Discovery
Every child communicates in their own way. Discovery is how we find out exactly how your child communicates best, so that every session builds on real strengths.
What happens in Discovery
Discovery begins with an evaluation and goal-setting. We look at how your child communicates today, what is getting in the way, and what they already do well, then turn that into clear goals for therapy.
- The evaluation shows where your child is strong and where they could use support.
- Goals are set with you, so you know what we are working toward and why.
- If you are ever concerned about how your child hears, ask your pediatrician about a hearing test too. Hearing shapes how children learn language.
What the research says
Children with hearing loss who are identified in the first six months develop stronger language.
Children whose hearing loss was identified by 6 months of age had much stronger language skills at ages 1 to 3 than children identified later, even though both groups started early-intervention services soon after they were identified.
What they found:
- Children identified by 6 months scored significantly higher in both understanding and using language (an average language score of 79, compared with 64).
- For children with typical thinking skills, the gap was larger: 91 compared with 70.
- The advantage held regardless of gender, ethnicity, family income, degree of hearing loss, or how the child communicated.
- Among children identified later, it did not matter much whether they were found at 7 months or after 2 years.
Good to know: This was an observational study, not a randomized trial, so the authors described the age of identification as the likely explanation rather than a proven cause. Language was measured by parent questionnaire.
The study behind it
Yoshinaga-Itano C, Sedey AL, Coulter DK, Mehl AL. Language of early- and later-identified children with hearing loss. Pediatrics. 1998;102(5):1161.
Want the detail? Read our plain-language summary of this study. The summary and this page are general information written from the study’s published abstract, not medical advice. The full article belongs to its publisher, and the institution named on the summary does not endorse Speak Live Play. Talk with a licensed clinician about your own child.