Effects of narrative-based group language intervention on spoken narrative skills of preschoolers who are deaf and hard-of-hearing in one-to-one and public speaking interactions

Objectives: Previous research has shown that narrative-based language intervention (NBLI) is a viable approach for enhancing the narrative skills of children who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH). This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of NBLI in enhancing productivity, lexical and grammatical processing, and reducing the use of mazes in the spoken narratives of children with DHH. Methods: Ten children aged 5 to 6 years participated in this study. These children attended twelve 50-minute sessions of NBLI group therapy. Storytelling skills of children were elicited using carefully selected picture prompts designed to evoke specific narrative elements. The efficacy of the NBLI program was assessed using a pretest-posttest design, focusing on both one-to-one and public speaking interactions. Results: Significant improvements were observed in the total number of C-units and the diversity of words in the spoken narratives of children, both in one-on-one interactions and public speaking contexts, underscoring the effectiveness of NBLI across various communication settings. Conclusion: Improvements in spoken narrative skills in one-to-one and public speaking interactions were observed in children with DHH, supporting the effectiveness of NBLI for this population. These findings underscore the importance of language interventions that are specifically tailored to the characteristics and developmental stages of children with DHH, as they significantly improve spoken narrative skills across diverse communication contexts.