Speech Language and Hearing Expectations for Children with Hearing Loss
Your child needs to wear his or her cochlear implant(s)/hearing technology all waking hours. A typically hearing baby listens for 10 waking hours a day, 365 days a year. A typically hearing toddler listens for 12 hours a day 365 days a year. This is vital for your child to access language and to make adequate progress.
1 Month Hearing Age
- Head turn as a physical response to sound (Speech/environmental ex: microwave, car horn, etc.)
- Detection of ling 6 sounds (ah, oo, mm,ee, sh, ss)
3 Months Hearing Age
- Imitate 3 of 6 Ling sounds
- Pattern perception (long versus short, etc.)
- Recognize intensity and pitch ( loud/soft, high/low)
- Imitate 3 to 5 Learning to Listen sounds ( ex: meow, vroom vroom)
- Start to teach conditioned play (“listen and drop”)
6 Months Hearing Age
- Complete comprehensive speech, language and hearing evaluation (Celf-P 2, GFTA, ROWEVT, Auditory Placement Test, etc.)
- Distinguish between consonants and vowels
- Pattern perception for 1,2,3 syllable words
- Identify at least 1 to 2 nursery rhymes with accompanying hand motions ( Wheels on the bus, Itsy Bitsy Spider)
- Comprehend 3 to 5 familiar phrases ( ex: sit down)
9 Months Hearing Age
- Identify at least 1 critical element in a message (Get the ball, Show me the cat, etc.)
- Imitate 10-15 Learning to Listen sounds
- Identify familiar Learning to Listen sounds by sound (ex: moo, meow, etc.)
- Identify familiar nursery rhymes by picture pointing from a closed set
- Imitate variety of consonants by manner( b,p,m,n,h,w)
12 Months Hearing Age
- First spoken words (approximately 10)
- Imitation of animal sounds ( expand imitation of Learning to Listen sounds)
- Identify 3 to 5 body parts
- Label familiar objects (ball, car, etc.)
- Identify familiar pictures in a book by pointing
- Identify early developing prepositions (on, in, etc.)
18+ Months Hearing Age
- Advanced vocabulary development
- Advanced spoken words
- Readily uses power words and familiar phrases (help me, etc.)
- Answers “WH” questions (Why? When? Where?)
- Identifies 2+ critical elements in a message (Get the ball and the car.)
Complete Speech/Language re-evaluation completed every 6-12 months to monitor progress while child is enrolled in speech therapy. Annual Speech/Language evaluation thereafter. Minimally, evaluations scheduled at transition points - entering elementary school, middle school, high school, and post-secondary schooling.
Progress and prognosis are affected by age of identification, early intervention, type and degree of hearing loss, other contributing disabilities, cognition, communication choice, family involvement, etc.