Communication, psychosocial, and educational outcomes of children with cochlear implants and challenges remaining for professionals and parents.

This paper provides an overview and a synthesis of the findings of a large, multifaceted study investigating outcomes from paediatric cochlear implantation. The study included children implanted at several Australian implant clinics and attending a variety of early intervention and educational settings across a range of locations in eastern Australia. It investigated three major aspects of childhood cochlear implantation: (1) parental expectations of their children's implantation, (2) families' decision-making processes, and (3) the communication, social, and educational outcomes of cochlear implantation for deaf children.

Career barriers perceived by hard-of-hearing adolescents: implications for practice from a mixed-methods study.

This study incorporated both quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the perception of career barriers by hard-of-hearing high school students being educated in regular classes with itinerant teacher support. Sixty-five students in Years 10, 11, and 12 completed a questionnaire about potential general and hearing-related barriers, and 12 of these respondents were subsequently interviewed. Findings indicated that other people's lack of understanding of their hearing loss constituted the greatest potential barrier to adolescents' educational and career goals.