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The Audiology Department at Arkansas Children's offers a full range of inpatient and outpatient services for children of all ages. As one of the premier pediatric hospitals in the region, we are proud to contribute to the hospital mission of championing children by making them better today and healthier tomorrow. It is our goal to provide excellence in all of the clinical services that we offer to our patients and their families.

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The Audiology department at Arkansas Children's provides expert comprehensive audiological services including identification and measurement of hearing loss, parent counseling and habilitation of children with hearing impairment. A certified audiologist is available for each session, and a pediatric otolaryngologist and a speech pathologist are available upon request.

The mission of the Arkansas Children's program is to provide comprehensive diagnostic and intervention services for children. The focus is on early identification, aggressive intervention and family involvement.

The audiologists at our hospitals have extensive training and skills to evaluate the hearing of infants and children of all ages. By conducting a wide variety of specialized testing, they are able to determine the exact nature of even the tiniest baby's hearing problem. Audiologists present a variety of treatment options to families, as well as dispense and fit hearing aids and other forms of amplification, and provide hearing rehabilitation training.

Audiologists at Arkansas Children's hold masters or doctoral degrees from accredited universities with special training in the prevention, identification, assessment and non-medical treatment of hearing disorders. All audiologists also hold a Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) granted by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and a license from the Arkansas Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. By virtue of their graduate education, professional certification and licensure, audiologists are the most qualified professionals to perform hearing tests, refer patients for medical treatment and provide hearing rehabilitation services.

  • Comprehensive evaluation and intervention services relative to hearing and hearing disorders for children from birth to age 21
  • Specialties include infant assessment, hearing aids, cochlear implants, educational audiology, assistive technology, parent education/training and family support training
  • EARS (Educational Audiology/Speech Pathology Resources in Schools) helps support students and educators through contracted, school-based services (families can ask their local school district or early childhood program if they use the EARS program or other school-based audiology services)
  • A certified, licensed audiologist is available for each session and a multi-disciplinary team evaluation can be arranged upon request including a pediatric otolaryngologist, geneticist, speech-language pathologist, social worker, psychologists, early intervention, etc.
  • On-site training and continuing professional development can be arranged through contract

Related Services

Hearing Evaluation

At Arkansas Children's, we value parent involvement and strive to provide the most comfortable setting for our evaluations. We encourage the parents to accompany the child to the examination room to make the child feel more at ease.

During the audiological evaluation, the audiologist will obtain background information and other relevant information pertaining to your child. The audiologist will perform the appropriate hearing screening/evaluation tools and/or check of equipment, depending on the individual child’s needs. This will also depend upon whether it is an initial appointment or a follow-up appointment for your child.

Your child may also be seeing an ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat) specialist or receiving a speech and language evaluation, in conjunction with the audiology appointment. You should receive prior notice if your child is scheduled for a speech and language evaluation or with the ENT Clinic. The audiologist will coordinate audiological findings with the ENT physician and/or speech-language pathologist.

After the Evaluation

Following the appointment, the parents can expect to receive a full informational session with the audiologist about their child’s audiological testing and/or amplification equipment. The examiner’s contact information will be given, should the family have any questions regarding the information.

Ask The Experts: All About Audiology and Hearing Screenings

We're talking about the importance of having your child's hearing tested with Dr. Madison Howe, Pediatric Audiologist. Learn what happens during an audiology screening and exam and what other services the audiology team provides.

Possible Conditions

Audiology Clinic appointments are available to your child by physician referral. Talk with your child's physician and tell him/her you would like to be referred to Arkansas Children's. Your child's doctor may contact the scheduling center to make a referral to Arkansas Children's Hospital by calling 501-364-4000 or Arkansas Children's Northwest by calling 479-725-6583. Your physician will need to fax a signed order on the Arkansas Children’s referred ancillary form.

If your child does not have a regular physician, please contact us and we will be happy to recommend one in your area.

  • Director: Patti Freemyer Martin, Ph.D.
  • Audiology Supervisor – Audiology Clinic: Holly Marvin Pruss, Au.D., CCC-A
  • Audiology Supervisor – The EARS Program: Donna Fisher Smiley, Ph.D., CCC-A
  • Speech-Language Pathology Coordinator – The Listening Center: Tracy B. Pate, M.S., CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT
  • Speech-Language Pathology Supervisor – Inpatient: Tommy Naylor, M.S., CCC-SLP
  • Speech-Language Pathology Supervisor – Outpatient: Katie Lienhart, M.S., CCC-SLP
  • Rebecca Atcherson, Au.D., CCC-A
  • Shelby Bellew, Au.D., CCC-A
  • Mary Oliver Coppedge, Au.D., CCC-A (Jonesboro Clinic)
  • McKenzie Csonka, AuD., CCC-A
  • Sue Faulkner, Au.D., CCC-A
  • Kate Frazier, M.S., CCC-A
  • Erica Gardner, AuD., CCC-A
  • Anna Goodman, Au.D., CCC-A (Arkansas Children’s Northwest)
  • Darby Jackson, Au.D., CCC-A
  • Jillian Kimberlain, Au.D., CCC-A
  • Jordan King, Au.D., CCC-A
  • Heidi Lightle, Au.D., CCC-A
  • Madison Mitchell, Au.D., CCC-A
  • Jessica Newman, Au.D., CCC-A
  • Elizabeth Raines, Au.D., CCC-A
  • Jennifer Rigsby, Au.D., CCC-A
  • Christina Sanderson, Au.D., CCC-A
  • Rachel Sievers, Au.D., CCC-A
  • Jan Stroud, Au.D., CCC-A
  • Jessica Tillman, Au.D., CCC-A
  • Steve Upson, Au.D., CCC-A
  • Carly Verucchi, AuD., CCC-A
  • Joanna Wakefield, Au.D., CCC-A (Arkansas Children’s Northwest)
  • Breanne Witherspoon, AuD., CCC-A (Arkansas Children's Northwest)

    Speech-Language Pathologists

  • Kristin Appler, M.S., CCC-SLP
  • Merideth Birginske, M.S., CF-SLP
  • Karen Bright, M.S., CCC-SLP
  • Linzi Cobb, M.S., CCC-SLP
  • Lana Eggleston, M.A., CCC-SLP
  • Chelcie Ford, M.S., CCC-SLP
  • Sarah Ford, M.S., CCC-SLP
  • Krisi Gable, M.S., CCC-SLP
  • Lauren Hickey, M.S., CCC-SLP
  • Brandi Hurtado, M.S., CCC-SLP
  • Evie Inboden, MCD, CCC-SLP (Arkansas Children’s Northwest)
  • Amber Kiefer, M.S., CCC-SLP
  • Sarah Lanning, M.S., CCC-SLP (Arkansas Children’s Northwest)
  • Andrea Long, MCD, CCC-SLP (Arkansas Children’s Northwest)
  • Claire Mays, M.S., CCC-SLP
  • Drew Morse, M.S., CCC-SLP
  • Melanie Morse, M.S., CCC-SLP
  • Beth Nutt, M.S., CCC-SLP
  • Ashley O'Neill, M.S., CCC-SLP
  • Emily Pankey, M.S., CF-SLP
  • Shameka Reeves, M.S., CCC-SLP
  • Amy Sanders, M.S., CCC-SLP
  • Amy Schluterman, M.S., CCC-SLP
  • Krista Scruggs, M.S., CCC-SLP
  • Miriam Stafford, M.S., CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT (Arkansas Children’s Northwest)
  • Erika Studer, M.S., CCC-SLP
  • Ashlen Thomason, M.S. CCC-SLP
  • Allison Thornton, M.S., CCC-SLP
  • Madeline Wagnon, M.S., CFY-SLP
  • Mary West, M.S., CCC-SLP

    Clinical/Administrative Support Staff

  • Sheri Bentley (Audiology Technician)
  • Rodney Bradford (Project Coordinator)
  • Nyla Harlen-Cohn (Administrative Assistant)
  • Katie Liszewski (Audiology Technician)
  • Elizabeth Patton (Administrative Assistant)


All Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists are licensed by the Arkansas Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

If you would like to contact a member of our staff via email you may do so by e-mailing audiospeech@archildrens.org.

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Diagnostic Tests

Possible Treatments

Audiology Clinic - EARS Program Playlist

Get quick tips to troubleshoot common problems with amplification and other hearing issues from the audiology team at Arkansas Children's. This video playlist covers the following topics: FM and DM, Hearing Aid tips, BAHA and BAI, BiCROS and CROS plus more. 

  • Educational Audiology and Speech Pathology Resources for Schools (EARS)

    EARS is an outreach service of Arkansas Children's designed to provide educational audiology/speech-language pathology for school districts, educational cooperatives, preschool programs and other educational settings in order to address the needs of students with hearing loss and other auditory disorder

    Explore

Recommended resources for children with hearing loss:

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