Michael is a 2 year and 6 month old boy. He was born full term and healthy. Following his failed newborn hearing screening, Michael was diagnosed with severe bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. At 3 months old, he was fitted with hearing aids and began a home intervention program. He received a cochlear implant at 18 months and continues to wear a hearing aid in his contralateral ear. Michael reached all the motor milestones expected of children his age. It uses single-word utterances and has a vocabulary of 30 words. His parents estimate that he is intelligible about 50% of the time. My concern for Michael is what educational and/or hearing rehabilitation approaches might help him make the most progress with his current amplification. In hearing-impaired children with cochlear implants, is oral communication an effective approach to facilitate language? Oral communication is used by people with normal hearing, as well as some people who are hard of hearing. A hearing-impaired child speaks their messages and will use auditory information and voice reading to receive a message. Oral communication is a multisensory approach since it uses both auditory (hearing) and visual signals. As children learn to speak, they will rely on their residual hearing, lip reading, and sometimes touch. According to Tye-Murray (2009), children participating in oral educational programs are more likely to achieve better speech intelligibility than children participating in total communication programs. Tye-Murray (2009) also states that several studies have shown that children who use a cochlear implant and participate in an oral communication program develop better speech and language skills, as well as improved speech perception that children who communicate by signs.... ... middle of paper ...... children with cochlear implants: Success in an intensive auditory-oral educational setting. Ear and Hearing, 30(1), 128-135. doi:10.1097/AUD.0b013e3181926524Lachs, L., Pisoni, D., & Kirk, K. (2001). Use of audiovisual information in speech perception by prelingually deaf children with cochlear implants: a first report. Ear and Hearing, 22(3), 236-251. doi: 10.1097/00003446-200106000-00007Tobey, E., Rekart, D., Buckley, K., and Geers, A. (2004). Communication style and classroom placement impact speech intelligibility. Archives of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, 130 (5), 639-643. Retrieved from: http://archotol.jamenetwork.comTye-Murray, N. (2009). Infants and toddlers with hearing loss. Fundamentals of hearing rehabilitation: children, adults and members of their families (). Clifton Park, New York: CenageLearning.