An investigation of respiration in stuttering. Australia leads the world in stuttering research, and this project will maintain that profile. The research aims to establish if breathing has a causal role in stuttering. The new knowledge produced will support or weaken current theories of the cause of stuttering and will contribute to understanding the nature of the disorder. In particular, it will be applied to develop more effective and efficient treatments for chronic stuttering.
Establishing the relationship between anxiety and stuttering. The present project will establish basic knowledge about the disorder of stuttering, which will contribute to offsetting the personal and community costs of the disorder by guiding empirical investigations into its nature and the development of future treatments. Further benefits at the population level will occur by provision to the public of basic information about the disorder assembled from this project. By conveying information f ....Establishing the relationship between anxiety and stuttering. The present project will establish basic knowledge about the disorder of stuttering, which will contribute to offsetting the personal and community costs of the disorder by guiding empirical investigations into its nature and the development of future treatments. Further benefits at the population level will occur by provision to the public of basic information about the disorder assembled from this project. By conveying information from the present project to clinicians who treat stuttering patients, the project will benefit Australians who stutter.Read moreRead less
Understanding How Language And Reading Problems Develop: A Population-based Longitudinal Study From Infancy To Age 7
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$667,507.00
Summary
Early language and reading problems are common and therefore significant public health problems. They are disabling and have life-long implications for oral and written communication skills, social and emotional well-being, cognition, behaviour, academic achievement and employment. This study will address the following three problems: 1. To date no study has documented how language and reading problems develop from infancy (8 months) through to school age (7 years). 2. Little is known about risk ....Early language and reading problems are common and therefore significant public health problems. They are disabling and have life-long implications for oral and written communication skills, social and emotional well-being, cognition, behaviour, academic achievement and employment. This study will address the following three problems: 1. To date no study has documented how language and reading problems develop from infancy (8 months) through to school age (7 years). 2. Little is known about risk factors, identified early in infancy and childhood, that can be reliably used to predict language and reading problems later in childhood. 3. The relationships between language difficulties and reading problems are poorly understood. Therefore, we currently have no satisfactory methods for reliably detecting which children at much younger ages are at risk of later language disorders or reading problems. Without this information it is impossible to develop effective prevention and early intervention programs. These programs are critical if we are to: a) Prevent language and reading problems from occurring, thereby reducing the prevalence of the problem b) Intervene early in childhood, thereby reducing in the longer term the burden and cost associated with language and reading problems. The proposed study builds on an existing substantial investment by the NHMRC in the Early Language in Victoria Study (ELVS). It will provide a world-first description of the evolution of language difficulties and reading problems from infancy through to school age within a single population cohort.Read moreRead less
Evaluating Perceptual Benefits Of Bilateral Cochlear Implants For Young Children And Infants
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$452,843.00
Summary
The cochlear implant (bionic ear) has revolutionised communication for children with profound hearing loss. Nevertheless, children with the standard single implant still face huge challenges in educational and social settings. Difficulties include understanding speech that is soft, or speech in noisy environments, such as the classroom. Also, with one implant, children cannot locate the source of sound, such as the speaker in a group conversation, team-mates during sport, or an oncoming car. Res ....The cochlear implant (bionic ear) has revolutionised communication for children with profound hearing loss. Nevertheless, children with the standard single implant still face huge challenges in educational and social settings. Difficulties include understanding speech that is soft, or speech in noisy environments, such as the classroom. Also, with one implant, children cannot locate the source of sound, such as the speaker in a group conversation, team-mates during sport, or an oncoming car. Research with other normal hearing and hearing impaired groups suggests that two (bilateral) implants may possibly improve performance in these conditions. Although hundreds of children worldwide have received bilateral implants, very limited evidence is available to indicate whether two implants are significantly better than one, especially for young children. The main aim of the research is to evaluate the improvement in listening performance when young children and infants use two implants as compared with one. An additional aim is to gain clinical knowledge of bilateral implant use in order to develop selection criteria and management protocols for young bilateral candidates in the future. Results of this research will determine if bilateral implants should become a standard option for young children at the RVEEH-University of Melbourne Implant Clinic. The results will be published and presented internationally to influence clinical practice worldwide. All children using a cochlear implant, or in need of one in the future, will benefit as the study outcomes will indicate the best choice of hearing devices for individual children, and help to determine best-practice management if bilateral implants become an option for all children.Read moreRead less
Early Detection Of Hearing Damage In Children Receiving Anticancer Chemotherapy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$197,500.00
Summary
Children surviving cancer are often left with a severe permanent hearing loss. However, very little progress has been made to minimize hearing damage in this special population. Early detection of hearing damage is not possible using traditional assessment tools. The present research seeks to investigate the use of innovative testing techniques to identify hearing damage in the early stages of the disease with high accuracy. If successful, the research will alter standard audiometric practice in ....Children surviving cancer are often left with a severe permanent hearing loss. However, very little progress has been made to minimize hearing damage in this special population. Early detection of hearing damage is not possible using traditional assessment tools. The present research seeks to investigate the use of innovative testing techniques to identify hearing damage in the early stages of the disease with high accuracy. If successful, the research will alter standard audiometric practice in hospital clinics around Australia, hence improving the standard of hearing health care for this group. The early diagnosis of hearing impairment will not only provide a chance for doctors to balance the therapeutic effects of anticancer drugs against the danger of a permanent hearing loss, but also enable allied health professionals and educational specialist to provide timely management strategies. The determination of the rate and extent of hearing dysfunction progression in children receiving chemotherapy, as proposed in this research, enables the ototoxic effects of existing drugs to be compared. With this approach, the ototoxic side effects of new drugs can also be evaluated. In summary, the proposed study will improve the quality and efficiency of audiological service delivery to young children undergoing chemotherapy in Australia and overseas.Read moreRead less
Stuttering in childhood: Patterns of recovery and persistence. This project will benefit the 1 in 20 Australian children who stutter and their families. We will learn for the first time how stuttering impacts on child development in the early school years and document the relationship between stuttering and other childhood conditions. The study will produce much needed information about recovery from stuttering and stuttering persistence. Therefore new knowledge will result to inform the scienti ....Stuttering in childhood: Patterns of recovery and persistence. This project will benefit the 1 in 20 Australian children who stutter and their families. We will learn for the first time how stuttering impacts on child development in the early school years and document the relationship between stuttering and other childhood conditions. The study will produce much needed information about recovery from stuttering and stuttering persistence. Therefore new knowledge will result to inform the scientific community and provide professionals and families with much needed evidence-based information about stuttering progression. Together this information will inform intervention approaches and help direct resources to those children who need them most. Read moreRead less
Gene therapy to enhance auditory prosthesis performance for cochlear implants. The cochlear implant is the most effective neural prosthesis, restoring hearing to the deaf. The research aims to develop a new type of implant compatible with delivery of therapeutic genes to the cells lining the cochlea. Gene therapy DNA constructs will be developed that will enhance neural survival and growth, improving cochlear implant performance. The research will provide advances in understanding how to tran ....Gene therapy to enhance auditory prosthesis performance for cochlear implants. The cochlear implant is the most effective neural prosthesis, restoring hearing to the deaf. The research aims to develop a new type of implant compatible with delivery of therapeutic genes to the cells lining the cochlea. Gene therapy DNA constructs will be developed that will enhance neural survival and growth, improving cochlear implant performance. The research will provide advances in understanding how to transfer genes into cochlear tissue, as well as development of gene cassettes for effective neural repair. The work will advance the field of bionics, an area where Australia is establishing international preeminence.Read moreRead less
Speaking my language: International speech acquisition in Australia. It is important to differentiate between children who have communication impairment (difficulty learning all languages) from those who only have difficulty learning subsequent language(s). Communication impairment in multilingual children is both undiagnosed and over-diagnosed due to lack of culturally-sensitive measurement tools. Early intervention can ameliorate communication impairment in children and can reduce subsequent e ....Speaking my language: International speech acquisition in Australia. It is important to differentiate between children who have communication impairment (difficulty learning all languages) from those who only have difficulty learning subsequent language(s). Communication impairment in multilingual children is both undiagnosed and over-diagnosed due to lack of culturally-sensitive measurement tools. Early intervention can ameliorate communication impairment in children and can reduce subsequent educational, social and occupational outcomes of untreated communication impairment. By working with people around the world, this Fellowship will result in the development of the International Speech Assessment designed to differentially identify children and to specify holistic early intervention goals.Read moreRead less
Detecting language disorder in children with a language background other than English: the role of the Dynamic Assessment. 17.6% of Australia's culturally diverse population are born in non-English speaking countries. Recently, reports of unprecedented growth in the diagnosis of children with language disorders have emerged. There are difficulties in accurately identifying children at risk of language disorder. We hypothesize that some children with language backgrounds other than English (LBOTE ....Detecting language disorder in children with a language background other than English: the role of the Dynamic Assessment. 17.6% of Australia's culturally diverse population are born in non-English speaking countries. Recently, reports of unprecedented growth in the diagnosis of children with language disorders have emerged. There are difficulties in accurately identifying children at risk of language disorder. We hypothesize that some children with language backgrounds other than English (LBOTE) are mis-identified. If true, then scarce resources are being misdirected and inappropriately allocated, depriving children with true language disorder of support and intervention. The aim of this project is to determine the utility of the Dynamic Assessment to discriminate normal language learning from language learning difficulties in LBOTE children.
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