title: Spoken language skills and educational placement in Finnish children with cochlear implants.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study reports the demographics, and the auditory and spoken language development as well as educational settings, for a total of 164 Finnish children with cochlear implants.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two questionnaires were employed: the first, concerning day care and educational placement, was filled in by professionals for rehabilitation guidance, and the second, evaluating language development (categories of auditory performance, spoken language skills, and main mode of communication), by speech and language therapists in audiology departments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nearly half of the children were enrolled in normal kindergartens and 43% of school-aged children in mainstream schools. Categories of auditory performance were observed to grow in relation to age at cochlear implantation (p < 0.001) as well as in relation to proportional hearing age (p < 0.001). The composite scores for language development moved to more diversified ones in relation to increasing age at cochlear implantation and proportional hearing age (p < 0.001). Children without additional disorders outperformed those with additional disorders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate that the most favorable age for cochlear implantation could be earlier than 2. Compared to other children, spoken language evaluation scores of those with additional disabilities were significantly lower; however, these children showed gradual improvements in their auditory perception and language scores.
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. eila.lonka@helsinki.fi
authors.forename: Eila
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lonka
authors.forename: Marja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hasan
authors.forename: Erkki
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Komulainen
mesh_terms: D017668:Age of Onset; D001307:Auditory Perception; D002648:Child; D002656:Child Day Care Centers; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D019988:Children with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D007808:Language Therapy; D008297:Male; D019303:Multilingualism; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012574:Schools; D012813:Sign Language; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires