'University of Sarajevo Faculty of Health Sciences'
Abstract
Traditionally, children with a significant prelingual hearing loss have attained
reading outcomes no higher than fourth grade (Gallaudet Research Institute, 2002; Holt,
Traxler & Allen, 1997). With the advent of multi-channel cochlear implantation,
children with a significant hearing loss gained the potential to access spoken language
and to engage in phonological processing via audition. In children with normal hearing,
better reading outcomes have been associated with better phonological processing
ability (e.g., Catts & Kamhi, 2005; Griffiths & Snowling, 2001; Muter, Hulme,
Snowling, & Stevenson, 2004; Rvachew & Grawburg, 2006; Stackhouse & Wells,
1997 ; Wagner, Torgesen, Laughon, Simmons, & Rashotte, 1993). While there is some
evidence that cochlear implantation is associated with improvements in speech,
language and reading outcomes (e.g., Geers, 2003; Geers, Nicholas, & Sedey, 2003b;
Spencer, Barker, & Tomblin, 2003; Thoutenhoofd, 2006; Tomblin, Spencer, Flock,
Tyler, & Gantz, 1999), less is known about the phonological processing abilities of
these children. Furthermore, although the outcome research has generally been positive,
there has been great variability in performance both within a cohort of children and
across studies. Heterogeneous participant profiles, particularly the varying modes of
communication used by participants, have made it difficult to draw meaningful
conclusions about factors associated with good reading outcomes for children using a
cochlear implant.
There is a need to determine the reading, speech, language and phonological
processing abilities of a homogenous cohort of children using a cochlear implant.
Further there is a need to explore whether factors associated with reading outcomes in
children with normal hearing such as phonological processing, are also related to
reading outcomes in children using a cochlear implant. This thesis documents the
reading outcomes, and skills related to reading outcomes in a relatively homogenous
group of children who use a cochlear implant and oral communication. The
relationships between the children’s performance on tasks of word reading, reading
comprehension, speech perception, speech production, language and phonological
processing are explored to provide a big picture view of which skills might be related to
good reading outcomes
