engleski

Involving parents in the assessment of children with cochlear implant

At the Center for Cochlear Implant and Early Rehabilitation of Children with Hearing Impairment at SUVAG Polyclinic, parents are present during the hearing and speech rehabilitation of children of low chronological age. The goal is to actively involve parents in the rehabilitation process so that they can apply what they learn during everyday activities. Assessment of early listening skills and language development enables monitoring of the child’s progress and creation of therapeutic goals. The assessment includes observation of the child, application of various questionnaires and standardized tests, and collection of information from parents. For the implementation of certain instruments used in the assessment, parents information is necessary, and therefore it is important whether their assessments differ from those of the therapist. The aim of this research is to examine whether there are differences in the assessment of early listening skills and language development of children with cochlear implants by parents and therapist. The sample of respondents includes nine children with a cochlear implant in whom twelve to sixteen months have passed since the first adjustment of the speech processor. The sample includes children between the ages of three and five who are monitored or involved in listening and speech rehabilitation at Center for Cochlear Implant and Early Rehabilitation of Children with Hearing Impairment at SUVAG Polyclinic. For the purpose of conducting the research, the Communication Development Inventories (CDI) and the listening development questionnaire, which was constructed for the purposes of this research based on the Little Ears questionnaire (MED-EL), were used. Questionnaires were filled out by parents and therapist in order to determine whether there was a statistically significant difference in their assessment. Statistical analysis included descriptive and inferential statistics. The results of this research show that there is no statistically significant difference in the assessment of early listening and language development by parents and rehabilitators. Through continuous counseling of parents and their active involvement in the rehabilitation process, therapist get reliable partners in rehabilitation, and regular evaluations enable the creation of rehabilitation according to the needs and capabilities of the child.

children with cochlear implant, assessment of parents, CDI

nije evidentirano