Dynamic dyadic parent-child interactions among CI-using children

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PROJECT SUMMARY Spoken language outcomes for deaf children who use cochlear implants (CIs) are highly variable, with many children who use CIs lagging behind their peers with normal hearing. Among the identified causes of this variability is parental input, with evidence suggesting that variation in parental input may directly relate to children's post-CI language outcomes. Parent-based language interventions, including coaching parents on their language input, have been proposed as a means of improving parental input and thereby improving children’s language outcomes. However, we currently do not know how parental language and responsivity change over time following implantation, nor do we know how parental language influences child language over time following implantation. This lack of understanding regarding parent-child dynamic relationships is a critical gap in our ability to create effective parent-based interventions to improve post-CI language outcomes. The proposed research will address this gap in our knowledge by identifying the dynamic and dyadic relationships between parental language input and child language development post-CI. To attain this goal, we will conduct a secondary analysis of the Childhood Development after Cochlear Implantation (CDaCI) database, including coding parent language microstructure, parental facilitative language use, maternal sensitivity, and child spontaneous expressive language. These data will be analyzed using bivariate change score models, allowing us to identify the dynamic developmental relations between parental input and child language. Aim 1 will examine how parental language, maternal sensitivity, and child language change over time. Aim 2 will test the hypothesis that parental input and child language have bidirectional influences. The obtained data will provide initial evidence that parental language and child language are mutually reinforcing. These data will provide preliminary support for an R01 application to develop and validate an intervention targeting parental input to support language growth in prelingually deafened children, including children from historically marginalized communities, advancing our long-term goal to optimize language and literacy outcomes for all children with hearing loss.