My Question

What impact could a cochlear implant have on language development, educational outcomes, and instruction?

We discussed in class what a cochlear implant consists of and the many different perspectives people take on involving the subject. According the book, cochlear implants can improve auditory perception and spoken language production. Although this procedure is looking at a lot of improvements, for many successful cases many studies show major improvements in language skills, especially involving young children who have received the cochlear implant. However, these students may still fall behind other hearing students and need further support enhancing their language skills.

Taking these into consideration, the cochlear implant can have positive and negative impacts on educational outcomes for the students. The studies provided illustrated that the students with the implant scored lower than their hearing peers. There are many different factors that can affect the outcome of an cochlear implant such as age of implantation, parental interaction, etc.

Cochlear implants do not make the individual necessarily hearing. Although, it does provide them with enhancements toward their hearing impairments. It is important to focus on spoken language skills, but implementing manual approaches are just as important for language development. There is no single approach that identifies with all problems involving hearing loss.

I hope this helps! If you would like to refer to the book. I received my information from pages 240-241, and 250.