A SCOPING REVIEW OF EMERGENT LITERACY INTERVENTIONS AND THEIR APPLICABILITY IN TREATING CHILDREN WITH COCHLEAR IMPLANTS
Abstract
Emergent literacy skills are essential for all children to acquire before learning to read and write. Children who are diagnosed with a severe hearing loss can have greater difficulty than children with normal hearing in attaining critical emergent literacy skills, such as print knowledge, phonological awareness, and oral language. While a cochlear implant provides a child with hearing loss the ability to access their surrounding acoustic environment, the information they receive from their implant is limited in providing a precise range of sounds compared to individuals with normal hearing (Nittrouer, Caldwell, Lowenstein, Tarr, & Holloman, 2012; Lee, Yim, & Sim, 2012). Children with cochlear implants therefore run the risk of missing acoustic information from their surrounding environment that is vital to attaining these emergent literacy skills. The purpose of this undergraduate research project is to discover what interventions will best aid in helping children with cochlear implants acquire critical emergent literacy skills. A scoping review of the current literature will be used to identify possible interventions for helping children with cochlear implants attain the emergent literacy skills of print knowledge, phonological awareness, and oral language. This research will offer a better understanding of directions for future research as well as how clinicians can provide children with hearing loss the tools to be successful in reading and writing, providing a solid foundation for future academic success.