Revolutions in Pediatric Audiology 2023

Monday, October 2, 2023, 7:30 AM - 5:05 PM, Live Stream -or- Bentley University Conference Center, Waltham, MA

The field of pediatric audiology is always changing, with new understanding of diagnoses and management strategies. As pediatric audiologists we are called on to obtain clinical information and also to support children in their schools and homes. Added to the audiometric profiles is the ever increasing number of children with developmental differences, requiring audiologists to be ever more creative with our approaches for assessing this population. Understanding how these facets come together helps us to be better clinicians.
 
This one day conference will focus on research and best practices for the assessment and management of young children with reduced hearing.
 
Topics will include: The Relationship Between Audibility and Speech-Language Skills, Assessment of and Intervention for Auditory Processing Deficits, Neuroplasticity in Hearing Loss and Providing Tinnitus and Decreased Sound Tolerance Services.

Target Audience

•  Pediatric audiologists and audiology students.

Learning Objectives

Following this conference, participants will be able to: 

Session A: Rewiring the Brain:  Neuroplasticity in Hearing Loss

• Describe cross-modal neuroplastic changes in pediatric hearing loss.
• Describe the clinical applications of cortical plasticity in deaf children who receive intervention via hearing aids and cochlear implants.
• Discuss the clinical changes in cortical plasticity as a function of speech and language therapy.

Session B: Exploring the Relationship between Audibility and Speech-Language Skills in Children with Hearing Loss

• Describe the concept of audibility.
• Interpret audibility measures.
• Recognize the types of auditory tasks that are dependent on audibility from those that are not. 

Session C: Assessment of and Intervention for Auditory Processing Deficits in Children

• Describe several methods of assessing auditory perceptual difficulties in children.
• Delineate categories of diagnostic tests of Central Auditory Processing Disorder.
• Discuss the importance of deficit-specific intervention for children.
  

Session D: Providing Tinnitus and Decreased Sound Tolerance Services In a Pediatric Audiology Program

• Describe disorders that are often co-morbid with tinnitus and decreased sound tolerance.
• Define the different decreased sound tolerance disorders and their characteristics.
• Describe the neurophysiologic model of tinnitus and decreased sound tolerance.

List of Presenters 

Anu Sharma, Ph.D.

University of Colorado, Boulder

Anu Sharma, Ph.D. is Professor in the Department of Speech Language and Hearing Science and Fellow in the Institute for Cognitive Science and Center for Neuroscience at University of Colorado, Boulder, USA. Her research focuses on examining brain and behavioral outcomes in children and adults with hearing loss who are fitted with hearing aids and/or cochlear implants. She has given over 200 invited and keynote addresses on her research, including the Carhart Memorial Lecture at the American Auditory Society, the Marion Downs lecture twice at the American Academy of Audiology, and the Ted Evans Lecture at the British Academy of Audiology. Her research is funded by the United States National Institutes of Health.

Financial Disclosures:  Dr. Sharma is a salaried employee of the University of Colorado.  She also receives speaking fees from Oticon, Inc.  She will receive a speaking fee for her presentation.
Non-Financial Disclosures:  None

Andrea Pittman, Ph.D

Mass. General Hospital Institute of Health Professions

Dr. Pittman is a Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and the founding Director of the Doctor of Audiology program. She received her clinical training in Audiology from San Diego State University and worked as a clinical audiologist for several years before pursuing her PhD in Hearing Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She then received post-doctoral training in the Hearing Aid Research Laboratory at Boys Town National Research Hospital. 

Prior to joining the faculty at IHP in 2022, Dr. Pittman was a tenured faculty and the AuD Program Director at Arizona State University. Her teaching responsibilities included undergraduate introductory audiology courses as well as graduate-level courses in pediatric audiology, basic amplification, and advanced hearing aid technology. 

Dr. Pittman’s research program focuses on the effects of hearing loss on children’s ability to listen to, and learn from, auditory input. The goal of her work is to identify hearing devices and amplification features that reduce the deficits caused by hearing loss during childhood and adolescence.

Financial Disclosures:  Dr. Pittman receives grant funding from Oticon and Phonak for her research.
Non-financial Disclosures: None

Teri Bellis, Ph.D.

University of South Dakota

Dr. Teri James Bellis is professor emerita of audiology at the University of South Dakota. During her 40-year career, she has worked in settings including medical/hospital, private practice, educational, and university, and has specialized in diagnostic audiology, Central Auditory Processing Disorders, and multimodal electrophysiologic techniques. She is the author of Assessment and Management of Central Auditory Processing Disorders in the Educational Setting, When the Brain Can’t Hear, and multiple articles and book chapters in the area of CAPD and electrophysiology. Dr. Bellis is a Fellow of ASHA.

Financial Disclosures: Dr. Bellis receives adjunct faculty compensation from the University of South Dakota.  She will receive a speaking fee for her presentation.
Non-financial Disclosures: None

Karen Wilber, Au.D.

Boston Children’s Hospital

Karen Lincoln Wilber, Au.D., is an American Board of Audiology (ABA) certified clinical audiologist at Boston Children's Hospital with a specialty in pediatric tinnitus and Decreased Sound Tolerance (DST) disorders. Dr. Wilber holds ABA Certificates for Tinnitus Management and Audiology Preceptor, and is a provider of Tinnitus Retraining Therapy. She is on the medical advisory board for GACI Global, an advocacy group for families affected by Generalized Arterial Calcification of Infancy and related disorders.

Financial Disclosures: Dr. Wilber is a salaried employee of Boston Children’s Hospital.
Non-financial Disclosures: Dr. Wilber is a member of the American Board of Audiology validation panel for the ABA CH-TM certification program.

Participants in the 2023 course have the option of attending the course in person at the Bentley University Conference Center in Waltham, MA, or virtually over zoom. Pre-registration for the course is required. Day of registrations will not be accepted. The virtual option will be a live stream from the conference center and will not be recorded.

In Person Registration*:

Registration Type	Professionals	Students
Early Bird Rate*	$150.00	$75.00
Regular Rate	$175.00	$75.00

*Early bird registration rates end 8/15/23. Please register prior to that date for reduced rates.

Virtual Registration:

Registration Type	Professionals	Students
Regular Rate*	$90.00	$40.00

In the event that the in-person conference must be canceled due to changing COVID-19 guidelines, your registration will be converted to virtual and the difference refunded.

Registration and Payment Information

Registration by credit card:  Please click the above registration tab and follow the prompts. Our payment processor does not accept corporate credit cards. Please email the [email protected] to discuss payment options if using a corporate credit card.  

Registration by check: Please click the above registration tab and follow the prompts to initiate registration. Online registration must be completed prior to mailing the check. 

All checks should be made payable to: CHMC Otolaryngologic Foundation

Please mail checks to:

Attn: Charlotte Mullen
Department of Otolaryngology and Communication Enhancement
Boston Children's Hospital at Waltham
9 Hope Avenue
Waltham, MA 02453

Registration by purchase order or cash payments are not accepted for this course. 

Upon receipt of your paid registration, an email confirmation from the Boston Children’s Continuing Medical Education office will be sent to you. Be sure to include an email address that you check frequently. Your email address is used for critical information, including registration confirmation, evaluation and certificate.

Please contact Charlotte.Mull[email protected] for questions about registration. 

Refund Policy

Fifty-percent (50%) refunds will be issued for all cancellations received prior to the start of the course. Refund requests must be received by postal mail, email or telephone. “No shows” are subject to the full course fee, and no refunds will be issued once the conference has started.

About Professional Credit

   

This course is available for partial credit.

ASHA CE Provider approval and use of the Brand Block does not imply endorsement of course content, specific products or clinical procedures.

Boston Children’s Hospital is approved by the American Academy of Audiology to offer Academy CEUs for this activity. The program is worth a maximum of 0.7 CEUs. Academy approval of this continuing education activity is based on course content only and does not imply endorsement of course content, specific products, or clinical procedure, or adherence of the event to the Academy’s Code of Ethics. Any views that are presented are those of the presenter/CE Provider and not necessarily of the American Academy of Audiology.

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) (0.70 hours), American Academy of Audiology (0.70 hours)

Monday, October 2, 2023

Thank you to our corporate sponsors