Cochlear implants may benefit some children with comorbid ASD, deafness

Some children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who are also deaf may benefit significantly from receiving a cochlear implant, according to a new study. 

A cochlear implant is an electronic device that restores partial hearing. The device uses a sound processor located behind the ear to capture sound signals, sending them to an implanted receiver that forwards them to electrodes implanted in the cochlea. The signals stimulate the auditory nerve, which then directs the signals to the brain. 

Carolyn Jenks and colleagues investigated the outcomes of 30 children with ASD who received cochlear implants between 1991 and 2018. At the time of implantation, recipients ranged in age from infancy to 11 years of age. At follow-up, 73 percent of recipients used their implants consistently throughout the day. 

The researchers report that 33 percent of all users, and 45 percent of consistent users, developed measurable speech perception ability by an average of 4.5 years of use. “Spoken language alone was used by 31 percent and spoken plus sign by 14 percent,” they say, “with the remainder using sign alone, augmentative communication devices, or no mode of communication.” 

The researchers add that according to parent reports, 86 percent of cochlear implant recipients showed improvements in social engagement. The behaviors parents reported most frequently as improved were communication and attention. 

They conclude, “Findings support a growing body of literature that cochlear implantation has the potential to improve auditory skills [and] language and enhance social engagement in some deaf children with autism spectrum disorder.”

Citations

“Cochlear implantation can improve auditory skills, language and social engagement of children with autism spectrum disorder,” Carolyn M. Jenks, Stephen R. Hoff, Jennifer Haney, Elizabeth Tournis, Denise Thomas, and Nancy M. Young, Otology & Neurotology, December 2021 (online). Address: Nancy Young, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology, Section of Otology and Neurotology, 225 East Chicago Ave., Box #25, Chicago, I 60611, [email protected]. 

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“Cochlear implant in deaf children with autism can improve language skills and social engagement,” news release, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, December 23, 2021.