After the Cochlear Implant: A Teacher and Parent Guide to Developing Speech and Language

Parents, teachers, and speech therapists may be a bit baffled by what is supposed to take place in language development after cochlear implant surgery. In the case of children with little or no language, it is important that all who can support the child be aware of how they can help. The child should be “bathed” in sound recognition and ultimately, language. In this book, you will find strategies for language and/or speech development to be used after a cochlear implant, going by order of the months following surgery; for example, what you might do a few months after surgery, 6 months after, 18 months after, etc. building on what is learned and adding new sounds to those that the brain has learned to interpret. There is an order: those sounds both heard and seen on the lips, followed by sounds that use that interpretation to understand the next sounds. While learning speech is important, understanding language as a means to convey thought and concepts is just as important. The child needs to associate speech with communication. This guide can be an invaluable source of help.