Περίληψη:
Background-objective: Nottingham Children’s Implant Profile (NChIP) is a
profile designed to assess candidate children for cochtear implantation.
It includes the demographic details of the children (chronological age
and duration of deafness), medical. and radiological conditions, the
outcomes of audiological assessments, language and speech abilities,
multiple handicaps or disabilities, family structure and support,
educational environment, the availability of support services,
expectations of the family and deaf child, cognitive abilities, and
learning sty[e. The aim of the present study is to present the NChIP
data obtained on the first 200 children implanted in the same cochlear
implant,,programme and evaluate NChIP’s use in the selection phase of
cochlear implantation. Patients: The study assessed 200 profoundly deaf
children. Fifty-six children (28%) were deafened by meningitis, 132
(66%) were born deaf, and 12 (6%) were deafened from,other causes
(head injury, viral infection, progressive deafness). Results:
Chronological age at the time of assessment (before implantation) was
the most common factor of major concern (9% of the children studied)
and the pre-implant language and speech abilities of the children was
the most common factor of mild to moderate concern, affecting 63% of
the children. The second most common factor of mild to moderate concern
was duration of deafness (37%) and the third was the learning style of
the children (33%). Availability of support services was the least
factor of concern as 179 children (90%) did not have any problems in
this area. Conclusions: Earlier identification of deafness (by
universal. neonatal hearing screening programs) may reduce age at
implantation and duration of deafness as areas of concern in the future.
However, the pre-implant language and speech abilities of the candidate
children, the gap between chronological. and language age, and the
learning style of children are now emerging as key areas of research in
the field. NChIP was found to be a very useful casework toot in the
initial evaluation of the deaf children promoting and enhancing
interdisciplinary teamwork across the different professionals. NChIP was
also used as part of the decision-making process by the cochtear implant
programme professionals and as a counselling toot for the parents.
Finally, NChIP has helped to identify those children and families who
need additional support. In the case of recently established paediatric
cochlear implant programmes it would be a ‘neutral’ yet sensitive way of
promoting good interdisciplinary collaboration and also peer support
within team discussions when selecting children for cochlear
implantation. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Συγγραφείς:
Nikolopoulos, TP
Dyar, D
Gibbin, KP
