Embodied Cognition in Prelingually Deaf Children with Cochlear Implants

The theory of embodiment postulates that cognition emerges from multisensory interactions of an agent with its environment and as a result of multiple overlapping and time-locked sensory-motor activities. In this chapter, we discuss the complex multisensory system that may underlie young children’s novel word learning, how embodied attention may provide new insights into language learning after prelingual hearing loss, and how embodied attention may underlie learning in the classroom. We present new behavioral data demonstrating the coordination of sensory-motor behaviors in groups of young children with prelingual hearing loss (deaf, early implanted children with cochlear implants and hard-of-hearing children with hearing aids) and without hearing loss (two control groups of peers matched for chronological and hearing age). Our preliminary findings suggest that individual differences and variability in language outcomes may be traced to children’s coordination of auditory, visual, and motor behaviors with a social partner.

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