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 -

Language Access Profiles
in DHH Children

Interviews with Parents about Language
Access in DHH Children

In order to reach their full developmental potential, all children need to develop mastery of at least one language in early childhood. Children who achieve this are protected against many of the risks in cognitive, social-emotional, and academic domains that befall children who have delayed or incomplete language mastery. Unfortunately, DHH children remain at significant risk of not achieving age-appropriate language mastery by the time they enter school.

A major and enduring question remains: how can we most effectively ensure that all DHH children develop age-appropriate mastery of at least one language in early childhood? While the answer to this question is surely multi-faceted, it is clear that one crucial facet is language input. No child acquires a language to which they do not have access. The child’s proficiency in the language is also likely to be related to the extent of their access to it: both in terms of what proportion of their input belongs to which language(s), and in terms of the degree to which the child has perceptual access to the incoming signal.

Despite the key role that language access is certain to play in promoting language proficiency in DHH children, research to date has never had a good way of describing children’s access with language input. In the face of the tremendous diversity of experiences that DHH children have, most research to date has focused on very homogenous groups: for example, Deaf children from Deaf families, or deaf children whose hearing parents have chosen to focus exclusively on listening and spoken language, and who have no additional diagnoses. While convenient from a research perspective, this approach ends up excluding very large groups of DHH children, which limits the generalizability of the research.

Another approach that is common in the research literature is to group children on the basis of their “communication mode”: most commonly operationalized as “oral-only” or “oral+manual”. However, this distinction is far too coarse to accurately reflect the actual experiences of DHH children, who differ in the relative balance of spoken and signed input, in the type of signed input (e.g ASL, sign-supported speech, Cued Speech, SEE), and in the extent to which they have not had access to any input at all for portions of the 0-3 period. DHH children also differ in the extent of their perceptual access to different types of input: for instance, even in an environment that emphasizes listening and spoken language, a child with a mild unilateral hearing loss has more access to the spoken signal than a child who has no auditory nerve. A child with bilateral cochlear implants is somewhere in between.

The current project aims to improve on this status quo by evaluating two new tools that are designed to capture these more subtle distinctions: the Language Access Profile Tool, and the DHH-Language Exposure Assessment Tool. The aim of the present study is primarily methodological: we are testing the reliability and validity of these measures; we are not attempting to predict outcomes on the basis of this work. However, our current efforts may allow future research to examine how experience with input during infancy and toddlerhood relates to language proficiency and other developmental outcomes during the preschool years and beyond.

Information to Display to Parents/Caregivers.

Dear Parents/Caregivers,

Researchers at UMass-Dartmouth and the University of Oregon are conducting a study whose goal is to improve the ways that we (researchers) describe access to language during infancy and toddlerhood for children with hearing loss. We are interested in interviewing parents whose child is younger than 12 years old, and has a hearing loss that is known or suspected to have begun before age 3.  We conduct this interview by phone or internet. This interview can either be in English, Spanish, or ASL.  The interview takes 60-90 minutes, and pays $10/hour, in the form of an electronic gift card to Target.  Also, your child does not need to be present during this interview.

We know that every child is unique, and we want to hear about your child’s story.  If you’re interested, email leptstudy@gmail.com to see if you qualify.  

Adverse Childhood Experiences, Parental Self-Efficacy, and Language Outcomes for Children with Hearing Loss

How do early childhood experiences and parenting affect English language outcomes for children with hearing loss?

If you are the maternal caregiver (biological/foster/adoptive mother) of a child ages 3-5 with any degree or type of permanent hearing loss, you may qualify to participate in this study.

What will I be asked to do?
Mothers will fill out demographic information and surveys about childhood experiences and parenting online.  This should take no more than 30 minutes of your time and can be completed at home.

Children will take a standardized language test (Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals - Preschool, 2nd Edition; CELF-P2) administered by your child’s speech-language pathologist.  This should take no more than 45-60 minutes, depending on your child’s skill level.  If your child’s SLP has administered this test recently, there may not be a need for re-testing.

Study is ongoing -- accepting participants until 6/2020. To learn more and sign up for the study, visit: bit.ly/researchfamilies.

Questions?
Contact Principal Investigator Elizabeth Rosenzweig MS CCC-SLP LSLS Cert. AVT ear2178@tc.columbia.edu - flier

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

Parent Child Interaction therapy for 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 parent with a deaf child?
• Is your child between the ages of 3 to 6 years?

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 pcit@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 us at pcit@gallaudet.edu.

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