Browsing by Subject "ryhmässä laulaminen"

Background and objectives. Hearing impairment can manifest as weak skills in several areas of speech and language. In previous studies, musical activities have been found to have a positive effect on the language skills of children with normal hearing (NH). The purpose of this thesis was to find out whether there is a difference between hearing-impaired (HI) and NH- children in picture naming skills or rapid serial naming, whether there is a connection between performance in different naming tests, and whether the amount of singing in the group was associated with naming performance. The thesis is part of the MULAPAPU study, which examines the effects of music intervention and singing on the speech perception and speech and language development of HI-children aged 0–7. Methods. The participants (N=37) were 1;11–6;10 aged children, of whom the HI-children (n=17) formed the research group and the NH-children (n=20) the control group. HI-children used bilateral cochlear implant (n=9), bilateral hearing aid (n=7) or combination of cochlear implant and hearing aid (n=1). Based on the amount of singing in the group, the children were divided into a group of children that sang more than once a week (n=19) and a group that sang less than once a week (n=14). Both groups included HI-children and NH-children. Naming skills were assessed with the Bo Ege test and the Rapid Automatized Naming test (colors and objects subtests). The amount of singing in the group was measured using a questionnaire that was sent to the children’s parents. The data was analyzed using statistical methods. Results and conclusions. No statistically significant difference was found between the performance of HI-children and NH-children in the Bo Ege test. In the Rapid Automatized Naming test, the NH-children performed significantly faster in the objects subtest. Regarding the errors made, no differences were found between the groups. No correlation was found between the performance in the Bo Ege test and the Rapid Automatized Naming test, which suggest that naming of individual pictures and serial naming should be evaluated separately in clinical work. Singing in the group was not related to the performance in the Bo Ege test. In the Rapid Automatized Naming test, children who sing more than once a week performed both subtests faster on average and made fewer errors in the colors subtest, while children who sing less made fewer errors on average in the objects subtest. The differences were not statistically significant. However, the results suggest, together with previous studies, that singing in a group could be beneficial for the development of children's rapid naming skills.