Understanding how children hear and recognize speech in different situations
Official title: CONTRIBUTIONS OF TALKER AND LISTENER FACTORS TO SPEECH PERCEPTION AND FUNCTIONAL HEARING IN CHILDREN
Funded at Father Flanagan's Boys' Home · NIH-11104869 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This study is looking at how things like a speaker's accent and way of talking can make it easier or harder for kids to understand speech in noisy places, and it's designed to help us learn more about how children hear and recognize speech, especially for those who might have hearing difficulties.
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 | May 1, 2025 |
| Project end | April 30, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $726,359 |
| NIH project number | 1R01DC022593-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11104869 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates for this research are children aged 0-11 years who may experience challenges in hearing or speech recognition.
✕Less likely to help
Patients who are adults or do not have any hearing or speech recognition challenges may not benefit from this research.
What this research studies
This research investigates how various factors, such as the speaker's accent and conversational style, affect children's ability to perceive speech in complex listening environments. By studying a diverse group of children, the project aims to gather reliable data on how children recognize speech produced in more natural settings. The research will involve experiments that assess children's speech recognition abilities using different types of speech stimuli, including those from unfamiliar speakers and young children. The goal is to enhance our understanding of auditory development and improve support for children with hearing challenges.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could lead to better strategies for helping children with hearing difficulties improve their speech recognition skills.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has shown success in understanding auditory development, but this approach aims to include a more diverse population and naturalistic speech conditions, making it a novel endeavor.
Where this research is happening
-
Father Flanagan's Boys' Home
Boys Town, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Leibold, Lori J. — Father Flanagan's Boys' Home
- Study coordinator: Leibold, Lori J.
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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.