Comparison of Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication Between Deaf Children with no Cochlear Implantation and Deaf Children 12-24 Months After Cochlear Implantation

Article Info Comparison of Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication Between Deaf Children with no Cochlear Implantation and Deaf Children 12-24 Months After Cochlear Implantation Nahid Jalilevand1*, Mona Ebrahimipour2, Masoud Motasaddi Zarandi3, Mohamad Kamali4, Leyla Fayazi5 1. PhD, Department of Speech Therapy, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2. PhD, Department of Speech Therapy, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran 3. PhD, .Department of Otolaryngology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 4. PhD , Department of Rehabilitation Management, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 5. PhD Student in Linguistics, Department of Speech & Language Pathology, Special Education Organization, Tehran, Iran Background and Objectives: It has been shown that cochlear implant significantly improves verbal communication in deaf children. The aim of the current study was to investigate and compare the verbal and non-verbal communication abilities in two groups of deaf children: without cochlear implant (CI), and children using CI for 1224 months. The results were then compared with typically-developing children as the control group. Methods: 87 children participated in this cross-sectional, descriptive analytical study, (14 deaf children without CI, 25 children with CI that their hearing ages were 12 to 24 months and 48 normal children aged 12 to 24 months). A reliable verbal and non-verbal checklist was completed by parents and nonparametric method was used for data analyzing. Results: The results indicated that non-verbal communication skills were similar in all groups with no significant difference (P>0.05). However, verbal abilities in deaf children without CI were significantly impaired compared to the children with CI and control group (P<0.05). Furthermore, there was no significant difference between the verbal communication scores of children with CI and normal children (P>0.05). Conclusion: It can be expected that deaf children who receive CI, will reach the verbal communication abilities of 12-24-month-old typically children, at least 12 to 24 months post-implantation