title: [Assessing language development in children with cochlear implants using the parental questionnaire FRAKIS].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this study was to examine if the parental questionnaire FRAKIS (German CDI questionnaire on early language development) is a valid instrument for assessing linguistic progress in children with cochlear implants (CI). Descriptive statistics on the course of language acquisition in children with CI will also be presented.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 140 children with CI and language levels were assessed cross-sectionally with the parental questionnaire FRAKIS at 12, 18, 24 and 30 months post-implantation. For a subgroup of 25 children language was assessed longitudinally and additionally by 45 min spontaneous speech samples per data point.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Correlational analyses showed high concurrent validity between the questionnaire measures of vocabulary, inflectional morphology, sentence complexity, as well as the subscales of inflectional morphology and the corresponding language measures based on spontaneous speech. Descriptive statistics for the course of language development indicated a wide distribution of children across language levels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The parental questionnaire FRAKIS is a valid instrument for assessing language levels in children with CI. In assessing these children it is recommended that they are compared with values within this population.
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychology & Language Sciences, University College London, 2 Wakefield Street, WC1N2PF, London, Grossbritannien. gisela.szagun@googlemail.com
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Szagun
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stumper
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002663:Child Language; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D007804:Language Development; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D007807:Language Tests; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome