EDCHL

We are thrilled that everyone from the first summer of camps was able to participate this summer. This summer's group included 2nd graders and our first group of 4th graders. It was so exciting to have everyone back again!

Each camp lasted two days, during which time we collected data on a number of dependent measures. We use standard clinical tools to gauge development in behavior, social skills, adaptive functioning, and language. In the area of language we look at vocabulary, early reading, auditory comprehension, and expressive abilities. Experimental methods are used to examine speech perception, phonological awareness, and working memory.

The children who attended the data camps vary in their histories of prostheses and intervention strategies. All children had participated in the first phase of the project, so we have ample longitudinal data on everyone. Over the past year, several papers have been accepted for publication regarding the data collected from the 2010 kindergarteners. Now that the summer camps are over, analyzing all of the 2nd grade data is under way and we look forward to publishing and presenting those results in the near future.

Planning has also started for the summer 2013 camps.

Caldwell, A. & Nittrouer, S. (2013). Speech perception in noise by children with cochlear implants. J. Speech Lang. Hear. Res. 56, 13-30 pdf

Nittrouer, S., Caldwell, A. & Holloman, C.(2012). Measuring what matters: Effectively predicting language and literacy in children with cochlear implants. Int. J. Pediatr. Otorhi. 76 (8), 1148-1158 pdf

Nittrouer, S., Caldwell, A., Lowenstein, J., Tarr, E. & Holloman, C.(2012). Emergent literacy in kindergartners with cochlear implants. Ear & Hearing 33 (6), 683-697. pdf

Nittrouer, S. & Chapman, C.(2009). The Effects of Bilateral Electric and Bimodal Electric-Acoustic Stimulation on Language Development. Trends in Amplif. 13 (3), 190-205. pdf

McGowan, R., Nittrouer, S. & Chenausky, K.(2008). Speech Production in 12-Month-Old Children With and Without Hearing Loss. J. Speech Lang. Hear. Res. 51., 879-888. pdf

Through early diagnosis, appropriate listening aids, and timely intervention, most children can acquire the spoken language skills they will need to succeed later in school and participate fully in society. But professionals disagree about what constitutes the "best" method of helping children acquire spoken language. That's why the National Institutes of Health - National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIH-NIDCD) decided to support research on outcomes for infants and toddlers diagnosed with permanent hearing loss.

"Ongoing research needs to be conducted so that we can match the child to the methodology sooner. At the present time it is more trial and error."

David Luterman

November 16, 2004 The ASHA Leader

Dr. Susan Nittrouer, herself the parent of a child with hearing loss, is overseeing a grant funded by the NIH-NIDCD to study outcomes. The grant is titled Early Development of Children with Hearing Loss (EDCHL).