Perceived Communication Difficulties of Children With Hearing Loss

Abstract

The goals of this study were to modify an adult self-assessment questionnaire (APHAP, Cox & Alexander, 1995) to be appropriate for children who are older than 9 years of age, to compare the results of the questionnaire for children with hearing loss to existing adult data, and to examine the agreement between a parent’s perception of his or her child’s disability and the child’s perception. Children with mild hearing loss who were unaided reported fewer problems than did adults who were unaided. Children and adults with mild hearing loss who were aided reported similar problems. Data for children with moderate hearing loss were similar to previously reported adult data. In general, parents’ perception of their child’s communication problems correlated poorly with the child’s scores on this test.