Symbolic understanding in early development: examining links between speech, comprehension, gesture, and play

Active Project Grant Awarded Last action

Award ID
F32HD122514
Recipient
Awarding agency
Obligated
$78,880

Award facts

Assistance listing
93.865 Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research
Completion date 0% complete
Place of performance
Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

Award details come from USAspending.gov.

Description

As the agency reported it.

Abstract
After just a single year of life, children begin to speak and understand many words. Although these developmental changes are both robust and universal, the cognitive systems that support this rapid language growth remain poorly understood. One promising mechanism that may contribute to the CO-development of these milestones is the emergence of early forms of symbolic representation, or the understanding that one entity can be used to represent another. Indeed, the act of speaking may both reflect and enhance a child's understanding that words are symbols used to convey meaning, thereby increasing a child's attention to the spoken words of others, and leading to a boost in comprehension. Drawing on the candidate's extensive training in speech-language pathology, cognitive science, and speech and hearing sciences, while also deepening her foundational knowledge of developmental science and applying cutting-edge analytical approaches, the present proposal asks critical and novel questions about the directionality, strength, order, and real-time coordination among early speech production, language comprehension, and two indicators of early symbolic representation: gesture and play. Using complementary but independent methodologies, the proposal will accomplish the following aims: aim 1: characterize the relationship between speech, comprehension, and symbolic understanding across long- and short-range timescales, including in ecologically-valid settings. Aim 2: probe the links among, and short-term modifiability of, speech, comprehension, and symbolic understanding, through sensitive lab-based measures. This proposal uses corpus-based (observational and caregiver report; aim 1) and lab-based (experimental; aim 2) approaches to provide nuanced insights into the mechanisms supporting early communication development. The training plan will support the candidate's fellowship goals of broadening foundational knowledge in developmental psychology, building skills related to state-of-the-art data collection and analysis techniques, and expanding the candidate's professional network beyond a currently clinically-oriented mentorship team. The training environment is ideal for carrying out the proposal given the lab, department, institution, and cross-institution expertise and collaboration in place. The research will address critical gaps in knowledge related to language development by clarifying the links between early speech, comprehension, and symbolic understanding. IT will also lay the groundwork for future clinical translation aimed at improving early identification and intervention approaches for relevant populations, such as autistic children and late talkers.

Quick answers

Who received award F32HD122514?

F32HD122514 was awarded to President And Fellows Of Harvard College by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (National Institutes of Health) on December 1, 2026.

How much is award F32HD122514 worth?

$78,880 has been obligated on F32HD122514.

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