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Speech Accuracy and Reading in Children with Cochlear Implants

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Abstract

Research on relations between hearing through cochlear implants and accurate speech is still scarce. The present study used the stimulus equivalence paradigm to investigate the effects of systematically teaching reading skills on speech accuracy in four children with cochlear implants. We used 17 sets of stimuli, each with three dictated (A) and printed (C) words, corresponding pictures (B), and dictated and printed syllables from each word (As and Cs). After teaching stimulus–stimulus relations (AB, AC, and AsCs) and stimulus–response relations (i.e., constructed responses under the control of printed words [CE]), we measured emergent relations, including picture naming (BD) and word reading (CD). Word reading and picture naming were systematically evaluated across stimulus sets (units) according to a single-subject experimental design. All four children presented improvements in reading and speech accuracy in the picture-naming tasks. These results suggest that exposing children with cochlear implants to equivalence-based instructional programs can improve speech accuracy in picture naming in this population through the transfer of stimulus control from printed words to pictures.

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Funding

This research was funded - for the first author - by FAPESP (2014/00541-4). The second and third authors’ funds were provided by CNPq Researcher Grant. The first, second and fifth authors are members of the National Institute of Science and Technology on Behavior, Cognition and Teaching, funded by FAPESP (Process # 2008/57705-8) and CNPq (Process # 573972 / 2008-7).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidade Paulista – UNIP, Bauru, Brazil

    Fernando Del Mando Lucchesi

  2. Universidade Estadual Paulista - UNESP, Av. Eng Edmundo Carrijo Coube s/n, CEP: 17033-360, Bauru, SP, Brasil

    Fernando Del Mando Lucchesi & Ana Claudia M. Almeida-Verdu

  3. Universidade Estadual Paulista – UNESP, Bauru, Brazil

    Ana Claudia M. Almeida-Verdu & Alessandra Turini Bolsoni-Silva

  4. Hospital de Reabilitação de Anomalias Craniofaciais – HRAC, Bauru, Brazil

    Maria José Monteiro Benjamin Buffa

  5. Universidade Federal de São Carlos – UFSCar, São Carlos, Brazil

    Deisy das Graças de Souza

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  1. Fernando Del Mando Lucchesi
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  2. Ana Claudia M. Almeida-Verdu
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  3. Alessandra Turini Bolsoni-Silva
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  4. Maria José Monteiro Benjamin Buffa
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  5. Deisy das Graças de Souza
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Correspondence to Fernando Del Mando Lucchesi or Ana Claudia M. Almeida-Verdu.

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Ethical Approval

This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee at the hospital where the study was developed (State of São Paulo, Brazil). The data files of the candidates’ charts were collected from the institution and the initial repertoire characterization tests were applied after both the legal tutor and the participant accepted to participate in the research. The consent form was signed by all legal tutors of participants included in this study.

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Lucchesi, F.D.M., Almeida-Verdu, A.C.M., Bolsoni-Silva, A.T. et al. Speech Accuracy and Reading in Children with Cochlear Implants. Psychol Rec 72, 697–711 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-022-00518-w

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