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ABSTRACT INFORMATION
Title: 'Adding the Missing Link to Language Assessment of Children with Hearing Loss: Language Environment Analysis ' Track: 3-Early Intervention and Beyond Audience: Primary Audience: Secondary Audience: Tertiary Audeince: Keyword(s): assessment, parent, environment, technology Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to identify why assessment of the language environment is critical for children with hearing loss. Participants will be able to identify the information provided by the LENA system. Participants will be able to describe how they can use LENA analysis in the development of intervention strategies. Abstract: Researchers emphasize the importance of evaluation and intervention in a natural setting (e.g., Woods, 2008). However, analysis of truly naturalistic speech activity has traditionally required hours of laborious transcription of relatively short audio recordings. Because clinicians have been unable to obtain valid information about a child’s language environment and interaction outside the clinic, they are challenged to make decisions about effective treatment strategies in the absence of adequate data. Further, without a reliable way to assess a child’s natural language environment and behavior, clinicians and researchers have been unable to test the fidelity of various treatment approaches. The LENA (Language Environmental Analysis) system, a novel way to assess young children’s language development/environment, addresses these challenges by taking advantage of recent advancements in hardware and software technology. The system comprises a two-ounce digital recorder that children wear; it records what they say and what is spoken around them continuously for 16 hours. The system generates a variety of output reports, including estimates of: 1) the number of adult words spoken near the child, 2) the number of turn-taking interactions the child engages in with an adult, and 3) the number of vocalizations produced by the child. After assurance that the technology is providing the auditory access necessary for processing all of the sounds of the spoken English, it is important to determine whether the child is receiving sufficient auditory stimulation. Access to an assessment tool that is capable of automatically analyzing a child’s language environment is a potentially revolutionary development. Data from children with hearing loss using the LENA system with children who are deaf or hard of hearing will be presented. The research and clinical potential and limitations for use with children who have hearing loss will also be discussed. Handouts: Handout is not Available
SPEAKER INFORMATION
PRESENTER(S): Jill Gilkerson - LENA Foundation      Credentials: Ph.D.       Dr. Gilkerson received her B.A. in Developmental Psychology from UCLA, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Linguistics from UCLA. Dr. Gilkerson joined the LENA Foundation (formerly Infoture, Inc.) in 2005 as the Director of Language Research, bringing more than 10 years of linguistics and developmental psychology research to the position. Her primary role is managing a team of researchers responsible for collecting and analyzing the spontaneous speech data used for software development, the LENA normative scales, and academic research studies. Gilkerson is also the author of The Power of Talk, a technical report that examines the relationship between parent talk and child language development. Her research at the foundation has focused on the relationship between early language environment and demographic variables such as birth order, gender, and TV exposure. Mallene Wiggins - University of Colorado-Boulder      Credentials: M.A., CCC-SLP      Other Affiliations: Colorado Home Intervention Program       Mallene Wiggins is a Ph.D. student at the University of Colorado-Boulder in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences. She currently works as a speech pathologist with young children who are deaf or hard of hearing and is a research assistant on NECAP, a project collecting language outcomes on young deaf and hard of hearing children across the United States.   AUTHOR(S): Jill Gilkerson - LENA Foundation      Credentials: Ph.D.       BIO: Dr. Gilkerson received her B.A. in Developmental Psychology from UCLA, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Linguistics from UCLA. Dr. Gilkerson joined the LENA Foundation (formerly Infoture, Inc.) in 2005 as the Director of Language Research, bringing more than 10 years of linguistics and developmental psychology research to the position. Her primary role is managing a team of researchers responsible for collecting and analyzing the spontaneous speech data used for software development, the LENA normative scales, and academic research studies. Gilkerson is also the author of The Power of Talk, a technical report that examines the relationship between parent talk and child language development. Her research at the foundation has focused on the relationship between early language environment and demographic variables such as birth order, gender, and TV exposure. Rosalinda Baca - University of Colorado, Boulder      Credentials: Ph.D.       BIO: Rosalinda Baca received her B.A. in molecular biology and her Ph.D. in Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She is currently the Research Methodologist for the National Early Childhood Assessment Project for children who are deaf or hard of hearing (NECAP). She characterized the longitudinal language development of children with hearing loss from twelve months through seven years of age and the primary predictors of language outcomes for Experts, Novices, Gap Openers, and Gap Closers. Mallene Wiggins - University of Colorado-Boulder      Credentials: M.A., CCC-SLP      Other Affiliations: Colorado Home Intervention Program       BIO: Mallene Wiggins is a Ph.D. student at the University of Colorado-Boulder in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences. She currently works as a speech pathologist with young children who are deaf or hard of hearing and is a research assistant on NECAP, a project collecting language outcomes on young deaf and hard of hearing children across the United States.