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Updated: Apr 25, 2026
Systematic Hearing Performance Evaluation Process for Adolescents with Cochlear Implantation at Early Ages
Published on: March 24, 2023
Global developmental abilities of cochlear implanted children with spastic cerebral palsy: two experimental groups
Dionísia Aparecida Cusin Lamônica1, Maria Jaquelini Dias dos Santos1, Cora Sofia Takaya Paiva1
1Dental School of Bauru, Universidade de São Paulo, Bauru, SP, Brazil.
Insights
Cochlear implants (CI) in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and hearing loss (HL) improved language and social skills compared to those with CP alone. Both groups showed developmental delays but maintained social function.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Rehabilitation
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Auditory Implants
Background:
- Cerebral palsy (CP) often co-occurs with hearing loss (HL), impacting development.
- Cochlear implantation (CI) is a potential intervention for HL in children with CP.
- Understanding developmental trajectories in these complex cases is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare gross motor, fine motor-adaptive, language, and social function in children with CP and CI versus children with CP without HL.
- To assess communicative behaviors in these groups.
- To benchmark performance against typically developing children.
Main Methods:
- Prospective cross-sectional study of 12 children (mean age 63 months).
- Groups: CP with CI (G1), CP without HL (G2), typically developing (G3).
- Utilized Denver Developmental Screening Test II and Communicative Behavior Observation (CBO).
Main Results:
- Typically developing children (G3) outperformed both CP groups (G1, G2) across all measures.
- Children with CP without HL (G2) showed better language, communication, and fine motor skills than those with CP and CI (G1).
- Gross motor skills were comparable between CP groups; personal-social skills showed no significant differences.
Conclusions:
- Motor impairment and HL negatively affected development in children with CP.
- Personal-social development was not significantly restricted by these factors.
- Cochlear implants facilitated oral language reception and social interaction, positively influencing quality of life.
Purpose:
To analyze gross motor, fine motor-adaptive, language, social function performance, and communicative behaviors among cochlear-implanted children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP) and children with CP without hearing loss (HL) and to compare them with children with normal development.
Methods:
Prospective cross-sectional study involving 12 children with mean age of 63 months, distributed into two experimental groups: G1-4 children with CP and cochlear implant (CI) users and G2-4 children with CP without HL. A third group (G3) was the control group with four typically developing children. In the experimental groups, six children were classified in level II and two in level IV, using the Gross Motor Function Classification System. We used the Denver Developmental Screening Test II and the Communicative Behavior Observation (CBO).
Results:
G3 showed better performance than G1 and G2 in all evaluations. G2 showed better results than G1 in language, communication, personal-social, and fine motor-adaptive areas, except in the gross motor area. Aspects of language and communicative behaviors were lower in both experimental groups, especially in G1. Skills related to personal-social area showed no differences among the groups.
Conclusion:
Motor impairment of G1 and G2 and HL in G1 affected the development in the assessed areas, but these factors did not restrict personal-social development. Children with CP did not achieve high development in social function; however, the difference with relation to G3 was not statically significant. The CI provided a channel for oral language reception and social interaction, which has a key role in determining the quality of life.
