# Experiential and child factors that determine acquisition of orthographic-phonological regularities in a quasi-regular writing system: An integrated behavioral/computational/neurobiological approach

> **NIH NIH P20** · FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $200,000

## Abstract

Project Summary
This P20 proposal responds to the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development (NICHD) invitation for LD Innovation Hubs, FOA (RFA-HD-17-003). This LD Hub
specifically addresses the P20 FOA (RFA-HD-17-003) by addressing issues of etiology, manifestation,
prevention, and remediation of RD and by explicitly responding to the FOA target area 3, “historically
challenging, yet established, research topics involving populations at risk for or diagnosed with one or more
LDs [in our case RD] where progress has been limited despite high public health need.” The overarching
goal of this LD Hub project is to lay the foundation for a generation of research that situates educational
practices (e.g., diagnosis, curriculum, instruction, & intervention) in a novel computational theory of
individual development informed by state of the art computational modeling and neurobiological measures
of development and learning, and conversely, that aligns these theories more closely with the challenges
confronting educators of both typically developing (TD) children and more specifically children with
reading disability (RD). The primary motivation for our Hub is the realization that the next frontier of
scientific work in the field of RD must increase the understanding and integration of the neurobiological
and cognitive underpinnings of word reading performance across the early elementary grade span with
emphasis on factors that explain individual differences, elucidate the complex relationship between
experience and an array of cognitive skills that represent RD, and inform effective instruction and
remediation. The long-term goal of this LD Hub is to develop the next generation of scientifically informed
word-reading interventions required to ameliorate the significant word reading deficits of RD children with
the most intractable learning difficulties (i.e., nonresponders to effective instruction). Within this scientific
framework computational modeling approaches serve a critical connective role in bridging educational and
neurobiological advances. Our Hub therefore adopts an integrated approach to better understand the
neurocognitive bases of individual differences in word reading development in an opaque and quasi-regular
writing system, English. Specifically, our Hub brings together a diverse and talented group of researchers,
mentees, and institutions to examine the experiential (exogenous) and child-specific (endogenous) factors
that determine acquisition of orthographic-phonological (O-P) knowledge at different subword granularities
using behavioral, computational modeling, and neurobiological methods. Findings will enrich
understanding of the processes that influence individual differences in word reading development in TD
and RD children and significantly inform the development of effective curriculums for children who
struggle to learn to read.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10397917
- **Project number:** 3P20HD091013-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Donald L Compton
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $200,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2017-01-01 → 2021-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10397917

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10397917, Experiential and child factors that determine acquisition of orthographic-phonological regularities in a quasi-regular writing system: An integrated behavioral/computational/neurobiological approach (3P20HD091013-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-01 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10397917. Licensed CC0.

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