Children with cochlear implants: Cognitive skills, adaptive behaviors, social and emotional skills

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine cognitive skills, adaptive behavior, social and emotional skills in deaf children with cochlear implant (CI) compared to normal hearing children. Methods: The study included twenty children affected by profound hearing loss implanted with a CI compared to 20 healthy children matched to chronological age and gender. Results: Results of this study indicated that 55% of children with CI showed a score in the normal range of nonverbal intelligence (IQ. > 84), 40% in the borderline range (71 < IQ < 84) and 5% were in mild range (50 < IQ < 70). No significant differences were found after comparison with normal hearing children. Children with CI reported more abnormalities in emotional symptoms (p = .018) and peer problems (p = .037) than children with normal hearing. Age of CI was negatively correlated with IQ (p = .002), positively correlated with emotional symptoms (p = .04) and with peer problems (p = .02). Conclusions: CI has a positive effect on the lives of deaf children, especially if it is implanted in much earlier ages. © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.