Research / Survey Opportunities

Agencies, Organizations, Universities and others are often looking for participation of families and professionals for current research and survey projects. Each opportunity listed below has contact information if you would like to participate. Please contact the specific entity that is sponsoring each research/survey opportunity if you would like more information.

Unless otherwise noted, Hands & Voices does not necessarily promote the goals and objectives of listed research/survey opportunities and participants are advised to clarify any questions/concerns prior to participation with contacts listed for each research/survey opportunity.

For information on submitting your project for inclusion on this page please read our Submittal Request Sheet.

Parent Research / Survey Opportunities

- Descriptions of Studies -

The Hearing Impact Project (HIP)

Researchers at Utah State University are distributing a survey to parents of children with hearing loss that explores the impact of hearing loss in their children's lives. Results of this study will help to understand how hearing loss impacts children across multiple domains of life and will be used to inform audiologists of ways to improve parent-practitioner communication to enhance optimal outcomes for hearing care and, ultimately, quality of life. Participants will have an option to enter a drawing to win one of ten $50 Amazon gift cards upon completing the survey. If interested, participants are invited to click this link (http://www.usuaudiology.com/survey-p) to complete the 15-minute survey. Questions about this study may be directed to:

Karen Muñoz, EdD
Professor, Interim Department Head
Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education
Utah State University
(435) 797-3701 | karen.munoz@usu.edu

[ Download Parent Flyer ]

Families & Hearing Study

Description:
The enormous variability in developmental outcomes of children with hearing loss is a significant clinical problem. Research efforts to account for individual differences that focus almost exclusively on hearing loss- or child-related factors are a critical barrier to progress in the field of pediatric audiology. In this 5-year project (funded by the NIH-NIDCD #DC014956), we are examining the influence of family dynamics on spoken language and executive function outcomes in children with hearing loss.

Who we are recruiting and what is involved:

The Developmental Speech Lab at The Ohio State University and the DeVault Otologic Research Lab at the Indiana University School of Medicine are jointly recruiting families of children age 3-8 years, who have an English-speaking parent and who wear hearing aids or cochlear implants OR have typical hearing and language development.

Help us learn more about the contribution of family environment to developmental outcomes in children.

Caregivers complete questionnaires. Caregivers and children participate in games and exercises involving language and thinking. All sessions happen in the home with two clinical researchers from Ohio State or the Indiana University School of Medicine. Families participate in 3 sessions over the next 2 years, at their convenience.

Participants receive up to $625 in gift cards.

For more information in or near Ohio, contact The Developmental Speech lab at 614-688-2235 or devspech_lab@osu.edu
For more information in or near Indiana, contact the DeVault Otologic Research Lab at 317-274-4915 or devinfo@iupui.edu

Interviews with parents of children with cochlear implants

Research from Utah State University to better understand the successes and challenges that parents who chose cochlear implantation for their children face throughout their lives.

We are inviting parents of children with cochlear implants to participate in a research study looking their experiences with hearing loss. Specifically, we are interested in better understanding the successes and challenges that parents who chose cochlear implantation for their children face throughout their lives. As a first step towards understanding, we are gathering stories from parents of children who received their cochlear implants no later than 2 years of age, have used their cochlear implants at least 6 months, and are no older than 6 years.  

If you would be interested in sharing your experiences and helping with our research study, you would first complete a quick, online survey. Then we would arrange for a time for you complete an interview over the phone with a member of our Spoken Language Processing Lab on Utah State University’s campus.

Parents will be compensated $25 via an Amazon gift card for completing the survey and interview. If you are interested in participating contact our lab at 435-797-5748 or at slplab@usu.edu.

We hope that you are interested in helping us learn more about the experiences of parents who chose cochlear implantation for their children. Please feel free to share this information with other families you know that might be interested in helping us out with our research project, IRB #8622. We look forward to hearing from you!

Boys Town Communication Development Lab Study

Caregivers’ beliefs, knowledge, confidence and actions related to the hearing loss of their infants and toddlers

The Communication Development Lab at Boys Town National Research Hospital is recruiting caregivers of children 36 months of age or younger with hearing aids or cochlear implants to complete an online survey to help us understand how caregivers' beliefs, knowledge, confidence, and actions are related to their children's language skills and use of hearing devices. 
We'd greatly appreciate it if you'd consider taking the survey (https://is.gd/CDLab).

You will be asked to complete an online questionnaire to provide information about you and your child. The questionnaire will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. You will be asked to upload or e-mail us a copy of your child’s audiogram or ABR report.

Families receive a $15 Target gift card for their time. Everything can be done via the web. This project was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Boys Town National Research Hospital. Please contact us (CDLab@boystown.org) if you have questions!

[ Brochure ]

Hearing Families with Deaf Children: Learning American Sign Language

Dear Families, 

Dr. Julie Mitchiner from Gallaudet University, and Dr. Amy Lieberman, from Boston University, invite hearing families with deaf children (ages 3 to 18 years old) who are learning ASL to participate in an online survey. We hope to learn about hearing families' experiences learning ASL-especially what was successful and what challenges families faced. We hope to use the findings from our research to develop programs to help families learn ASL. Our study involves an online survey and an optional follow-up interview.   We hope you will consider participating in our study!  Please click on the link below to participate.

Queridas familias,

La Dra. Julie Mitchiner de Gallaudet University, y la Dra. Amy Lieberman, de Boston University, invitan a las familias oyentes con niños sordos (de 3 a 18 años de edad) y que están aprendiendo señas para participar en una encuesta en línea. Esperamos aprender sobre las experiencias de las familias oyentes que estan aprendiendo ASL, especialmente, las experiencias exitosas y los desafíos que las familias han enfrentado . Esperamos utilizar los resultados de nuestra investigación para crear programas que ayuden a las familias a aprender ASL. Nuestro estudio incluye una encuesta en línea y una entrevista siguiente que es opcional. ¡Esperamos que consideren participar en nuestro estudio! Por favor, haga clic en el enlace para participar.

Links to the survey:

hearingparentASLsurvey_Spanish

hearingparentsASLsurvey

Contact Information:
Julie Mitchiner: Julie.Mitchiner@gallaudet.edu
Amy Lieberman: alieber@bu.edu

Parent Child Interaction therapy for hearing parents and deaf children

• Do you have concerns about your child’s behavior?
• Do you feel that you and your child could improve on communication?
• Are you a hearing parent with a deaf child?
• Is your child between the ages of 3 to 6 years?
• Does your child primarily use sign language to communicate?

PCIT is an empirically-supported treatment for young children with emotional and behavioral disorders that focus on improving the quality of the parent-child relationship.  Treatment lasts a minimum of 12 weeks. 
If you are interested in learning more about PCIT to see if your family qualifies please contact Danielle.previ@gallaudet.edu

These services will be offered at no charge to families who are willing to commit to the program.  The sessions are held weekly at Gallaudet University and are supervised by licensed psychologist.

This research has been approved by Gallaudet University’s Institutional Review Board. If you would like to receive PCIT services for you and your family, please contact me at Danielle.previ@gallaudet.edu. 

[ Download Flyer ]

Therapy After Cochlear Implants Using Telemedicine - T∙A∙C∙I∙T

Research from the University of Colorado Denver evaluating telemedicine as a means of providing therapy to children with cochlear implants.

Through 8/31/19

What are the goals of the T∙A∙C∙I∙T study?

• While most speech therapies have typically been delivered in person, many people are starting to access therapy over the internet. We are conducting this research to determine if therapy outcomes are the same when the therapy is delivered by means of telemedicine as when the therapy is in person.                     
• This study investigates the development of speech, listening, and language when therapy is delivered through interactive video over the internet. The study will also investigate the development of the auditory part of the brain as a result of cochlear implants and therapy.

What is involved in study participation?

• Each child will spend nine months in both the in-person and telemedicine condition. The therapist will remain the same throughout the study. Total participation will last 18 months. Your child will be tested three times: once when the study starts, and every nine months after that. Compensation will be provided for testing appointments.
• Therapy will take place through Listen Foundation in Colorado. Therapy is provided at either a speech therapist’s office, or in your home using the internet.
• The activities of the T∙A∙C∙I∙T study will coordinate with your child’s therapist, and your family's current clinical and/or educational team.

How do I know if my family qualifies?

• The T∙A∙C∙I∙T team is looking for children ages 6 months-6 years who received cochlear implant(s) before 3 1/2 years of age.

How do I get involved?

• Mention the T∙A∙C∙I∙T study to your child’s audiologist, current therapy provider, and/or teacher
• Visit our website
• www.tacitstudy.org
• Contact the T∙A∙C∙I∙T Research Team
• Arlene Stredler Brown, PhD, CCC-SLP
• Phone: 303.818.1258
• Email: arlene.brown@colorado.edu
• Jamie Cavanaugh
• Phone: 303.556.5804
• Email: tacit@ucdenver.edu

Principle Investigators: Jim Grigsby, PhD and Anu Sharma, PhD. The T∙A∙C∙I∙T study is funded by the National Institutes of Health – National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders: 1U01DC013529

TACIT Flyer
TACIT Brochure

The George Washington University Cochlear Implant Communication Lab

Washington, D.C.

Participants needed By George Washington University Researchers

Prosody & Voice Characteristics of
Children Using Cochlear Implants

Hello! We are researchers from the George Washington University Cochlear Implant Communication Lab located in Washington, D.C. The goal of our research is to better understand how young, deaf children with cochlear implants and/or hearing aids develop their speaking and listening abilities. We are currently obtaining data on both hearing children and those with cochlear implants. Our research will investigate characteristics of language, sound production, voice, rhythm, and inflections during various speaking tasks.

Who is eligible for this research?

We are looking for participants with normal hearing, hearing aids, or cochlear implants who exhibit reliance on spoken English in the home and who meet the following criteria:

• Are 4 to 8 years old
• Have no motor or cognitive difficulties that would affect development
• Are located in the Greater Washington, D.C. area, including Northern VA and MD
• For those who are deaf or hard of hearing:
• Are profoundly deaf with the deafness detected at or near birth
• Have received their first implant or hearing aid prior to 36 months of age

What is involved if my child participates?

• Your child will be involved in a number of tasks aimed at sampling their speech, listening, and language abilities.  These include standardized testing, computerized listening games, and play activities aimed at sampling the child’s language skills.
• Participation in tasks will require 1 to 2 visits of 60 to 90 minutes each.

Following completion of data collection:

• You will receive $100 to cover transportation, parking and time involved.
• Your child will receive an educational toy following each session.
• Results of standardized testing will be shared with the parents.

If you have questions or are interested in participating in this study please contact:
James Mahshie, Ph.D.
Professor, George Washington University
Sangsook Choi, Ph.D.
Researcher
2115 G St., NW
Washington, DC 20052
(202) 994-3195 or email cistudy@gwu.edu

• Flyer for Children with hearing aids or cochlear implants
• Flyer for Children without hearing loss

Towards the Content Validity of the Educational Interpreter Roles and Responsibilities (EIRR) Checklist

Purpose: To examine the content validity of the EIRR Guiding Checklist, a tool devised to assist the IEP Team in determining and documenting the required roles and responsibilities of  the Educational Interpreter based on individualized student needs.

Eligible Participants: Expert Stakeholders who currently and/or have previously held state-level certification in educating students with hearing loss and at least three years working with educational interpreters

Recruiting from: anywhere in the United States.  (Communication and interviews are conducted online.) Addendums: Consent Form (PDF attachment)

Dear Expert,

I am writing to invite you to participate in a research study exploring the content validity of the Educational Interpreter Roles and Responsibilities (EIRR) Guiding Checklist, which is used to guide the Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team in determining and documenting the roles and responsibilities of an educational interpreter based on the needs of the individual student.

Research Study Information
The Educational Interpreter Roles and Responsibilities (EIRR) Checklist was developed approximately five years ago and has been revised based on an extensive review of the literature. In order to potentially expand the use of the EIRR Guiding Checklist to other educational programs, content validity must be examined.  In order to move towards validation, I am seeking expert participants who are certified in the education of students with hearing loss, who also have at least three years supervising and/or training educational interpreters at the school-, district- or state-level.  You have been invited to participate in this research study because you have been identified by colleagues through professional networks as potentially meeting the inclusion requirements.  Your input would be significant in determining the validity of this instrument. 

Procedures
Should you wish to participate in this study, you will be asked to review and submit comments on the EIRR Guiding Checklist and participate in a 60 minute interview, with a follow up opportunity for comments.  Completion of the EIRR Checklist review activities should take approximately 30 to 60 minutes.  Following submission of your written feedback via e-mail, the researcher will set up a date and time to interview you using video conferencing software such as Skype or FaceTime at your convenience.  This interview, regarding your suggestions and feedback, should last approximately 60 minutes, and will be audio and video recorded for transcription purposes.  To ensure accessibility for all potential participants, including those who may use American Sign Language, both audio (voice) and video will be recorded during the interview.  You may still participate in the study even if you elect not to have your voice and/or video recorded.  Confidentiality will be maintained by use of a pseudonym throughout the duration of the study, in recorded interviews, and digital documents.  Upon completion of the study, personal identifying contact information will be destroyed unless permission is given to be contacted in regard to potential future studies.  Approximately one week following the completion of the interview, you will have the opportunity to review the transcription of your interview and provide any clarifying comments to the researcher.

Should you wish to participate in this study, please complete and sign the attached consent form, and e-mail it as an attachment to Kristen.r.smith@ttu.edu.  I also invite you to please share this invitation with others who may meet the inclusion criteria and be interested in participating.

Your time and consideration are sincerely appreciated!

Kristen Smith
Kristen.r.smith@ttu.edu

Questions and Concerns
Kristen Smith, a doctoral student at Texas Tech University, is conducting the research for this dissertation study, under the direction of Dr. Nora Griffin-Shirley, the Principal Investigator.  Dr. Nora Griffin-Shirley will answer any questions you have about the study.  You can reach Dr. Nora Griffin-Shirley at 806-834-0225 or e-mail n.griffin-shirley@ttu.edu.  Questions can also be directed to:

The Human Research Protection Program (HRPP)
Office of the Vice President for Research
Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79409
(806) 742-2064
hrpp@ttu.edu

Study: Binaural Pitch Fusion
in Children with Cochlear Implants and Hearing Aids

Portland, Oregon

The goal of our research is to understand how children who wear hearing aids, cochlear implants, or a hearing aid and a cochlear implant combine sounds between the two ears, and how this may explain some of the variability in speech and music perception abilities. We are also studying how age and development in children affect how sounds are combined between the ears.

Your child may be eligible to participate if he/she:

• Is between 6-8 years of age
• Has a moderate to profound sensorineural hearing loss in both ears, and:
  1. Wears hearing aids in both ears, or
  2. Wears a hearing aid in one ear and a cochlear implant in the other ear, or
  3. Wears cochlear implants in both ears
• Has no motor or cognitive difficulties that would impact testing
• Resides in the western U.S., including WA, OR, CA, ID, NV, AZ and UT.

What is involved if my child participates?

• Your child will be asked to listen to sounds and words, and respond by pressing the appropriate button on a computer touch screen. 
• Your child will receive stickers, prizes, and other motivators during study participation. They will be able to take breaks during testing.  
• The time needed to complete the testing each year is a total of 5-6 hours, which can be divided into up to four shorter sessions of 1-2.5 hours per session.
• Your child would return for testing once a year for five years.

Participants will receive:

Your child will be paid $15-$25 per hour for the study, plus travel and overnight costs, as applicable.  More information about the study is available online at http://www.ohsu.edu/cihalab.

If your child would like to participate in this study or you would like more information, please contact:
Lina A.J. Reiss, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
reiss@ohsu.edu
(503) 494-2917

This study is funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

The Looking Game:

Children’s Social Play, Language Development, and Eye Contact with Adults.

Is your child deaf or hard of hearing?

Participate in our study!

We are looking for children who are deaf or hard of hearing to play during a Looking-Game Study. We want to learn about children’s social play, language development, and eye contact with adults. Parents can learn about related research discoveries. Children play with researchers and toys. Parents are with their child for the whole visit. Paperwork for parents is in English. Participation is completely voluntary.

Participation Details:
Involves a one time, one hour visit to the University of Washington. Parents will be compensated for travel and parking expenses. The child will receive a thank you gift for participating in our study.

Child may be eligible to participate if:

1. He/she is 8-36 months old
2. Deaf or hard of hearing

Contact information:

Dawn Hathaway
jalab@uw.edu
(206) 685-2045
Our Flyer: http://ilabs.washington.edu/DHHLookStudy.pdf

Language Development in Children with Hearing Loss Research Project

Your child may be eligible to participate if he/she:

• Is between 6 and 30 months
• Has a hearing loss

Participants will receive:

All children will receive at no cost to you:

• Comprehensive language assessments 4 times over 18 to 30 months
• Monthly speech and language check-ups
• Assessment reports about your child’s language development
• Some money for your time

Participants will be randomly chosen to receive either parent training and monthly language check-ups OR monthly language check-ups only.

Only children assigned to the parent training intervention group will receive:

• Weekly, 1-hour parent training sessions at your home for six months where parents learn language teaching strategies.

Contact:

Megan Roberts, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
megan.roberts1@northwestern.edu
(315) 481-9605

This study is funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Research Volunteers Needed for
a Study at the University of
Chicago Medical Center!

We are looking for parents of children with hearing loss to participate in a toddler sound environment study

Families who qualify may earn between $350 and $400

Dr. Suskind and her research team at the University of Chicago Medical Center are interested in learning more about toddler sound environments. As part of this study, you will complete recordings of your child’s sound environment and the research team will analyze the recordings using special software. Information gathered will help find ways to improve children’s sound environments and help them reach their potential!

You and your child may qualify if:

• Your child is under 4 ½  years old
• Your child has moderate to profound hearing loss
• Your child uses hearing aid(s), bone-anchored hearing aid, or cochlear implant(s)
• Your family uses spoken language in the home
• You have at least one day per week when you’re home with your child

Call 773-834-8629 to find out if you qualify!

Hands & Voices is pleased to announce it’s Partnership with the:  

National Early Childhood Assessment Project (NECAP – “kneecap”)

Principal Investigator: Christine Yoshinaga-Itano, Ph.D.
Project Coordinator: Allison Sedey, Ph.D.

We are excited to announce a new project awarded to Dr. Christine Yoshinaga-Itano at the University of Colorado-Boulder by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).  The aims of this project are to:

• support interested states in implementing a standard assessment battery for children from birth to 4 years of age who are deaf or hard of hearing
• examine the feasibility of creating a national database of early childhood outcomes
• assist states in interpreting assessment results and using these results to drive intervention goals and decisions
• characterize the service delivery models of early intervention programs throughout the United States
• determine early intervention program characteristics that are related to more successful language outcomes for children who are deaf or hard of hearing

Eligible Participants

All children from 6 months to 4 years of age with permanent hearing loss are eligible to participate.  Children whose loss is not permanent (e.g., cases where the hearing loss is solely a result of otitis media) are not eligible.  Eligible children may have:

• Unilateral or bilateral loss
• Conductive, senori-neural, or mixed hearing loss
• Any degree of permanent hearing loss from mild to profound
• Multiple disabilities or hearing loss only
• English or Spanish as the language of the home

Benefits of Participation

Individual Child and Family Benefits

• Includes parent input in the assessment process
• Measures children’s skills and abilities across a variety of developmental areas
• Allows parents and interventionists to monitor a child’s progress over time and identify potential delays at their onset
• Compares a child’s language abilities to both children who are hearing and other children with hearing loss
• Provides a data-driven approach to making educational programming decisions
• Assists in the generation of IFSP/IEP goals

Program Benefits

• Provides statewide and program-specific accountability data on an annual basis
• Allows programs to examine outcomes across different subgroups of children
• Informs professional personnel preparation needs
• Includes access to normative test data on children who are deaf or hard or hearing
• Results in networking with program directors and EHDI personnel in other states
• Gives states an opportunity to contribute to a national database which will allow us to characterize the language strengths and weaknesses of children with hearing loss and identify factors that are predictive of more successful language outcomes

If you have questions or are interested in becoming involved in this project, please contact:

Allison Sedey
University of Colorado-Boulder
409 UCB
Boulder, CO  80309
303: 492-0078
Allison.Sedey@Colorado.edu

Hands & Voices Contact:  Janet DesGeorges
303-492-6283
janet@handsandvoices.org

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Science of Learning Center on Visual Languages and Visual Learning (VL2)at Gallaudet University

ANNOUNCING the launch of a longitudinal study of young deaf and hard of hearing children by the Science of Learning Center on Visual Languages and Visual Learning (VL2) at Gallaudet University.  The three-year study will involve gathering detailed information and collecting data regarding young deaf and hard of hearing children’s language development, communication, and developmental profiles.

Along with surveys of parents, teachers, and school administrators, a comprehensive battery of assessments administered by trained evaluators from Gallaudet University will be given to deaf and hard of hearing children whose families agree to participate.    

VL2 is seeking schools to participate in the study.  Parents are encouraged to talk to their school administrators and inform them about the study.  Participation is not limited to children who sign; all communication approaches are eligible to participate.

I have set up a blog on the VL2 Public Wiki http://vl2wiki.editme.com/ to provide updates about the project and to answer questions that you may have. 

Sharon Baker, Research-Practice Integration Team member

 For more information or to register as a partnership school, contact:

Thomas Allen, Ph.D., Principal Investigator
Science of Learning Center on Visual Language and Visual Learning
Gallaudet University SLCC 1200
800 Florida Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202-651-5866

Email: VL2@gallaudet.edu

Science of Learning Center on Visual Language and Visual Learning (VL2)
The VL2 Center, located on the campus of Gallaudet University in Washington, DC, is one of six Science of Learning Centers (SLC) funded by the National Science Foundation grant # SBE-0541953.  The Center brings together deaf and hearing researchers and educators from national and international institutions to conduct interrelated studies across disciplines. VL2’s primary mission is to gain a greater under­standing of the biological, cognitive, linguistic, sociocultural, and pedagogical conditions that influence visual language and visual learning.  More information may be found at www.vl2.gallaudet.edu.

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SURVEY ON FM USE FOR CHILDREN WITH HEARING LOSS

To our colleagues and to parents of children
with hearing loss

We are trying to understand how many children with hearing loss are using FM systems. If they are using them, at what ages, and in what conditions they are used. We have developed a quick and easy survey that we want to distribute to parents of children with hearing loss (assuming that they will know best how and where their children are using FM's). We would appreciate it if you could share this survey link with the parents of children you work with in the hope that they will be willing to complete the information. Families with more than one child with hearing loss should complete the form separately for each child.  We are really grateful for your help

Thank you, Jane Madell and Carol Flexer

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FMkids

Jane R. Madell, PhD
Director, Pediatric Audiology Consulting
Jane@JaneMadell.com

Carol Flexer, PhD
Distinguished Professor Emeritus
University of Akron
cflexer@uakron.edu