糖心传媒

Inside the HATCH Lab at 糖心传媒-Meridian, associate professors Kristina Blaiser and Gabe Bargen study a green pie chart on a computer screen.

The image tells the story of how a child with hearing loss is progressing in the real world. Is he using words to communicate or relying on gestures?  Is he speaking in sentences? Is he using hearing technology?

鈥淭his shows he is using about 60 words鈥攎ostly nouns with very few descriptors,鈥� said Blaiser, pointing to the chart.

鈥淭here鈥檚 some work that can be done here,鈥� added Bargen, noting the child鈥檚 daily use of hearing technology鈥攈earing aids or cochlear implants鈥攊s low. Boosting the use of technology can speed progress.

The beauty of the screen image is its simplicity. Gone is the complicated maze of numbers that would typically accompany a report of this type and overwhelm a parent. In its place is a one-page snapshot of the child鈥檚 progress in clear, concise terms a layperson can understand.

鈥淥ur goal is to create a data system that can tell the story of how a child is performing and what variables predict the best outcomes,鈥� said Blaiser, a speech-language pathologist in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. 

Thanks to a $290,000 grant from the Philadelphia-based Oberkotter Foundation awarded in November, the researchers will spend the next three years telling the stories of hundreds of children who are deaf and hard of hearing in the Gem State.

Using online assessments, Blaiser and Bargen are gathering vast amounts of data  from the parents of the children and the providers who serve them.

The assessments measure a child鈥檚 vocabulary and language development, use of hearing technology, how comfortable the parent and child are using that technology and the level of support from providers.

鈥淲e want to ensure that whatever could potentially hold a child back doesn鈥檛. That they鈥檙e given every opportunity to succeed regardless of where they live in 糖心传媒,鈥� said Bargen, an audiologist in the CSD department.

The ISU team is distributing the assessments electronically to parents through the 糖心传媒 Collaborative Assessment Project or ICAP鈥攕tate and community organizations that have partnered with ISU to provide services for kids with hearing loss. More than 250 children from birth to 5 years old will have the opportunity to be assessed. 

鈥淭his will give us a great look at how the little ones are doing,鈥� said Paula Mason, outreach director for the 糖心传媒 Educational Services for the Deaf and Blind, an ICAP member, serving more than 1,600 hearing-impaired children and young adults in 糖心传媒.

Mason is excited about the study because it鈥檒l help providers and policy makers isolate the needs of children and families in 糖心传媒鈥檚 so-called frontier counties鈥攚here services are limited due to geography and population. 鈥淲e鈥檒l be able to dive in and take a look at how providers can reach those areas,鈥� she said, noting early intervention is key to the communication and language development of a hearing-impaired child. Alternatives to in-person services include online speech therapy, interactive webinars or one-on-one sessions via the internet.

Behrenger鈥檚 story

Behrenger Player is an energetic 2-陆 year old who likes to help his mom in the kitchen when he鈥檚 not tossing a ball around. Diagnosed with a hearing loss in both ears as an infant, he started wearing hearing aids at 10 months.

His mother, Valerie, says he鈥檚 learning to speak in complete sentences, expanding his vocabulary and using American Sign Language.

鈥淥ur goal for him is to have access to language, spoken language as well as American Sign Language, so that he can do anything he wants to do,鈥� she said.

The Boise mother and special education teacher is completing the assessments provided by the ISU researchers and she鈥檚 thrilled to chart his progress.

鈥淲hen you are the parent of a kid with hearing loss, you spend a lot of time realizing what they can鈥檛 do, but with the assessments you鈥檙e like 鈥榦h, he can do that now and he can do that.鈥� It鈥檚 kind of heart warming,鈥� she said.

She loves the ease of reading the reports and comparing his progress to the language and vocabulary development of his hearing peers. On that front, Behrenger is doing well, even a little ahead of them.

鈥淎pparently that鈥檚 because I never stop talking to him,鈥� laughed his mom.

Conducting the research

Back at ISU-Meridian, student researchers Rachel Reiber, Kaitlyn Counts and Cassandra Arias will help Blaiser and Bargen compile the assessment data and prepare the 鈥渄ata visualization鈥� reports for parents and providers for the duration of the grant.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really cool to be a part of a project that can impact people鈥檚 lives,鈥� said Reiber, a first-year master鈥檚 student working on her degree in speech language pathology.

Blaiser says it鈥檚 about setting the bar high for kids with hearing loss and providing families with the tools to soar over it.

鈥淚f we can give support early on, they can do anything they want,鈥� Blaiser said.