Locked Bag 1797
Penrith NSW 2751 Australia
3 June 2016
Dear Parents,
You are invited to take part in the Seeds of Language Development project thatinvestigatesinfants’languagedevelopmentand hearing impairment. ThestudyisfundedbytheHEARing Cooperative ResearchCentreandledbyProfessor DenisBurnham and Dr. Marina Kalashnikova.Thisis alongitudinal studyovera period of2 ½ years that will include infantsfrom5 – 7monthsto 3years of age.This project is being run at the MARCS BabyLab at Western Sydney University.
TheHEARingCooperativeResearchCentre (HEARing CRC)isan internationally unique consortium of 22 research,clinicalandindustry organisations.From2007, the HEARing CRC has conducted extensive researchtodevelop newdevices, therapies and service delivery modelstoimprovetheprevention, detection and remediationof hearingdisorders. The Seeds of Language Development is part of the early development research stream in which research projects investigate the impact of hearing impairment and hearing loss on early language skills.
The MARCS BabyLab is a world-leading infant research facility that hosts numerous research projects focusing on language development, early speech perception, and precursors of reading skills. All our procedurestake form of games, so they are fun and enjoyable for babies and entirely harmless and non-invasive. With each visit your baby will receive a BabyLab Scientist degree, which is upgraded each time you come. Additionally, your baby will receive a different gift on each visit, and you will receive a travel reimbursement of $30.We have reserved spots for parents who are visiting the BabyLab and send a parking permit when booking your appointment so that you will not need to pay parking fees.
Ifyouchoosetotakepartinthisstudy,youwillbeaskedtofilloutaquestionnaireaboutyou and yourchild. You will be invited to the lab for the first visit when your baby is 5 – 7 months ofage andthenevery 3 to6 monthsovera period of2½ years.All the techniques used in our research require the infants to do simple tasks such as watch images on a screen or listen to sounds while sitting on their mum’s lap. There willalsobeaplayandparent-childinteraction segmentinwhichyouwillberecordedyoutalkingtoyourchild.Laterintheproject,asyour child getsolder, there will be languageorientedtests.Your personal details are kept strictly confidential and are not linked to any published findings.
This research will allow us to understand the relationship between hearing impairment and language development, and give us an opportunity to collect necessary experimental data to inform later interventions. If you are interested in taking part in our project or would like to learn more about it, please contact us at 02 9772 6313 or register your interest at the MARCS BabyLAB website
Sincerely,
Dr. Marina Kalashnikova
Researcher in Infant Studies
MARCS BabyLab Academic Leader
MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development
Western Sydney University
(P) 02 9772 6264