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Updated: Apr 20, 2026
Systematic Hearing Performance Evaluation Process for Adolescents with Cochlear Implantation at Early Ages
Published on: March 24, 2023
Brazilian adaptation of the Functioning after Pediatric Cochlear Implantation (FAPCI): comparison between normal
Trissia M F Vassoler1, Mara L Cordeiro2
1Faculdades Pequeno Príncipe, Curitiba, PR, Brazil; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hospital Infantil Pequeno Príncipe, Curitiba, PR, Brazil.
Objective:
Enabling development of the ability to communicate effectively is the principal objective of cochlear implantation (CI) in children. However, objective and effective metrics of communication for cochlear-implanted Brazilian children are lacking. The Functioning after Pediatric Cochlear Implantation (FAPCI), a parent/caregiver reporting instrument developed in the United States, is the first communicative performance scale for evaluation of real-world verbal communicative performance of 2-5-year-old children with cochlear implants. The primary aim was to cross-culturally adapt and validate the Brazilian-Portuguese version of the FAPCI. The secondary aim was to conduct a trial of the adapted Brazilian-Portuguese FAPCI (FAPCI-BP) in normal hearing (NH) and CI children.
Methods:
The American-English FAPCI was translated by a rigorous forward-backward process. The FAPCI-BP was then applied to the parents of children with NH (n=131) and CI (n=13), 2-9 years of age. Test-retest reliability was verified.
Results:
The FAPCI-BP was confirmed to have excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha > 0.90). The CI group had lower FAPCI scores (58.38 ± 22.6) than the NH group (100.38 ± 15.2; p<0.001, Wilcoxon test).
Conclusion:
The present results indicate that the FAPCI-BP is a reliable instrument. It can be used to evaluate verbal communicative performance in children with and without CI. The FAPCI is currently the only psychometrically-validated instrument that allows such measures in cochlear-implanted children.
