Long-term predictors of narrative skill in children with early bilateral cochlear implants

Narratives require the integration of many different linguistic skills and can be used as an ecologically valid measure of child language development. This study investigated the narrative skills of 18 six- to seven-year-old prelingually deaf children who received simultaneous bilateral cochlear implants (CI) between 5 and 18months of age. No significant differences were found on any of the narrative measures between this group and a matched group of normal-hearing children. Measures taken of the children at 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, 36 and 48months post-implantation, and measures from their parents were examined as possible predictors of narrative skills 72months post-implantation. Child auditory skills, expressive language and receptive language were significant predictors of later narrative skills. A greater use of auditory-verbal language relative to visually supported language by parents and educators was associated with increased language complexity in child narratives. These results strongly suggest that early bilateral CI is associated with improved language outcomes for children with severe congenital hearing loss.