Project team members:

• Assoc. Prof. Gordana Hržica, PhD
• Assoc. Prof. Luka Bonetti, PhD
• Assis. Prof. Marina Olujić Tomazin, PhD
• Ivana Šimić, PhD
• Tomislav Radošević, assistant

Associates:

• Sara Košutar, PhD

This project is aimed at assessment of language skills, narrative and phonological skills in deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) preschool and primary school age children. International research reveals significant gaps in the language development of DHH children compared to their hearing peers, particularly in phonological and narrative abilities. The project has three main objectives: (1) assessing the developmental trajectory of phonological skills in DHH children, (2) examining their narrative abilities while identifying the linguistic and environmental factors that shape these skills, and (3) creating a digital database of audio-recorded narratives from this population. By establishing the first digital corpus of narrative samples from deaf and hard-of-hearing children in Croatian, this project makes an important scientific contribution to cross-linguistic research from the Croatian language area. It represents one of the first systematic investigations of narrative skills of DHH children in Croatia, advancing our understanding of the factors that support narrative development in this population. The project's longitudinal approach to tracking phonological skill development offers valuable insights into developmental patterns within this clinical group. Additionally, the newly developed phonological assessment materials have direct applications for speech therapy practice. Overall, this project marks a significant advancement in understanding language development among children with hearing impairments in both Croatian and international contexts, while laying the groundwork for future research and clinical initiatives.