by Diane Paul
ASHA President Kate Gottfred stressed the need to advance the knowledge base of communication sciences and disorders in Aug. 5 testimony before the federal Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR). ASHA also submitted written comments to the ICDR, which sought input on a federal disability and rehabilitation research agenda at a hearing at its Arlington, VA., offices.
"More treatment efficacy and effectiveness studies related to indirect and direct intervention procedures are needed to help determine the most appropriate speech-language pathology and audiology services," Gottfred told agency representatives.
"Questions related to intervention—what techniques are effective, with whom, for how long, and in what context—remain largely unanswered for certain populations, such as children with autism or apraxia of speech, adolescents with literacy needs, and adults with traumatic brain injury," she said.
ASHA's comments on the federal disability and rehabilitation research agenda identified ways to improve research for individuals with communication disabilities in several areas—early intervention for speech, language, and hearing disabilities; literacy; and service delivery in schools and various health care settings.
Gottfred spoke about the need for research on:
- The impact of the length of time between identification of hearing loss in infants and intervention
- The effect of mild hearing loss on speech/language delay and resulting problems in reading and ther educational areas
- The interaction between risk and resilience factors that affect the likelihood or severity of early communication difficulties
- Swallowing and feeding disorders, particularly in the senior population
- Neural plasticity and the implication for restoration of communication function related to neural injury or disease—stroke, neurodegenerative diseases, and neural trauma, including traumatic brain injury
The ICDR, authorized by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, promotes coordination and cooperation among federal departments and agencies conducting disability and rehabilitation research programs.
Diane Paul, director of clinical issues in speech-language pathology, can be reached at dpaul@asha.org. For more information on the ICDR visit their Web site or contact Catherine D. Clarke, director of education and regulatory advocacy, at cclarke@asha.org.