Understanding cognitive processing in children with language disorders
Official title: Nonlinguistic cognitive processing commonalities among linguistically diverse learners with developmental language disorder
Funded at University of Minnesota · NIH-10896362 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This study is looking at how kids aged 5 to 7 with developmental language disorder (DLD) think and process information compared to other kids, especially those who speak different languages like English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, to help improve how we understand and support their needs.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Minnesota NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Minneapolis, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2021 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2024 |
| Award (this year) | $377,313 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DC019613-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-10896362 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates for this research are children aged 5 to 7 years who are either typically developing or diagnosed with developmental language disorder.
✕Less likely to help
Children outside the age range of 5 to 7 years or those without language processing issues may not benefit from this research.
What this research studies
This research investigates how children with developmental language disorder (DLD) process information compared to their peers. It focuses on children aged 5 to 7 from diverse language backgrounds, including English, Spanish-English, and Vietnamese-English speakers. By assessing cognitive skills like processing speed and working memory using nonlinguistic tasks, the study aims to identify common cognitive deficits that could help in diagnosing DLD more accurately. The findings could lead to better diagnostic tools and interventions tailored to the needs of linguistically diverse children.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could improve the accuracy of diagnosing developmental language disorder in children from various linguistic backgrounds.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has shown promise in identifying cognitive processing deficits in children with language disorders, suggesting that this approach could yield valuable insights.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ebert, Kerry Danahy — University of Minnesota
- Study coordinator: Ebert, Kerry Danahy
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Retrieval-based Word Learning for Young Children with Developmental Language Disorder
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Predicting Developmental Language Delay in Young Children
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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.
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Language in adults with and without Developmental Language Disorder
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-
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.
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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.
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.