Facinating research about normally hearing babies learning language by lipreading. This type of research supports the early implantation argument for cochlear implants and emphasizes the value of getting in the child's face and talking even when there is minimal hearing. The research also makes me wonder if this process is similar when hearing comes later or does it move faster when there is more cognitive development.
"Florida scientists discovered that starting around age 6 months, babies begin shifting from the intent eye gaze of early infancy to studying mouths when people talk to them....They found a dramatic shift in attention: When the speaker used English, the 4-month-olds gazed mostly into her eyes. The 6-month-olds spent equal amounts of time looking at the eyes and the mouth. The 8- and 10-month-olds studied mostly the mouth. At 12 months, attention started shifting back toward the speaker's eyes."
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