Federal Project Grant Award Summary

San Jose State University Research Foundation received a $530,367 Project Grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) under the Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders program (CFDA 93.173), effective June 1, 2026, through May 31, 2029. The award funds a research initiative analyzing caregiver linguistic input during remote dialogic book-sharing interventions designed to support language development in toddlers with cleft palate and/or cleft lip (CPL). The research team will conduct language sample analysis of video-recorded parent-child interactions collected at five timepoints from an ongoing randomized controlled trial (BOOST; NCT06338319), transcribing and coding observational data to examine how caregiver speech quantity, responsiveness, and gestural communication—including deictic gestures—change throughout the intervention and relate to improvements in expressive and receptive language outcomes for children with CPL.

This mechanistic study addresses a critical gap in understanding how parent-mediated interventions support language development in children with CPL, a congenital condition affecting approximately 1 in 1,050 U.S. infants. By uniquely incorporating gestural communication data alongside traditional audio-only language measures, the research will evaluate specific caregiver-mediated mechanisms and provide clinical evidence to optimize intervention approaches for this population. The project deliverables include peer-reviewed publications and findings that will clarify effective caregiver communication strategies for supporting language development in toddlers with speech and language delays associated with cleft conditions.