Does Hearing Lead to Understanding? Theory of Mind in Toddlers and Preschoolers With Cochlear Implants
Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 08/01/2012
Ketelaar L et al. – Children with cochlear implant (CI) appear to master the initial stages of ToM development, but fall behind on more advanced ToM abilities. Yet, both groups showed similar patterns of development.
Methods- 3 intention tasks were administered to 72 children with CI and 69 normal-hearing children (age, 12–60 months).
- Furthermore, 3 desire and belief tasks were administered to a subsample of children aged 30 months or over.
- Children with CI showed intention-understanding skills equal to normal-hearing children, but lagged behind on desire and belief understanding, even after excluding children with language delays.



