# Looking and Language

> **NIH NIH K99** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · 2024 · $129,818

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 Language outcomes are highly heterogenous in autism and can impact long-term psychosocial,
educational, and vocational outcomes for children on the autism spectrum. Thus, there is a pressing need to
identify novel approaches to language intervention, ideally those that can be implemented in early stages of
development, when brain and behavior are most plastic. Many have begun to consider “pre-emptive”
interventions for infants with autistic older siblings (Baby Sibs), who are highly likely be diagnosed with autism
or developmental language disorder themselves.
 The Looking and Language Project (LoLa) seeks to (a) validate a theoretical model of language
development in Baby Sibs, whereby looking to the mouth of a speaker increases later language skill via
caregiver-child engagement and prelinguistic vocal complexity and to (b) systematically test the effects of a
novel intervention that encourages looking to audiovisual speech by moving the referent of interventionist talk
near the mouth (Milieu Teaching-AV).
 I will utilize the K99 portion to conduct a longitudinal correlational study with 52 Baby Sibs and follow them
from 6 months to 15 months. I will additionally use this period to evaluate the feasibility of Milieu Teaching-AV
with this population and assess parent attitudes towards and perceived barriers of “pre-emptive” interventions
for Baby Sibs. The training portion of the K99 will focus on (a) mastering strategies necessary to train coaches
to fidelity on intervention procedures, (b) developing expertise in implementation science methods, and (c)
mastering advanced methodological and statistical approaches to randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
 During the R00 phase, I will evaluate the effects of Milieu Teaching-AV compared to a business as
usual control in 60 Baby Sibs within the context of an RCT. This RCT will examine direct effects on (a) looking
to the mouth of a speaker, (b) caregiver-child engagement, (c) prelinguistic vocal complexity, and (d)
expressive and receptive language. The RCT will also allow for an exploratory look at moderated effects (i.e.,
determining for whom the intervention yields optimal outcomes) of the intervention on the basis of (a) language
ability and (b) caregiver-child engagement at study entry and (c) preliminary autism diagnosis at 15 months.
Additionally, I will evaluate the acceptability of the intervention and outcome measures for key interested
parties, including adolescent and adult siblings of autistic individuals (i.e., grown-up Baby Sibs), autistic-self
advocates, caregivers of autistic children, and community early intervention providers.
NOVELTY AND IMPACT: If my hypotheses are born out, the proposed project will provide empirical support
for a novel approach to preemptive intervention that is acceptable to key interested parties and motivated by
theory and a large extant literature involving autistic children. The results of the RCT will provide the
groundwork for ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10785979
- **Project number:** 1K99DC021501-01
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Jacob I Feldman
- **Activity code:** K99 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $129,818
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-01-05 → 2025-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10785979

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10785979, Looking and Language (1K99DC021501-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10785979. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*