SBIR-STTR Award

Language delays are pervasive among school-age children. Remarkably, two thirds of children identified as specific language impaired upon entry into school have neither been identified previously nor have received any form of language intervention during their preschool years. Given this large number of school-age children with previously unidentified language impairments, there is a clear need to develop intervention programs designed specifically to meet the needs of this population, i.e., intervention designed to promote development of the more advanced syntactic constructions that are generally missing from the grammar of these children. We propose to develop language intervention software designed to promote syntactic development in school-age children (5-12 years old). The curriculum will be derived from contemporary linguistics as described by the Principles and Parameters Model of Universal Grammar, which suggests important ways in which the treatment of children with language disrobers may be improved and more successful outcomes achieved. The software will include an artificial intelligence component capable of generating individualized lessons based on emerging competencies. Our Phase I objective is to develop prototype software for introducing the syntax of interrogative operators. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION Speech-Language pathologists, teachers, and parents recognize the importance of intervention when a child's language status is impaired and such intervention is mandated by Federal law. We anticipate that a computer-based intervention system to facilitate advanced language development in school-age children will be a commercial success and will fulfill an unmet need for individualized services

This proposal requests SBIR Phase II support to complete and field test language intervention software designed to promote syntactic development in school-age children (5-12 years old). Language delays are pervasive among school-age children. What's more, two thirds of children identified as having language-specific impairments previously nor have received any form of language intervention during their preschool years. Consequently, there is a clear need to develop language intervention strategies designed specifically to meet the needs of this population; that is, intervention designed to promote development of the more advanced syntactic constructions typically missing from the grammar of these children. In Phase I, a curriculum was developed for introducing the syntax of interrogative operators. Curriculum design was guided by contemporary linguistic research, which suggests ways in which treatment may be improved and more successful outcomes achieved. Software was developed to deliver parts of this curriculum, and was integrated with an artificial intelligence component capable of generating individualized lessons based on emerging competencies. Twenty-six kindergartners used the software successfully during field- testing. In Phase II these efforts will be expanded by developing an integrated series of language intervention modules and verifying that the modules are effective under typical classroom conditions. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: Speech-language pathologists, teachers and parents recognize the importance of intervention when a child's language status is impaired, and such intervention is mandated by Federal Law. As such, we anticipate that our computer-based language intervention system, designed to facilitate language development in school-age children, will be a commercial success and will fulfill an unmet need for individual services.

Thesaurus Terms:
computer assisted instruction, computer program /software, educational resource design /development, language development, language disorder, middle childhood (6-11), syntax artificial intelligence, computer system design /evaluation, elementary school, psycholinguistics, speech disorder clinical research, human subject