Retrieval Practice Strategies for Language Learning in Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children
Recruiting in Palo Alto (17 mi)
Age: < 18
Sex: Any
Travel: May Be Covered
Time Reimbursement: Varies
Trial Phase: Academic
Recruiting
Sponsor: Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Disqualifiers: Below average cognition, vision impairment, motor impairment
No Placebo Group
Trial Summary
What is the purpose of this trial?This study is designed to advance the promising yet underutilized research on retrieval practice by evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of two key retrieval practice features (feedback and spacing). The study uses four single case adapted alternating treatments studies, each with four 5- to 8-year-old children who are deaf and hard of hearing to evaluate the effects of feedback and spacing on the efficiency of word learning and retention.
Will I have to stop taking my current medications?
The trial information does not specify whether participants need to stop taking their current medications.
What data supports the effectiveness of the treatment Feedback, No teaching control for language learning in deaf and hard of hearing children?
The research on auditory and audiovisual word learning for children with hearing loss shows that children can learn effectively with both auditory-only and audiovisual conditions compared to a no-teaching control, suggesting that feedback in language learning can be beneficial. Additionally, studies indicate that deaf children exposed to spoken language with signs tend to understand and produce more words, highlighting the potential effectiveness of feedback in language learning.
12345Is retrieval practice safe for deaf and hard of hearing children?
The studies reviewed do not provide specific safety data for retrieval practice strategies in deaf and hard of hearing children, but they do not report any adverse effects related to similar educational interventions.
678910How does the treatment for language learning in deaf and hard of hearing children differ from other treatments?
This treatment is unique because it focuses on retrieval practice strategies, which involve actively recalling information to enhance learning, rather than relying solely on visual or contextual cues. This approach is different from other methods that may emphasize explicit instruction or orthographic (spelling-related) facilitation, as it specifically targets the cognitive process of memory retrieval to improve language skills.
111121314Eligibility Criteria
This trial is for deaf and hard of hearing children aged 5-8 who only speak English, have some prelingual hearing loss, and normal nonverbal cognition. They should have basic receptive and expressive vocabulary skills but can't participate if they have severe motor impairments or uncorrected vision issues.Inclusion Criteria
You have some level of hearing loss from birth.
You need to have good vocabulary skills, scoring at least 70 in tests for understanding and using words.
I only speak English.
Exclusion Criteria
You have difficulty with thinking and problem-solving skills without using words.
I have severe difficulty moving or controlling my movements.
You have vision problems that have not been fixed with glasses or contacts.
Trial Timeline
Screening
Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial
2-4 weeks
Intervention
Participants undergo retrieval practice interventions focusing on feedback and spacing to improve word learning and retention
Up to 6 months
Follow-up
Participants are monitored for retention of word learning after the intervention
4 weeks
Participant Groups
The study tests how well different teaching methods help these children learn words. It compares giving feedback versus no feedback, and doing learning sessions close together (massed) versus spread out over time (spaced). There's also a control group with no teaching.
4Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Group I: Contrast DExperimental Treatment3 Interventions
Spaced vs massed trials with feedback
Group II: Contrast CExperimental Treatment3 Interventions
Spaced vs massed trials without feedback
Group III: Contrast BExperimental Treatment3 Interventions
Feedback vs no feedback with spaced trials
Group IV: Contrast AExperimental Treatment3 Interventions
Feedback vs no feedback with massed trials
Find a Clinic Near You
Research Locations NearbySelect from list below to view details:
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterNashville, TN
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Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterLead Sponsor
References
The strengths and weaknesses in verbal short-term memory and visual working memory in children with hearing impairment and additional language learning difficulties. [2014]To compare verbal short-term memory and visual working memory abilities of six children with congenital hearing-impairment identified as having significant language learning difficulties with normative data from typically hearing children using standardized memory assessments.
Comparing Auditory-Only and Audiovisual Word Learning for Children With Hearing Loss. [2020]Although reducing visual input to emphasize auditory cues is a common practice in pediatric auditory (re)habilitation, the extant literature offers minimal empirical evidence for whether unisensory auditory-only (AO) or multisensory audiovisual (AV) input is more beneficial to children with hearing loss for developing spoken language skills. Using an adapted alternating treatments single case research design, we evaluated the effectiveness and efficiency of a receptive word learning intervention with and without access to visual speechreading cues. Four preschool children with prelingual hearing loss participated. Based on probes without visual cues, three participants demonstrated strong evidence for learning in the AO and AV conditions relative to a control (no-teaching) condition. No participants demonstrated a differential rate of learning between AO and AV conditions. Neither an inhibitory effect predicted by a unisensory theory nor a beneficial effect predicted by a multisensory theory for providing visual cues was identified. Clinical implications are discussed.
Lexical and grammatical abilities in deaf Italian preschoolers: the role of duration of formal language experience. [2008]We evaluated language development in deaf Italian preschoolers with hearing parents, taking into account the duration of formal language experience (i.e., the time elapsed since wearing a hearing aid and beginning language education) and different methods of language education. Twenty deaf children were matched with 20 hearing children for age and with another 20 hearing children for duration of experience. Deaf children showed a significant delay in both vocabulary and grammar when compared to same-age hearing children yet a similar development compared to hearing children matched for duration of formal language experience. The delay in linguistic development could be attributable to shorter formal language experience and not to deafness itself. Deaf children exposed to spoken language accompanied by signs tended to understand and produce more words than children exposed only to spoken language. We suggest that deaf children be evaluated based on their linguistic experience and cognitive and communicative potential.
Longitudinal Development of Executive Functioning and Spoken Language Skills in Preschool-Aged Children With Cochlear Implants. [2021]Purpose Auditory deprivation has downstream effects on the development of language and executive functioning (EF) in prelingually deaf children with cochlear implants (CIs), but little is known about the very early development of EF during preschool ages in children with CIs. This study investigated the longitudinal development of EF and spoken language skills in samples of children with normal hearing (NH; N = 40) or CIs (N = 41) during preschool ages. Method Participants were enrolled in the study between ages 3 and 6 years and evaluated annually up to the age of 7 years. Mixed-effects models were used to evaluate and predict growth of spoken language and EF skills over time. Results Children with CIs scored lower than NH peers on language measures but improved significantly over time. On performance-based neurocognitive measures of controlled attention, inhibition, and working memory, children with CIs scored more poorly than the sample of NH peers but comparable to norms, whereas on a parent report behavior checklist, children with CIs scored more poorly than both NH peers and norms on inhibition and working memory. Children with CIs had poorer EF than the sample of NH peers in most domains even after accounting for language effects, and language predicted only the verbal working memory domain of EF. In contrast, EF skills consistently predicted language skills at subsequent visits. Conclusions Findings demonstrate that, despite significant improvement over time, some domains of EF (particularly parent-reported EF) and language skills in children with CIs lag behind those of children with NH during preschool ages. Language delays do not fully explain differences in EF development between children with CIs and NH peers during preschool ages, but EF skills predict subsequent language development in children with CIs.
Word learning processes in children with cochlear implants. [2021]To determine whether 3 aspects of the word learning process-fast mapping, retention, and extension-are problematic for children with cochlear implants (CIs).
The effect of the method of repeated readings on the reading rate and word recognition accuracy of deaf adolescents. [2019]This study examined the effects of the method of repeated readings (RR), a well-accepted remedial reading technique for improving the reading rate of hearing children, with deaf adolescents. Forty-two students from a midwestern residential school for the deaf were randomly assigned into treatment and control groups. The groups were equivalent with respect to age, level of hearing loss, reading achievement, and mental ability. All subjects read material previously determined to be at their instructional levels. Members of the treatment group were videotaped during the initial reading of an assigned passage, allowed to practice over three 15-minute sessions, then videotaped again during a final reading of the assigned passage. The control group differed only in that it practiced reading material other than the assigned passage. Reading rates and word recognition accuracy were recorded for the initial and final reading of each of five passages. Results indicated that the treatment subjects demonstrated significant improvement between pre- and posttesting regarding reading rate and two measures of word recognition accuracy. The performance of subjects engaged in nonrepetitive reading demonstrated minimal improvement. We discuss applicability of this procedure with a deaf population and implications for future research and practice.
Development of visual sustained selective attention and response inhibition in deaf children. [2023]Studies of deaf and hard-of-hearing (henceforth, deaf) children tend to make comparisons with typically hearing children for the purpose of either identifying deficits to be remediated or understanding the impact of auditory deprivation on visual or domain general processing. Here, we eschew these clinical and theoretical aims, seeking instead to understand factors that explain variability in cognitive function within deaf children. A total of 108 bilingual deaf children ages 7-13 years who use both English and American Sign Language (ASL) participated in a longitudinal study of executive function (EF) development. We report longitudinal data from a visual continuous performance task that measured sustained selective attention and response inhibition. Results show that the impact of deafness on these processes is negligible, but that language skills have a positive relationship with both: better English abilities were associated with better selective sustained attention, and better ASL abilities with better response inhibition. The relationship between sustained selective attention and English abilities may reflect the cognitive demands of spoken language acquisition for deaf children, whereas better ASL abilities may promote an "inner voice," associated with improved response inhibition. The current study cannot conclusively demonstrate causality or directionality of effects. However, these data highlight the importance of studies that focus on atypical individuals, for whom the relationships between language and cognition may be different from those observed in typically developing populations.
Novel-word learning in children with normal hearing and hearing loss. [2016]The goal of this study was to assess performance on a novel-word learning task by normal-hearing and hearing-impaired children for words varying in form (noun versus verb), stimulus level (50 versus 60 dB SPL), and number of repetitions (4 versus 6). It was hypothesized that novel-word learning would be significantly poorer in the subjects with hearing loss, would increase with both level and repetition, and would be better for nouns than verbs.
Instructed rehearsal strategies' influence on deaf memory processing. [2019]Congenitally deaf subjects were compared with normal-hearing subjects on short-term retention accuracy and correct response latency. The subjects paced themselves through serial lists of consonant letters six- or seven-items long. Presentation of each list was followed by a position-probe test requiring the subjects to specify where in the list a particular letter had appeared. The subjects were first observed while generating their own input strategies (free strategy). In subsequent sessions they adopted instructed rehearsal strategies involving primary and secondary memory components. Overall, the normal-hearing subjects were more accurate and responded faster than the deaf subjects. Instructing rehearsal strategies resulted in immediate gains on these measures for both groups. For both measures the deaf subjects became at least as proficient as the normal-hearing subjects had been under free strategy. The patterns of correct response latencies for the groups revealed strikingly different comparisons for primary and secondary memory. Following strategy instruction, latencies for the terminal list items never differed for the two groups, indicating that primary memory in the deaf is fully intact. However, the deaf responded slower on the first items of the list, indicating secondary memory deficiencies.
Verbal learning and memory in prelingually deaf children with cochlear implants. [2022]Deaf children with cochlear implants (CIs) show poorer verbal working memory compared to normal-hearing (NH) peers, but little is known about their verbal learning and memory (VLM) processes involving multi-trial free recall.
Linguistic coding by deaf children in relation to beginning reading success. [2019]The coding of printed letters in a task of consonant recall was examined in relation to the level of success of prelingually and profoundly deaf children (median age 8.75 years) in beginning reading. As determined by recall errors, the deaf children who were classified as good readers appeared to use both speech and fingerspelling (manual) codes in short-term retention of printed letters. In contrast, deaf children classified as poor readers did not show influence of either of these linguistically based codes in recall. Thus, the success of deaf children in beginning reading, like that of hearing children, appears to be related to the ability to establish and make use of linguistically recoded representations of the language. Neither group showed evidence of dependence on visual cues for recall.
Explicit and Contextual Vocabulary Intervention: Effects on Word and Definition Learning. [2021]Two single-case studies examined the effects of a vocabulary intervention on K-second grade Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) children's vocabulary learning. The intervention consisted of (a) explicit instruction that included fast mapping, and drill and practice games and (b) in-context activities that included book reading, conceptual activities, and conversation. Study 1 compared the effectiveness of in-context alone and explicit+in-context instruction for four DHH children. This multiple baseline across content study showed that children learned more words rapidly in the explicit + in-context condition. Study 2 examined the effects of the explicit+in-context intervention on five DHH children's word and definition learning and use of new words in spontaneous communication. A multiple baseline study across participants showed that all children learned the targeted vocabulary, improved expression of definitions, and used target words in spontaneous language. We discuss the value of explicit and in-context instruction on breadth and depth of vocabulary learning.
Word-learning skills of deaf preschoolers: the development of novel mapping and rapid word-learning strategies. [2022]Word-learning skills of 19 deaf/hard-of-hearing preschoolers were assessed by observing their ability to learn new words in two contexts. The first context required the use of a novel mapping strategy (i.e., making the inference that a novel word refers to a novel object) to learn the new words. The second context assessed the ability to learn new words after minimal exposure when reference was explicitly established. The children displayed three levels of word-learning skills. Eleven children learned words in both contexts. Five were able to learn new words rapidly only when reference was explicitly established. Two children did not learn new words rapidly in either context. The latter seven children were followed longitudinally. All children eventually acquired the ability to learn new words in both contexts. The deaf children's word-learning abilities were related to the size of their vocabularies. The present study suggests that word-learning strategies are acquired even when children are severely delayed in their language development and they learn language in an atypical environment.
Orthographic Facilitation of Oral Vocabulary Acquisition in Children With Hearing Loss. [2021]Purpose Learning spoken words can be challenging for children with hearing loss who communicate orally and who are known to have weaker oral vocabulary skills than age-matched children who hear. Since vocabulary skills play a crucial role in reading and literacy acquisition, and academic success, it is important to identify effective vocabulary acquisition strategies for children with hearing loss. The aim of this study was to examine whether the incidental presence of orthography can facilitate oral vocabulary learning in children with hearing loss and whether the benefits are greater than those found in hearing children. Method We taught novel picture-word pairs with or without spellings to 23 children with hearing loss and 23 age-matched controls, ranging in age from 6 to 12 years. Word learning was assessed using behavioral and eye tracking data from picture naming and picture-word matching tasks. Results and Conclusions Results revealed an orthographic facilitation effect on oral vocabulary learning in children with hearing loss, with benefits being maintained over a week. Importantly, children with hearing loss showed a greater benefit of orthography than age-matched hearing peers on the picture naming tests. The results of this study have important implications for classroom instruction and vocabulary instruction strategies for children with hearing loss.