A longitudinal study of speech feature contrast production in children with cochlear implants

This study examined changes in production of speech features by children with cochlear implants over a one year period. Sixteen children (Mean age = 4, Range 3;2 to 5;11) with a mean of 32 months experience with their implants and no additional disabilities served as participants. The children were asked to name a series of pictures designed to elicit production of the following speech characteristics: Vowel Height, Vowel Place, Consonant Place (Front and Back contrasts), Continuance and Consonant Voicing. Children were evaluated at both a baseline date, and approximately one year later. The results reveal that while all children appeared able to produce the range of vowel features, a number of younger children, particularly those under 4 years of age, experienced difficulty producing the consonant features. One year later nearly all children showed increased accuracy, although some children continued to show lower accuracy producing Back Place and Continuance feature contrasts.