[R21] Characterizing Multimodal Language Input and Development in DeafBlind Children
Ente: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
Scadenza: 2029-06-30
Importo max: 184.670 EUR
Paese: US
Descrizione
Decades of research in language development demonstrate that the quantity and quality of linguistic input are
powerful predictors of children’s language outcomes across cultures and populations. A growing body of
research also points to the role of direct sensory experience in children’s learning; children are quicker to learn
words whose referents they can perceive through the senses. DeafBlind children, who have reduced access to
both auditory and visual information, provide a natural test case for the role of sensory perception in learning.
Furthermore, because neither spoken nor sign language is fully accessible, DeafBlind children are growing up
with only partial access to the language around them. The amount of language access varies based on
children’s individual hearing and vision levels, combined with the family’s chosen communication strategies. By
studying this unique population, we can thus test the resilience and constraints of the link between language
input and language development. DeafBlind children often experience severe and persistent language delays.
Given the importance of language input for language development, and the role of language in navigating the
world, forming interpersonal relationships, and academic outcomes, it is imperative to better understand the
relationship between DeafBlind children’s language environment, their access to the language in their
environment, and their language outcomes.
In the proposed work, we gather data on the early language input and vocabulary of DeafBlind children, which
in many cases spans multiple languages and multiple language modalities (spoken, signed, tactile). In Aim 1,
we adapt a measure of language input to estimate both the frequencies of language input and the amount of
that input that is perceptually accessible to the DeafBlind child. This will clarify how parents make
communicative decisions for their DeafBlind child, and how parents linguistically adapt to variation in their
child’s visual and auditory ability. To complement this measure, and to capture the moment-to-moment
dynamics of language access, we will curate a multi-modal corpus of naturalistic interactions between
caregivers and their DeafBlind children, focusing on when the referents of caregiver speech are perceptually
accessible to children. A critical next step is to understand how variability in language access relates to
DeafBlind children’s language development. In Aim 2, we measure DeafBlind children’s vocabulary, and link
vocabulary growth to their perceptual abilities and language input. Throughout every step of the process, a
community advisory board—composed of DeafBlind adults, parents of DeafBlind children, and teachers and
clinicians—will be actively involved to ensure the assessments are linguistically appropriate for DeafBlind
children and relevant to the needs of their teachers and educators. Together, these data will provide critical
insights into the early language landscape of DeafBlind chi
Istituzione: UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
PI: Erin Elizabeth Campbell
Progetto: 1R21DC023011-01A1
Settori: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
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