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Many children with hearing loss (HL) attend intervention schools aimed at improving their oral language. However, there is little research investigating the role of peers on language outcomes in these programs. Here we employ a big data approach to modeling peer input on children’s vocalizations in an inclusion program for children with HL and typical hearing (TH). Data were collected weekly for ten weeks in a classroom of 3-year-olds (seven 3 HL; three TH). Children wore LENA recorders, allowing for automated analysis of vocalizations, and Ubisense tags, allowing for objective continuous measurement of location and social contact. Although children with HL tended to produce fewer vocalizations than TH peers, the more input children heard from their peers, the more they subsequently vocalized to those peers during the following observation—regardless of hearing status or their own previous rate of vocalizations. This study highlights the importance of peer interaction and vocal input on children’s language development and motivates the presence of TH peer models in inclusion classrooms for children who use CI or HA. This work was funded by IES. |
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