Relationships Between Early Child Factors and School Readiness Skills in Young Children With Hearing Loss

Abstract

The goal of this longitudinal study is to examine the relationships between early child factors (i.e., age at identification, enrollment in early intervention, oral language skills) and school readiness skills (i.e., conceptual knowledge) in a group of young children with hearing loss (HL). Standardized language, cognition, and conceptual knowledge measures were administered to eight preschool children with HL (age M = 4.0 years). Significant negative relationships were observed between age at identification and enrollment in early intervention and later school readiness skills. Positive associations emerged between children’s early oral language scores and later school readiness abilities. Individual analyses revealed that children who had lower language standard scores at Time 1 had low school readiness skills 1 year later (Time 2), especially in the area of mathematical concepts. Guidelines for early intervention professionals are provided to support school readiness skills in young children with HL.