A Bruton Conference
Friday, May 6, 2022 |7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Location: Callier Center
1966 Inwood Road, Dallas, Texas 75235
Glorig Auditorium
Course Directors:
- Walter Kutz, MD
- Melissa Sweeney, MS, CCC/SLP, LSLS Cert AVT
Featured Speaker: Sumit Agrawal, MD, FRCS(C)
Associate Professor, Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
(Sponsored by The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Department of Otolaryngology)
Additional Speakers:
- Sneha V. Bharadwaj PhD, CCC-SLP
- Ferenc Bunta, PhD
- Linda Daniel, MS, MA, LSLS Cert. AVT, CCC/A
- Kim Fiorentino, AuD, CCC/A
- Jacob Hunter, MD
- Emily Lund, PhD
- Sharon Miller, PhD
- Robert Peters, MD
- Erin Schafer, PhD
- Rachel St. John, MD
- Andrea Warner-Czyz, PhD
Continuing Education: 6 AG Bell CEUs | 0.55 AAA CEUs | 0.55 ASHA CEUs | 5.50 TSHA CEUs
Contact: Lynne Perler at 972-883-3003
Cost: Free (registration is required)
Course Description
The North Texas Cochlear Implant (CI) Symposium will provide an interprofessional program for audiologists, physicians, speech pathologists and others involved in the care of CI recipients. Topics discussed will include emergent literacy in CI recipients; effective vaccination practices, social skill development; multicultural aspects in aural rehabilitation and language development; increasing access to CI; and surgical techniques.
Course Objectives
At the conclusion of the conference, participants should be able to:
- discuss barriers to cochlear implantation,
- identify new surgical and mapping techniques in cochlear implantation,
- identify patterns of communication development in bilingual and monolingual children with cochlear implants, and
- discuss performance outcomes in special populations.
Continuing Education
AG Bell Academy for Listening and Spoken Language:
The Callier Center is approved by the AG Bell Academy for Listening and Spoken Language to offer Continuing Education Hours for Listening and Spoken Language Specialist (LSLS) certification.
This program has been approved for a maximum of 6 CEUs. AG Bell Academy approval of this course is based on information shared by the approved provider. Views shared by the presenter(s) may not necessarily reflect the views of the AG Bell Academy for Listening and Spoken Language either in part or whole.
American Academy of Audiology (AAA):
UTD/Callier Center for Communication Disorders is approved by the American Academy of Audiology to offer Academy CEUs for this activity. The program is worth a maximum of .55 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):
Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (TSHA):
This program has been approved for 5.50 clock hours of continuing education credit by the Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (TSHA). TSHA approval does not imply endorsement of course content, specific products, or clinical procedures.
Course Directors
Walter Kutz, MD
Walter Kutz, MD is a Professor of Otolaryngology and Neurological Surgery at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He has a busy cochlear implant practice treating both adults and children at both UT Southwestern and Children’s Health. He is also the co-director of the NF2 program at UT Southwestern and frequently implants both cochlear implants and auditory brainstem implants in this patient population. Dr. Kutz has published over 80 peer reviewed articles, many related to cochlear implants.
Dr. Kutz receives some financial compensation as consultant for Eloxx and Alcon; honoraria from Medtronic; and has some ownership interest in Qualia Oto. He does not have any non-financial relationships to disclose.
Melissa Sweeney, MS, CCC/SLP, LSLS Cert AVT
Melissa Sweeney, MS, CCC/SLP, LSLS Cert AVT is the Director of Speech-Language Pathology Clinical Services and the Cochlear Implant Program at The University of Texas at Dallas Callier Center. Ms. Sweeney has provided evaluations and treatment for children with hearing loss and their families for more than 23 years. She has served in elected and appointed positions with numerous professional organizations. She also teaches graduate level classes in the Speech, Language and Hearing Program at UT Dallas and has provided numerous trainings for professionals.
Ms. Sweeney does not have any relevant financial or non-financial relationships to disclose.
Featured Speaker
Sumit Agrawal, MD, FRCS(C)
Sumit Agrawal, MD, FRCS(C) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. He completed his fellowship in Neurotology & Skull Base Surgery and his clinical interests include cochlear implantation, vestibular surgery, and lateral skull base tumors. He is co-director of the Auditory Biophysics Laboratory, and his current research involves middle-ear biomechanics, surgical simulation, imaging techniques and artificial intelligence.
Dr. Agrawal does not have any relevant financial or non-financial relationships to disclose.
Additional Speakers
Sneha V. Bharadwaj PhD, CCC-SLP
Sneha V. Bharadwaj PhD, CCC-SLP works as a professor at Texas Woman’s University. She currently teaches undergraduate and graduate classes on campus as well as in the distance venues. Her research focuses on speech, language, literacy and cognitive outcomes in children with hearing loss.
Dr. Bharadwaj does not have any relevant financial or non-financial relationships to disclose.
Ferenc Bunta, PhD
Ferenc Bunta, PhD has been a faculty member at the University of Houston since 2008. His research focuses on bilingual and cross-linguistic phonological acquisition in both typical children and their peers with communication disorders (such as children with hearing loss who use cochlear implants). His work has been funded by the NIH/NIDCD, Department of Education and the Spencer Foundation. He is also the founding director of the PhD Program in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Houston. He has taught courses on speech and language development, writing in communication sciences and disorders, phonetics, phonology, bilingual language development and speech science.
Dr. Bunta does not have any relevant financial or non-financial relationships to disclose.
Linda Daniel, MS, MA, LSLS Cert. AVT, CCC/A
Linda Daniel, MS, MA, LSLS Cert. AVT, CCC/A is Director of HEAR in Dallas. She provides in-office and telepractice aural rehabilitation services to individuals of all ages and their families. Ms. Daniel participates in research, consults and presents at professional conferences.
Ms. Daniel does not have any relevant financial or non-financial relationships to disclose.
Kim Fiorentino, AuD, CCC/A
Kim Fiorentino, AuD, CCC-A is an audiologist who specializes in detecting and caring for children with hearing loss. Dr. Fiorentino earned her Bachelor of Arts in psychology at Amherst College and graduated cum laude. She received a doctorate of audiology at The University of Texas at Dallas. Dr. Fiorentino works as a pediatric cochlear implant audiologist at the UT Dallas Callier Center for Communication Disorders. She conducts cochlear implant candidacy assessments, hearing aid evaluations and fittings, cochlear implant initial activations and follow-up care. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Audiology and a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
Dr. Fiorentino does not have any relevant financial or non-financial relationships to disclose.
Jacob Hunter, MD
Jacob Hunter, MD is a Dedman Scholar of Clinical Care and Associate Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He is board certified in Otolaryngology, with sub-specialty certification in Neurotology, having completed his residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York and fellowship at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. His research focuses on hearing loss, cochlear implants and vestibular schwannomas. He has published over 80 peer-reviewed manuscripts and contributed to over 10 book chapters, having been invited to present his work at local, national and international talks, meetings and conferences. He is currently an Associate Editor, Otology and Neurotology for Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, published by the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Foundation, while serving on the editorial boards for Otology & Neurotology and Otolaryngology Case Reports.
Dr. Hunter has received financial compensation and or grant funding from Advanced Bionics, Cochlear, Med El and Sonova. He does not have any non-financial relationships to disclose.
Emily Lund, PhD
Emily Lund, PhD, CCC-SLP is an Associate Professor in the Davies School of Communication Sciences and Disorders and Associate Dean for Research in the Harris College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Texas Christian University. Her line of research focuses on spoken and written word learning in children with hearing loss who use hearing aids and cochlear implants. Her work has been funded by the ASHFoundation and NIH/NIDCD.
Dr. Lund has received grant funding from the NIH/NIDCD. She does not have any relevant non-financial relationships to disclose.
Sharon Miller, PhD
Sharon Miller, PhD is an assistant professor in the Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology at the University of North Texas (UNT). She earned her PhD and MA degrees in Audiology and Speech-Language-Hearing Science from The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and has a B.S. in Communication Disorders from Northwestern University. Dr. Miller directs the Brain and Behavior Lab at UNT, and the long-term goal of her research is to establish an integrative program that combines behavioral and electrophysiological measures to address fundamental questions about brain plasticity and language in adults and children with hearing loss. Dr. Miller also teaches courses in the Doctor of Audiology program at UNT on the topics of hearing aids, electrophysiology and speech perception.
Dr. Miller does not have any relevant financial or non-financial relationships to disclose.
Robert Peters, MD
Robert Peters, MD is a practicing neurotologist, founder and currently senior partner of the Dallas Ear Institute. He is also founder and current president of the Dallas Hearing Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to giving the gift of hearing and speech to children and adults with hearing loss. In this capacity he has helped secure funding and performed cochlear implant surgery on patients from 20 different countries around the world. His practice focuses on the treatment of hearing loss, ear and lateral skull base disorders in both children and adults.
Dr. Peters does not have any relevant financial or non-financial relationships to disclose.
Erin Schafer, PhD
Erin Schafer, PhD is a Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in Audiology at the University of North Texas, where she has been a faculty member since 2005. She received her PhD in Communication Sciences and Disorders from The University of Texas at Dallas in 2005. Her research programs focus on the assessment and (re)habilitation of adults and children with hearing loss and auditory disorders.
Dr. Schafer receives financial compensation from the American Academy of Audiology as the editor of Audiology Today. She does not have any relevant non-financial relationships to disclose.
Rachel St. John, MD
Rachel St. John, MD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She serves as Director of the Family-Focused Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children at Children’s Medical Center. She specializes in care coordination for deaf and hard of hearing patients.
Dr. St. John does not have any relevant financial or non-financial relationships to disclose.
Andrea Warner-Czyz, PhD
Andrea Warner-Czyz, PhD is an Associate Professor in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at The University of Texas at Dallas. She investigates communication and quality of life in children and adolescents with hearing loss using cochlear implants. The effect of hearing loss and cochlear implantation on communication skills and, subsequently, social interaction in children and adolescents forms a primary focus of her programmatic research.
Dr. Warner-Czyz does not have any relevant financial or non-financial relationships to disclose.
Schedule
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 7:30 – 8:00 a.m. | Registration and Breakfast |
| 8:00 a.m. | Welcome |
| 8:15 a.m. | Sumit Agrawal, MD Unlocking the cochlea with synchrotron phase-contrast imaging (Sponsored by The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Department of Otolaryngology) |
| 9:00 a.m. | Emily Lund, PhD Vocabulary as a basis for emergent literacy in children with cochlear implants |
| 9:30 a.m. | Jacob Hunter, MD Barriers to cochlear implantation |
| 10:00 a.m. | Break |
| 10:15 a.m. | Rachel St. John, MD Effective 23-valent pneumococcal vaccination practices in cochlear implant program |
| 10:45 a.m. | Ferenc Bunta, PhD Speech and language production of bilingual children with cochlear implants: highlights and clinical impressions |
| 11:15 a.m. | Robert Peters, MD Failure characteristics and performance outcomes of patients with recalled HiRes Ultra cochlear implants |
| 11:45 p.m. | Lunch |
| 12:45 p.m. | Sumit Agrawal, MD BONEBRIDGE Implantation – Venturing above the temporal bone (Sponsored by The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Department of Otolaryngology) |
| 1:15 p.m. | Andrea Warner-Czyz, PhD Social communication skills in adolescents with cochlear implants |
| 1:45 p.m. | Kim Fiorentino, AuD Barriers to implantation in children with single-sided deafness |
| 2:15 p.m. | Break |
| 2:30 p.m. | Sneha V. Bharadwaj, PhD and Linda Daniel, MS, MA Aural rehab via teletherapy for culturally and linguistically diverse families: Case presentations |
| 3:00 p.m. | Erin Shafer, PhD and Sharon Miller, PhD Increasing access to cochlear implants for older adults |
| 3:30 p.m. | Adjourn |
North Texas Cochlear Implant Symposium is a joint program sponsored by the UT Dallas Callier Center for Communication Disorders and The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Department of Otolaryngology.
Bruton Conferences are sponsored by the David Bruton, Jr. Endowed Lecture Series on
Communication Disorders at the Callier Center.
