[Audiophonologic aspects of the decision and follow-up of cochlear implants in children].

Based on the audiologic, audioprosthetic, psychological and orthophonic criteria involved in the decision for a cochlear implant in 16 children (age 5 to 18), a protocol including 10 criteria was developed for children with severe deafness and a low to very low level of oral language acquisition. The importance of the motivation of the family, their capacity to become implicated and their desire to listen to the child and communicate orally with him, as well as the role of the specialist teachers were emphasized. In this series of 16 children the results of the implantation work-up lead to only 9 cases of implantation.