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EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF DEVICE WEAR TIME ON CLASSROOM LANGUAGE PRODUCTION AND ASSESSED LANGUAGE ABILITIES IN CHILDREN
Location: East Ballroom
Mentor: Dr. Daniel Messinger
The use of cochlear implants (CIs) and hearing aids (HAs) in children has revolutionized access to sound and language development. While previous research has established a positive association between device (CI or HA) wear time and language development, it remains unclear how this relationship relates to children's language production within naturalistic environments. Here, we asked whether childrens device weartime is positively associated with their language interactions in preschool classrooms. We collected objective measures of vocalization and social interactions in 3 sequential cohorts of twenty-two 2-4 year old children (12 CI and 10 HA) in 2 auditory-oral language inclusive preschool classrooms for children with and without hearing loss. We will investigate if children’s device weartime is associated with kids’ language production in the classroom and whether this language production mediates an association between their device weartime and assessed language abilities. The results will inform future classroom based interventions to support children with hearing loss.
