# Sensory Project in Infant/Toddler Siblings of Children with Autism (Project SPIS)

> **NIH NIH R01** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · 2024 · $637,830

## Abstract

Abstract
 Individuals with autism experience challenges in developing language that impact their long-term social,
academic, and vocational success. Previous research has identified several predictors of language in children
with autism, but even when these predictors are considered, a large amount of the variance in language
remains unexplained. Importantly, many children with autism still do not develop “useful speech” or language
ability, despite receiving interventions that target these previously-identified predictors. Thus, there is a
pressing need to identify novel predictors of language in children with autism.
 It has been proposed that differences in sensory responsiveness may emerge early in life from altered
brain states and impact a child's ability to engage with others in their environment, thereby producing
“cascading effects” on language acquisition in children affected by autism. If this is the case, intervening upon
early sensory responsiveness may translate to improved language outcomes, by influencing brain states and
boosting engagement in this population. Although intuitively appealing, given our understanding of the
precedence and possible “foundational” nature of early sensory development relative to the emergence of
“higher-level” language skill, evidence for the cascading effects theory to date has been rather limited.
 A primary challenge to establishing the aforementioned links is that autism cannot always be reliably
diagnosed in the earliest stages of life (i.e., in infancy and toddlerhood). A potential solution is to prospectively
follow infants and toddlers known to be at high likelihood for a future diagnosis of autism and language
disorder. The Sensory Project in Infant/Toddler Siblings of Children with Autism (Project SPIS) scales up a
prior NIDCD-funded R21 (R21DC016144; PI: Woynaroski) in a comprehensive test of the cascading effects
framework in infant and toddler siblings of children with autism (Sibs-AUT), approximately one-third of whom
will go on to be diagnosed with autism or language disorder, and infants at relatively lower, general population-
level likelihood of these conditions (younger siblings of typically developing children; Sibs-TD).
 NOVELTY AND IMPACT: This innovative and interdisciplinary project is expected to further elucidate
the nature of longitudinal links between a potentially tractable, but relatively understudied factor (early sensory
responsiveness) and language in infants at elevated and lower, general population-level likelihood of autism. If
our hypotheses are born out, findings of the study will lay the foundation for a clinical trial that will examine the
efficacy of a targeted treatment of sensory function for distal effects on language as mediated by more
proximal effects on resting brain states and engagement in infants at high likelihood for autism. This work is
expected to facilitate earlier identification of language impairments and point towards novel targets of early
“p...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10871693
- **Project number:** 5R01DC020186-03
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Tiffany Woynaroski
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $637,830
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-16 → 2027-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10871693

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10871693, Sensory Project in Infant/Toddler Siblings of Children with Autism (Project SPIS) (5R01DC020186-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10871693. Licensed CC0.

---

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