Skip to main content
The Egyptian Journal of Otolaryngology
Download PDF
  • Original article
  • Open access
  • Published:

Working memory training and language outcomes in children with cochlear implants

The Egyptian Journal of Otolaryngology volume 34, pages 301–307 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective

The aim of this study is to provide information on whether improvements in language skills might be achieved by improving working memory capacity in cochlear-implanted children.

Patients and Methods

This study was carried out on 30 prelingual cochlear-implanted children at the Hearing and Speech Institute. They were divided into two groups: group I received communicative therapy plus a working memory training program. Group II received communicative therapy only. Post-therapy evaluation was carried out after 6 months using the Modified Preschool Language Scale-4 for assessing language and the working memory subtests measures of the Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scale ‘5th Arabic version‘ for the assessment of working memory.

Results

The results of this study showed an improvement in verbal working memory capacity, nonverbal working memory capacity, and the total working memory in the group of children with cochlear implants (CIs) who received 6 months of a working memory training program in addition to communicative therapy. The findings indicate that there is an improvement in the verbal and nonverbal working memory in the participants following the training on certain tasks in the computer-based working memory training program. This will lead to an improvement in the language skills as well.

Conclusion

Working memory training may improve some memory and language skills for children with CIs. As a result, interventions specifically designed to address the basic underlying verbal working memory deficits of children with CIs may be expected to have wide-ranging effects that generalize well beyond the trained working memory tasks and stimuli themselves and show transfer to nontrained language perception and memory tasks.

References

  1. Beer J, Pisoni DB, Kronenberger WG, Geers AE. New research findings: executive functions of adolescents who use cochlear implants. ASHA Lead 2010; 15:12–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Pisoni DB, Conway CM, Kronenberger W, Horn DL, Karpicke J, Henning S. Efficacy and effectiveness of cochlear implants in deaf children. New York, NY: Oxford University Press 2008. 52.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Dawson PW, Busby PA, McKay CM, Clark GM. Short-term memory in children using cochlear implants and it’s relevance to receptive language. J Speech Lang Hear Res 2002; 45:789–801.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Pisoni DB, Cleary M. Measuring of working memory span and verbal rehearsal speed in deaf children after cochlear implantation. Ear Hear 2003; 24 (1s) :106s–120s.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Luria AR. The working brain: An introduction to neuropsychiatric. NewYork, NY: Basic Books 1973.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Conway CM, Pisoni DB, Kronenberger WG. The importance of sound for cognitive sequencing abilities: The auditory scaffolding hypothesis. Curr Dir Psychol Sci 2009; 18:275–279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Baddeley AD, Larsen JD. The phonological loop unmasked? A comment. On the evidence for a ‘perceptual –gestural’ alternatives. Q J Exp Psychol 2007; 60:497–504.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Baddeley AD. The episodic buffer: a new component of working memory? Trends Cogn Sci 2000; 4:417–423.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. ElSady S, Elshobary A, Hafez N, Ibrahim A, Eiwess A, Abouhasseba A. Modified Preschool Language Scale –4 (Arabic edition) [thesis dissertation], Cairo, Egypt: Ain Shams University; 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Bassiony S, Hegazi M, Saber A, Shoeib R, Hassan S. The effect of age at implantation on language and speech of cochlear implanted children: A year follow up. Ain Shams Med J 2006; 57:1307–1321.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Roid G. Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition. Interpretive manual. Translated and Standardised by Farag, S. Cairo, Egypt: Anglo-Egyptian Bookshop; 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Alansari BM, Solima AM. Measurements invariance of working memory measures across two Arab cultures. Percept Motor Skills 2012; 115:43–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Gershkoff SL. Word comprehension and production asymmetrics in children and adult. J Exp Child Psycho 2013; 114:489–509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Yoshinaga C, Back RL, Seedy AL. Describing the trajectory of language development in the presence of severe to profound hearing loss: a closer look at children with cochlear implants versus hearing aid. Otol Neurotol 2010; 31:1268–1274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Soderqvist S, Nutley S. Cogmed working memory training. Claims & evidence- extended version v.4.Pearson clinical assessment. UK: Pearson; 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Mohandes S, Abdel-Hamid A, Faway A, Mahout H. Auditory short-term memory in children with cochlear implant. Egypt J Otolaryngol 2016; 32:98–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Phoniatrics, Hearing and Speech Institute, 1st Tayar Fekry Street, Embaba, Cairo, 12651, Egypt

    Azza Samy, Azza Abdel Aziz, Iman El Rouby MD & Reham Ahmed

Authors
  1. Azza Samy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Azza Abdel Aziz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Iman El Rouby MD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Reham Ahmed
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Iman El Rouby MD.

Additional information

This is an open access journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.

Rights and permissions

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Samy, A., Aziz, A.A., El Rouby, I. et al. Working memory training and language outcomes in children with cochlear implants. Egypt J Otolaryngol 34, 301–307 (2018). https://doi.org/10.4103/ejo.ejo_30_17

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/ejo.ejo_30_17

Keywords