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Otological and habilitative management of children with down syndrome
Author(s) -
Pappas Dennis G.,
Flexer Carol,
Shackelford Linda
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1288/00005537-199409000-00003
Subject(s) - conductive hearing loss , assertiveness , medicine , audiology , hearing loss , incidence (geometry) , language development , otitis , pediatrics , impaction , down syndrome , intervention (counseling) , psychology , developmental psychology , surgery , psychiatry , social psychology , physics , optics
It has been well‐established that children with Down syndrome experience a high incidence of persistent conductive hearing loss because of their predisposition to stenosis of the external auditory canal (EAC), cerumen impaction, serous otitis media (SOM), and cholesteatoma. Because this hearing problem may be a primary cause of the spoken communication skills in these children being far below their cognitive ability, assertive management is required. The authors present an aggressive multi‐discipline treatment model that is instituted during the first year of life in an infant with Down syndrome. Reconstruction of the EAC, amplification technology, and speech/language intervention that emphasizes auditory‐verbal (A/V) therapy are discussed. In a pilot study, we compared the language development of six infants with Down syndrome who received aggressive treatment during their first year of life (group A) to six infants who did not (group B). The results showed age‐appropriate oral language development for the infants in group A.