Practical evaluation procedure to assess and remediate speech perception skills.

The University of Miami/Dade County Public Schools Model Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is a research and training effort dedicated to the utilization of sensory aids including hearing aids, tactual vocoders, and cochlear implants. The program's teachers and clinicians follow the Miami Cochlear Implant, Auditory, and Tactile Skills (CHATS) Curriculum for the development of individualized speech perception and production goals. A series of peech perception tests has been used for the past five years to evaluate the children's progress. The test battery, administered at six month intervals, is extensive and impractical for school clinicians and teachers to administer to their students. To assist teachers and clinicians in the process of selecting appropriate goals and objectives for sensory aid training, a speech perception test has been developed to accompany the curriculum. This paper includes a discussion of the test design as it correlates with the curriculum.