Using generalisation to better treat poor spelling. Spelling is an important skill when expressing one's thoughts in writing and an acute challenge for at least ten per cent of Australian students, who can be years behind in their knowledge. This project will help to improve spelling training by establishing how to facilitate generalisation of spelling knowledge from a learned word to new words.
The early communicative environment prior to and following cochlear implants: impact on children's early communicative and cognitive development. This research with children with cochlear implants will examine the effect on language development of being in an oral environment or one that also includes sign language. The outcomes will provide information for parents and professionals enabling informed decision about the management of the children to promote the best possible outcomes.
Ready, steady, go: Infant motor development and cognition. This project aims to examine the changes in and relationships between cognition and motoric abilities during infancy. The project will utilise well-established and innovative measures of memory flexibility and motor development to generate new knowledge about the complex relationship between action, perception, and cognition. The expected outcomes will provide significant benefits such as increased scientific and public knowledge on earl ....Ready, steady, go: Infant motor development and cognition. This project aims to examine the changes in and relationships between cognition and motoric abilities during infancy. The project will utilise well-established and innovative measures of memory flexibility and motor development to generate new knowledge about the complex relationship between action, perception, and cognition. The expected outcomes will provide significant benefits such as increased scientific and public knowledge on early development and an evidence base on the normal stages of infant development, relevant for health policy.Read moreRead less
The perception/production link in child language. Children with hearing loss experience continuing language difficulties, with major knock-on effects on educational and social outcomes. This project aims to uncover the connected perception and production processes that underpin these language challenges for children with hearing loss, focussing on a speech patterns also found in younger normal-hearing toddlers, and using innovative technologies that can generalize to the clinical practice. The p ....The perception/production link in child language. Children with hearing loss experience continuing language difficulties, with major knock-on effects on educational and social outcomes. This project aims to uncover the connected perception and production processes that underpin these language challenges for children with hearing loss, focussing on a speech patterns also found in younger normal-hearing toddlers, and using innovative technologies that can generalize to the clinical practice. The project outcomes will significantly advance theories of child language development, and promise to inform more accurate and better-targeted intervention for children with hearing loss, providing social benefit by improving their listening and speaking skills.Read moreRead less
Young infants' representations of 'What' and 'Where'. This project will clarify how the world looks though a young infant's eyes by measuring infant brain activity and observing their eye movements. The project will provide scientists and parents with a fuller understanding of what it means to be an infant and what develops between infancy and adulthood.
Understanding genetic and environmental risks of emotional disorders in childhood and adolescence. To reduce the burden of mental health disorders in Australia, this project will advance knowledge on genetic and environmental causes of anxiety and related disorders in children and adolescents. The results will allow better identification of children at risk for emotional problems and will identify new ways of tailoring prevention and treatment.
The emotional health project: understanding and preventing anxiety and depression in girls. To reduce the burden of mental health disorders in Australia, this project will advance knowledge on genetic, cognitive and environmental causes of anxiety and depression in girls. The results will allow better identification of children at risk for emotional problems and will identify new ways of tailoring prevention and treatment.
Computational models of synergies in human language acquisition. How do children learn language? Do they first learn to recognise words and then associate words with meanings, or do they use the meanings to figure out what the words are, or do they do both at the same time, and if so, how? This project will investigate questions like these using advanced computational models of the way children learn from their environment.
Changing the lives of young Australians with emotional disorders using a simple three-step treatment based on cognitive-neuroscience insights. Anxiety and depression are emotional disorders that affect many Australian children and place them at risk of lifelong impairment. The latest evidence from cognitive science and neuroscience shows that these children have maladaptive thinking strategies that lead to avoidance and withdrawal. Capitalising on these basic science insights, this project exami ....Changing the lives of young Australians with emotional disorders using a simple three-step treatment based on cognitive-neuroscience insights. Anxiety and depression are emotional disorders that affect many Australian children and place them at risk of lifelong impairment. The latest evidence from cognitive science and neuroscience shows that these children have maladaptive thinking strategies that lead to avoidance and withdrawal. Capitalising on these basic science insights, this project examines a new treatment, referred to as the 'Emotional Flexibility Program', that targets childhood distress in three simple steps over just four weeks of treatment. This treatment could change the way childhood emotional disorders are treated and prevented, improve the quality of life for thousands of young Australians, and offset the associated economic burden of disease.Read moreRead less
The role of early testosterone and brain laterality in language development. The aim of the project is to provide key insights into how foetal hormone exposure and early brain growth support child language. The specialisation of the left cerebral hemisphere for language function is considered critical to supporting the complexity of human language. There is evidence of sex differences in patterns of brain specialisation, which has led to popular but unsubstantiated hypotheses linking prenatal te ....The role of early testosterone and brain laterality in language development. The aim of the project is to provide key insights into how foetal hormone exposure and early brain growth support child language. The specialisation of the left cerebral hemisphere for language function is considered critical to supporting the complexity of human language. There is evidence of sex differences in patterns of brain specialisation, which has led to popular but unsubstantiated hypotheses linking prenatal testosterone and language development. The project aims to explore this by using innovative neuroimaging, endocrine and genetic techniques to track neurodevelopment longitudinally from prenatal life to three years of age. An important aspect of the project is the anticipated refinement of innovative methods for measuring early human development.Read moreRead less