Participate

Upon Your Arrival

Once you arrive at our lab, one of our lab employees will greet you and escort you to the laboratory. We will walk you through the details related to participating in the study and will request that you (and your child if over the age of 7) formally give your consent to participate in the study.

During the Visit

The length of the visit varies depending on the child, but is always less than 3 hours. The visit can be split into separate sessions if desired or needed. We ensure that children have frequent breaks. Measures that are conducted in our lab include:

• ​Hearing evaluation or hearing screening
• Hearing aid measurement for children who are hard of hearing
• Assessment of speech and language skills such as vocabulary
• Assessment of executive function and working memory
• Sound perception testing. Your child will listen to sounds presented from a speaker or headphones. The sounds are played in quiet or with noise in the background. Your child will tell us what they hear by touching a picture on a computer, by raising their hand, or by repeating back words or sentences that they hear.
• For parents of infants, your baby will sit on your lap and listen to sounds. We will observe your infant's responses to sounds. 
• For parents of toddlers, we will teach your child to make a response to sound by using play activities, such as putting a toy in a bucket when they hear a specific sound.
• ​​For participants who are unable to respond by raising their hand, repeating back words, or using play activities, we may use observational techniques to see how they respond to sound.​

After the Visit

At the end of the visit, your child will pick out a small prize as our thank you for participating in the study. In addition, you will be compensated for your time on an hourly basis.

Important Reminders

We want to make this an enjoyable experience for you and your child, so if at any time your child needs a break or needs to end the visit, simply let us know.  If you have any questions before, during, or following any of your visits to our lab, please ask!

Directions and Parking

Our lab address is: 
555 N. 30th Street
Omaha, NE 68131​

Driving directions: From 30th street, you will see a sign with an arrow directing you toward Boys Town Patient and Visitor Parking on Cass Street. Turn east at that sign and follow the road under the walkway and take your first left into a parking lot. 'Security' is written in black letters on the wall of the hospital right where you will be parking. Take the elevators to the third floor. When you exit the elevator, you will run into a Pepsi machine. At the Pepsi machine, turn right. There will be a blue door. Next to the door is a phone that you can use to dial the extension 6625. If you wish to use your cell phone, the whole number is (531) 355-6625. We will come out to meet you as soon as you call.​