Author: Alexa Goodwin Major: Communication Sciences and Disorders
Evaluating assessments of individual’s social skills and executive functions.
During my time at the University of Arkansas, I have been researching the correlation between screen time, social skills, and executive functions in children between the ages of 8-12 who have been diagnosed with hearing loss. The purpose of this research is to determine what impact screen time has on children with hearing loss. The use of technology can be promoted as an impactful educational tool, but it is also cited as being the cause of negative outcomes like depression and ADHD. The real-life application can be found in determining how screen time impacts social skills and executive functions. This includes impulse/emotional control, working memory, task organization, communicating with others, and more. These skills help to provide academic and life success, so determining how these are impacted can help us to change the way we utilize technology. By researching this topic, we can compare children who are typically developing to children with hearing loss to better understand what they are going through and what benefits them.
I chose my research topic because I have always had an interest in hearing loss and assistive listening technology. This research topic appealed to me because it dealt with issues that individuals in these categories face. I was lucky that a faculty member had already been doing research in this area. My mentor, Kimberly Frazier, had already worked with other faculty to complete similar research with typically developing children, with the intention to compare to future data with children with hearing loss.
The Fall 2020 semester continued to provide research students with COVID-19 related challenges. In a time where we couldn’t meet up with others, it made connecting and networking with participants difficult. I was able to overcome these challenges with the help of social media. I joined Facebook groups and reached out to schools and organizations to connect with professionals in my field and potential participants. This gave me the ability to reach a larger audience and receive more data. My faculty mentor, Kimberly Frazier, played a large role in my research this semester. No matter what challenges we faced, she continued to stay positive and help to find creative ways to problem-solve together.
Along with trials that came with data collection and creating connections, difficulties were also found within sharing my research. I was accepted to do a poster presentation at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) in San Diego, California. Unfortunately, the data of the national convention was in November 2020 and it was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. The ASHA Convention is one of the largest professional development events for speech-language pathologists and audiologists. The convention offers continuing education credit focused on the latest research, clinical skills, and techniques in communication sciences and disorders.
As for what is next, I will continue to collect and analyze data to come to conclusions regarding the impact of screen time on social skills and executive functions in children with hearing loss. I look forward to the possibility of being able to attend another ASHA Convention in the future to be able to share research, learn more, and connect with other students and professionals.
Alexa Goodwin is part of the Honors College and the College of Education and Health Professions studying Communication Sciences and Disorders. She was set to present her work at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s national convention in November 2020, however, it was canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions.