Evaluating the benefits of cochlear implants in an education setting.

The material presented here summarizes the first year of a study to determine whether cochlear implants, tactile aids, acoustic hearing aids, or some combination of these are best for developing spoken language in prelingual profoundly deaf children. The effects of each device over and above the gains normally achieved as a result of oral instruction are examined. Each group contains three matched children, one fitted with each device, who are enrolled in the Central Institute for the Deaf (CID) school for 3 years of evaluation and training. This report describes results obtained from four groups of matched subjects during their first year in the study. These subjects improved in all areas evaluated, regardless of the device used. However, the implanted subjects exhibited a greater rate of progress in acquiring auditory speech perception skills. They exhibited no advantage in acquiring speech production skills and spoken language skills during their first year with the device. The subtle advantages provided by the implant may become apparent in spoken language development when 2- and 3-year post-test results are examined.