The Relation of Articulation and Phonological Awareness in Children With and Without Cochlear Implants

Abstract

This study examined the relation between articulation, speech perception, and phonological awareness skills in children with and without cochlear implants. Elementary age children with normal hearing (n= 53) and elementary children with cochlear implants (n=20) completed measures of phonological awareness, speech perception, and articulation tasks to determine predictors of phonological awareness performance. Children with normal hearing performed higher than children with cochlear implants on all three assessments. For the entire group of children, age was the most significant predictor of phonological awareness skills. When examining children with cochlear implants alone, articulation skills predicted phonological awareness performance above age and speech perception skills. A moderate correlation between phonological awareness, speech perception, and articulation was found for both groups. These findings underscore the importance of understanding the development of phonological awareness in children with cochlear implants and the key risk factors for poor phonological awareness performance.