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Updated: Jul 9, 2026
Systematic Hearing Performance Evaluation Process for Adolescents with Cochlear Implantation at Early Ages
Published on: March 24, 2023
Auditory Skills Checklist: clinical tool for monitoring functional auditory skill development in young children with
Jareen Meinzen-Derr1, Susan Wiley, Jodi Creighton
1Center for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Ave, MLC 5041, Cincinnati, OH 45229-3039, USA.
Insights
The Auditory Skills Checklist (ASC) effectively measures functional auditory skills in young children with cochlear implants. This tool demonstrates high reliability and validity, aiding in tracking developmental progress.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Pediatric Otolaryngology
- Speech and Hearing Sciences
Background:
- Need for validated tools to assess auditory skill development in young children with sensorineural hearing loss.
- Cochlear implantation is a key intervention for this population.
- Existing tools may not adequately capture functional auditory progress in this age group.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the development and validation of the Auditory Skills Checklist (ASC).
- To assess the utility of the ASC for evaluating functional auditory skills in young children with cochlear implants.
- To establish expected auditory skill development trajectories post-implantation.
Main Methods:
- The Auditory Skills Checklist (ASC) was administered to 37 children who received cochlear implants before 36 months of age.
- Repeated measures analysis was used to model auditory skill development over time.
- Internal consistency, interrater reliability, and concurrent validity (compared to the Infant-Toddler Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale - IT-MAIS) were assessed.
Main Results:
- The ASC demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.98) and interrater reliability (ICC = 0.99).
- The ASC showed a strong positive correlation with the IT-MAIS (r = 0.90), supporting its validity.
- Children implanted by 36 months of age showed an expected increase of 8.3 points every 3 months on the ASC (p < .001).
Conclusions:
- The Auditory Skills Checklist (ASC) is a reliable, valid, and clinically useful tool for assessing functional auditory skills in young children with cochlear implants.
- The ASC facilitates the monitoring of auditory skill progression, allowing for realistic expectation setting based on individual factors.
- This checklist aids in optimizing management strategies for children with cochlear implants.
Objectives:
The Auditory Skills Checklist (ASC) was developed to address the need for tools to evaluate functional auditory skill progress in very young children with sensorineural hearing loss. We describe the development, validation, and utility of the ASC for use in young children with cochlear implants.
Methods:
Using the ASC, we measured auditory skills in 37 subjects who received cochlear implants at no more than 36 months of age. Repeated measures analysis was conducted to determine expected auditory skill development after implantation. Interrater reliability was tested on a small subset. The ASC was compared to the Infant-Toddler Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (IT-MAIS) to determine its validity in measuring functional auditory skills.
Results:
The ASC had excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha, 0.98) and interrater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.99), and was highly correlated with the IT-MAIS (r = 0.90). According to the repeated measures analysis, children who received a cochlear implant at 36 months of age or earlier were expected to increase their ASC score by 8 points every 3 months (beta coefficient, 8.3; p < .001).
Conclusions:
The ASC is a clinically relevant and easily administered tool for assessing the functional auditory skills of young children with a cochlear implant. By assessing auditory skill development over time with the ASC, we can better realize expectations for a particular child based on his or her age, hearing loss level, and management strategies in place.
