. Results showed a relatively lower number of articles which included themes such as pre-verbal language (imitation, joint attention and gestures), extra lingual abilities (social interaction), and later language skills (semantic, syntactic, grammar and pragmatic) in research on children with cochlear implants compared to research in children with typical hearing. A need for more research with focus on pre-lingual themes in language acquisition is discussed.