# Effects of input quality on ASL vocabulary acquisition in deaf children

> **NIH NIH R01** · BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS) · 2021 · $247,500

## Abstract

The goal of the parent grant is to understand how language input during early childhood affects vocabulary
acquisition in American Sign Language (ASL). As part of the parent grant, we have developed three ASL
assessments for young deaf children. One was originally intended to be delivered online and made publicly
available as a major initiative in the parent grant (the ASL-CDI 2.0), and the other two were intended to be
delivered in person (the EEAT and the ERAT). Because of COVID-19, administering the EEAT and ERAT has
become unwieldy, and an alternate method of delivering them is needed. As part of an NSF-funded project, we
already developed a platform called SignLab for collecting and coding video data for a specific research study.
The specific aims of the supplement are 1) to use the code base from SignLab to convert it from a single-use
product to a platform that researchers could use to collect and code video data of all kinds, 2) to use SignLab
to deliver the EEAT and ERAT, and 3) to enable researchers and clinicians to access, administer, and track
results from the EEAT and ERAT. This software will serve two purposes. It will remove significant barriers in
the field of sign language research, making it much more efficient to develop large-scale machine-readable
sign language datasets. Additionally, the vast majority of deaf children are at risk for delayed language
acquisition, and making the EEAT and ERAT widely accessible will help clinicians, states, and researchers
identify language delays early when interventions are most effective.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10404733
- **Project number:** 3R01DC018279-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS)
- **Principal Investigator:** Naomi K. Caselli
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $247,500
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-05-08 → 2025-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10404733

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10404733, Effects of input quality on ASL vocabulary acquisition in deaf children (3R01DC018279-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10404733. Licensed CC0.

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