Objective: The availability of cochlear implants has increased the number of children with profound deafness educated in classrooms alongside peers with normal hearing. The purpose of this research was to better understand the functioning of these children from the perspective of their service providers.
Methods: Semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted with 28 practitioners to elicit their perceptions of children's abilities in oral communication, academic, and social functioning. Data were coded inductively and examined through content analysis.
Results: The central theme was that cochlear implantation has improved school functioning for children both in hearing and related spoken language abilities and beyond hearing in academic and social development. While these benefits were a consistent theme, a wide range of performance was identified across all areas of functioning. In particular, areas of concern included full participation in classroom activities and social interaction with peers.
Conclusions: The findings provide insights into functioning for children with cochlear implants from the perspective of those who interact with them in everyday settings. These findings underscore the challenges for children in achieving full participation despite improvements in communication skills. Practitioners identified areas where intervention is required to facilitate the inclusion of children in school programs.
Keywords: Academic functioning; Children; Cochlear implant; Communication; Qualitative research; Social development.