Question

A child has a hearing loss which causes difficulty hearing high-frequency sounds. Which of the following speech and language skills is the child most likely to have difficulty with ________.

1) Phonological awareness
2) Syntax and grammar
3) Vocabulary development
4) Pragmatic skills

Answer 1

A child with a 60 dB hearing loss at 5000 Hz is most likely to have difficulty with phonological awareness due to the importance of high-frequency sounds in processing speech and differentiating word meaning.

Step-by-step explanation:

The child with a hearing loss of 60 dB near 5000 Hz would likely have difficulty with phonological awareness. Phonological awareness refers to the ability to recognize how sounds are structured in a language, which is a foundational skill for reading and spelling. High-frequency sounds are crucial for hearing and processing certain consonants and understanding speech, especially in languages like English where such sounds can differentiate word meaning. For example, sibilant sounds such as 's' and 'sh' are high-frequency sounds that might be difficult for the child to distinguish.

Difficulties in phonological awareness could manifest as challenges in identifying, thinking about, and manipulating sounds in words. This is critical for language development and literacy. The child may have difficulty with various tasks associated with phonological awareness, such as rhyming, segmenting words into syllables, or isolating sounds in words, which all rely heavily on the ability to perceive a wide range of frequencies.