Sultana Nuzhat, Brock Aleah S, Purdy Suzanne C
School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Speech-Language Pathology, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA, USA.
J R Soc N Z. 2024 Jun 5;55(3):574-595. doi: 10.1080/03036758.2024.2356183. eCollection 2025.
Recent advances in audiological early intervention and hearing technologies have significantly improved access to spoken language for children with hearing loss (CwHL), but many CwHL require additional support to match the language development of their peers with normal hearing (PwNH). Programmes such as It Takes Two to Talk®, the Hanen Program® and Talking Matters focus on supporting parents to enhance children's language development in natural environments. Analysis of response types has become a significant trend, facilitated by technological developments like Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA®), which provides uninterrupted recordings and automated calculations of adult-child interactions. This research examined three child language measures, child vocalisation counts, total number of words, and mean length of utterance, comparing CwHL and PwNH. Transcribed excerpts of LENA recordings were coded to determine caregivers' use of 'high-level' responses in exchanges with their children and were correlated with child language outcomes. The results confirm the crucial role of caregiver response types in enhancing child language outcomes and exemplify the bidirectional relationship of caregiver-child interactions. The findings add to the literature to suggest that families and educators would benefit from guidance and coaching to acquire and apply high-level response types during natural spoken language interactions with CwHL.
听力学早期干预和听力技术的最新进展显著改善了听力损失儿童（CwHL）获得口语的机会，但许多CwHL儿童仍需要额外支持，以达到听力正常同龄人（PwNH）的语言发展水平。诸如“两人对话”计划、哈嫩计划和“谈话要点”等项目侧重于支持家长在自然环境中促进孩子的语言发展。随着语言环境分析（LENA®）等技术的发展，对回应类型的分析已成为一个重要趋势，该技术可提供成人与儿童互动的不间断录音及自动计算。本研究考察了三项儿童语言指标，即儿童发声次数、单词总数和平均语句长度，对CwHL儿童和PwNH儿童进行了比较。对LENA录音的转录片段进行编码，以确定照顾者在与孩子交流中使用“高级”回应的情况，并将其与儿童语言结果相关联。结果证实了照顾者回应类型在提高儿童语言结果方面的关键作用，并例证了照顾者与儿童互动的双向关系。研究结果补充了相关文献，表明家庭和教育工作者将受益于指导和培训，以便在与CwHL儿童进行自然口语互动时获得并应用高级回应类型。
