Reading and speech intelligibility of a child with auditory impairment and cochlear implant

Abstract

Children with impaired hearing and cochlear implants produce better speech intelligibility when it is under control of textual stimuli rather than pictures. When teaching promotes equivalence relations between stimuli, it may also promote transfer of stimulus control of vocalization responses from text to pictures, with improvement in picture naming (tact) performance. This study verified the effects of a reading curriculum based on the equivalence relations paradigm on the speech intelligibility of a cochlear implanted child through systematic picture naming probes during intervention. Results showed improvement in speech intelligibility during picture naming trials after exposure to the curriculum, with a higher percentage of correct responses.