Ocenjevanje sposobnosti poslušanja slišečih otrok in otrok s polževim vsadkom pred vstopom oz. ob vstopu v šolo

Poslušanje je ključno za sprejemanje informacij, razvoj govora in jezika, komunikacijo z okoljem in kasneje za usvajanje akademskih veščin. Razvoj poslušanja poteka po stopnjah zaznave zvoka, razlikovanja, prepoznavanja in razumevanja. Slišeči otroci od rojstva naprej večinoma spontano pridobivajo sposobnost poslušanja, otrokom z izgubo sluha pa moramo zagotoviti postopno surdopedagoško obravnavo, da se poslušanja naučijo. Slišeči otroci in otroci s polževim vsadkom sledijo istim stopnjam razvoja poslušanja, razlikujejo pa se po hitrosti in doseženi ravni napredovanja. Pri otrocih, ki so primerni za vstavitev polževega vsadka, sta zato zelo pomembni zgodnja implantacija in nato (re)habilitacija, da ujamemo čim daljši del občutljivega obdobja, v katerem se poslušanje, govor in jezik razvijajo najbolj intenzivno. V empiričnem delu magistrske naloge smo s pomočjo instrumentarija, oblikovanega za namen raziskave, ocenjevali vse štiri stopnje razvoja poslušanja (zaznavo zvoka, razlikovanje, prepoznavanje in razumevanje) pri 30 slišečih otrocih in 10 otrocih s polževim vsadkom, starih 5 ali 6 let. Opisna statistika je pokazala, da so bili slišeči otroci pri celotnem preizkusu uspešnejši, vendar je do večjih razlik prišlo le pri nekaterih nalogah. Statistične pomembnosti razlik med rezultati slišečih otrok in otrok s polževim vsadkom zaradi objektivnih razlogov nismo preverjali. Tako pri slišečih kot pri otrocih s polževim vsadkom se uspešnost pri posameznih nalogah ne zmanjšuje jasno s stopnjevanjem zahtevnosti poslušanja, kot bi pričakovali glede na hierarhijo stopenj razvoja poslušanja. To sovpada s teoretičnim izhodiščem o prekrivanju oziroma sočasnosti razvijanja vseh stopenj poslušanja. Zaradi majhnosti vzorca in prekrivanja vplivov časa prejema polževega vsadka ter prisotnosti dodatnih motenj ne moremo potegniti jasnih zaključkov iz podrobnejše primerjave med otroki, ki so polžev vsadek prejeli do 2. leta, in tistimi, ki so ga prejeli po 2. letu. Enako velja za primerjavo med otroki s polževim vsadkom z dodatnimi motnjami in otroki s polževim vsadkom brez dodatnih motenj. Med otroki z višjo slušno starostjo in otroki z nižjo slušno starostjo ni prišlo do statistično pomembnih razlik. Statistično pomembna razlika med otroki z dodatnimi motnjami in otroki brez dodatnih motenj se je pokazala le pri razumevanju besedila pesmi. Nabor nalog za posamezne stopnje poslušanja znotraj instrumentarija, ki je nastal v okviru magistrskega dela, lahko koristi pri ocenjevanju sposobnosti poslušanja, spodbujanju razvoja poslušanja in spremljanju napredka otrok, ki imajo težave na področju poslušanja. Listening is crucial for receiving information, for speech and language development, communication with the environment and later on for acquisition of academic skills. Listening development follows levels of detection, discrimination, identification and comprehension. From birth, hearing children acquire listening skills mostly spontaneously. Deaf and hard of hearing on the other hand need a gradual treatment to learn how to listen. Both hearing and deaf with cochlear implant follow the same procedure of listening development, but they differ in the progression rate. Early implantation (for deaf children suitable for cochlear implant) and (re)habilitation are very important to catch the most sensitive period in which listening, speaking and language develop at highest intensity for as long as possible. In the empirical part of the dissertation we assessed all four levels of listening development (detection, discrimination, identification and comprehension) in a group of 30 hearing children and 10 children with cochlear implant aged 5 or 6 with an assessment tool designed for the purpose of the dissertation. Descriptive statistics indicated hearing children have better results on all levels and on whole test, but more noticeable differences are only visible at discrimination and comprehension levels and in individual tasks. Objective reasons prevented testing statistical significance of differences between results of hearing children and children with cochlear implant. Successfulness in individual tasks of both hearing children and children with cochlear implant does not decrease clearly with increasing listening difficulty, as we would expect based on hierarchy of listening development levels. This corresponds to theoretical basis relating to overlapping and simultaneous development of all listening levels. Due to a small group sample and overlapping factors of cochlear implantation time and the presence of additional disabilities, we cannot make clear conclusions based on the comparison between children who received cochlear implant by age of 2 and children who received it after this age. The same applies for comparison between children with and without additional disabilities. There is no statistically significant difference between children of higher hearing age and children of lower hearing age. Statistically significant difference between children with and without additional disabilities is only seen with song lyrics comprehension. The set of tasks for each level of listening development in the tool which was formed within the dissertation work could be used for assessment of listening skills, encouraging listening development and monitoring the progress of children who have listening difficulties.