About ODDACE

ODDACE is pronounced Ìýlike "Odyssey"

The Outcomes and Developmental Data Assistance Center for EHDI Programs (ODDACE) was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under the Notice of Funding OpportunityÌý#CDC-RFA-DD20-2005, NCBDDD Outcomes and Developmental Data Assistance Center for EHDI (ODDACE) Programs from September 1, 2020, to August 31, 2024. The purpose of this center was to expand public health capacity to gather, analyze, and use intervention and developmental outcome data of children who are deaf or hard of hearing between birth and 6Ìýyears of age throughout the United States. The center aimedÌýto increase our understanding of factors that impact the outcomes of children who are deaf or hard of hearing at the state and national level.

The ODDACE assessment offers the following benefits:

  • Includes parent input in the assessment process
  • Measures children’s skills and abilities across a variety of developmental areas
  • Allows parents and interventionists to monitor a child's progress over time and identify potential delays at their onset.ÌýReports of each child's individual results are sent to the interventionist and family for this purpose.
  • Compares language abilities of individual children to hearing peers sinceÌýassessments are standardized and norm-referenced
  • Provides a data-driven approach to making educational programming decisions
  • Assists in the generation of IFSP/IEP goals
  • Provides statewide and program-specific accountability data on an annual basisÌý
  • Allows programs to compare the results ofÌýtheir children to national averages
  • Allows programs to examine outcomes across different subgroups of children
  • Informs professional personnel preparation needs
  • Provides opportunities for networking with program directors and EHDI personnel in other states
  • Gives states an opportunity to contribute to a national database which will allow us to characterize the language strengths and challenges of children with hearing loss and identify factors that are predictive of more successful language outcomes
The results for individual children allow parents and interventionists to monitor a child’s progress over time and identify potential delays at their onset.ÌýAdditionally, results from the assessment data can be used to generate IFSP/IEP goals and to provide a data-driven approach to educational programming decisions.
The use of a standard, nationwide assessment batteryÌýprovides significant benefits to the field of deafness in addition to the general benefits of regular assessment described above.ÌýBy using a common set of assessment tools and joining the CDC-sponsored and endorsed ODDACE project, states can contribute to a national outcomes database that will provide much-needed data on the progress of a large group of young children who are deaf or hard of hearing with varying characteristics.ÌýThis database will allow us to characterize the language strengths and challenges of children with hearing loss and identify factors that are predictive of more successful language outcomes. The identification of key variables that lead to better (or poorer) outcomes for young deaf and hard-of-hearing children will allow early intervention and preschool programs to identify children that may be at higher risk for significant language delays.ÌýIn addition, it will assist intervention and educational programs in designing curriculums that will maximize the success of all deaf and hard-of-hearing children.