Growing Up with Cochlear Implants Development of deaf and hard of hearing children and adolescents

Harry Knoors, Professor emeritus, Radboud University,Evelien Dirks, Program director DHH, Dutch Foundation of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Child

Harry Knoors is professor emeritus in deaf education at the Behavioral Science Institute of the Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. For over 25 years he also was on the board of directors of Royal Kentalis, Sint-Michielsgestel. His research focusses on the effects of early childhood deafness and early language impairments on the development of language, literacy and cognition. Amongst others, Knoors was involved in studies into the effects of pediatric cochlear implantation and of early sign language use. In his research, he also addresses issues closely related to the quality of special, i.e. deaf, education.


Evelien Dirks is professor in the Early Development and Intervention of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children at Tranzo, Tilburg University, the Netherlands. She is also program director DHH at the Dutch Foundation of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Child in Amsterdam (NSDSK). Her research focusses on the language, social-emotional and cognitive development of deaf and hard of hearing children and the effects of early intervention. The parent-child interaction in relation to child development is often a key element in her research.

1. Language development in the first years of life: An introductionPART 1 SETTING THE STAGE2. Hearing, hearing loss, and being deaf3. Cochlear implantation: The background4. Cochlear implantation, brain structure, and brain functioningPART 2 THE EFFECTS OF PEDIATRIC COCHLEAR IMPLANTATION5. Speech perception, production, and processing6. Spoken language development7. Literacy development8. Cognitive development9. Psychosocial developmentPART 3 COMPLEXITIES AND CONTROVERSIES10. Long-term effects of pediatric cochlear implantation11. Cochlear implantation, multilingualism, and multimodality12. Identity, deaf culture, and deaf community13. Cochlear implants (CIs) for children with additional disabilities14. Family-centered early intervention (FCEI)PART 4 CONCLUSION15. Growing up with CIs: Looking back to the future