Influence of family environment on the development of speech and language in prelingually deaf children after cochlear implantation.

Objective To investigate the influence of family environment on the development of speech and language in pre-school children after cochlear implantation. Methods A total of 88 pre-lingually deaf children, aged 2-5 years, who received cochlear implantation, were included in this study. All families completed a self-report family environment questionnaire (FES). The deaf children's linguistic progress was assessed by Categories of Auditory Performance (CAP) and Speech Intelligibility Rating (SIR) at 0, 3, 6 and 12 months after implantation. Results The family environment was the significant factor associated with CAP and SIR at 6 months post-implantation. The children in families with higher levels of Cohesion, Intellectual-Cultural Orientation and the ability to express emotion effectively had better auditory and speech abilities, while children in families with low intimacy and high incompatibility exhibited a delay in the development of auditory speech (P < .05). Conclusions The development of speech and language in pre-lingually deaf children after cochlear implantation can be influenced by family environment and parents' roles.