SBIR-STTR Award

The objective is to demonstrate the feasibility of an individually administered test for identifying children who have phonological processing difficulties. Phonological processing difficulties refer to problems in processing oral or written language due to an insensitivity to the sound structure of language. A large literature base suggests that difficulty in phonological processing is the most widely agreed upon cause of reading-related learning disabilities and other kinds of early reading difficulties. However, an effective and practical individually administered test of phonological processing skills has yet to be published. Such a test should be of considerable use to school psychologists, reading specialists, and other special student services personnel in the identification of children whose decoding deficits can be traced to phonological processing difficulties. The specific aim of Phase I is to demonstrate the feasibility of a comprehensive test of phonological processing for children in grades one through six.Awardee's statement of the potential commercial applications of the research: The test should see wide use in the evaluation of children with reading-related learning disabilities and other kinds of reading problems. Reading problems represent the most common reason for referral for evaluation by multidisciplinary evaluation teams. No currently available test or set of tests duplicate the capabilities of the proposed test.National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Phase II will continue to revise, standardize and evaluate a comprehensive test of phonological processing abilities with respect to their ability to predict reading difficulties, dyslexia or other language-related learning disabilities. Their goal is publication and eventual marketing of such as comprehensive test. The specific aims of the application include:(a) revision of test and review of the optimal subtest structure for their test;(b) completion of final item selection, standardization and item-response theory modelling of the test; and(c) evaluation of the reliability and validity of the test with K-1 children, with 2-3 children and with college age adults.National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)