Improving feedback to help children with developmental language disorder
Official title: Optimizing feedback-based learning in children with developmentallanguage disorder.
Funded at Mgh Institute of Health Professions · NIH-11259576 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tries changing when and how feedback is given to help young children with developmental language disorder learn language skills more effectively.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Mgh Institute of Health Professions NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Charlestown, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | February 1, 2023 |
| Project end | January 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $429,523 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DC020735-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11259576 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Children up to about 11 years old diagnosed with developmental language disorder who can attend in-person sessions at the study site are ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Children without developmental language disorder, adults, or those whose language problems are primarily due to other medical or sensory conditions are unlikely to benefit from this specific feedback-focused approach.
What this research studies
As a parent, you would be asked to bring your child with developmental language disorder to therapy sessions where clinicians use different feedback methods. The researchers will compare immediate versus short-delayed feedback and prompt-based active self-correction versus passive corrective input. They will track how these approaches affect children's ability to learn and remember new language forms across multiple sessions. The work focuses on young children (up to about 11 years old) and measures which feedback conditions boost learning.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could make speech-language therapy more effective by matching feedback methods to how children with DLD learn best.
How similar studies have gone: Prior studies indicate feedback timing and active correction can influence learning, but applying these exact strategies to improve language outcomes in DLD is a relatively new approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Mgh Institute of Health Professions
Charlestown, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Arbel, Yael — Mgh Institute of Health Professions
- Study coordinator: Arbel, Yael
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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.