Longitudinal Pathways of Sign Language Development in Deaf Children
Official title: Longitudinal Pathways of Sign Language Development: Tracking Growth and Intervention Outcomes in Deaf Children
Funded at University of Tennessee Knoxville · NIH-11430402 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project follows signing deaf children over several years to understand how sign language growth relates to later reading and writing skills and how a structured intervention called SISI supports that growth.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Tennessee Knoxville NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Knoxville, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2026 |
| Project end | June 30, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $538,934 |
| NIH project number | 1R01DC024167-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11430402 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are deaf or hard-of-hearing children aged 4–10 who use sign language and are enrolled in one of the participating programs.
✕Less likely to help
Children outside the 4–10 age range or not using sign language may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
If you have a child who uses sign language and is between about 4 and 10 years old, this study will track their sign language development over four years across multiple programs for deaf children. Researchers will collect language samples twice a year and apply a Sign Language Complexity Assessment to see how signing skills evolve. They will also examine how factors like language background, any additional disabilities, and how faithfully the intervention is delivered influence progress toward literacy. The goal is to identify growth patterns and modifiable factors that could improve discourse in sign language and translation to written English.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could inform better sign language instruction and intervention strategies that support literacy outcomes for Deaf children.
How similar studies have gone: This approach builds on prior long-term sign-language and literacy research, extending it to a systematic, multi-site cohort with a specific discourse-focused intervention.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Tennessee Knoxville
Knoxville, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Holcomb, Leala — University of Tennessee Knoxville
- Study coordinator: Holcomb, Leala
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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.