The emergence of segmental accuracy in young cochlear implant recipients.

In the first steps toward intelligible speech, children must match sounds they can produce with salient word targets from their environment. Differences in auditory history between normal-hearing children (NH) and children receiving cochlear implants (CI) before the age of 24 months afford examination of the production system and auditory perceptual effects on the emergence of early segmental accuracy. Consonant and vowel inventories, accuracy and error patterns during the single-word period were examined in four NH and four CI children. NH and CI groups differed significantly on consonant accuracy, shifting from omissions to correct productions. Vowel productions improved from partially correct to correct. Both groups improved over time and showed similar patterns for segmental accuracy. Results suggest resilience of the production system to differences in auditory history.