The episode connects emerging research with clinical practice, offering SLPs and audiologists a deeper understanding of the factors that shape development in children who are deaf or hard of hearing and how this knowledge can inform more individualized, evidence-based support.

Guests: Ryan McCreery, PhD, Beth Walker, PhD, CCC-A/SLP & Beth Heinrichs-Graham, PhD

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In this episode of School of Speech, Carolyn Dolby, MS, CCC-SLP, is joined by Ryan McCreery, PhD, Beth Walker, PhD, CCC-A/SLP, and Beth Heinrichs-Graham, PhD, to discuss why language and cognitive development can vary so widely among children who are deaf or hard of hearing, even with access to early hearing detection and intervention. Drawing from recent research, the guests examine factors that may contribute to these individual differences, including auditory experience and variability in the neural patterns that support language and cognitive processes. They discuss what researchers are learning about the relationship between hearing, brain development, language, and cognition, and why looking beyond hearing access alone may help clinicians better understand each child's developmental trajectory.

About the Guests: Ryan McCreery, PhD, is the Vice President of Research at Boys Town National Research Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. He also serves as a Senior Scientist and Director of the Audibility, Perception, and Cognition (APC) Lab.

Beth Walker, PhD, CCC-A/SLP, is a Professor at the University of Iowa where she directs the Pediatric Audiology Lab. She investigates how limited access to sound affects the development of children with hearing loss by examining the consistency of auditory-linguistic input for children who are deaf or hard of hearing.