Connor Carol McDonald
Florida State University, College of Education and the Florida Center for Reading Research, 227 N Bronough Street, Suite 7250, Tallahassee, FL 32301, USA.
J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ. 2006 Fall;11(4):449-60. doi: 10.1093/deafed/enl001. Epub 2006 Jun 5.
The purpose of this longitudinal case study was to closely examine one deaf child's experience with a cochlear implant and his speech, language, and communication skills from kindergarten through middle and high school using both developmental and sociocultural frameworks. The target child was one of the first children to receive a cochlear implant in the United States in 1988, when he was 5 years of age. The developmental analysis revealed that prior to receiving a cochlear implant the child demonstrated profound delays in speech and language skill development. His speech and language skills grew slowly during the first 3-4 years following implantation, very rapidly from about 5 through 7 years postimplantation, then slowed to rates that were highly similar to same-age peers with normal hearing. The sociocultural analysis revealed that the child's communicative competence improved; that he used sign language but use of sign language decreased as his oral communication skills improved; that as his oral communication skills improved, the adults talked and directed the topic of conversation less frequently; and that topics became less concrete and more personal over time. The results of this study indicate that we may learn more about how to support children who use cochlear implants by examining what they are saying as well as how they are saying it.
这项纵向案例研究的目的是，运用发展和社会文化框架，深入考察一名失聪儿童从幼儿园到初中及高中阶段使用人工耳蜗的经历以及他的言语、语言和沟通技能。该目标儿童是1988年美国首批接受人工耳蜗植入的儿童之一，当时他5岁。发展分析显示，在接受人工耳蜗植入之前，该儿童在言语和语言技能发展方面存在严重滞后。在植入后的头3至4年里，他的言语和语言技能增长缓慢，从植入后约5年到7年增长迅速，之后增速放缓，与同龄听力正常的儿童高度相似。社会文化分析显示，该儿童的沟通能力有所提高；他使用手语，但随着口语沟通能力的提高，手语的使用减少；随着他口语沟通能力的提高，成年人交谈并主导话题的频率降低；随着时间的推移，话题变得不那么具体，更加个人化。这项研究的结果表明，通过考察使用人工耳蜗的儿童在说什么以及怎么说，我们可能会更多地了解如何为他们提供支持。
