The role of symbolic gestures in the path towards auditory rehabilitation of infants with hearing loss: a feasibility study

Hearing parents of hard-of-hearing (HH) infants can adopt directive communicative styles that may hinder language development. Family-Centered Early Interventions (FCEI) promoting sensitive/didactic communication have shown promise in supporting infants’ linguistic and cognitive outcomes. This feasibility study introduces a multimodal communication FCEI, where early auditory and speech rehabilitation is paired with a programme that incorporates symbolic gestures into everyday interactions. Seventeen families participated: nine underwent the FCEI, eight received only auditory rehabilitation. The FCEI involved workshops and hands-on sessions, with parent–child communication skills evaluated through videoanalyses. Feasibility was assessed via focus groups and through changes in parental communicative styles and infant communication. Results demonstrate multimodal FCEI's acceptability and practicality, with parents valuing its focus on communication before cochlear implantation. Improvements in constructive parental communicative styles were observed in the intervention group, though no changes in infant efficacy were noted. Challenges included group heterogeneity and parental concerns about communication development in HH infants. The need for long-term studies and comparison with other communicative FCEI are discussed.