Nonverbal Cognition in Deaf Children Following Cochlear Implantation: Motor Sequencing Disturbances Mediate Language Delays

We assessed profoundly deaf children with cochlear implants (CIs) (N = 24) and age-matched normal-hearing children (N = 31) on several nonverbal cognition measures: motor sequencing, tactile discrimination, response inhibition, visual-motor integration, and visual-spatial processing. The results revealed that the children with CIs showed disturbances solely on motor sequencing and that performance on this task was significantly correlated with scores on the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, 4th Edition (CELF-4). These findings suggest that a period of auditory deprivation before cochlear implantation affects motor sequencing skills, which in turn may mediate the language delays displayed by some deaf children with CIs.