The use of gestures in book reading and play situations related to vocabulary in young children with cochlear implants

Gestures are essential in early language development. We investigate the use of gestures in children with cochlear implants (CIs), with a particular focus on deictic, iconic, and conventional gestures. The aim is to understand how the use of gestures in everyday interactions relates to age, vocabulary testing results, and language development reported by parents. Seven children with CIs, aged 27-39 months, participated in the study. The children's use of gestures was analysed in caregivers' video recordings of daily life interactions. The Picture Naming Game was used to test vocabulary. The Swedish version of CDI was used for caregiver reports of vocabulary and gesture use. All seven children used gestures, with deictic gestures being the most common type. Iconic gestures were more frequent during play than during book reading, and iconic gestures were more frequent when vocabulary was low. The results suggest that the use of gestures in combination with speech or vocalisations is related to vocabulary development. This connection is more pronounced during book reading, indicating the significance of this activity for language and gesture use in children with CIs. The study highlights the importance of gestures in communication and language development, especially in children with CIs. It emphasises that assessing gesture use should be a routine part of language assessments for children with challenges in their language development, such as hearing impairments. The study has some limitations, which are discussed in terms of small sample size and lack of detailed information on sign language use in the participating families.