Research
Our Primary Goal
The iTOYS Lab aims to find better strategies to help children who struggle with communication development learn language more effectively and efficiently.
DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, OUR FACE-TO-FACE RESEARCH HAS BEEN PAUSESD. THERE ARE NO OPEN STUDIES IN THIS LAB AT THIS TIME.
Some Past Research
Along with other researchers, Dr. Meyers-Denman's published research findings include:
- Toddlers with delayed vocabulary development for no known cause ("late-talkers") can learn words at a rate comprable to peers without language delays when provided targeted therapy based on the best available research.
- Preschool age children with developmental language disorder (DLD) who struggle to develop spoken grammar skills by 4-5 years old can learn those skills more efficiently when provided with a type of therapy called Enhanced Conversational Recast.
- Another study showed that Enhanced Conversational Recast can work just as well when it is provided in one "dose" during a single intervention session or when spread across a day in smaller "doses".
- Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) who are most likely to benefit from Enhanced Conversational Recast treatment are 4- and 5-year-olds who have receptive vocabulary in the average range and have less severe, though still disordered, expressive grammar skills. Research regarding who language treatments are most likely to work well for is an important aspect of treatment research.