The CID Cochlear Implant and Education Study: What Have We Learned?

Performance on a battery of outcome measures was collected from 181 8- and 9-year-old prelingually deaf children who were implanted before age 5. Most children used the Nucleus 22-channel implant. Children were recruited from a broad geographical distribution across the United States and Canada, and represent both oral and total communication approaches, mainstream and special education as well as public and private school environments. The impact of intervening variables, including implant, child, and family characteristics, on skill development post-implant was determined. The primary purpose of this study was to estimate the contribution of educational placement, communication mode, and individual therapy to skill development with a cochlear implant. Outcomes assessed included speech perception, speech production, language, and reading. Results indicate that about half of the variance in skill development can be accounted for by variables associated with child, family, and implant characteristics. However significant additional variance attributable to rehabilitation factors also was observed, particularly for communication mode. The magnitude of benefit obtained from a cochlear implant was related to the child's dependence on the spoken language for communication.