ABSTRACT
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) recently issued a new strategic plan that describes the institute's scientific priorities over the next five years. Developed in collaboration with informed stakeholders, the 2023-2027 NIDCD Strategic Plan: Advancing the Science of Communication to Improve Lives creates a unified vision to stimulate discoveries in basic research, model systems, innovative technologies, individualized treatment approaches, scientific data sharing, and translation of research findings into clinical practice. To further accelerate scientific discoveries, the institute encourages collaborations and information sharing among interdisciplinary teams conducting research in these priority areas, and advocates for the utilization of biomedical databases to share scientific findings. NIDCD also welcomes investigator-driven applications that capitalize on advances in basic research to better understand normal and disordered processes; develop or improve model systems to inform research; or facilitate the use of biomedical data utilizing best practices. Through these efforts, NIDCD will continue to conduct and support research that improves the quality of life for the millions of American impacted by conditions affecting hearing, balance, taste, smell, voice, speech, or language.
Subject(s)
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (U.S.) , Quality of Life , United States , Speech , HearingSubject(s)
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association , Auditory Perception/physiology , Brain/physiopathology , Congresses as Topic , Speech Perception/physiology , Cerebral Cortex/physiology , Cerebral Cortex/physiopathology , Child , Dominance, Cerebral/physiology , Humans , Language Development Disorders/physiopathology , Language Development Disorders/therapy , National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (U.S.) , Nerve Net/physiology , Neuronal Plasticity/physiology , Research Design , Research Support as Topic , United States , Verbal Behavior/physiologySubject(s)
Health Services Accessibility/trends , Hearing Tests/trends , Mass Screening/trends , Presbycusis/epidemiology , Adult , Aged , Cross-Sectional Studies , Forecasting , Hearing Aids/trends , Humans , Middle Aged , National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (U.S.)/trends , Presbycusis/rehabilitation , Research Support as Topic/trends , United StatesSubject(s)
Correction of Hearing Impairment/economics , Health Services Accessibility/economics , Hearing Loss/economics , Adult , Aged , Cost-Benefit Analysis/trends , Delivery of Health Care/economics , Female , Financing, Government/trends , Financing, Personal/economics , Health Care Reform/economics , Health Promotion/economics , Health Services Needs and Demand/economics , Health Services Needs and Demand/trends , Healthcare Disparities/economics , Hearing Aids/economics , Hearing Loss/prevention & control , Hearing Loss/therapy , Hearing Tests/economics , Humans , Male , Mass Screening/economics , Middle Aged , National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (U.S.) , Research/economics , United StatesABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The aims of this article are twofold: (a) to offer a set of recommended measures that can be used for evaluating the efficacy of interventions that target spoken language acquisition as part of treatment research studies or for use in applied settings and (b) to propose and define a common terminology for describing levels of spoken language ability in the expressive modality and to set benchmarks for determining a child's language level in order to establish a framework for comparing outcomes across intervention studies. METHOD: The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders assembled a group of researchers with interests and experience in the study of language development and disorders in young children with autism spectrum disorders. The group worked for 18 months through a series of conference calls and correspondence, culminating in a meeting held in December 2007 to achieve consensus on these aims. RESULTS: The authors recommend moving away from using the term functional speech, replacing it with a developmental framework. Rather, they recommend multiple sources of information to define language phases, including natural language samples, parent report, and standardized measures. They also provide guidelines and objective criteria for defining children's spoken language expression in three major phases that correspond to developmental levels between 12 and 48 months of age.