what are speech therapy techniques ,and activities for cochlear implant children?

Question

i am a speech language pathology +audiology student , and i am practicing now in my last year of graduation so i have this case(articulation +language disorders due to hearing loss ) that i would like to know more about the treatment techniques for such of these cases.

Answer 1

Hi, I'm an Audiologist
My experience has been limited to diagnostic evaluation for candidacy, but I do have my B.S. in Speech.

Can you please Add Details to your question (pencil icon on button bar below your question)? Such as, are you a speech/language pathologist or a teacher or a parent?
And why are you asking this? Usually this is all handled and coordinated through the implant center, and provided by experienced professionals. So my first suggestion is to get in contact with the child's CI team leader/case manager.

Aural Habilitation techniques for Cochlear Implantees
-I'm going to do a search for a better forum in which to ask this question.

ASHA (American Speech-Language/Hearing Association)
has many pages on there website: http://www.asha.org/
http://www.listen-up.org/ci/ci-support.htm
http://www.boystownhospital.org/Cochlear/Resources/index.asp
http://www.healthyhearing.com/library/article_content.asp?article_id=211
http://www.childrenshearing.org/custom/implant_info.html
http://www.hearingloss.org/learn/ci-fact-sheet.asp
http://www.hearingexchange.com/articles/featured_article_073102.htm
http://www.pbs.org/22ndcentury/story_skull.html
http://www.cihear.com/ also at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CIHear/
http://debrah.blog.com/


• • • • •

Thanks for the additional details.

I have to say that due to your grammatical errors, I am assuming that you are outside of the U.S.A. because my professors would have had a fit if a "Communication Sciences" major were not fluent in English! LOL! The head of the Speech department almost didn't accept me into the program because I have a bit of a lisp due to an underbite! I am also guessing that you mean that you will soon have your undergraduate/Bachelor's degree (or equivalent).

I am sorry that you have such a challenging case as a student! If the child has not progressed after a couple years (which you say in the other question you posted) then my first concern is that the Cochlear Implant is not working effectively. This is most likely due to 2 reasons:

1) the hearing loss may not have been cochlear, but neural, such as an Auditory Neuropathy; or the child may have other Central Auditory Processing issues or neurological factors preventing the sounds from being transmitted properly and/or used effectively on a neurological level. Does she respond to sounds during behavioral testing of the CI equipment or even localize to moderate levels of sound? Does she have other impairments/disorders?

2) the surgery was unsuccessful in terms of the placement of the electrode, or the processor is not working properly. Has the equipment been tested by qualified personnel (preferably the Audiologist at the Implant center or better yet, the manufacturer)?

Because this little girl has not responded well to speech/language therapy and aural habilitation, I believe it is ethically correct to begin teaching alternate language tecniques, such as cued speech or sign language or Oral/Aural Speech techniques, as though she were NOT implanted. Too much critical time of the her neurological language development has passed and no more should be wasted. Of course this requires the consent of the parent(s).

I am highly concerned that the professors at your center have allowed this much time to go by in the life of a child. This case is VERY different than the case I had as a student - he was an older man who had a stroke and he had plateaued in his recovery a couple years before I met him. In your case it is a little girl whose entire future is impacted by how well she develops language/communication skills.

So my advice is to first refer the child back to the implant center for a comprehensive evaluation to determine if the device is working properly. Again, the CI manufacturer's have representatives to go out and work with the patients to ensure the best possible result. Do not hesitate to contact the manufacturer for her device (it should be imprinted on the processor along wit the serial #). Here are contact links:

Boston Scientific/Advanced Bionics:
http://www.cochlearimplant.com/contactus.cfm?langid=1

Cochlear Corporation:
http://www.cochlearamericas.com/Support/405.asp

Med-El:
http://www.medel.com/ENG/US/60_Contact_and_support/10_Contact_a_MED-EL_office/000_medel_address.asp

Neurelec:
http://www.neurelec.com/en/contacts/index.html

Feel free to contact me with any additional questions/comments:
[e-mail]

Answer 2

No, I am not against cochlear implants! I have two. I grew up with normal hearing but lost it during my 30s and 40s. I think parents need to make the best possible decisions for their children, and if I had a deaf newborn, I would be signing her/him up for a cochlear implant as soon as possible. This is not a decision best made by the child at a later date because of the way that we human acquire language. A newborn begins to acquire language the moment she/he is born, and if that child lives in deafness, she/he will miss windows of opportunity to easily develop their listening and speaking skills, in addition to their ability to express themselves musically. I respect that Deaf individuals may make other choices for themselves and their children. I have no interest in changing their minds. Yet, a baby who get a cochlear implant (now they are likely to do implants on both sides because hearing from both sides yields huge gains in comprehending what the child hears and helps him/her "localize" sound -- i.e., figure out where a certain noise is coming from) will not miss out on the windows of time that allow for learning. Cochlear implant surgery has a very strong safety record and is a very low-risk procedure in terms of side effects. No, it's not easy, but the rewards are incredible and life changing. And hey, if I ever don't want to hear, all I do is slip of my processors.

Answer 3

I have done it a couple of times,

you have to start with small words and syllables, begin with small distingishable words such as "apples" and "oranges". Tell the person to repeat after you. Do these exercise an hour a day.

Well, as speech gets better use harder less distingishable words such as "hide" and "hike," and so on. Don't let the frustration get to you and don't be discouraged, some people may take longer


Try to have a normal conversation.
If you stick to it for at least 3 months.
THey really work well!

good luck!