Updated Champions Resources from Advanced Bionics
“Advanced Bionics is pleased to share the updated 2026 Champions聽resources, developed to support children and young people with additional disabilities, complex needs and increasingly diverse developmental profiles throughout their cochlear implant journey.
Advanced Bionics recognises that the landscape of paediatric cochlear implantation has shifted significantly. Children and young people being considered for, or living with, cochlear implants may now present with a wider range of medical, developmental, sensory, cognitive and communication needs. For families and professionals, navigating this can sometimes be challenging 鈥� particularly when standardised assessments do not fully reflect a child鈥檚 progress, potential or lived experience.
The updated聽Champions: Cochlear Implant Considerations for Children with Additional Disabilities聽companion booklet has been launched in response to this need for wider support, shared understanding and practical guidance. It encourages a holistic, child-centred approach and supports families, education teams, clinicians and wider professional networks to think beyond traditional measures of speech and listening alone.
For some children, spoken language and listening may not be the only, or primary, indicators of success. Progress may instead be seen in increased awareness of sound, improved participation in daily routines, stronger emotional connection, greater confidence with device use, increased independence, improved safety awareness, or more consistent responses to familiar people and environments.
These gains are not always captured through standardised assessments, which may sometimes suggest lengthy periods of plateau. Champions helps families and professionals recognise and value the smaller, meaningful changes that can make a significant difference to quality of life, participation and family wellbeing.
Alongside the companion booklet, the聽Champions Evaluation Profiles聽provide a structured, longitudinal way to capture progress over time, from pre-implant through to five years post-implant. The profiles support shared planning and goal setting across communication, listening, emotional wellbeing, daily living skills, relationships, participation, independence and quality of life.
The scope of the updated Champions resources also reflects the finer detail needed when supporting children and young people with complex and diverse profiles. The companion booklet includes guidance around multidisciplinary working, assessment planning, sensory and multisensory needs, device management, habilitation routines, self-advocacy, transition into adult services, emergency and safety planning, multilingual families and cultural considerations.
Together, the Champions companion booklet and Evaluation Profiles offer a thoughtful framework for recognising progress, managing expectations and supporting joined-up care. They are designed to help families and professionals move beyond narrow measures of progress and consider what access, connection, participation, comfort, safety and success look like for each individual child and family.
For a printed copy of the updated Champions companion booklet and Evaluation Profiles, please contact Advanced Bionics at聽[email protected]. You can also view, and download copies from Hearing Success Portal 聽 or聽“
