Lexical–Semantic Organization as Measured by Repeated Word Association in Children Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing Who Use Spoken Language

Abstract

Purpose: This study compares responses of children who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) who use spoken language with responses of children who have typical hearing on a repeated word association task to evaluate lexical–semantic organization. Method: This study included 109 participants in early kindergarten or who had completed first grade. The younger group included 30 children with typical hearing, 22 with hearing aids, and 21 with cochlear implants. The older group included 16 children with typical hearing, nine with hearing aids, and 11 with cochlear implants. Children were asked to give a word associated with 24 stimuli words. Responses were coded according to their relation to the target. Results: An analysis of variance revealed that older children, regardless of hearing status, produced more semantically related responses to prompts than younger children. Children in the younger DHH group differed from children with typical hearing in their production of non–semantically related responses: They produced errored responses at higher rates. Conclusion: This preliminary data may indicate an early deficit in recognition of semantic relations between words for children who are DHH and provides a basis for continued longitudinal study of changes in lexical–semantic organization.