Monday, February 11, 2008

Effects of Cochlear Implants on Children's Reading and Academic Achievement

A recent issue of Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education includes a "critical analysis of empirical studies assessing literacy and other domains of academic achievement among children with cochlear implants."

The article concludes that:

This review, however, reveals that although there are clear benefits of cochlear implantation to achievement in young deaf children, empirical results have been somewhat variable. Examination of the literature with regard to reading achievement suggests that the lack of consistent findings might be the result of frequent failures to control potentially confounding variables such as age of implantation, language skills prior to implantation, reading ability prior to implantation, and consistency of implant use. Studies of academic achievement beyond reading are relatively rare, and the extent to which performance in such domains is mediated by reading abilities or directly influenced by hearing, language, and speech remains unclear.

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