Autism and written narrative: discourse analysis and the characterisation of higher level language disorder phenotypes. This work contributes to the national research priority goal 'A healthy start to life', in advancing our understanding of the language disorder of autism. It is expected to benefit the children, their families and the community in furthering the basic research necessary for the development of new measures of performance, of use in the better assessment of children with language ....Autism and written narrative: discourse analysis and the characterisation of higher level language disorder phenotypes. This work contributes to the national research priority goal 'A healthy start to life', in advancing our understanding of the language disorder of autism. It is expected to benefit the children, their families and the community in furthering the basic research necessary for the development of new measures of performance, of use in the better assessment of children with language disorders and in the design and targeting of intervention programs. This work is cutting edge internationally in the approach it takes to the naturalistic language of children with autism. Hence it will raise the profile of Australia in this research domain.Read moreRead less
Does phonological awareness help children learn to read? An almost universally-accepted view in the field of reading acquisition is that phonological awareness, or the ability to perceive and manipulate speech sounds, causes a child to be good at learning to read. We argue that, despite the voluminous literature on this issue, it has not been conclusively established that such a causal link exists. To do so requires a project, proposed here, in which completely pre-literate children are selec ....Does phonological awareness help children learn to read? An almost universally-accepted view in the field of reading acquisition is that phonological awareness, or the ability to perceive and manipulate speech sounds, causes a child to be good at learning to read. We argue that, despite the voluminous literature on this issue, it has not been conclusively established that such a causal link exists. To do so requires a project, proposed here, in which completely pre-literate children are selected, their phonological awareness measured, and its relationship with subsequent literacy acquisition followed. Settling this issue will have significant consequences for both theory and practice in reading acquisition and dyslexia.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354750
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$20,000.00
Summary
Developmental disorders of language: Causes and treatments. Disorders in the production and comprehension of spoken and written language affect 15% of children and if untreated persist through adulthood. They are powerfully influenced by genetics, but are uniquely dependent on learning. This initiative aims to create a network unique in the world by uniting researchers with expertise in research from infancy through adulthood, in diagnosis and in treatment, in spoken and written production and c ....Developmental disorders of language: Causes and treatments. Disorders in the production and comprehension of spoken and written language affect 15% of children and if untreated persist through adulthood. They are powerfully influenced by genetics, but are uniquely dependent on learning. This initiative aims to create a network unique in the world by uniting researchers with expertise in research from infancy through adulthood, in diagnosis and in treatment, in spoken and written production and comprehension, and in both cognitive and molecular genetic research. A network of research-oriented clinics for the treatment of these disorders will also be established.Read moreRead less
Verbs and coverbs: a cross-linguistic re-analysis of part-of-speech categories. This project will make a significant contribution to the maintenance of Australia's Aboriginal cultural heritage. Aboriginal people consistently identify the maintenance of traditional languages as one of their primary concerns. The project will result in detailed documentation of three endangered Australian languages. The material produced by the project will be an invaluable resource both to linguists international ....Verbs and coverbs: a cross-linguistic re-analysis of part-of-speech categories. This project will make a significant contribution to the maintenance of Australia's Aboriginal cultural heritage. Aboriginal people consistently identify the maintenance of traditional languages as one of their primary concerns. The project will result in detailed documentation of three endangered Australian languages. The material produced by the project will be an invaluable resource both to linguists internationally and to Aboriginal communities, to whom materials will be returned in accessible formats to support language maintenance activities. The project will maintain Australia's momentum at the forefront of digital archiving technology for language documentation. Read moreRead less
Exploring the nature of lexical representation. In order to comprehend and produce the words that we know, whether in speech or in writing, we must possess mental representations of each of those words (i.e., "lexical" representations). The aim of the proposed research is to elaborate on the nature of these representations in an attempt to understand more fully the cognitive mechanisms involved in proficient language use. The central idea to be explored is that underlying all lexical functioning ....Exploring the nature of lexical representation. In order to comprehend and produce the words that we know, whether in speech or in writing, we must possess mental representations of each of those words (i.e., "lexical" representations). The aim of the proposed research is to elaborate on the nature of these representations in an attempt to understand more fully the cognitive mechanisms involved in proficient language use. The central idea to be explored is that underlying all lexical functioning is an abstract phonological representation that is influenced by orthography. Furthermore, the possibility will be examined that poorer readers possess less abstract representations than do better readers.Read moreRead less
A cross-linguistic investigation of lexical stress using corpus analyses, behavioural testing and computational modelling. Some languages exhibit variable patterns of emphasis or 'lexical stress' across words ('ZEbra' v 'girAFFE'). This research will provide a more precise understanding of the role of lexical stress in language processing. This will assist educators/clinicians working with normally developing children and those with developmental delays as well as educators/students in second-l ....A cross-linguistic investigation of lexical stress using corpus analyses, behavioural testing and computational modelling. Some languages exhibit variable patterns of emphasis or 'lexical stress' across words ('ZEbra' v 'girAFFE'). This research will provide a more precise understanding of the role of lexical stress in language processing. This will assist educators/clinicians working with normally developing children and those with developmental delays as well as educators/students in second-language learning. It will also lead to improved automatic speech recognition/synthesis - used in commercial applications such as phone banking, edutainment/epistemic computer games and communication devices (speech-to-text dictation systems for those with limited mobility and text-to-speech systems for those unable to speak). Undertaken in collaboration with a high-profile research lab in the UK this project will maintain Australia's competitive edge in cognitive science.Read moreRead less
An Investigation of Intersubjectivity: Music Therapy and Hospitalised Infants. A contingent relationship is vital for normal infant development. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, which supplies life-saving modern medical technology to very sick infants, is also an environment where contingency is rarely available to the infant . In this environment, a Music Therapist ?improvising? with the infant, can re-introduce contingency to the infant, and encourage infant self-regulation. This project inv ....An Investigation of Intersubjectivity: Music Therapy and Hospitalised Infants. A contingent relationship is vital for normal infant development. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, which supplies life-saving modern medical technology to very sick infants, is also an environment where contingency is rarely available to the infant . In this environment, a Music Therapist ?improvising? with the infant, can re-introduce contingency to the infant, and encourage infant self-regulation. This project investigates the efficacy of a Music Therapy intervention in improving infant health, and micro-analyses the interaction between infant and therapist in order to further understand the nature of the Communicative Musicality of the interaction.Read moreRead less
Emotion development and adolescent depression: An analysis of gender differences. This project will investigate the differing role of empathy and guilt in the development of depression over time. Consistent with Izard's emotion perspective, it is predicted that these emotions will become more strongly correlated with depression in the post-adolescence compared to the pre-adolescent years. This strengthening of association will be most marked for specific sub-groups (e.g. females compared to mal ....Emotion development and adolescent depression: An analysis of gender differences. This project will investigate the differing role of empathy and guilt in the development of depression over time. Consistent with Izard's emotion perspective, it is predicted that these emotions will become more strongly correlated with depression in the post-adolescence compared to the pre-adolescent years. This strengthening of association will be most marked for specific sub-groups (e.g. females compared to males; individuals scoring high on empathy and low on emotion regulation). The expected outcomes will lead to a more sophisticated understanding of the development of depression. They will have significant implications for the development/refinement of preventative/intervention strategies for depression during pre-adolescence.Read moreRead less
A biopsychosocial model of exercise dependence, steroid use and disordered eating among adolescent boys. Recent evidence suggests that hazardous body change strategies adopted by adolescent boys are a major problem. This study validates a biopsychosocial framework to explain the development of exercise dependence, steroid and food supplement use, and disordered eating among at risk adolescent boys. A longitudinal experimental design will be employed. Late maturing boys, who are also less popular ....A biopsychosocial model of exercise dependence, steroid use and disordered eating among adolescent boys. Recent evidence suggests that hazardous body change strategies adopted by adolescent boys are a major problem. This study validates a biopsychosocial framework to explain the development of exercise dependence, steroid and food supplement use, and disordered eating among at risk adolescent boys. A longitudinal experimental design will be employed. Late maturing boys, who are also less popular with peers, are expected to demonstrate high body dissatisfaction, low self-esteem and high negative affect and maladaptive body change strategies. The result of this study will inform treatment programs for these behaviours.Read moreRead less
Augmentation of fear extinction in anxious children through the use of D-Cycloserine. Anxiety disorders affect around a tenth of the population, including children, and produce tremendous personal and social costs. Improving our treatments for anxious children can help to prevent a lifetime of limitations and difficulties. This study will examine whether giving children a small dose of a simple antibiotic can increase the extent to which they lose their fears of specific cues when exposed to tho ....Augmentation of fear extinction in anxious children through the use of D-Cycloserine. Anxiety disorders affect around a tenth of the population, including children, and produce tremendous personal and social costs. Improving our treatments for anxious children can help to prevent a lifetime of limitations and difficulties. This study will examine whether giving children a small dose of a simple antibiotic can increase the extent to which they lose their fears of specific cues when exposed to those cues. These results have the potential to revolutionise our understanding and treatment of child anxiety.Read moreRead less