Speech and Language Development in Children with Profound Deafness over 90dB

The 1st Report

Abstract

The detailed development of speech and language in a young girl with very severe hearing losses of 100dB was described. She begun to wear a hearing aid as soon as the diagnosis was made at the age of two years and four months. Language education was conducted mainly by her mother who participated in our home training program. The girl entered a school for the deaf at the age of four years and eleven months. The data were mainly collected through the mother's diary specially kept for describing the development of human relation and language comprehension as well as verbal or nonverbal expression in her deaf girl. The results obtained were summarized as follows:
1) A marked growthh of a vocabulary as well as the development of syntax was noted after the age of three years and three months when she found that all things have their own names.
2) The pattern of the development of speech in the girl was essentially not different from that observed in normal children.
3) A residual hearing was indispensable for her acquisition of speech and language even though the hearing losses were as severe as 100dB.