# The Dynamics of Word Learning in Children with Developmental Language Impairment

> **NIH NIH R01** · FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME · 2021 · $475,771

## Abstract

Primary developmental language impairment (LI) affects over 3 million children in the U.S., many of
whom are disadvantaged socially and academically by small and shallow vocabularies. Currently, little
is known about how the word learning processes of people with LI changes over development. This
critical gap in the knowledge base prevents the design of vocabulary interventions that are
developmentally appropriate. The design of such interventions is the long-term goal. The current
objective is to discover how the word learning of children with LI changes over developmental time. The
central hypothesis is that the challenge of word learning at different ages varies with the word-learning
situation, the component of the word to be learned, and the development of underlying cognitive
mechanisms. The project designed to test this hypothesis compares children with LI to age-mates with
normal language development as they learn and retain new words over the course of one week during
each of four years beginning at age six. This approach is innovative because it departs from the status
quo by examining learning longitudinally. The project involves two specific aims: 1) to establish a
developmental trajectory of word learning associated with LI that determines a) how learning and
development vary with the learning situation and b) how learning and development vary with the
component of the word to be learned; and 2) to specify the cognitive mechanisms underlying this
developmental trajectory. The expected contribution is a more nuanced and comprehensive
understanding of the word learning challenges associated with LI and how these challenges change
during a crucial period, the first years of formal schooling. This contribution is significant because it is
expected to advance and expand understanding of the dynamic interaction between word learning and
cognitive development. Vocabulary interventions are not currently tailored to focus on the most critical
aspects of the problem at the given developmental level of the client with LI because of ignorance
about what is critical and when. By addressing this issue, this project will offer new possibilities for
tailoring preventive and therapeutic interventions in light of the child's developmental needs.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10194443
- **Project number:** 5R01DC011742-10
- **Recipient organization:** FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME
- **Principal Investigator:** Karla McGregor
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $475,771
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2012-01-23 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10194443

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10194443, The Dynamics of Word Learning in Children with Developmental Language Impairment (5R01DC011742-10). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10194443. Licensed CC0.

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