LENA Project. Listen and Talk Early Intervention Program & Fontbonne University Deaf Education Program Collaboration 2016

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Winifred Jordan
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1 LENA Project Listen and Talk Early Intervention Program & Fontbonne University Deaf Education Program Collaboration 2016

The device is placed next to the child during naps and car rides.

2 LENA DEVICE AND SOFTWARE LENA (Language Environment Analysis) devices can be used with children ages 2 48 months. The recording device is placed in a vest that the child wears during all waking hours. The device is placed next to the child during naps and car rides. The recording session needs to be at least 11 consecutive hours in length. The child does not need to be awake during the entire session. LENA software generates easy-to-read reports with information regarding: Child Vocalizations Adult Words Conversational Turns Audio Environment

LENA OPPORTUNITY Listen and Talk s Early Intervention (EI) team had the opportunity to borrow LENA devices and software from the Deaf Education program at Fontbonne University.

3 LENA OPPORTUNITY Listen and Talk s Early Intervention (EI) team had the opportunity to borrow LENA devices and software from the Deaf Education program at Fontbonne University. The EI providers at Listen and Talk hoped to learn more about using the devices and how the information obtained could be helpful when coaching families using a listening and spoken language approach.

LENA REPORTS Child Vocalizations Adult Words Conversational Turns Percentile scores for these

as well as areas that could be improved.

4 LENA REPORTS Child Vocalizations Adult Words Conversational Turns Percentile scores for these areas give EI providers and caregivers an idea of how the child compares to same-aged hearing peers. Reports enable EI providers and caregivers to identify strengths of the child and caregiver as well as areas that could be improved. Breaking down the data into hourly increments allows caregivers to identify times of the day that are either a strength or an area for future growth. LENA software gives the user the option to listen to audio clips for further analysis.

5 LENA REPORTS Audio Environment Meaningful Distant/Overlapping TV/Electronic Noise Silence and Background Composite View

6 PARTICIPANT DETAILS Participants 5 families total 3 families recorded twice in one week 2 families recorded once in one week 1 family recorded twice in February and once in June Age range of children in months: Hearing loss Unilateral (1) and Bilateral (4) Sensorineural (5) Auditory Neuropathy (1)

7 OVERVIEW OF RESULTS Child Vocalizations Adult Words Conversational Turns Electronic Noise/ TV Time Enrolled at Listen and Talk YE - 15 mos. 95 th 99 th 96 th 4% 13 mos. BL - 20/24 mos. 24 th, 3 rd, 11 th 69 th, 73 rd, 11 th 24 th, 20 th, 4 th 1%, 14%, 11% 3 mos./7 mos. NB 13 mos. 16 th, 59 th 19 th, 97 th 32 nd, 91 st 11%, 5% 9 mos. ML 14 mos. 59 th 39 th 70 th 3% 9 mos. WK - 31 mos. 93 rd, 96 th 60 th, 80 th 90 th, 94 th 3%, 1% 28 mos.

8 USING LENA DATA TO DRIVE EI SESSIONS Example: BL Child Vocalizations Adult Words Conversational Turns Electronic Noise/ TV BL - 20/24 mos. 24 th, 3 rd, 11 th 69 th, 73 rd, 11 th 24 th, 20 th, 4 th 1%, 14%, 11% Background Information First two sessions were at 20 months and last session was at 24 months Diagnosed expressive and receptive language delay Bilateral mild to moderately severe sensorineural hearing loss Hearing aids initially fit at 10 mos. Inconsistent hearing aid user (ranges from 2 hours/day to all waking hours) Receives private speech therapy weekly Areas of Focus for Future EI Sessions: Conversational Turns Decreasing TV noise and/or use of electronic toys Increase hearing aid use BL is being exposed to a lot of language that is present based on adult word counts, but without good access she will miss out on incidental learning opportunities.

9 BENEFITS OF USING LENA Data can help determine if the frequency of EI sessions is appropriate. Example YE: All areas were above the 90 th percentile. YE has a unilateral sensorineural hearing loss. LENA reports paired with parent feedback, provider observations, and standardized test scores indicate that monthly sessions are appropriate at this time. Data can be used to determine areas of focus for coaching families. Example BL: Child vocalizations 24 th percentile Adult Words: 69 th percentile. Conversational Turns: 24 th percentile Area of focus: Turn taking skills Caregivers have a visual representation of their day. Multiple recordings over time may allow caregivers the opportunity to see growth. Providers have access to information that is not always observed during EI sessions or may not be accurately represented through caregiver feedback.

10 LIMITATIONS AND CHALLENGES Data may not support what the EI provider and/or family is expecting. Using one or two recordings may not be a true representation of the child s typical language environment. Example - WK WK - 31 mos. Child Vocalizations Adult Words Conversational Turns 93 rd, 96 th 60 th, 80 th 90 th, 94 th 3%, 1% Electronic Noise/ TV Overall, results for WK look good. However prior to getting the recordings the EI provider had concerns about WK s language development based on observations and other measures of language development. The provider expected this to be reflected in the LENA reports. WK s recordings were obtained on the weekend when both parents were home. The EI provider feels the language environment during the week when one parent is home with WK and her sibling is very different. Recording on multiple days in a variety of typical situations (weekend vs. weekday; both parents home vs. one) may help create a better picture of the child s language environment.

11 NEXT STEPS Continue to stay current on research of the use of LENA technology in the field of Deaf Education Explore opportunities for Listen and Talk to have access to LENA technology in the future Partner with local universities/programs who use the technology Write grants to enable purchasing of LENA technology and software Improve our ability to interpret LENA reports and explore other uses of LENA software ( e.g. listening to audio clips) Explore the use of less expensive technologies that may provide some of the same information as LENA devices that could be used to coach families

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