Editorial: The outcomes of children with hearing loss study

TY - JOUR

T1 - Editorial

T2 - The outcomes of children with hearing loss study

AU - Tomblin, J. Bruce

AU - Moeller, Mary Pat

N1 - Funding Information: The studies contained in this OCHL Supplement were supported by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD R01DC009560). The authors are especially grateful for the support of multiple colleagues and their respective university clinics, school programs, and/or speech and hearing clinics for allowing the authors to use their excellent facilities and for supporting the authors' efforts to recruit and assess children in their geographic areas. Their efforts greatly enhanced the size and breadth of the Outcomes of Children with Hearing Loss (OCHL) sample. These valued individuals and programs include Dr. Stephen Boney from the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE; Christine Evans, private speech-language pathologist in Richmond, VA; Dr. Jennifer Gutzwiller, AuD, of Educational Service Unit 10 in Kearney, NE; Drs. Tiffany Johnson and Judith Widen from the Department of Hearing and Speech at the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS; The Moog Center for Deaf Education in St. Louis, MO; Richmond Hearing Doctors in Richmond, VA; Dr. Susie Ternes, AuD; Via Christi Rehabilitation Hospital, Inc., in Wichita, KS; University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences in Minneapolis, MN. Many other professionals referred children and families to the study and provided invaluable documentation and background records. The authors are grateful for their substantive support of this project. The OCHL team also expresses sincere appreciation to the caregivers and children who served as research volunteers in this project. This project would not have been possible without their enthusiastic and ongoing participation. Their involvement in the study took on many dimensions, and their enduring efforts contributed to the success of the project. The test batteries were administered by an experienced and highly skilled team of clinical professionals. Their training and oversight was managed by Connie Ferguson, CCC-SLP, of the University of Iowa, whose efforts made a major contribution to fidelity of test administration across sites and to preserving the integrity of scoring rules. The dedication of each examiner to maintaining standardized procedures while engaging children in interesting ways greatly contributed to the integrity of the data. Their impressive work with children and families also contributed to a low rate of attrition. They often travelled over weekends to accommodate the needs of families. The authors appreciate their invaluable input to the team in terms of clinical and scientific insights. The project was greatly supported by the behind-the-scenes administrative team. The authors are especially grateful for the extraordinary project management contributions of Marlea O'Brien at the University of Iowa. Her capable direction and ability to foster teamwork and accountability kept the project on track and running smoothly. The authors are thankful for the major contributions of Rick Arenas, who created and managed the project database with support from Wendy Fick. The authors also recognize the efforts of Barbara Peterson, who conducted annual phone interviews with parents. The authors recognize the numerous contributions of research assistants at each site. They are acknowledged by name in the OCHL team list below. The authors received outstanding direction and feedback from Brenda Ryals, Laurie Eisenberg, Ben Hornsby, and Susan Jerger, and the authors are grateful for their support. Their input and that of multiple anonymous reviewers resulted in strengthening the manuscripts in the OCHL Supplement. The authors appreciate their investment of time and expertise in this work. The members of the OCHL collaboration are listed as follows: Child language - Sophie Ambrose, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE; Lauren Unflat Berry, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE; Connie Ferguson, University of Iowa, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Iowa City, IA; Colleen Fitzgerald, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE; Melody Harrison, Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC; Keegan Koehlinger, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, and University of Iowa, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Iowa City, IA; Mary Pat Moeller (Co-PI), Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE; Thomas Page, Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC; Marcia St. Clair, University of Iowa, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Iowa City, IA; Emilie Sweet, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE; and J. Bruce Tomblin (Co-PI), University of Iowa, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Iowa City, IA. Audiology-Sandie Bass-Ringdahl, University of Iowa, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Iowa City, IA; Ruth Bentler, University of Iowa, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Iowa City, IA; Lenore Holte, University of Iowa, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Iowa City, IA; Shana Jacobs, Department of Otolayrngology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC; Ryan McCreery, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE; Pat Roush, Department of Otolaryngology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC; Meredith Spratford, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE; Pat Stelmachowicz, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE; and Elizabeth Walker, University of Iowa, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Iowa City, IA. Biostatistics, Linguistics, Psychology - Rick Arenas, University of Iowa, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Iowa City, IA; John Knutson, University of Iowa, Department of Psychology, Iowa City, IA; Jake Oleson, University of Iowa, Department of Biostatistics, Iowa City, IA; Hua Ou, University of Iowa, Department of Biostatistics, Iowa City, IA; Mark VanDam, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE; and Anne Welhaven, University of Iowa, Department of Biostatistics, Iowa City, IA. Project management - Wendy Fick, University of Iowa, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Iowa City, IA; Sue Nutty, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE; Marlea O'Brien, University of Iowa, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Iowa City, IA; Barbara Peterson, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, and University of Iowa, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Iowa City, IA. Project consultant-Amy R. Lederberg, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA.

PY - 2015/11/1

Y1 - 2015/11/1

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84988521071&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84988521071&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1097/AUD.0000000000000220

DO - 10.1097/AUD.0000000000000220

M3 - Editorial

C2 - 26731155

AN - SCOPUS:84988521071

SN - 0196-0202

VL - 36

SP - 1S-3S

JO - Ear and hearing

JF - Ear and hearing

ER -