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 -

Survey for Adolescents
with Hearing Loss

I am writing to let you know about a new research project being conducted for adolescents with hearing loss. I am a 2nd year graduate student in Deaf Education at Washington University in St. Louis. I am currently seeking families who have children with hearing loss to participate in my research project to study adolescents with hearing loss and their beliefs in their abilities to learn academic content (such as learning math) and manage academic activities (such as using the library for class assignments).

The research project consists of two parts: a parent questionnaire and a survey for the child to complete through January 2015

Who is eligible for this research?

I am looking for participants who:

• Are 13-17 years old
• Diagnosed with hearing loss
• Use assistive listening devices (i.e. hearing aids, cochlear implants)
• Read at a seventh grade or higher reading level
• Use spoken language as primary mode of communication
• Use English as primary language at home

Participation details

• Parents of the child participating will complete an online questionnaire that will take about 5 minutes to complete
• Children participating will complete an online survey that will take about 30 minutes to complete

If you have any questions about the study or are interested in participating, please contact me at a.gao@wustl.edu. I look forward to hearing from you!

Aimee Gao, M.Ed.
Master of Science in Deaf Education Graduate Student
Washington University in St. Louis

Career and School to Work Transition Study

The goal of this research is to gain new insight into the career decision-making and career preparedness of individuals who have a hearing difference. I wish to acquire a better understanding of the career process of adolescents who are deaf and hard of hearing, and also to assess their transitioning from high school into post- secondary pursuits. The results of this research may help caregivers, teachers, and therapists better prepare young people with a hearing loss for the world of work after high school. The College of Wooster Human Subjects Review Committee has approved this research study. The survey is anonymous and will only take approximately 20 -25 minutes to complete.

The criteria for participation are:

• One must be between the ages of 15 – 19
• One must have a diagnosed hearing loss
• One must primarily use auditory verbal communication
• One must be enrolled in a mainstream/inclusive school classroom
  

This survey will be active from January 7th to January 23rd. To take part in this study, interested participants should follow the link to the online survey provided below. For questions, comments or concerns please contact Gabriella Gilfoy at woosterresearch@gmail.com.

Link to Survey:
https://wooster.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_4VnQc7zyPlthcvH

Thank you very much in advance for your interest and support!

Deafblind Needs
Assessment Survey

As an educator of students with sensory disabilities, we would like invite you to participate in our National Deafblind Needs Assessment Survey. Your feedback will help to determine the needs of educators who work with students who are deafblind. We will use the results of the survey to inform personnel preparation programs in the areas of blindness/visual impairment, deafness/hard of hearing, and deafblindness about current practices and make recommendations to the different fields.

The survey questionnaire takes about 15-20 minutes to complete, and it is divided into three parts: 

1. Questions about you and your teaching background;
2. Questions that identify educational practices and educational needs when teaching students who are deafblind; and
3. Open ended questions that give you an opportunity to identify concerns that you did not find in the survey.

To access the survey please go to: https://unco.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_9oCoqkY23IrDO3b

Please share this survey with your colleagues who work with students who are deafblind. Thank you in advance for your participation and the work you do.

If you have questions, prefer a paper copy of the survey, or need additional information please contact:

Dr. Silvia M. Correa-Torres, COMS
School of Special Education
University of Northern Colorado
silvia.correa-torres@unco.edu
970-351-1660

Dr. Sandy Bowen
School of Special Education
University of Northern Colorado
sandy.bowen@unco.edu
970-351-2102

Ms. Melody Furze
School of Special Education
University of Northern Colorado
Furz9424@bears.unco.edu

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

Study on Social Skills in
Children Who Are Deaf With Additional Special Needs.

Dear Parents,
A warm hello from Gallaudet University! My name is Angela Turner, I am a predoctoral student in Gallaudet’s Clinical Psychology Program. I am currently seeking parents who have children who are deaf with additional special needs to participate in my research about child social skills. My goal is that this research will inform parents, healthcare professionals, and teachers about the special skill sets and needs of this unique population and their families.

If you are:

• A primary caregiver of a child who is deaf (70 dB or above; aided or unaided)
• Your child has at least one additional medical, mental health, or learning-related diagnosis
• Your child is 5-10 years old

We invite you to participate!

• You will be asked to complete several surveys about you, your child, and your family
• Surveys are completed online and via mail, at no cost to you
• Participation takes approximately 1-2 hours
• You will be reimbursed with a $20 Visa gift card for your time

If you are interested in participating, please contact me at gallyresearch17@gmail.com.

I look forward to working with you!

Thank you,
Angela Turner
Principal Investigator & Predoctoral Student
Gallaudet University

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!

The George Washington University Cochlear Implant Research Lab

Washington, D.C.

Partcipants needed By George Washington University Researchers

Hello! We are researchers from the George Washington University Cochlear Implant Research Lab located in Washington, D.C. The goal of our research is to better understand how young, deaf children with cochlear implants 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 cochlear implants who exhibit reliance on spoken English in the home and who meet the following criteria:

• Are 4 to 7 years old
• Are profoundly deaf with the deafness detected at or near birth
• Have received their first implant prior to 36 months of age
• Have no motor or cognitive difficulties that would affect development.
• Are located in the Greater Washington, D.C. area, including Northern VA and MD

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 parent.

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

T H E    U N I V E R S I T Y    O F   B R I T I S H    C O L U M B I A

Faculty of Education
Department of Educational &Counselling Psychology & Special Education
2125 Main Mall
Vancouver, B.C. Canada V6T 1Z4
604-822-8539 Tel, 604-822-3302 Fax

Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: Child Social-Emotional Competence, Child Communication Competence, and Parental Stress

Do you have a child with hearing loss (who is deaf or hard of hearing) between the ages of 5 and 12?

As a mother of a young child with hearing loss, I know how important it is to foster healthy social-emotional development in our children. Not much is known about factors contributing to positive social-emotional development in children with hearing loss and so I need your help. Please consider participating in a study for my Master’s thesis that will consider relationships between child social-emotional competence, child communication competence and parental stress in a sample of parents of young children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Details:

• 25-35 minute electronic survey (you will not be identified by name)
• A chance to win a $100 Visa gift card
• To participate e-mail sedevstudy@gmail.com and you will be sent a unique online link

For more information contact:

Brita Colero
sedevstudy@gmail.com
604-822-8539

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