CI Toolkit: Helping Children with Cochlear Implants in Inclusive Classrooms

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In this Fast Track project, KDHRC will develop and evaluate the CI School Toolkit, a comprehensive set of materials to support parents, teachers, and children as a child with a cochlear implant (CI) enters an inclusive classroom environment. These integrated, multimedia and print materials will 1) support parents as they work with teachers and the school to create the most supportive learning environment for their child with a CI, 2) assist educators in creating the best learning and listening setting for children with a CI, and 3) help children with a CI educate their peers about hearing loss and cochlear implants, to increase social acceptance, reduce stigma, and create a more supportive school environment. The toolkit will consist of print, video, and web-based materials and will be developed with extensive input from the target audience and a panel of experts in the field. The long-term objective of this project is to provide the educational and advocacy communities with a tool to optimize school entry and inclusion for children with CIs. After developing the materials, we will conduct a robust evaluation of the efficacy of the Toolkit in two stages: 1) an evaluation of the component parts in a series of two-group, pretest/post-test, quasi-experimental studies and 2) a field test of the product with parent/teacher dyads at the time when a child with a CI is entering an inclusive classroom. The Toolkit will then be distributed nationwide with the help of KDHRC's commercialization partners. More children with cochlear implants are entering inclusive classrooms. This trend will continue as the FDA-approved minimum age for implantation becomes younger, and the literature continues to show that age of implantation is a strong predictor of later language proficiency. Research has shown cost-savings of approximately $30,000 to $200,000 for every deaf child with a CI educated in an inclusive environment. However, these benefits are only realized if the educational environment optimizes true inclusion. The proposed Toolkit will ease the school entry process for parents, teachers, and youth by providing comprehensive educational materials in an easy-to-implement format.