Teaching self-talk to help thinking and attention in children with developmental language disorder
Official title: Training verbal mediation to support executive function in children with developmental language disorder
Funded at Mgh Institute of Health Professions · NIH-11312731 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project teaches school-aged children with developmental language disorder to use self-directed speech to improve switching between tasks and control attention.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Mgh Institute of Health Professions NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Charlestown, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | April 4, 2025 |
| Project end | March 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $195,219 |
| NIH project number | 5R21DC022641-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11312731 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are school-aged children diagnosed with developmental language disorder who have noticeable difficulties with attention, working memory, or switching between tasks.
✕Less likely to help
Children who do not have developmental language disorder or whose thinking difficulties are primarily due to other conditions (for example, severe intellectual disability or uncontrolled autism-related challenges) may not benefit from this approach.
What this research studies
You or your child would learn to use verbal mediation (self-talk) through modeled examples and practice guided by clinicians. Researchers will deliver language-based training that aims to build the habit of talking oneself through tasks without overloading memory or attention. Children’s ability to switch between tasks and perform cognitive flexibility tests will be measured before and after the training. The team compares changes in task performance to understand whether the training helps children with developmental language disorder.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the training could help children with developmental language disorder gain better cognitive flexibility and everyday classroom skills like shifting between activities and following multi-step directions.
How similar studies have gone: Similar language-based and modeling interventions have shown promise in children with typical language development, but this specific verbal mediation approach has not been well tested in children with developmental language disorder.
Where this research is happening
-
Mgh Institute of Health Professions
Charlestown, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Baron, Lauren Scheiper — Mgh Institute of Health Professions
- Study coordinator: Baron, Lauren Scheiper
Related research
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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.