Objectives: To examine the nature of previously unexplained, severe language impairments in some children using a cochlear implant (CI).
Design: Six prelingually deaf children with unexplained, disproportionate language problems (DLI group) were matched to Control children on etiology, age at implantation, and CI experience. All children completed a test battery used to identify specific language impairment in normally hearing children.
Results: Despite equivalent performance IQ, significant differences were found between the DLI and Control children on all five language tests.
Conclusions: Language difficulties experienced by some children using a CI seem to be additional to those produced by their deafness and may reflect the same, predominantly inherited basis as specific language impairment.