Children with cochlear implants: a review of demographics and communication outcomes

Children with severe to profound hearing loss in the United States are diverse in their racial-ethnic backgrounds, comorbid disabilities, socioeconomic levels, and communication modalities. The present article addresses demographic variables and communication outcomes of children with cochlear implants by means of a review of longitudinal studies published from 2000 through 2007. Information gathered from these reports reflects several trends over the years. Chi-square testing, however, revealed that two large samples chosen from the review failed to conform to an expected population profile for demographic diversity. This literature review and synthesis provides a body of evidence that should be useful for cochlear implant educators, clinicians, and researchers in determining the relevance of previous outcomes to individuals and groups who differ from those reported, and in devising suggestions for increased efforts to represent children of diverse backgrounds in investigations of implant outcomes.