Baseline Characteristics of CI Recipients by Sign Language Exposure Group
| Characteristic | No Sign (n = 35) | Short-term Sign (n = 26) | Long-term Sign (n = 36) | Total (n = 97) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Girl, n (%) | 17 (49) | 9 (35) | 21 (58) | 47 (48) |
| Household income, n (%) < $50 k | 11 (32) | 11 (44) | 15 (42) | 37 (39) |
| Maternal education, n (%) graduated college | 24 (69) | 13 (50) | 18 (50) | 55 (57) |
| Parent-infant program, n (%)** | 14 (40) | 20 (77) | 23 (64) | 57 (59) |
| Aided PTA better ear, dBa | 75.1 (22.0) | 73.1 (23.6) | 77.8 (21.8) | 75.6 (22.2) |
| Age at onset of deafness, mo | 0.3 (1.2) | 1.2 (3.4) | 1.3 (3.6) | 0.9 (2.9) |
| Amplification age, mo | 9.4 (8.6) | 10.8 (8.3) | 11.5 (7.5) | 10.6 (8.1) |
| Activation age, mo | 19.3 (8.3) | 22.1 (7.3) | 22.8 (8.3) | 21.4 (8.1) |
| Maternal sensitivityb | 5.5 (0.7) | 5.3 (0.7) | 5.4 (0.7) | 5.4 (0.7) |
| Baseline IQc | 94.5 (19.3) | 97.4 (21.2) | 98.5 (14.2) | 96.8 (18.1) |
| Vocabularyd | 14.7 (41.6) | 10.8 (18.4) | 16.2 (59.4) | 14.2 (44.6) |
| Auditory perceptione | 9.8 (9.4) | 7.0 (6.9) | 5.8 (7.3) | 7.5 (8.1) |
Data are expressed as mean (SD) unless otherwise noted. PTA, pure-tone average.
↵a Average of available thresholds for tested frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz, where at least 1 frequency was tested (88/97 of the participants had 4-frequency pure-tone average).
↵b Maternal sensitivity scale from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Childcare Study codes.
↵c Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID II) (Bayley9).
↵d Spoken words both understood and said on the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (MBCDI: Words and Gestures Form; Fenson et al10).
↵e Infant-Toddler Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (IT-MAIS) (Robbins et al11).
↵** χ2 P value = .01.