Factors contributing to communication skills development in cochlear implanted children.

Area of Science:

• Pediatric audiology
• Speech-language pathology
• Developmental pediatrics

Background:

• Cochlear implantation (CI) is a common treatment for pediatric hearing loss, with over 300 procedures in Serbia in the last decade, predominantly in children under 10.
• Postoperative rehabilitation programs utilize cognitive, integrative, and developmental methods to enhance outcomes for CI recipients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify factors influencing communication performance (CP) in children with cochlear implants (CI).
• To assess the impact of rehabilitation duration, intensity, and hearing age on the development of communication skills in pediatric CI users.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 30 children (aged 2-5 years) with CI, normal intelligence, and no other developmental disorders participated.
• Parents/caregivers completed the Functioning After Pediatric Cochlear Implantation (FAPCI) questionnaire.
• Statistical analyses, including ANOVA and regression, were employed to evaluate FAPCI scores in relation to various factors.

Main Results:

• No significant gender-based differences were observed in FAPCI achievements or age-related CP scores.
• Correlation analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between hearing age, rehabilitation duration, and FAPCI scores.
• Regression analysis indicated that hearing age and rehabilitation duration explained 32% of the variance in communication skills.

Conclusions:

• Children with CI, on average, exhibit communication skills approximately 18.6 months below age norms for normally hearing peers.
• Increased hearing age and longer/more intensive rehabilitation positively predict improved communication skills.
• Delayed identification of hearing loss and subsequent CI negatively impact communication development.