Essays in Speech Processes - Language Production and Perception - Augustine Agwuele
The Locus Equation as an Index of Auditory Access for Children with Hearing Loss
Essays in Speech Processes - Language Production and Perception - Augustine Agwuele
Helen McCaffrey Morrison
Texas Christian University
Description
Harvey Sussman’s first published investigation of locus equations in 1991 occurred at a pivotal time in intervention for children with hearing loss. The FDA approved the first pediatric multichannel cochlear implant 1990. The Joint Commission for Infant Hearing recommended universal newborn hearing screening in 1994. These events resulted in provision of auditory access via hearing technology and enabled the development of neurological bases for listening and speaking in children with hearing loss at ages commensurate with hearing peers. The outcome was a paradigm shift in intervention for children with hearing loss - from compensatory visual and remedial strategies toward developmentally-based practice targeting listening and spoken language production. This paper describes how locus findings inform contemporary practice as well as assist in reasoned application of older strategies with children for whom early auditory access is not available.