The Effect of Parental Sensitivity on the Language Development of a Young Deaf Child with Cochlear Implants

Hearing parents of deaf or partially deaf infants are confronted with the complicated question of communication with their child. This question is complicated further by conflicting advice on how to address the child: in spoken language only, in spoken language supported by signs, or in sign language. This paper profiles one such case longitudinally during the first eighteen months of life of the infant. The mother-child dyad was observed when the child was seven, nine, twelve and eighteen months old. Changes in the mother's approach to communication with her child and their consequent effects on the child's language development will be highlighted.
The infant concerned has a hearing loss of more than 90dB on both ears, which qualified her for cochlear implantation. At the age of ten months she was implanted on her left side (30/04/2010). By means of several assessments instruments the influence of the ambient linguistic environment on the language development of the infant in question was investigated before and after implantation. These instruments include: Pragmatics Profile of Everyday Communication; Profile of Actual Linguistic Skills; video-images of interaction analysed in ELAN; MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory for spoken Dutch and Flemish Sign Language (from nine months onwards). Results for each individual assessment moment are given as well as an overarching interpretation of evolution in the language development.
The child seems to be profiting from a bimodal/bilingual approach to communication up to nine months of age. She is progressing considerably in both spoken Dutch and Flemish Sign Language, with a possible onset of functional code-switch. However, a setback is evidenced in the child's language development, mirrored in a setback in the mother's sensitive behaviour as she moves to a more monolingual approach after cochlear implantation.