How people respond when racially and ethnically diverse autistic teens with limited speech try to communicate
Quantifying communicative feedback in racially and ethnically diverse autistic adolescents who are minimally verbal or have language impairment
The project will gather real conversations to learn how others give feedback when racially and ethnically diverse autistic adolescents who are minimally verbal or have language impairments try to communicate.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | San Diego State University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Diego, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11249555 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You or your teen would take part in recorded conversations and natural language samples so researchers can observe how others respond during everyday communication. The team will focus on adolescents from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds who are minimally verbal or have significant structural language challenges. Researchers will analyze interaction patterns and communicative feedback instead of relying only on standard tests. The aim is to build more ecologically valid, culturally informed measures and supports to help with the transition to adulthood.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are racially and ethnically diverse autistic adolescents (approximately ages 12–20) who are minimally verbal or have significant language impairments, and their caregivers when applicable.
Not a fit: Autistic individuals who are fluent speakers, children younger than the adolescent focus, or adults outside the recruitment age range are unlikely to be included or directly benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could produce better ways to measure communication and help design more effective, culturally sensitive supports and services for diverse autistic adolescents with limited speech.
How similar studies have performed: Natural language sampling methods have shown promise for revealing communication differences, but prior work has mainly used non-diverse samples, so applying these methods to racially and ethnically diverse minimally verbal and language-impaired adolescents is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
San Diego, United States
- San Diego State University — San Diego, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Girolamo, Teresa Marie — San Diego State University
- Study coordinator: Girolamo, Teresa Marie
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.