Speech and language development in a case of bilateral congenital microtia and meatal atresia 0 to 2 years after birth, and details of intervention for mother-infant

Abstract

The authors examined and report on speech and language development 0 to 2 years after birth of a case of bilateral congenital microtia and meatal atresia. We carried out an auditory-language learning program for the patient and also counseled the mother to perform the home training program effectively. The results were as follows. 1) The patient's development of speech and language (vocabulary and sentence structure) became as good as that of a normal infant. 2) Through training with a hearing-aid, the patient began to notice its malfunction sufficiently after the age of 1 : 08. 3) On the other hand, both the mother and patient's difficulty of understanding and accepting the handicap was observed from the early stage. This case confirmed that a continuous support system for both parties' perception of the handicap is very important to obtain the success of an auditory-language learning program.