Social and emotional functioning of children with cochlear implants: description of the sample

Children with cochlear implants have demonstrated significant and steady gains in audition, speech and language areas in the years since cochlear implants have been available to them. Children with cochlear implants are able to hear better and research has shown that, as a group, their speech and language skills are steadily improving. However, the investigation of the social and emotional functioning of children with cochlear implants has only recently begun. Understanding more about how children with cochlear implants carry on with social and emotional development despite their hearing difficulties is crucial to helping children and families navigate this process. The current study is an investigation of the social and emotional functioning of cochlear implant recipients in childhood, ages 5-14. Children with cochlear implants are compared to an age-matched group of children with normal hearing. Assessments include a large group of tasks focusing on sensory perception, emotion identification and discrimination of facial and vocal stimuli, child's perceived self-competence, perception of social support from parents, siblings, and peers. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.