Outcomes of an auditory-verbal program for children with hearing loss: A comparative study with a matched group of children with normal hearing

The speech and language developmental progress of children with hearing loss educated using an Auditory-Verbal approach was compared to that of a control group of children with normal hearing. The experimental group consisted of 29 children ages 2-6 years with a mean pure tone average in the better ear of 76.17 dB HL at 0.5, 1 and 2 kHz. The 29 children in the control group were matched for language age, receptive vocabulary, gender and parental education level with the children in the experimental group. A battery of standardized speech and language tests was administered to all children at the start of the study and again nine months later. Results indicated no significant differences in developmental progress between the experimental and control groups. This study is the first phase of a longitudinal study that will examine outcomes for children in an Auditory-Verbal program over four years.