An analysis of phonological process use in young children with cochlear implants

Phonological process use was investigated in five children who used Nucleus 24 cochlear implants (CIs). All participants were <3 years of age at the time of cochlear implantation and ranged from 4;2 to 4;7 years of age at onset of study. Speech samples obtained from the GFTA-2 were analyzed using the KLPA-2 to evaluate participants' phonological systems. Results indicated that four out of five participants used phonological processes for more than 40% of possible occurrences. Data suggest that participants exhibited atypical use of phonological processes relative to their chronological age but these processes were age appropriate considering participants' hearing age. Findings imply that intricate interactions exist between cochlear implantation and phonological development. Findings may be important to clinicians considering selection of assessment tools with the CI population.