Bilateral Cochlear Implants for Children: Does a Second Implant Improve Language, Psychosocial and Other Outcomes? Severe-profound congenital hearing loss engenders significant costs to society. In 2005, specialised education cost -- on average $25,000 per child, loss of productivity cost -- $6.7 billion, and social security benefits were paid to approximately 129,000 individuals who were unemployed due to hearing loss. If bilateral cochlear implantation results in improved language, social dev ....Bilateral Cochlear Implants for Children: Does a Second Implant Improve Language, Psychosocial and Other Outcomes? Severe-profound congenital hearing loss engenders significant costs to society. In 2005, specialised education cost -- on average $25,000 per child, loss of productivity cost -- $6.7 billion, and social security benefits were paid to approximately 129,000 individuals who were unemployed due to hearing loss. If bilateral cochlear implantation results in improved language, social development, and academic outcomes, the community benefits arising will be greatly improved quality of life for these individuals and significant savings to society. In partnership with Cochlear Ltd, this study will provide some of the first data worldwide comparing the effects of an additional implant on language, social and educational outcomes.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
Sound practice: Supporting sustainable careers in orchestral musicians through Occupational Health and Safety initiatives. This project will produce new knowledge about musician health, well-being and injury prevention and management. It will establish the first injury surveillance system for musicians internationally and the first set of rigorous studies to evaluate the effectiveness of injury management interventions for orchestral musicians. We will establish musician-specific assessment prot ....Sound practice: Supporting sustainable careers in orchestral musicians through Occupational Health and Safety initiatives. This project will produce new knowledge about musician health, well-being and injury prevention and management. It will establish the first injury surveillance system for musicians internationally and the first set of rigorous studies to evaluate the effectiveness of injury management interventions for orchestral musicians. We will establish musician-specific assessment protocols, practices and interventions leading to effective OHS policies, thus enabling global improvement in OHS in the music industry, preventing economic and personal loss from premature career termination due to injury, and assisting, through mentoring, the new generation of young orchestral musicians.Read moreRead less
Advancing the visualisation and quantification of nephrons with MRI. . This project aims to characterise key components of nephrons, the glomeruli and tubules, using magnetic resonance imaging without contrast agents, in combination with Deep Learning and super-resolution techniques. Nephrons, the basic functional unit of the kidney, are critical to the maintenance of the body’s homeostasis. Their number and architecture are critical determinants of kidney function. The expected outcomes are inn ....Advancing the visualisation and quantification of nephrons with MRI. . This project aims to characterise key components of nephrons, the glomeruli and tubules, using magnetic resonance imaging without contrast agents, in combination with Deep Learning and super-resolution techniques. Nephrons, the basic functional unit of the kidney, are critical to the maintenance of the body’s homeostasis. Their number and architecture are critical determinants of kidney function. The expected outcomes are innovative semi-automated nephron visualisation and quantitation tools that enable efficient renal phenotyping. Techniques tailored to widely accessible preclinical research scanners are expected to accelerate research into genetic and environmental factors affecting kidney microstructure in embryonic and post-natal life.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