| Karla McGregor, Director of Boys Town Hospital’s Word Learning Laboratory, Has Been Selected for an ASHA Lifetime Achievement Award | https://www.boystownhospital.org/news/karla-mcgregor-asha-lifetime-award | Karla McGregor, Director of Boys Town Hospital’s Word Learning Laboratory, Has Been Selected for an ASHA Lifetime Achievement Award | 2024-09-19T05:00:00Z | <p>The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) has chosen Karla McGregor, Ph.D., lead scientist at the Childhood Deafness, Language and Learning Center at Boys Town National Research Hospital and Director of the Word Learning Laboratory, as their next recipient of the Kawana Award for Lifetime Achievement in Publications. </p><p>Named for the former director of ASHA publications, Alfred K, Kawana, this Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to scholars ASHA believes have a sustained history of exemplary publications with journal contributions spanning at least 10 years that are deserving in educational, scientific or clinical value. </p><p>Dr. McGregor’s nomination cited her decades of scholarship, research contributions to ASHA and other scholarly journals, as well as service to ASHA journals and other research-focused programs sponsored by ASHA. </p><p>“I am very surprised and incredibly honored to receive this award,” Dr. McGregor said. “When I look at the list of the previous recipients, I see the names of people who have been my mentors and people who are truly respected in the field, so I feel very humbled to be a part of that list.”</p><p>In addition to decades of scientific research into word learning in children, Dr. McGregor has made immense strides in making developmental language disorder (DLD) a more readily recognized and diagnosed developmental disorder. She is also a co-founder of the website
<em>DLD and Me</em>.</p><p>“Dr. McGregor’s research on developmental language disorder (DLD) has had a transformative impact on the field of communication disorders,” stated Ryan McCreery, Vice President of Research at Boys Town National Research Hospital. “The Kawana Award recognizes not only the volume of her contributions to our knowledge about DLD, but the quality and clinical impact of her research on the people that we serve. Dr. McGregor’s work is an exemplar of rigorous science that can change how we provide care to our patients. To receive this recognition from the largest organization of speech-language pathologists and audiologists in the world is an incredible accomplishment.”<br></p><p>The award will be given to Dr. McGregor on December 5th, during the Researcher-Academic Town Meeting, at ASHA’s 2024 National Convention. Dr. McGregor is the first Boys Town researcher to receive the prestigious Kawana Award for Lifetime Achievement in Publications. </p> | | |
| Boys Town New Endowed Chair in Childhood Deafness, Language and Learning to be Held by Lisa Goffman, Ph.D. | https://www.boystownhospital.org/news/new-endowed-chair-language-and-learning | Boys Town New Endowed Chair in Childhood Deafness, Language and Learning to be Held by Lisa Goffman, Ph.D. | 2024-07-19T05:00:00Z | <p>Boys Town welcomes Lisa Goffman, Ph.D., CCC-SLP as the new Endowed Chair in the Center on Childhood Deafness, Language and Learning. Her research focuses on how children with developmental language disorder (DLD) acquire language and motor abilities. She is interested in how interactions between language, cognitive, and motor skills may contribute to new and effective assessment and intervention approaches. Her research has been funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders at the National Institutes of Health for over 25 years. </p><p>“I am thrilled to join the Boys Town research team and a remarkable group of scientists focused on language disorders in children,” Dr. Goffman said. “We have eight researchers focused on DLD who all have unique perspectives. I study how language and action interact in complex learning, including of language. Other scientists in the Center consider DLD in relation to trauma; cognitive abilities, such as memory; auditory abilities and hearing; and literacy. We are interested in DLD across the lifespan. We share a passion for understanding mechanisms that underlie DLD and for identifying and developing new assessments and treatments to alleviate this disorder that affects so many children and adults. The excellent and multifaceted group at Boys Town was the big attractor for me to come here.” </p><p>Dr. Goffman was on faculty at Purdue University for 21 years, where she established her “Language in Motion” lab. Most recently, she served as the endowed chair in Early Childhood Communication Disorders in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas. </p><p>Dr. Goffman received her clinical master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Purdue University, went on to work as an SLP in a highly interdisciplinary early intervention program, and then returned to Purdue for her doctorate. The inspiration for her return to research came from her clinical observations while working as a Speech-Language Pathologist in early intervention.
<br> “I had the opportunity to work closely with psychologists, psychiatrists, medical doctors, occupational and physical therapists, audiologists, and educators. The interdisciplinary perspective I was exposed to inspired me to consider how social, cognitive, language, and motor factors all interact in the development of a child. This interdisciplinary, interactive, and family-centered approach fueled my desire to return to school for doctoral study and laid the groundwork for my excitement in joining the group at Boys Town.” </p><p>She is transitioning her “Language in Motion” lab to Boys Town and her plans for the endowed chair position include, “engaging in the array of research and clinical opportunities that are the essence of Boys Town.” Some of these opportunities include joint research with her colleagues in the Center for Childhood Deafness, Language, and Learning in investigating and establishing optimal treatments for people with DLD across the lifespan. She also has initiated interactions with new colleagues in the other Centers, as she establishes novel conceptual and methodological approaches for studying how children, especially those with DLD, learn. Dr. Goffman is extremely excited to be part of the Boys Town clinical research team.</p> | | |
| Boys Town Raises Awareness for Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) | https://www.boystownhospital.org/news/boys-town-raises-awareness-for-development-language-disorder | Boys Town Raises Awareness for Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) | 2023-10-20T05:00:00Z | <p>Today, October 20<sup>th</sup>, is Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) Awareness Day. DLD Day was originated to bring attention to this neurodevelopmental condition that limits the learning, comprehension and expression of spoken language.</p><p>
<a href="/research/faculty/karla-mcgregor">Karla McGregor, Ph.D.</a>, senior scientist and director at Boys Town's
<a href="/services/center-for-childhood-deafness-language-learning">Center for Childhood Deafness Language, and Learning</a> answered a few common questions about DLD.<br><strong> </strong>
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<strong>What is DLD?</strong><br>DLD is a neurodevelopmental condition that limits the learning, comprehension and expression of spoken language. Like all neurodevelopmental conditions, DLD is life-long, although many people with DLD have gained skills and ways of compensating that allow them to function well as adults.</p><p>
<strong>What are common signs of DLD?</strong><br>DLD entails a spectrum of symptoms that vary from person to person and change with age. Problems with language patterns including the ways that words or sentences are structured, are common.</p><p>For a young child, the signs may include not being able to follow verbal instructions, using very short or incomplete sentences, or taking a long time to learn new words.</p><p>For older children, we see problems understanding classroom discourse and difficulties learning to read and spell, or to complete homework assignments. Even math can be hard because teachers explain mathematical concepts using language.</p><p>For adolescents and adults, organizing essays or reports, understanding fast-paced lectures that include less familiar terms and complex syntax, or following conversations that contain slang, figurative language (like metaphors), and verbal humor (like puns), can be difficult.<br></p><p>At all ages, DLD can affect social relationships and it is easy to understand why as spoken language is vitally important for negotiating, solving problems, making plans and expressing thoughts and feelings.</p><p>
<strong>How is DLD diagnosed?</strong><br>DLD is diagnosed by a speech-language pathologist in a school or clinic. The process involves collecting a case history, observations of the individual's communication skills, and administration of tests.</p><p>
<strong>What DLD resources does Boys Town National Research Hospital offer?</strong><br>Boys Town National Research Hospital (BTNRH) has two speech-language clinics
<a href="/services/pediatric-speech-language-therapy">in Omaha, Nebraska</a>. Our staff speech-language pathologists are experts when it comes to diagnosing and treating DLD.</p><p>We also have a large language sciences research group that specializes in DLD research.
<a href="/research/participate">Volunteering for language research opportunities</a>, even if you do not have DLD, is a great way to advance understanding of the condition.</p><p>Finally, BTNRH is the home of
<a href="https://dldandme.org/" target="_blank">DLDandMe.org</a>, a website that offers written and audio summaries on various topics related to the disorder, that provide a valuable resource to parents, children and professionals.</p><p>
<strong>DLD Around the World</strong><br>The theme for DLD Day 2023 is
<em>DLD Around the World</em>, to emphasize that there are individuals with DLD from all language communities.</p><p>In recognition of the theme,
<a href="https://dldandme.org/" target="_blank">DLDandMe.org</a> translated some of the most popular posts into the official languages of the United Nations which, in addition to English, are Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish.</p><p>
<strong>Myths About Developmental Language Disorder</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://dldandme.org/%d8%a3%d9%81%d9%83%d8%a7%d8%b1-%d8%ae%d8%a7%d8%b7%d8%a6%d8%a9-%d8%b9%d9%86-%d8%a7%d8%b6%d8%b7%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%a8-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%84%d8%ba%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%aa%d9%86%d9%85%d9%88%d9%8a/" target="_blank">Arabic</a></li><li><a href="https://dldandme.org/myths-about-dld/" target="_blank">English</a></li><li><a href="https://dldandme.org/idees-erronees-a-propos-du-tdl/" target="_blank">French</a></li><li><a href="https://dldandme.org/%d0%bd%d0%b5%d0%b2%d0%b5%d1%80%d0%bd%d1%8b%d0%b5-%d0%bf%d1%80%d0%b5%d0%b4%d1%81%d1%82%d0%b0%d0%b2%d0%bb%d0%b5%d0%bd%d0%b8%d1%8f-%d0%be-%d0%ba%d0%be%d0%bc%d0%bc%d1%83%d0%bd%d0%b8%d0%ba%d0%b0%d1%82/" target="_blank">Russian</a></li></ul><p>
<strong>How is Developmental Language Disorder different from Autism Spectrum Disorder (and Other Neurodevelopmental Conditions)</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://dldandme.org/differences-between-asd-and-dld/" target="_blank">English</a></li><li><a href="https://dldandme.org/%e5%8f%91%e5%b1%95%e6%80%a7%e8%af%ad%e8%a8%80%e9%9a%9c%e7%a2%8d%e5%92%8c%e5%ad%a4%e7%8b%ac%e7%97%87%e7%9a%84%e5%8c%ba%e5%88%ab/" target="_blank">Mandarin</a></li><li><a href="https://dldandme.org/diferencias-entre-dld-y-el-trastorno-del-espectro-autista/" target="_blank">Spanish</a></li></ul><p>
<strong>Developmental Language Disorder as a Spectrum</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://dldandme.org/developmental-language-disorder-as-a-spectrum/" target="_blank">English</a></li><li><a href="https://dldandme.org/el-trastorno-del-desarrollo-del-lenguaje-o-tdl-es-un-trastorno-del-espectro/" target="_blank">Spanish</a></li></ul><p>
<strong>Do You have Developmental Language Disorder?</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://dldandme.org/do-you-have-developmental-language-disorder/" target="_blank">English</a></li><li><a href="https://dldandme.org/tienes-un-trastorno-del-desarrollo-del-lenguaje/" target="_blank">Spanish</a></li></ul><p>
<strong>Sign Up for a Free Language and Hearing Screening</strong></p><p>If you're concerned about whether your child's speech and language are on track, scheduled a free speech, language and hearing screening at
<a href="/services/pediatric-speech-language-therapy/speech-language-screening">BTNRH</a>. Both in-person and virtual screenings are available.</p><br> | | |
| Boys Town’s Kaylah Lalonde, Ph.D., Awarded the Early Career Research from the American Auditory Society | https://www.boystownhospital.org/news/kaylah-lalonde-awarded-early-career-research | Boys Town’s Kaylah Lalonde, Ph.D., Awarded the Early Career Research from the American Auditory Society | 2023-04-24T05:00:00Z | <p>Kaylah Lalonde, Ph.D., Director of the Audiovisual Speech Processing Laboratory, was awarded the Early Career Research Award at the 50<sup>th</sup> Annual Scientific and Technology Conference of the American Auditory Society (AAS) held in Scottsdale, Arizona, in early March.</p><p>Dr. Lalonde's primary line of study focuses on audiovisual speech enhancement, the way listeners use visual cues on a speaker's face to help understand speech and how the use of said cues changes over development from infancy to young adulthood. She also studies how pediatric hearing loss may change the way children learn to use those cues. </p><p>Dr. Lalonde attended this conference as a graduate student and feels fortunate to have been able to share about her own experience to students in attendance.</p><p>“I just felt so honored to be receiving this award, and it allowed me to talk to the students in the room about my journey and how we don't always feel like we are the most impressive, but that doesn't mean we aren't doing a great job and progressing in our careers and in how we contribute to the field," said Dr. Lalonde. </p><p>Dr. Lalonde first learned about Boys Town National Research Hospital and the Center for Hearing and Speech Perception while attending those early AAS conferences. Boys Town has historically had a significant number of scientists presenting research at the annual conference, so Boys Town was on Dr. Lalonde's radar early. </p><p>Being a Boys Town researcher may have helped Dr. Lalonde receive this prestigious award. </p><p>“Being at Boys Town has allowed me to be more productive than I might have been in a faculty position at a university," said Dr. Lalonde. “Being able to collaborate with so many people within Boys Town National Research Hospital has also been a big contributor to productivity."</p><p>Dr. Lalonde hopes that this productivity and the work being done with children who have hearing loss will change the way that we diagnose and treat these children. In the long term, it may even inform the signal processing that happens in hearing aids.</p><p>Also honored at the AAS conference was Monita Chatterjee, Ph.D., Director of the Auditory Prostheses and Perception Laboratory, who received the Carhart Memorial Award. </p><p>“Monita is my internal mentor," said Dr. Lalonde, “so that was really special to me."</p><p>To learn more about Dr. Chatterjee's award,
<a href="https://www.boystownhospital.org/news/monita-chatterjee-receives-award">click here</a>. <br></p><p>
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| Boys Town Becomes the First Pediatric Hospital in Nebraska With Level 4 Epilepsy Program | https://www.boystownhospital.org/news/Level-4-Epilepsy-Program | Boys Town Becomes the First Pediatric Hospital in Nebraska With Level 4 Epilepsy Program | 2023-04-10T05:00:00Z | <p>For years, Boys Town National Research Hospital has led the region in treating complex epilepsy diagnoses, but in March of 2023, the
<a href="/services/pediatric-neuroscience/epilepsy-program">Boys Town Pediatric Epilepsy Program</a> received an official level 4 accreditation through the National Association of Epilepsy Centers, certifying our comprehensive approach to diagnosis and treatment of pediatric epilepsy patients.</p><p>“We are so honored and excited to be the first pediatric-focused program in our state with a level 4 epilepsy center accreditation," said
<a href="/physicians/deepak-madhavan">Deepak Madhavan, M.D., Chief Medical Officer and VP of Medical Affairs</a> at Boys Town National Research Hospital. “We feel that this accreditation confirms and acknowledges the quality and comprehensive nature of the pediatric epilepsy care we provide here at Boys Town."</p><h2> What is a level 4 epilepsy center?<br></h2><p>Level 4 epilepsy centers serve as regional or national referral facilities for patients with complex epilepsies. To receive accreditation, programs must provide complex forms of intensive neurodiagnostic monitoring as well as extensive medical, neuropsychological and psychosocial treatment. Boys Town is one of a handful of centers across the country that is officially certified as a level 4 center and the only pediatric-focused hospital in the region to claim the accreditation.</p><h2> Complex Epilepsy Care at Boys Town</h2><p>The
<a href="/services/pediatric-neuroscience/epilepsy-program">Boys Town Pediatric Epilepsy Program</a> offers complete evaluation for surgery, including intracranial electrodes, and provides a broad range of surgical procedures for epilepsy. Our fellowship-trained team includes pediatric epileptologists, specialized neurologists and board-certified pediatric neurosurgeons. Boys Town is the only facility in the world with <a href="/news/boys-town-leads-research-efforts-in-pediatric-neuroscience">two next-generation MEG (magnetoencephalography) systems</a> capable of pinpointing the area of the brain causing the patient's seizures, down to the millimeter. This allows our neurosurgeons to have the most complete picture possible going into surgery.</p><p>In addition to our advanced surgical capability, the Boys Town Pediatric Epilepsy Program is supported by a host of advanced diagnostic and treatment methods.<br></p><ul><li> The
<a href="/services/pediatric-neuroscience/epilepsy-program/epilepsy-monitoring-unit">Boys Town Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU)</a> is one of the most technically advanced pediatric-focused inpatient imaging units in the region.</li><li>We have genetic neurologists on hand to diagnose genetic epilepsy syndromes.</li><li>Our patients have access to vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) and responsive neurostimulation (RNS) devices when medications can't control epileptic seizures.</li></ul><p>Add to that our team of behavioral health experts and dietitians, and each patient ends up with a life-changing treatment plan that is tailored to their needs.</p><p>“We want our community and broader region to know that if a child has a tough-to-treat epilepsy diagnosis, we are here with the latest medical and surgical options for them," Dr. Madhavan said. “Our pediatric epileptologists and pediatric neurosurgeons are committed to providing the highest possible care for kids here in Nebraska and the surrounding regions."<br></p><h2>Request a Pediatric Neurology Patient Referral Guide</h2><p>Fill out the form below to get a digital or mailed copy of our clinic brochure and provider directory. </p>
<iframe class="hosp-form-referral" src="https://health.boystownhospital.org/neurology-referral-guide" width="100%" style="height:845px;"></iframe><br> | | |
| Boys Town’s Monita Chatterjee, Ph.D., Receives the American Auditory Society’s Carhart Memorial Award | https://www.boystownhospital.org/news/monita-chatterjee-receives-award | Boys Town’s Monita Chatterjee, Ph.D., Receives the American Auditory Society’s Carhart Memorial Award | 2023-04-07T05:00:00Z | <p>Boys Town National Research Hospital's Monica Chatterjee, Ph.D., Director of the Auditory Prostheses and Perception Laboratory, delivered the Carhart Memorial Lecture and received the Carhart Memorial Award at the 50<sup>th</sup> Annual Scientific & Technology Conference in Scottdale, Arizona, in early March.</p><p>Established by the American Auditory Society (AAS), the Carhart Memorial Lecture and Award were created to honor Professor Raymond Carhart as the “Father of Audiology." The award recognizes one scientist whose current research is having a significant impact on clinical practices and auditory science and whose career is promised to have lasting impact. </p><p>Dr. Chatterjee's recent research and Carhart Lecture presentation revolved around the challenges people with cochlear implants (CI) face when trying to hear pitch, or how people are feeling from their speech. Pitch is often the dominant acoustic cue for identifying mood or emotion, and CI patients' problems identifying pitch cues can lead to difficulties in understanding emotions.</p><p>“We've been working with children who are congenitally deaf and have a cochlear implant and with adults who had hearing throughout the period of language development and later lost their hearing, resulting in a cochlear implant," said Dr. Chatterjee, “Compared to hearing counterparts, both populations show significant deficits in their ability to identify spoken emotions. There's also a lot of individual variability, and we are currently studying the sources of this variability in order to develop effective treatments for individual patients." </p>
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<p>An individual's ability to identify a speaker's mood or emotion and convey emotion in their own speech can impact their social interactions within their families, schools and workplaces. People who interact with CI patients often assume they have “normal" hearing and can understand pitch, which is not the case. Therefore, misunderstandings can easily happen when a CI listener doesn't perceive a sad or angry pitch to a voice or doesn't effectively verbalize their own emotions. </p><p>These miscues are important because they may cause isolation for the CI patient when spoken interactions don't go well. In both children and adults with cochlear implants, quality-of-life measures have been shown to be lower in those who scored lower in spoken emotion perception.</p><p>“It's hard to think of children having poorer quality of life for any reason," said Dr. Chatterjee. “But if future studies show that poorer emotion perception actually has a negative impact on quality of life, and if our research can do something about that…it's very motivating for me."</p> | | |
