Open-language tools to measure adult language skills and detect DLD
Official title: Developing Open-Science Tools to Assess Adult Language Proficiency and Identify DLD: A Community Engaged Approach
Funded at Father Flanagan's Boys' Home · NIH-11448727 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are creating a remote, automated tool to measure language abilities in adults and help identify developmental language disorder (DLD).
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Father Flanagan's Boys' Home NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boys Town, United States) |
| Project start | September 10, 2026 |
| Project end | August 31, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $612,731 |
| NIH project number | 1R01DC023377-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11448727 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults in early to middle adulthood who want to understand their language abilities or who are suspected of having DLD.
✕Less likely to help
People without language concerns may not directly benefit beyond research insights.
What this research studies
If you are an adult who wants a quick, accessible way to understand your language skills, this project aims to provide an easy-to-use online assessment. The tool will be fully remote, lowering costs and removing geography-related barriers to testing. By partnering with community groups and tapping into a long-running study, the team hopes to learn how language develops across adulthood and how genetics might influence it. The goal is to enable large-scale research while making the test available to people who may have DLD or other language differences.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the tool could make language assessment more affordable and accessible, helping people get earlier insights and support.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work shows that remote and automated assessments can effectively measure language skills, though this project expands to adulthood and DLD identification.
Where this research is happening
-
Father Flanagan's Boys' Home
Boys Town, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lancaster, Hope Sparks — Father Flanagan's Boys' Home
- Study coordinator: Lancaster, Hope Sparks
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.