Long-Term Educational and Occupational Status of Prelingually Deaf Children Who Have Received a Cochlear Implant.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the long-term educational and occupational status of prelingually bilateral deaf children who received a cochlear implant (CI) before the age of 7, and to identify factors that influence these outcomes.

STUDY

DESIGN

Retrospective chart review.

SETTING

Single tertiary care center.

METHODS

Seventy-one children who underwent CI surgery from 2000 to 2007 were included. The latest education and occupation status and word recognition score (WRS) were analyzed.

RESULTS

The mean age at the time of surgery and the current age was 3.9 and 22.4 years. The age at CI showed a negative correlation with WRS. All subjects had graduated from high school or obtained an equivalent educational qualification. General high school graduates showed a higher WRS than those who attended a special education high school. The college entrance rate of CI patients (74.6% %) was comparable to that of the general population (72.5%). Subjects who went to college had a significantly better WRS than those who did not (51.4% vs 19.3%). Excluding 30 subjects currently enrolled in college, 26 (62%) of the remaining 41 were currently employed and engaged in various vocational activities, of which most (21 out of 26, 81%) were employed through vocational training institutes, or via special recruitment policy for the disabled.

CONCLUSION

The long-term use of CI in prelingually deaf children enables not only speech perception but also produces comparable levels of education and employment to those of the general population. A good WRS and supportive policy were related to these successful outcomes.