Understanding How Language And Reading Problems Develop: A Population-based Longitudinal Study From Infancy To Age 7
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$667,507.00
Summary
Early language and reading problems are common and therefore significant public health problems. They are disabling and have life-long implications for oral and written communication skills, social and emotional well-being, cognition, behaviour, academic achievement and employment. This study will address the following three problems: 1. To date no study has documented how language and reading problems develop from infancy (8 months) through to school age (7 years). 2. Little is known about risk ....Early language and reading problems are common and therefore significant public health problems. They are disabling and have life-long implications for oral and written communication skills, social and emotional well-being, cognition, behaviour, academic achievement and employment. This study will address the following three problems: 1. To date no study has documented how language and reading problems develop from infancy (8 months) through to school age (7 years). 2. Little is known about risk factors, identified early in infancy and childhood, that can be reliably used to predict language and reading problems later in childhood. 3. The relationships between language difficulties and reading problems are poorly understood. Therefore, we currently have no satisfactory methods for reliably detecting which children at much younger ages are at risk of later language disorders or reading problems. Without this information it is impossible to develop effective prevention and early intervention programs. These programs are critical if we are to: a) Prevent language and reading problems from occurring, thereby reducing the prevalence of the problem b) Intervene early in childhood, thereby reducing in the longer term the burden and cost associated with language and reading problems. The proposed study builds on an existing substantial investment by the NHMRC in the Early Language in Victoria Study (ELVS). It will provide a world-first description of the evolution of language difficulties and reading problems from infancy through to school age within a single population cohort.Read moreRead less
Predictors And Correlates Of Developmental Language Problems: A Longitudinal Study From Infancy To Pre-school Age
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$537,750.00
Summary
Language impairment is a disabling condition, thought to affect between 7% and 15% of 4 year old children. It has serious and lasting implications for social and emotional development, cognition, behaviour and literacy. A link has been demonstrated between language impairment and later psychiatric disorders in adolescence and adulthood. Given the potential of enhancing the language development of young children, it is critical that effective prevention and early intervention programs are availab ....Language impairment is a disabling condition, thought to affect between 7% and 15% of 4 year old children. It has serious and lasting implications for social and emotional development, cognition, behaviour and literacy. A link has been demonstrated between language impairment and later psychiatric disorders in adolescence and adulthood. Given the potential of enhancing the language development of young children, it is critical that effective prevention and early intervention programs are available. However, current knowledge is liminted in that there are no entirely satisfactory methods for detecting children who at much younger ages, 8 months, 12 months, 2 years and 3 years, are at risk of later impairment. In this study we aim to: examine the risk factors (many are thought to exist) that contribute to language impairment learn more about the natural history of this disabling disorder in children between 8 months and 4 years of age Ultimately, we aim to identify early signs that might warn health professionals and parents of language impairment so that such problems can be detected much earlier. Early identification will mean that help is available at an earlier age to children who currently go on to have persisting and extremely disabling language impairment.Read moreRead less
Centre For Research Excellence In Childhood Language
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,485,324.00
Summary
Although most children acquire speech and language skills comparatively effortlessly, it has become increasingly apparent that many do not. More importantly, this sizeable group accounts for great subsequent population health, social and economic burden. Research in the field has been underfunded and fragmented, resulting in evidence gaps, limited capacity, and disparate guidance for policy-makers. We will address these issues, acting as a vehicle and an ongoing catalyst for internationally-comp ....Although most children acquire speech and language skills comparatively effortlessly, it has become increasingly apparent that many do not. More importantly, this sizeable group accounts for great subsequent population health, social and economic burden. Research in the field has been underfunded and fragmented, resulting in evidence gaps, limited capacity, and disparate guidance for policy-makers. We will address these issues, acting as a vehicle and an ongoing catalyst for internationally-competitive research.Read moreRead less
How Language Develops, What Goes Wrong, And Why It Matters: Following The Early Language In Victoria Study To Age 13
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$857,242.00
Summary
One in five children start school with low language. Little is known about the long term effects on developmental, educational attainment and other outcomes later in life. In this landmark study we will track the children's language, literacy and wellbeing from ages 8 to 12 years. We will capture the children's ability as they finish their primary school education and prior to the crucial transfer to high school.
Understanding Childhood Speech And Language Disorders: What Goes Wrong, When And Why It Matters?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$466,849.00
Summary
My vision for the next five years is to improve greatly the diagnosis, prevention and management of childhood communication impairments. Making a difference for these children and their families means improving our understanding of how speech and language develops, what goes wrong, when, and why it matters. My research program will target each of these topics and outline a plan for translation, that is how to get the new knowledge and best evidence into practice.
Neural Mechanisms Of Language Facilitation In Aphasia Due To Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$523,192.00
Summary
This project will assess the underlying neural mechanisms by which neurostimulation improves impaired language functions after stroke (aphasia). This will be accomplished by using a novel combination of functional magnetic resonance imaging and simultaneous transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) administered to different brain regions. These studies will provide crucial information necessary to optimise future clinical trials that combine tDCS with language therapy.
Auditory Processing Deficits In Specific Language Impairment And Specific Reading Disability:Their Effects And Treatment
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$314,250.00
Summary
One possible cause of specific language impairment (SLI) and specific reading disability (SRD; commonly known as dyslexia) is an inability to discriminate between sounds. Such an impairment could affect the ability to discriminate between simple speech sounds (phonemes) which are the basic building blocks for developing spoken language and reading skills. How many children with SLI or SRD have poor sound discrimination? What pattern of spoken language and reading impairments do these children ha ....One possible cause of specific language impairment (SLI) and specific reading disability (SRD; commonly known as dyslexia) is an inability to discriminate between sounds. Such an impairment could affect the ability to discriminate between simple speech sounds (phonemes) which are the basic building blocks for developing spoken language and reading skills. How many children with SLI or SRD have poor sound discrimination? What pattern of spoken language and reading impairments do these children have as a result of this impairment? Can poor sound discrimination be fixed? If it can, does it improve spoken language and reading impairments? And if it does, does it have an immediate effect or does it take some time to make a difference? These are some of the questions that will be addressed by this research. The answers will help us develop a training program that focuses specifically on improving the sound discrimination abilities of children who really need it. This will be a more efficient and inexpensive (if not free) than the Fast ForWord program that trains multiple non-verbal and verbal processing abilities regardless of whether a child has an impairment in all (or any) of these abilities and is therefore time consuming (approximately 80 hours) and expensive (approximately $AUD2000). The data will also help up better identify the spoken and written language profiles that characterise children who have sound discrimination deficits so we can better predict whether they would benefit from training programs such as Fast ForWord. And the data will tell use whether impaired sound discrimination can be used to predict whether infants might be at risk for later spoken language and reading problems.Read moreRead less
Up to 40% of stroke survivors have aphasia (disturbance or loss of language) and of these, 60% will still be aphasic 12 months post-onset. Up until now, it has not been possible to predict aphasia recovery or response to treatment. This research will use clinical measures and brain imaging to develop better predictors of aphasia recovery.