Early impact of cochlear implantation on the child’s adaptation in the public institutions of education

Aim of research – to assess the child’s adaptation in the public institutions of pre-school, pre-primary and primary education on the basis of the parents’ opinion when the duration of cochlear implant’s wearing was getting longer, when compared to the data of reference group of children. Materials and methods. During the research in 2006, 120 parents, who raise the children in early postimplantation period, were questioned when 1,9 years on average had passed after the surgery of cochlear implantation. In 2008 the same 85 of 120 parents, who raise the children in late post-implantation period, were questioned when 4,3 years on average had passed after the surgery of cochlear implantation. The early and late impact of cochlear implantation on the child’s adaptation in the public institutions of pre-school, pre-primary and primary education was assessed using the adapted questionnaire of O‘Neill C. etc. (2004) consisting of 72 questions. Results. The received results revealed that the parents consider that the children felt themselves worse at school in the early post-implantation period, than children during the late post-implantation period. The parents raising the children with cochlear implants, were less satisfied with the current educational location of their children in the late post-implantation period, than the parents of reference group, who were raising somatically healthy children. Conclusions. In the parents’ opinion, the children in the late post-implantation period felt much better at school than during the early post-implantation period. During the early post-implantation period the parents did not trust significantly the consultations provided by the implantation center, if compared to the late post-implantation period. In the course of time, 4,3 years after the surgery of cochlear implantation, the parents trusted local school and companies providing the auxiliary means significantly less. The parents consider that during the late post-implantation period the children were able to carry out the tasks of school education similarly to the children of reference group; however the children during the late post-implantation period felt much worse than their peers of reference group