Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 24, 2026
Systematic Hearing Performance Evaluation Process for Adolescents with Cochlear Implantation at Early Ages
Published on: March 24, 2023
Speech perception outcome in multiply disabled children following cochlear implantation: investigating a predictive
Keith Trimble1, Laura C Rosella, Evan Propst
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, M5G 1X8, Canada. keith.trimble@utoronto.ca
Background:
Children with multiple disabilities account for a small percentage of implantees in a cochlear implant program, but they remain the most challenging group for which to predict benefit from the implant and for cooperation with habilitation postoperatively.
Purpose:
To assess the relationship of pre-implant functional disabilities with postoperative speech perception scores and determine the feasibility of predicting outcome with a cochlear implant in a multiply disabled pediatric population.
Research Design:
Retrospective cohort study.
Study Sample:
Sixty-six children with a cochlear implant and at least one additional disability.
Data Collection And Analysis:
We retrospectively examined the relationship between pre-implant Graded Profile Analysis (GPA) scores and postimplant speech perception scores. A pre-implant functional disability score (based on the Battelle developmental screen) was applied to the same cohort of patients and its association with postimplant speech perception scores was examined.
Results:
The functional disability score significantly predicted high (k > 24) and low (k < 7) speech perception scores (p < 0.001 and p < .0001) and had excellent discrimination ability (c statistic = 0.88 and 0.93 respectively). The GPA score was not significantly associated with speech perception scores (p = 0.519 and p = 0.146) and demonstrated no ability to discriminate postimplant speech perception scores in this implant population (c statistic = 0.49 and c = 0.57).
Conclusions:
Prediction of outcomes following cochlear implantation in multiply disabled children can be facilitated using this newly developed functional disability score as an adjunct to traditional candidacy assessments.
