MEGA Cross Categorical Special Education Practice Test

Children born with hearing loss are more likely to experience significant delays in which developmental domain compared to their peers?

1. Cognitive

2. Emotional

3. Fine-motor

4. Language

The correct answer is: Language

Children born with hearing loss are more likely to experience significant delays in the language developmental domain compared to their peers. This is primarily because language acquisition generally relies heavily on auditory input. Children learn to communicate and understand language through hearing spoken words and sounds in their environment. When a child has hearing loss, they miss out on crucial auditory experiences that help develop vocabulary, grammar, and communication skills. Early exposure to language is critical for the development of both receptive and expressive communication abilities. Since hearing-impaired children may not have access to spoken language, they can struggle with understanding and using language effectively, leading to delays in this area compared to hearing peers who are typically exposed to rich language input from a young age. While cognitive, emotional, and fine-motor domains can also be affected by hearing loss, the most pronounced impact is often seen in the language domain because it directly correlates with the ability to hear and process sounds essential for language development.