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(ROCKVILLE, MD-October 6, 2005) In late September, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) urged Congress to increase funding for The National Children's Study, an effort that will examine the effects of physical, chemical, biological, and psychosocial environmental influences on the health and development of children.
The idea of the study stems from the Children's Health Act of 2000 which authorized the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to lead a consortium of relevant federal agencies in undertaking an ambitious long-term study of American children. Specifically, the study will follow a diverse cohort of more than 100,000 children from across the United States from birth until age 21.
First, though, the National Children's Study needs a funding increase, something that ASHA and others are working to bring about. Although it is projected that $69 million is needed for the study for FY 2006, the Bush Administration's budget proposal for the year is only $12 million.
"The planning is largely complete and the study is ready to be piloted," ASHA President Dolores E. Battle, Ph.D, wrote Congress in late September. "But beyond the pilot work, the future of this important study is uncertain." In addition, Battle noted that the cost of the study "is dwarfed by the cost of treating the diseases and conditions it can be expected to address."
Meanwhile, the planning for the study continues to advance. Also in late September, six contracts were awarded to the first study centers, otherwise known as Vanguard Centers. It is hoped that each will be enrolling at least 250 newborns, each year, for five years, beginning in 2007. For further information about the centers and the study, please visit the web site of the National Children's Study, www.nationalchildrensstudy.gov.
ASHA is the national professional and scientific association for more than 120,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. For more information on ASHA, visit www.asha.org
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