Communication skills in a group of bilingual deaf children

Aim: Evaluation of oral language acquisition in a group of prelingually deaf bilingual children with hearing aids or cochlear implant. Materials: We evaluated the communication skills of a group of 50 children followed in our Department from 2005 to 2010, assessing speech perception abilities and language acquisition at 6–12–24 months after auditory habilitation. We examined speech perception using Italian speech standardized tests and language skills acquisition through the McArthur questionnaire. The results were compared with a control group composed by deaf Italian children. Results: After 12 months the second language skills showed progressive improvement, reflecting the children’s exposure to the second language and the experience with the device. The bilingual group showed a language development delayed by one year, due to a delayed intervention and to the second language exposure. Conclusion: An appropriate intervention allows deaf children to learn two languages, with a 1 year delay.