Understanding how children hear and recognize speech in different situations

CONTRIBUTIONS OF TALKER AND LISTENER FACTORS TO SPEECH PERCEPTION AND FUNCTIONAL HEARING IN CHILDREN

NIH-funded research Father Flanagan's Boys' Home · NIH-11104869

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 typeR01 grant
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionFather Flanagan's Boys' Home NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Boys Town, United States)
Project IDNIH-11104869 on NIH RePORTER

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.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Ideal candidates for this research are children aged 0-11 years who may experience challenges in hearing or speech recognition.

Not a fit: Patients who are adults or do not have any hearing or speech recognition challenges may not benefit from this research.

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 performed: 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

Boys Town, United States

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.