Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, Colorado;
Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, Colorado.
Pediatrics. 2020 Nov;146(Suppl 3):S270-S277. doi: 10.1542/peds.2020-0242F.
Pragmatic language skills form the foundation for conversational competence, whereas deficits in this area are associated with behavioral problems and low literacy skills. Children who are deaf or hard of hearing demonstrate significant delays in this critical area of language. Our purpose with this research was to identify variables associated with pragmatic language ability in children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
This was a longitudinal study of 124 children with bilateral hearing loss between 4 and 7 years of age living in Colorado. As part of a comprehensive speech and language assessment, pragmatic language skills were evaluated annually by using the Pragmatics Checklist.
The children's pragmatic skills increased significantly with age. Higher levels of pragmatic language ability at 7 years of age were predicted by (1) meeting Early Hearing Detection and Intervention 1-3-6 guidelines (hearing screening by 1 month, identification of hearing loss by 3 months, and receiving intervention by 6 months of age), (2) greater quantity of parent talk, (3) higher nonverbal intelligence, (4) lesser degrees of hearing loss, and (5) higher maternal education.
With the findings of this study, we underscore the importance of pediatricians and other health care professionals counseling parents about the value of adherence to the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention 1-3-6 guidelines with regard to intervention outcomes. The strong association between amount of child-directed parent talk in the first 4 years of life and pragmatic language outcomes at 7 years of age emphasizes the need for professionals to encourage parents to talk to their children as much as possible.
实用语言技能是会话能力的基础，而这方面的缺陷与行为问题和低读写能力有关。聋儿或重听儿童在语言的这一关键领域存在明显的延迟。我们研究的目的是确定与聋儿或重听儿童实用语言能力相关的变量。
这是一项针对 124 名年龄在 4 至 7 岁、居住在科罗拉多州的双侧听力损失儿童的纵向研究。作为全面言语和语言评估的一部分，每年使用语用清单评估儿童的语用技能。
儿童的语用技能随年龄显著提高。7 岁时较高的语用语言能力水平由以下因素预测：（1）符合早期听力检测和干预 1-3-6 指南（1 个月内进行听力筛查、3 个月内确定听力损失、6 个月内接受干预）；（2）家长与孩子的对话量较多；（3）较高的非言语智力；（4）听力损失程度较轻；（5）母亲受教育程度较高。
通过本研究的结果，我们强调了儿科医生和其他医疗保健专业人员向家长提供咨询的重要性，告知他们遵循早期听力检测和干预 1-3-6 指南对干预结果的重要性。在生命的前 4 年中，儿童定向的父母谈话量与 7 岁时的语用语言结果之间存在很强的关联，这强调了专业人员鼓励父母尽可能多地与孩子交谈的必要性。
