A new approach to children's education quarterly

A new approach to children's education quarterly

Investigating the Effectiveness of an Auditory Rehabilitation Program on Speech Development of Preschool Deaf Children with Cochlear Implants in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
farhad mohammed amin 1
Saeid hassanzadeh 2
Gholam Ali Afrooz 3
Keivan Kakabraee 4
1 Doctoral student, Psychology and Education of Exceptional Children, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
2 Associate Professor, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Tehran
3 Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Tehran
4 Professor, Department of Psychology, Kermanshah Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah, Iran.
10.22034/naes.2025.496666.1629
Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an auditory verbal rehabilitation program on speech development performance in preschool children with cochlear implants in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. This was an experimental study using a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The sample consisted of 24 deaf children (12 in the experimental group and 12 in the control group). The sampling method was purposeful and convenience sampling. The main tool for assessing speech development performance in deaf children was the Speech Clarity Rating Scale. This scale was developed in 1998 by Allen and colleagues to assess the speech production of children. The experimental group received auditory verbal rehabilitation training (12 sessions lasting 45 minutes, 2 or 3 times a week), while the control group received no intervention. The measurement tools included speech development questionnaires administered at both pre-test and post-test stages. The data were analyzed using SPSS software and covariance analysis. After six months of implementing the rehabilitation program, the findings showed that the average speech development scores for the control group were 2.92 in the pre-test phase and 2.85 in the post-test phase, while for the experimental group, the scores were 3.17 in the pre-test phase and 3.58 in the post-test phase. The results of the one-way analysis of variance of the speech development scores before the training indicated that there were no significant differences between the two groups (experimental and control) before the intervention (P > 0.05). The one-way analysis of covariance showed that after adjusting for the pre-test effects, there was a significant difference in the post-test mean scores between the experimental and control groups (P < 0.01). The effect size of this difference was 0.61, meaning that 61% of the variance in speech development was attributable to the group differences. Finally, the adjusted mean post-test speech development scores revealed that the experimental group (3.48) performed better than the control group (2.94) in the post-test. On the other hand, it can be said that the active participation of parents in the therapeutic process accelerated speech learning and improved the child's performance in natural environments. These findings suggest that the verbal auditory rehabilitation program can be an effective tool for improving the speech and language skills of deaf children in various regions, including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Keywords
Keywords: Auditory-Verbal Therapy
speech development
cochlear implantation
preschool children
hearing loss

Subjects

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A new approach to children's education quarterly
Volume 7, Issue 1 - Serial Number 23
Spring 2025
Pages 117-126

  • Receive Date 29 December 2024
  • Revise Date 15 January 2025
  • Accept Date 14 February 2025
  • First Publish Date 14 February 2025
  • Publish Date 22 May 2025