Development of Language and Social Skills in Hearing-impaired Children With and Without Rehabilitation

Background and Purpose: Language learning and socialization is a natural process unique to humans. Profound hearing loss has far-reaching consequences for speech and personal-social development. This study aimed to compare the language and social skills development of normal-hearing children with hearing-impaired ones and studied the effect of hearing rehabilitation on selected developmental aspects of hearing-impaired children. Materials and Methods: Of ۱۴۹ children between ۶ and ۱۸ months recruited for this study, ۵۵ girls and ۶۵ boys were classified as normal-hearing children (NHC), ۱۱ girls and ۱۳ boys as non-rehabilitated hearing-impaired children (NRHIC) group, and ۳ girls and ۲ boys as rehabilitated hearing-impaired children (RHIC) group. The Denver developmental screening test ۲ (DDST-II) evaluated their language and personal-social development. The obtained data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests. Results: The development of language between the NHC group and the RHIC (P=۰.۰۱۶) and NRHIC (P=۰.۰۰۱) groups was statistically significant (P≤۰.۰۵). The development of personal-social skills between the NHC group and RHIC (P=۰.۰۰۴) and NRHIC (P=۰.۰۰۱) groups were statistically significant. However, the difference in these two developmental aspects, language (P=۰.۷۷۰) and personal social (P=۰.۰۴۲۱), between the two hearing-impaired groups was not significant. Conclusion: Delays in language and social skills development are evident in hearing-impaired children at an early age, so the age of onset of rehabilitation should be reduced as early as possible. The Denver-II screening test is recommended to evaluate the language and skills development in the health centers and centers specialized for hearing-impaired children aged ۶ to ۱۸ months.

کلیدواژه ها:

Deafness ، Hearing-impaired rehabilitation ، Social development ، Language acquisition