TRANSLATION AND STANDARDIZATION OF ARABIC QUESTIONNAIRES FOR EVALUATION OFCOCHLEAR IMPLANT PERFORMANCE IN TODDLERS AND CHILDREN

Background:Assessment of language perception and production in cochlear implant (CI) children at the early stages after the implantation is a challenging process especially in young children. It is not always possible to conduct a speech test battery to those children, therefore, the parent’s questionnaires can be an alternative method to evaluate the state of language development in younger children with cochlear implant. Previous questionnaires were designed to assess the child’s spontaneous responses to sound in his/her everyday environment, but they did not focus on how much words the child knows.
Aim of the work:The main aim of this study was to translate and standardize the German questionnaires Elternfragebogenfür Risiko kinder (ELFRA questionnaires for children at risk) in order to use it to assess the benefit of the cochlear implant in the early stages after implantation in Arabic speaking young children.
Patients and Methods:The ELFRA questionnaires were translated from German to Arabic, then re-translated from the Arabic back to German language by the help of an expert panel (experts in translation from Arabic to German languages and vice versa). ELFRA-1 and ELFRA-2questionnaires were answered by a total number of 82 parents of normal hearing infants and children; their chronological age was 12 months and 24 months respectively. ELFRA-1 and ELFRA-2 questionnaires were conducted also on 72cochlear implant children; their hearing age was 12 months and 24 months respectively.
Results: Translation of ELFRA-1 did not necessitate changes in the structure of ELFRA-1 questionnaire. However, some items were changed during the translation of ELFRA-2 questionnaire. Comparisons of scores of ELFRA questionnaires between normal hearing group and cochlear implant group revealed statistically significant higher scores inchildren with CI in expressive aspect of the language while normal hearing infants had higher scores in the receptive aspect.
Conclusions: Translated and standardised Arabic versions of ELFRA questionnaires are helpful tools in assessment of the benefit of cochlear implantation at earlier stages after the implantation. Further work is needed to examine the prognostic ability of the questionnaires to detect cochlear implant children at risk for delayed language development, Arabic language.