Autism's Impact on Cochlear Implantation Surgery Outcomes in Deaf Children.

Introduction: Cochlear implants (CI) provide a hearing sense for severe to profound hearing-impaired patients, both adults and children, and they are a broadly effective and accepted therapeutic method for those patients. Also, Deaf children with comorbidities, including autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), undergo cochlear implantation. ASDs are a group of developing disorders characterized by abnormalities in social interaction and communication with limited repetitive patterns of behavior. This study aimed to assess the effect of Autism on CI surgery outcomes in Deaf Children.

Materials and methods: We followed 12 autistic patients with cochlear implantation and 12 non-autistic cochlear-implanted patients for two years. The Categories of Auditory Performance (CAP) and Speech Intelligibility Rating (SIR) scores were used to assess 6, 12, and 24 months after cochlear implantation surgery.

Results: During the 24-month follow-up, the CAP means scores increased in both groups, and SIR and CAP progresses were considerably greater in non-ASD children (P<0.001). However, in ASD children, the progress of CAP and SIR variables were significant, with 99% and 95% confidence, respectively, at 24 months after surgery.

Conclusion: Although the CIs could improve hearing performance in autistic patients, speech development after CIs in autistic children could affected by several factors, including the severity of autism, and this can be effective in providing pre-implant counseling to parents. The application of the alternative communication methods could be taken into account as a potential rehab technique.