# Developing a caregiver-administered word learning treatment for children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)

> **NIH NIH K18** · UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS LAWRENCE · 2022 · $196,759

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
It takes an average of 17 years for best practices to be incorporated into everyday clinical practice. This
research-to-practice gap is shocking and is a major barrier to improving the lives of individuals with
communication disorders. One critical research-to-practice barrier is that most clinical research is done in
academic settings, rather than in everyday settings. This has led to evidence-based procedures that are not
feasible in the real word. The goal of this K18 award is to improve the candidate's skills in implementation
science (the study of methods to promote the integration of evidence-based practices into everyday settings)
and move her research into closing the research-to-practice gap. In terms of training objectives, the candidate
will complete an online graduate certificate in implementation science and will work with mentors and
colleagues at the Juniper Gardens Children's Project to gain skills in conducting high quality community-
engaged implementation research. In terms of research, children with Developmental Language Disorder
(DLD) are slower to learn new words than their peers, placing them at risk for school failure. Book reading is an
effective way to teach new words to children with DLD and potentially can be scaled to meet the pressing need
for continual word learning in this group. Specifically, a program that trains caregivers (e.g., parents) to teach
new words through book reading and provides a monthly set of books and teaching materials has the potential
to be cost effective and have far-reaching benefits: The caregiver can regularly teach their child new words.
The proposed preliminary clinical trial takes a first step towards this long-term goal by developing a caregiver-
administered book reading treatment aimed at pre-kindergarten children at-risk for DLD. Forty children with
DLD and their caregivers will participate in a summer book reading program across three phases: (1) a 4-week
period where they are provided with books with highlighted vocabulary words and a reading log (baseline
phase to document typical reading and teaching behaviors); (2) a 4-week period where they receive training,
support, books, and teaching materials (implementation phase); (3) a 4-week period where they receive
books and teaching materials to examine their ability to continue the program (sustainability phase). Aims 1
and 2 determine whether caregivers increase the treatment dose (the number of times words are taught during
book reading) and dose frequency (the number of times a book is read) in implementation and sustainment
relative to baseline. Aim 3 will use surveys, interviews, and field notes to determine what caregivers find to be
easy or difficulty about the treatment, especially in terms of dose and dose frequency. Aim 4 will determine
whether child word learning varies by caregiver dose and/or dose frequency. This research advances our
understanding of what aspects of treatment (dose or dose frequency) ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10427426
- **Project number:** 5K18DC019615-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS LAWRENCE
- **Principal Investigator:** Holly L Storkel
- **Activity code:** K18 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $196,759
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-07-01 → 2022-08-02

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10427426

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10427426, Developing a caregiver-administered word learning treatment for children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) (5K18DC019615-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10427426. Licensed CC0.

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