INTERNAL SPEECH FUNCTIONING AND SPEECHREADING IN DEAFENED AND NORMAL-HEARING ADULTS

The present study compared internal speech functioning in two groups o f subjects: deafened and normal hearing adults. Internal speech functi oning was assessed by means of either direct testing (i.e. rhyme-judge ment tasks) or indirect testing (lexical access tests). No differences between the groups across tasks was obtained for speed. Neither was t here any difference in accuracy level assessed by indirect tests. For direct testing the deafened group performed at a significantly lower l evel of accuracy. Accuracy was also correlated with the number of year s that they had been deaf. It was concluded that one of the primary co nsequences of an acquired deafness is that the representational aspect s of internal speech deteriorate over time, whereas the mechanical asp ects remain relatively intact. Intercorrelations between accuracy leve l in direct testing and speechreading performance also suggest that sp eechreading ability declines. Clinical implications of the results are discussed.