Parental Contingent Verbal Response to Early Vocalizations of Simultaneous Bilateral Cochlear Implantees

Abstract

Objectives: The parental verbal response greatly influences infants’ speech-language development in early communication. This study aimed to investigate the features of parental verbal responses in infants who have undergone simultaneous bilateral cochlear implantation compared to chronological age-matched (CA) and hearing age-matched (HA) children who have typical hearing.Methods: Thirteen pairs of infants with cochlear implants (CIs) and their parents, 13 pairs of CA infants and their parents, and 13 pairs of HA infants and their parents participated in this study. The parent-infant interaction task was conducted in a free-play situation. Infants’ vocalizations were classified into canonical and non-canonical vocalizations. Parental verbal responses were divided into parental contingent responses (PCRs), parental non-contingent responses (PNCRs), and no response (NR). PCRs were divided into the language expectant and language non-expectant responses.Results: There was no significant difference in the ratio of parental verbal responses between the three groups. The ratio of parental verbal responses to non-canonical vocalizations was higher than parental verbal responses to canonical vocalizations. Additionally, the ratio of PCRs was higher than that of PNCRs and NR, and the ratio of language expectant responses was higher than that of language non-expectant responses. However, the ratio of language development responses to non-canonical vocalizations is similar to that of canonical vocalizations in the CI group.Conclusion: Parents of the simultaneous bilateral CI group tend to respond quickly and sensitively to the vocalization of infants’ vocalizations. Parents in the CI group can adjust their language based on their infant’s vocalization and development. These findings can guide early intervention and coaching for parents of infants with CIs.