Intervention strategies in children with cochlear implants having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common neurodevelopmental disorder of childhood which not only affects child's education, development and peer functioning but is also associated with significant morbidity in areas of social and academic success. ADHD may hamper the language acquisition in hearing impaired children. When such children are scheduled for the auditory verbal therapy following cochlear implantation, the outcome is limited due to reduced attention span. We have presented two cases who had undergone cochlear implantation and showed the signs of ADHD. As there was little progress in listening skills and speech and language acquisition following 3 months of therapy, both children were referred to Psychiatry Department and were diagnosed as having ADHD. Following little improvement with behavior modification techniques, they were put on medication. Significant improvement was noticed with reduction in hyperactivity and increased attention span after the administration of the drugs.