[Comparison of reading skills between cochlear implantation and normal hearing children in second and third grade elementary in Tehran]

ABSTRACT

Reading skill is necessary for academic achievement, that deaf children have problems in this skill due to hearing impairment. Use of cochlear implant can improve auditory inputs. The aim of this study was to investigate the reading skills of children with cochlear implants and comparing that with normal ones. This descriptive - analytic study was done on 24 children with cochlear implant and 24 normal ones that was selected from second and third grades students of Tehran primary schools. Children's reading performance was assessed by Nama reading test and the data were analyzed using T-test, linear regression and Pearson correlations. The results showed that the means of reading scores of normal children were significantly greater than the cochlear implanted ones [P<0.01]. Also, there was a significant relationship between reading skills and period of cochlear implant [P<0.01]. Cochlear implanted children showed weaker performance in reading skills than normal ones due to less access to auditory and Phonological information. It seems that early surgery and cochlear implant before the age of language learning can be partially compensated reading defects of deaf children