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.