Speech production accuracy and variability in young cochlear implant recipients: comparisons with typically developing age-peers.

PURPOSE: The speech production accuracy and variability scores of 6 young cochlear implant (CI) recipients with 2 years of device experience were compared with those of typically developing (TD) age-peers.
METHOD: Words from the First Words Speech Test (FWST; Ertmer, 1999) were imitated 3 times to assess the accuracy and variability of initial consonants, vowels, and words. The initial consonants in the 4 sets of the FWST followed a typical order of development.
RESULTS: The TD group produced targets with high accuracy and low variability. Their scores across FWST sets reflected the expected order of development. The CI group produced most targets less accurately and with more variability than the TD children. Relatively high accuracy for the consonants of Sets 1 and 2 indicated that these phonemes were acquired early and in a typical developmental order. A trend toward greater accuracy for Set 4 as compared with Set 3 suggested that later-emerging consonants were not acquired in the expected order. Variability was greatest for later-emerging initial consonants and whole words. DISCUSSION: Although considerable speech production proficiency was evident, age-level performance was not attained after 2 years of CI experience. Factors that might influence the order of consonant acquisition are discussed.