Spontaneous use of gestures during vocabulary testing in toddlers with cochlear implants

In typically developing (TD) children, early gestures emerge before first words and predict spoken language. Language development in children with cochlear implants (CI) vary due to factors such as implantation age and exposure to spoken language, but variation is largely unexplained. Little is known about gestures in children with CI and how this is related to vocabulary. In this study, spontaneous use of gestures during assessment of receptive and expressive vocabulary was examined and related to vocabulary test results in ten children with CI, aged 25-39 months. The results were compared to those of individually age and sex matched TD children with normal hearing. All children were tested with the vocabulary test, the Picture Naming Game (PiNG). The test situation was video recorded to capture the children's use of deictic, iconic, and conventional gestures. Children with CI had lower vocabulary scores and used fewer gestures than TD children. Observable but statistically non-significant relationships between gestures and vocabulary were found in children with CI, as well as between vocabulary score and implantation age. The findings indicate that gestures should be included in the assessment and intervention of young children with challenges in their development of spoken language.