Persian Cued Speech: The Effect on the Perception of Persian Language Phonemes and Monosyllabic Words with and without Sound in Hearing Impaired Children

Objectives: This paper studies the effect of Persian Cued Speech on the perception of Persian language phonemes and monosyllabic words with and without sound in hearing impaired children. Cued Speech is a sound based mode of communication for hearing impaired people that is comprised of a limited series of hand complements and the normal pattern of speech. And it is shown that it effectively can improve speech skills of hearing impaired children and adults. Cued Speech has recently been adapted to Persian language (1) and our knowledge about its efficiency is very limited. Methods: Two groups of profoundly hearing impaired children participated in the study. They were matched with each other. The experimental group received an intensive Persian Cued Speech training program for several months. Prior to and following training and also three weeks after the sample’s perception of Persian language phonemes and monosyllabic words were evaluated. Mixed Repeated Measurement was used to analyze the results. Results: Findings indicated that experimental group’s scores in both phonemes and monosyllabic words with and without sound were significantly difference between pre-test and post-test and follow up as a function of Cued Speech training (P<0.0001). Discussion: The results support the use of Persian Cued Speech for improving perception of Persian hearing impaired children to promote their communication performance.