Phonoaudiology, FOB/USP-Bauru; Audiological Research Center, Hospital for Rehabilitation of Craniofacial Anomalies, CPA/HRAC-USP-Bauru ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: This study verified whether strengthening the network of equivalence relations between dictated sentences, printed sentences, and action figures in children with cochlear implants would affect the speech correspondence controlled by action figures and printed sentences. During the pre-test, the children pronounced better when reading sentences than when they named the figures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sessions were conducted via notebook computer containing PROLER software, which managed sound (amplified by attached speakers) and images. Three sets of stimuli were adopted with the grammatical function of subject, verb, and object. Three participants were taught to construct sentences by selecting words in the sequence subject-verb-object according to the dictated sentence; sentences were overlapped by the object. Relations between hearing sentences and selecting corresponding action figures were strengthened. Post-tests assessed the understanding of the relation figures and construction of sentences, since they were paired to the same dictated sentences; in addition, the naming of action figures and the reading of 3 taught sentences and an additional 6 sentences, derived from a recombination of component words of the taught sentences, was assessed. RESULTS: All children achieved precision in the tasks of teaching and test comprehension of dictated sentences; they also improved speech intelligibility with a higher correlation between naming pictures of actions (M = 92.03%) and the reading of sentences (M = 97.10%) with trained stimuli and sentences derived from a recombination of components (mean = 74.98%). CONCLUSION: The program was able to accelerate the processes of auditory discrimination and their relations to speech production, lowering the disadvantages in vocalization in these children.
