Neuropsychological correlates of vocabulary, reading, and working memory in deaf children with cochlear implants

The performance of deaf children with cochlear implants was assessed using measures standardized on hearing chil-dren. To investigate nonverbal cognitive and sensorimotor processes associated with postimplant variability, five se-lected sensorimotor and visuospatial subtests from A De-velopmental Neuropsychological Assessment (NEPSY) were compared with standardized vocabulary, reading, and digit span measures. Participants were 26 deaf children, ages 6–14 years, who received a cochlear implant between ages 1 and 6 years; duration of implant use ranged from 3 to 11 years. Results indicated significant correlations between standard scores on the Design Copying subtest of the NEPSY and standard scores on vocabulary comprehension, reading, and digit span measures. The results contribute to our under-standing of the benefits of cochlear implantation and cogni-tive processes that may support postimplant language and academic functioning. Over the past decade, the typical age of cochlear implan-tationhas declined fromearly school age to infancy.Many profoundly deaf infants are now being implanted at 12 months or younger.Thebenefits of cochlear implantation for spoken language development, social interaction, and academic achievement have been clearly demonstrate