Developmental delays assessed using the Enjoji Scale in children with cochlear implants who have intellectual disability with or without autism spectrum disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are common among children who are candidates for cochlear implants. However, the implications of these comorbidities for cochlear implant placement have been not fully established. This study sought to identify these implications by comparing developmental delays among children with these conditions.

METHODS: Participants were children who were followed up at least every 6 months for 24 months after cochlear implant surgery. Developmental delays were assessed using the Enjoji Scale of Infant Analytical Development (Enjoji Scale) and compared in three groups with hearing loss: those with ID (ID group, n=4); those with ASD and ID (ASD+ID group, n=4); and those with typical development (control group, n=5). Developmental delay was evaluated longitudinally before and after cochlear implant placement for 18 months.

RESULTS: Among the six subscales that make up the Enjoji Scale, language development and intelligence development were significantly delayed in all three groups and were exacerbated over time except for language development in the control group. Emotional development and social behavior were significantly delayed only in the ASD+ID group. Comparison of intergroup differences revealed delays in language development in the ID and ASD+ID groups compared with the control group.

CONCLUSION: The Enjoji Scale successfully demonstrated developmental delays characteristic to the underlying comorbidities of ID with or without ASD in children with cochlear implants. The Enjoji Scale can be a useful diagnostic tool for screening children with cochlear implants for ID with or without ASD.