title: Long-term functional and behavioral-emotional outcomes in children with early cochlear implants: Parental testimonies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  (1) To assess the long-term effects of cochlear implantation (CI) on speech perception and school life, and (2) to evaluate behavioral and emotional development, including social skills, post-implantation.
  
  
  METHODS
  We telephoned caregivers and asked them a standardized questionnaire. We used the data to explore the daily lives (including school life) of children who had undergone CI before the age of 4 years and who had used the device for >10 years. We also evaluated behavioral/emotional development.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most children used CI devices for virtually all their waking moments and attended mainstream schools. Moreover, more than 75% of them could comprehend common phrases or conversations without lip-reading and carry out a telephone conversation with a person known to them. The mean T-scores for all scales of behavioral/emotional assessment, including those concerning social skills, were within the normal ranges, although scores on the competence scale were lower than those on other scales.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This long-term study of early-CI children shows that CI improves not only speech perception, but also behavioral/emotional development, including social skills.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Healthcare Research Institute, Healthcare System Gangnam Center, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea; Department of Translational Biomedical Research, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Mina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Sensory Organ Research Institute, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seung Ha
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Sungkyunkwan University, School of Medicine, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sun O
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Chong Sun
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Sensory Organ Research Institute, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: junlee@snu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Jun Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D002657:Child Development; D019929:Cochlear Implantation / Q000379:methods*; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D003638:Deafness / Q000601:surgery; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D066107:Social Skills; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Cochlear implantation; Communication; Deaf; Socialization; Speech perception