Beyond Speech: Parental perspectives on functional outcomes in Mandarin-speaking pediatric cochlear implant users

This study explored parental perceptions of real-world functional outcomes in Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants (CIs), focusing on domains often overlooked by standardized tests, such as communication, social participation, and academic independence.

Sixty-three Taiwanese parents completed a culturally adapted Mandarin version of a validated parent-report questionnaire, assessing outcomes across ten functional domains. Children's clinical data including age at implantation, CI duration, speech perception, IQ, and language scores were collected. Spearman correlation analysis was conducted to examine associations between parent-reported outcomes and objective measures.

Parents reported high satisfaction in domains such as general functioning and family support, but expressed concern about educational and communication challenges. Expressive language and word recognition scores showed moderate correlations with functional domains, while age at implantation and IQ indices showed weaker or inconsistent associations.

Standardized assessments may not fully capture everyday difficulties faced by pediatric CI users, particularly in tonal-language and academic contexts. Parent-report tools offer valuable insights for culturally responsive and family-centered care in Mandarin-speaking populations.