Aims of this research were (a) to investigate higher order linguistic and cognitive skills of Italian children with cochlear implants (CIs); (b) to correlate them with the comprehension of irony, which has never been systematically studied in this population; and (c) to identify the factors that facilitate the development of this competence. Method We tested 28 Italian children with CI (mean chronological age = 101 [SD = 25.60] months, age range: 60-144 months), and two control groups of normal-hearing (NH) peers matched for chronological age and for hearing age, on a series of tests assessing their cognitive abilities (nonverbal intelligence and theory of mind), linguistic skills (morphosyntax and prosody recognition), and irony comprehension. Results Despite having grammatical abilities in line with the group of NH children matched for hearing age, children with CI lag behind both groups of NH peers on the recognition of emotions through prosody and on the comprehension of ironic stories, even if these two abilities were not related. Conclusions This is the first study that targeted irony comprehension in children with CI, and we found that this competence, which is crucial for maintaining good social relationships with peers, is impaired in this population. In line with other studies, we found a correlation between this ability and advanced theory of mind skills, but at the same time, a deeper investigation is needed, to account for the high variability of performance in children with CI.

Irony Comprehension in Children With Cochlear Implants: The Role of Language Competence, Theory of Mind, and Prosody Recognition / F. Panzeri, S. Cavicchiolo, B. Giustolisi, F. Di Berardino, P. Francesca Ajmone, P. Vizziello, V. Donnini, D. Zanetti. - In: JOURNAL OF SPEECH LANGUAGE AND HEARING RESEARCH. - ISSN 1092-4388. - 64:8(2021 Aug), pp. 3212-3229. ((Intervento presentato al convegno ACIA2019 pediatric conference tenutosi a Miami nel 2019 [10.1044/2021_JSLHR-20-00671].

Irony Comprehension in Children With Cochlear Implants: The Role of Language Competence, Theory of Mind, and Prosody Recognition

F. Panzeri
Primo
;
F. Di Berardino;D. Zanetti
2021

Abstract

Aims of this research were (a) to investigate higher order linguistic and cognitive skills of Italian children with cochlear implants (CIs); (b) to correlate them with the comprehension of irony, which has never been systematically studied in this population; and (c) to identify the factors that facilitate the development of this competence. Method We tested 28 Italian children with CI (mean chronological age = 101 [SD = 25.60] months, age range: 60-144 months), and two control groups of normal-hearing (NH) peers matched for chronological age and for hearing age, on a series of tests assessing their cognitive abilities (nonverbal intelligence and theory of mind), linguistic skills (morphosyntax and prosody recognition), and irony comprehension. Results Despite having grammatical abilities in line with the group of NH children matched for hearing age, children with CI lag behind both groups of NH peers on the recognition of emotions through prosody and on the comprehension of ironic stories, even if these two abilities were not related. Conclusions This is the first study that targeted irony comprehension in children with CI, and we found that this competence, which is crucial for maintaining good social relationships with peers, is impaired in this population. In line with other studies, we found a correlation between this ability and advanced theory of mind skills, but at the same time, a deeper investigation is needed, to account for the high variability of performance in children with CI.
Settore MED/32 - Audiologia
Settore MED/39 - Neuropsichiatria Infantile
Settore M-PSI/04 - Psicologia dello Sviluppo e Psicologia dell'Educazione
ago-2021
26-apr-2021
Article (author)
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/891104
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