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The new cochlear implant project—Influencing Outcomes for Children who are Deaf-Blind with Cochlear Implants—is now referred to as CI-2! This project will continue the assessment process for children under 8 years of age to look at the effects of age and duration of use on cochlear implant outcomes, but the major focus will be on individualized intervention strategies to improve children’s progress following cochlear implantation. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center and Eastern Carolina University are partnering with TRI in this endeavor and twenty state deaf-blind projects have agreed to participate in studies conducted by the project. Look for a new brochure coming soon. Our new research activities will be in full operation beginning this summer. TRI staff on this exciting new project include me, Mark, Bernie, Cindi, and Peggy. An exciting phase of the assessment and intervention study will be the use of the Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA). The LENA is the first automatic system for measuring key elements of children’s verbal language and their learning environments. This technology is a remarkable tool for parents, interventionists, and researchers. The LENA Digital Language Processor (DLP) is able to record up to 16 hours of conversation between children and their parents, teachers, and nannies in their home or school environments. For children who are learning to listen or who do listen to speech, hearing others talk is tremendously important. Research shows that the number of words that children hear is one of the greatest tools that parents can use to develop their child’s language and intellectual skills. The LENA technology includes an analysis component so that hours of conversation can be analyzed, including the number of words used by the parents and child, the turns of conversation, the interference of noise, and the presence of television. It is critical that parents of children who hear know they are spending enough time talking with their children. This is especially true when a child is fitted with hearing aids or a cochlear implant. Data show that many parents think they talk to their child much more than they actually do. This device can serve as an important intervention strategy in combination with other interventions for children who are deaf-blind and have cochlear implants.
TRI Eugene has been chosen by the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation (SJBF) as one of its Centers of Excellence, and as the organization’s national center for school reintegration. The SJBF helps youth who have pediatric acquired/ traumatic brain injury (PA/TBI) and their families. PA/TBI is a primary cause of mortality and morbidity for children and youth, according to the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization.
The SJBF was created by Patrick Donohue, father of Sarah Jane, who sustained a severe brain injury when she was shaken at only five-days-old. She suffered three broken ribs, broken collarbones, and a severe brain injury. Today at age 4, she cannot walk, talk, crawl, or even sit up on her own. Like other children who each year sustain brain injuries as a result of motor vehicle crashes, falls, and sports injuries, Sarah Jane will experience significant and long-lasting challenges.
There are currently no central resources available for research and rehabilitation for PA/TBI. The SJBF Center of Excellence in each state will improve the lives of children by increasing the understanding of the determinants of rehabilitation of PA/TBI and inform the development of innovative, empirically-based interventions.
As the Center of Excellence for Oregon, TRI Eugene will help ensure that children and their families receive access to appropriate services and resources. The Center will focus on the following: (1) providing care and services to maximize the child/youth’s recovery and development after PA/TBI; (2) supporting the family through all stages of recovery; (3) working with schools and community agencies to improve rehabilitative and
educational services for children/youth with PA/TBI; and (4) initiating changes in social practices and policy. The Center will have an overarching mission of research on effective approaches to supporting children/youth with PA/TBI and their families.