Experiences of children who received hearing aids or cochlear implants before and during special education

Children who use hearing aids or cochlear implants due to hearing loss differ from children with normal hearing depending on the degree of hearing loss and the special education they receive. This difference is evident in the areas of language development, cognitive, motor and psycho-social development. They have difficulties in speaking, understanding and expressing themselves because they cannot hear the surrounding sounds sufficiently. If they are not understood, they can show combative, angry and aggressive attitudes. Their inability to communicate adequately may cause them to have difficulties in making friends and adapting to social life. Although these problems directly affect the hearing-impaired individual, they also have a social characteristic as they affect the family and the environment, they are in. In addition to hearing loss, late diagnosis, late augmentation and individual characteristics such as cognitive level and learning styles as well as familial factors, family attitudes, education and socio-economic level, and problems experienced in special education centers affect the child negatively. In addition to the psycho-social and emotional problems experienced in children with hearing loss during and before special education, behavioral problems should also be identified. It is important to keep the problems that may develop at a minimum level by taking timely measures and arrangements. Guidance and counseling services should be carried out by experts in raising awareness and informing families. The main objective is to diagnose, follow-up, care, support, socially and mentally educate the child with hearing loss, and reintegrate them into the society and oneself. The fact that this goal is multidisciplinary requires teamwork. The audiologist is an indispensable member of the multidisciplinary team working in special education centers. In this thesis, it is aimed to develop a method for language development, early recognition and prevention of psycho-social, emotional and behavioral problems before and during special education.