Systematic review of speech and language intervention for young children with cochlear implants : a guide for speech language pathologists

In the United States, permanent hearing loss affects approximately 3 newborns in 1,000 making it the most common birth defect. Current widespread use of universal newborn hearing screening has resulted in an average age of identification of hearing loss of 2-3 months. As the population of children who are identified early in life and fitted with cochlear implants (CI) grows, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are likely encounter clients from this population. However, the majority of SLPs are not educated as to the various modes of communication that can be used with children with CI as they learn spoken language. The focus of this review is to provide SLPs with an evidence-based resource to guide their decision-making regarding appropriate communication mode for children with CI.