Development of informal communication skills inventory and examination of communication skills of children with hearing loss and normal hearing

In this study, it was aimed to develop the Informal Communication Skills Inventory (ICSI), which allows both process and product evaluation, to examine the communication skills of children with hearing loss and normal hearing between the ages of 3-6 using cochlear implants, and to determine the variables related to communication skills. As a result, it has been revealed that the ICSI, which consists of checklists for attention-directing skills, imitation skills, turn-taking skills, conversation structure, communicative functions, and conversation function, is a valid, reliable and useful measurement tool. It was revealed that children with cochlear implants performed similarly to children with normal hearing in total ICSI, exhibited statistically more imitation skills in the context of checklists than their peers with normal hearing, and there was no statistical difference between groups in other checklists. Demographic variables of gender, maternal education and employment status, paternal age, time spent with the father, and family income were found to be associated with the communication skills of both children with cochlear implants and normal hearing. In addition, it has been revealed that the audiological variables of the frequency and duration of family education, age at diagnosis, number of cochlear implants, duration of cochlear implant use, hearing aid use before cochlear implantation, and total use of hearing aids and cochlear implants are variables associated with the communication skills of children with cochlear implants. The fact that children with cochlear implants benefit from audiological variables at the maximum possible level and in the early period is thought to be the main reason for their similar performance with children with normal hearing. Keywords: Attention-directing skills, Imitation, Turn-taking, Communicative functions, Conversation structure, Conversation function.