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Published on: January 9, 2019
Motor development of deaf children with and without cochlear implants
Freja Gheysen1, Gerrit Loots, Hilde Van Waelvelde
1Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, Brussels, Belgium.
Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education
|October 30, 2007
Summary
Cochlear implants (CI) did not significantly impact motor development in deaf children. While hearing children performed better overall, CIs showed no clear positive or negative effects on balance and motor skills in this study.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Audiology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Deaf children often face challenges in motor development.
- Cochlear implantation (CI) aims to improve hearing but its effects on motor skills are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of cochlear implants (CI) on the motor development of deaf children.
- To compare motor skills between deaf children with and without CIs, and with hearing children.
Main Methods:
- 36 deaf children (4-12 years old) with and without CIs, and 43 hearing children participated.
- Motor development was assessed using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder, and One-leg standing test.
Main Results:
- Hearing children outperformed deaf children (with or without CI) on motor assessments.
- No significant differences in motor skills were found between deaf children with and without CIs, though a trend suggested slightly poorer performance in the CI group on some balance tasks.
- Significant differences were observed between hearing children and deaf children with CIs on balance measures.
Conclusions:
- This study found no clear positive or negative impact of cochlear implants on the balance and motor skills of deaf children.
- Further longitudinal research is needed to better understand the relationship between CIs and motor development in this population.
