The relationship between comprehension of syntax and reading comprehension in cochlear implanted and hearing children.

OBJECTIVES: There is a large variation in the function of cochlear implanted children in language assessments. However, they usually have poorer performance in language abilities compared with their normal hearing peers. The purpose of the present study was to determine the relationship between syntax comprehension and reading comprehension in cochlear implanted and hearing children in the third to fifth grades of the elementary school and to identify the relationship between their reading comprehension and the age of receiving a cochlear implant as well as the duration of receiving speech therapy in cochlear implanted children.

METHODS: A total of 15 cochlear implanted children and 15 hearing children studying in the third to fifth grades of the elementary school participated in the present descriptive-analytic and cross-sectional study. Two skills of reading comprehension and syntax comprehension were evaluated in these two groups of children.

RESULTS: The results showed that there was a significant relationship between reading comprehension and comprehension of syntax in cochlear implanted children (P < 0.001). According to the linear regression, the score of reading comprehension increases with the increase in the score of syntax comprehension. No significant relationship was observed between reading comprehension and the age of receiving a cochlear implant (p = 0.337) and the duration of receiving speech therapy (p = 0.227).

CONCLUSION: Based on the findings of the present study, it can be concluded that focusing on comprehension of syntax for intervention can improve reading comprehension. Particularly, it seems that working on structures which are complicated for the children helps to improve their reading comprehension.