He received a B.S. from Marquette University, a M.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and a Ph.D. from Purdue University, all in the field of communication disorders. His clinical career includes 17 years as a school speech pathologist in Wisconsin and Colorado. Currently, he teaches courses in aural rehabilitation and clinical methods, and conducts research in early speech and language development in young children with hearing loss. David and his wife Peg, an associate professor in educational technology at Purdue University, have four children.