If your family is interested in participating in any of our current studies, please contact us using the information below.  We look forward to hearing from you!

Despite a national emphasis on science proficiency, many students do not perform well in science. In fact, only 41% of typically developing 4th graders – and only 18% of 4th grade students with disabilities – were deemed Proficient in science by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (U.S. Dept. of Education, 2015). This includes students with Developmental Language Disorder, who often fall behind their peers in vocabulary knowledge and academic achievement. 

What if our students struggle with science, in part, because they do not understand the words used to talk about science? 

Statistical learning is a powerful learning mechanism that allows individuals to learn patterns in their environment rapidly and with minimal effort. We know little about how children's unique cognitive skills (attention, working memory) impact their statistical learning outcomes, but improving our understanding of this could support the development of more individualized language interventions based on learners' unique cognitive skills.

Purpose of the Study:

Word knowledge is critical for speaking, reading and writing, yet a substantial proportion of children with language impairment have poor vocabularies. Because vocabulary has a causal relationship with reading comprehension, this presents a significant educational concern. To develop effective interventions we require a clearer understanding of the deficits underlying poor word learning.

Our hypothesis is that successful word learning depends on the contribution and interaction of working memory components and that word learning variability is directly related to a child’s working memory profile.

• To test this hypothesis we developed and tested a fun, computerized, game-based comprehensive working memory battery for children that assessed visual, spatial, auditory, and central executive working memory functions in relation to children’s word learning ability.

• Five groups of second graders participated: children with typical development who speak English or Spanish as their primary language, children with dyslexia, children with language impairment, and children with dyslexia and language impairment. All children were between the ages of 7-9.

• Participation consisted of six to eight one hour sessions. During the first few sessions, we administered standardized assessments to each child to test their cognitive and language abilities. After these sessions, the children played touchscreen computer games about pirates.

The POWWER Study was done in collaboration with Arizona State University and Massachusetts General Hospital and funded by NIH-NIDCD R01 DC010784.

Aunque hay algunas investigaciones con familias que hablan español/español-inglés, necesitamos más investigación para descubrir cómo hacer que los tratamientos de aprendizaje de palabras sean los mejores para familias latinas. En este estudio, queremos ver qué tan bien podemos capacitar a las familias que hablan español/español-inglés para que brinden este tratamiento de aprendizaje de palabras a sus niños pequeños que tardan en hablar con apoyo de tutoría virtual. También queremos saber qué debemos cambiar para que sea culturalmente y lingüísticamente apropiado para las familias actuales y futuras.

Este estudio está financiado por la ASHFoundation Student Research Grant in Early Childhood Language Development.

Although there is some research with Spanish/Spanish-English speaking families, we need more research to find out how to make word-learning treatments the best for Latine families. In this study, we want to see how well we can train Spanish/Spanish-English speaking families to provide this word-learning treatment to their late talking toddlers with virtual coached support. We also want to know what we need to change to make it culturally and linguistically appropriate for current and future families.

This study is funded by the ASHFoundation Student Research Grant in Early Childhood Language Development.