Effectiveness of an auditory verbal therapy on developing auditory skills to increase expressive language in pre-school deaf children with cochlear implants

The current research aimed to verify the effectiveness of an auditory-verbal therapy on developing auditory skills (auditory discovery, auditory discrimination, auditory recognition, and auditory comprehension) in preschoolchildren with cochlear implants to increase expressive language skills. A sample of (20) children from implanted children participated, attending speech unit at Teaching Hospital, Benha University, Qalyubia Governorate, ages 4-6 years, with severe sensor neural hearing loss before cochlear implantation. They were divided into two groups, experimental and control; (10) children with cochlear implants each contains (6) female children and (4) male children. The IQ of these children is in the normal range (90-100). The research used auditory skills scale, expressive language scale, and the auditory-verbal therapy program (prepared by the researcher). The study results verified the effectiveness of its program in achieving statistically significant differences in the mean scores of experimental group compared to control group, and the mean scores of experimental group pre and post assessment after applying the program favoring the post-assessment in auditory skills and expressive language. The research concludes the importance of auditory skills training to increase expressive language in preschool children with cochlear implants, as it is the true meaning of life and the main goal of implantation.