Socio-Economic Status and Language Development in Hearing Loss: A Critical Appraisal
Journal
Audiology Research
Date Issued
February 14, 2023
DOI
10.3390/audiolres13010015
Abstract
The impact of language input on children’s speech, language, and brain development
was borne out of Hart and Risley’s famous “30-million-word gap”. A perspective bolstered by
many studies in the last decade relates higher socio-economic status (SES) to better qualitative and
quantitative differences in children’s speech. The logic chains found in these studies suggest that
literacy development depends on language and brain development. Thus, brain building develops
based on environmental experience and language input depends on the brain’s perception of the
auditory information. This essay uses the latest published peer-reviewed research to outline the
current landscape of the role of SES in the development of speech and language skills among children
with hearing loss (HL) who are enrolled in auditory-driven habilitation programs. This essay argues
that low SES families may provide sufficient input for their children. The outcome of auditory-driven
programs implemented by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) seems to be detached from SES. The
role of SES on this developmental trajectory remains unclear, and clinical practice may be related to
other validated and robust parameters related to hearing loss.
was borne out of Hart and Risley’s famous “30-million-word gap”. A perspective bolstered by
many studies in the last decade relates higher socio-economic status (SES) to better qualitative and
quantitative differences in children’s speech. The logic chains found in these studies suggest that
literacy development depends on language and brain development. Thus, brain building develops
based on environmental experience and language input depends on the brain’s perception of the
auditory information. This essay uses the latest published peer-reviewed research to outline the
current landscape of the role of SES in the development of speech and language skills among children
with hearing loss (HL) who are enrolled in auditory-driven habilitation programs. This essay argues
that low SES families may provide sufficient input for their children. The outcome of auditory-driven
programs implemented by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) seems to be detached from SES. The
role of SES on this developmental trajectory remains unclear, and clinical practice may be related to
other validated and robust parameters related to hearing loss.
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Name
audiolres-13-00015 (1).pdf
Size
259.63 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
bd3b1536f0673f57a621d0f6333b2270