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Benefit of Cochlear Implantation in Children with Multiple-handicaps: Parent's Perspective
Heloisa Romeiro Nasralla1, Adilson Marcos Montefusco2, Ana Cristina H Hoshino1
1Cochlear Implant Group, Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, BR.
Insights
Cochlear implants offer significant social-emotional benefits for children with multiple handicaps, improving communication and family well-being. Parents reported positive outcomes, recommending implants despite challenges associated with complex disabilities.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Audiology
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Rehabilitation Medicine
Background:
- Cochlear implantation is increasingly studied in children with multiple handicaps.
- Assessing subjective benefits from a parent's perspective is crucial for these complex cases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and utilize a questionnaire for evaluating subjective benefits of cochlear implantation in multiply handicapped children.
- To analyze these benefits from the parents' viewpoint.
Main Methods:
- A questionnaire was administered to 14 families with children aged 2-12 years.
- Children had cochlear implant experience ranging from 11 months to 11 years.
Main Results:
- Significant improvements in social-emotional abilities were observed, including auditory exposure (84%), name recognition (56%), and eye contact (28%).
- Benefits extended to music appreciation, therapy/school adherence, object interest, social play, and routine adaptation.
- While 35% acquired oral language and 14% used sign language, all showed communication improvement; however, autism spectrum disorder and handicap severity impacted outcomes.
Conclusions:
- The developed questionnaire effectively identified social-emotional benefits of cochlear implantation in this population.
- Cochlear implants positively impacted the entire family, not solely focusing on oral language acquisition.
- All participating families recommended cochlear implantation for other children with similar complex needs.
Abstract:
Introduction The cochlear implants centers in the world are studying the cochlear implantation in children with multiple handicaps. Objective To develop a questionnaire to analyze the subjective benefits of the cochlear implantation in multiple handicapped children according to their parent's perspective. Methods A questionnaire was applied to 14 families of multiple handicapped children, aging from 2-12 years old and having from 11 months to 11 years of implant use. Results The social-emotional abilities were improved because of many factors, such as: auditory exposure, which happened in 84% of the children; recognition of their own names, which increased in 56%; and development of eye contact, in 28% of the subjects. Other benefits appeared to be: music appreciation and more attention and adherence to other therapies and school activities. Besides, some children became interested in objects, playing with other children, and more adapted to daily routines. Thirty-five percent of the children acquired oral language, mainly the bilaterally implanted, while 14% of them were engaged in sign language. Although all of the children showed a significant improvement in communication, the emotional issues of some families and the severity of the handicaps negatively impacted the outcomes. In spite of the families' acknowledgement of some benefits, the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder caused frustration, requiring a readjustment of the expectations. Conclusion The questionnaire turned out to be an adequate tool to reveal the social-emotional benefits of cochlear implantation. Although oral language was not the major outcome in these cases, the cochlear implant benefits involved the whole family. All of the families recommended the implant to other children in a similar situation.