Helping at-risk infants learn words by encouraging them to look at a speaker's mouth
Looking and Language (LoLa)
This project will teach infants who have an older autistic sibling to look at a speaker's mouth during play to help them pick up new words more easily.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Father Flanagan's Boys' Home NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boys Town, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11468375 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If your infant joins, clinicians will use a play-based language program that sometimes moves the toy or object being named close to the speaker's mouth to encourage watching lips and faces. Children will be randomly assigned to receive this audiovisual cueing version or the same language program without the mouth-focused cue. The team will enroll about 60 infants who have an older sibling with autism and follow their language learning over time. Measures will track word learning and early language milestones to see which approach helps more.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Infants who have an older sibling diagnosed with autism, especially those in the early stages of language development, are the ideal candidates.
Not a fit: Children without a family history of autism or older children beyond the early sensitive period for language may be unlikely to benefit from this specific pre-emptive approach.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could boost early word learning and improve longer-term language outcomes for infants at risk for autism.
How similar studies have performed: Short-term trainings using mouth-focused cues have increased word learning in autistic preschoolers for taught words, but applying this as a pre-emptive intervention in infants is a newer approach.
Where this research is happening
Boys Town, United States
- Father Flanagan's Boys' Home — Boys Town, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Feldman, Jacob I — Father Flanagan's Boys' Home
- Study coordinator: Feldman, Jacob I
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.