Guiding Families after Diagnosis
Scientist, audiologist, and researcher, Dr. Nannette Nicholson has dedicated her life not only helping children who are deaf or hard of hearing but also helping their parents and families cope with a challenging diagnosis and to offer hope by guiding them through treatment options.
Nicholson was the principal investigator on a grant from the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders from 2007 to 2011, in which her team created and tested a DVD designed to help families of infants with hearing loss make more informed decisions about technology, communication, and education.
She was a principal investigator on a conference grant funded by the Centers for Disease Control for children who are hearing impaired and their families. The goal was to teach families to facilitate spoken language development. The project was coordinated in partnership with Heart for Hearing, a cochlear implant and spoken language intervention center in Oklahoma City. As a result of Nicholson’s research and reputation, she also was invited to conduct three workshops last year for Mississippi’s Department of Health.
“It is rare that an individual has the impact that Dr. Nicholson has had in the past five years,” said Patti Martin, director of audiology and speech pathology at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. “She has successfully influenced the direction of our field through her dedication to quality research and education, as well as through a record of superior service.”
Nicholson joined UA Little Rock’s Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology in 2003. She earned a B.S. degree in communication disorders from Northwest Missouri State University in 1978, an M.S. degree in audiology and speech pathology from Illinois State University in 1980, and a Ph.D. in audiology research from the University of Kansas Medical Center in 2003.