Predicting Developmental Language Delay in Young Children
Official title: A unique exploration of developmental language disorder
Funded at University of Delaware · NIH-11427586 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A study of young children to identify early signs that predict developmental language delay, using timing and processing measures from two new language screening tools.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Delaware NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Newark, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | September 1, 2026 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $424,628 |
| NIH project number | 1R21HD122966-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11427586 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Children aged 2 to 7 years who may be at risk for developmental language delay and their families.
✕Less likely to help
Children without language development concerns or those not participating in screening procedures.
What this research studies
This grant focuses on 2- to 7-year-olds to understand which children are at risk for developmental language delay (DLD). Researchers will look beyond vocabulary size and include how children process language in real time, including reaction time and accuracy on language tasks. The project uses two newly developed screeners, QUILS and QUILS:TOD, to capture more nuanced language processing patterns. Findings could help doctors and teachers identify children who may need early language support.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, results could enable earlier identification and intervention for children at risk of DLD, potentially improving school readiness and communication skills.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work shows that language processing measures can reveal delays not evident from vocabulary scores alone.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Delaware
Newark, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick — University of Delaware
- Study coordinator: Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Retrieval-based Word Learning for Young Children with Developmental Language Disorder
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-
Understanding how infants’ early speech becomes language skills and how it might signal language disorders
This grant studies how a baby’s brain learns sounds in the first year of life and whether early patterns can predict and prevent language disorders.
-
Language in adults with and without Developmental Language Disorder
This grant helps researchers study how language abilities develop and change in adults with and without developmental language disorder to improve understanding and support.
-
Understanding short-term verbal memory in children and adults with Developmental Language Disorder
A study to understand the memory and language links in people with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) across kids and adults.
-
Computer-assisted bilingual vocabulary help for kids with language disorder
A computer-assisted program helps monolingual clinicians teach bilingual Spanish-English vocabulary to emergent bilingual children with developmental language disorder.
-
Caregiver actions that support Spanish development in preschool bilingual children at risk for language disorder
This project looks at which everyday caregiver behaviors help Spanish-speaking preschoolers who are emergent bilinguals and may have Developmental Language Disorder keep and grow their home language.
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.