# Speech, Language, and Motor Skills in Late Talkers

> **NIH NIH F32** · BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS) · 2024 · $75,176

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Predicting language outcomes in children referred for early language concerns is a longstanding clinical and
scientific challenge that often results in the delayed implementation of intervention. The overarching hypothesis
of this project is that early motor skills—particularly the relatively under-studied domain of speech motor skills—
are significantly associated with language skills in late talkers and children with typical language development
and can serve as predictors of language outcomes. We will examine relationships among speech, motor, and
language skills in 24-month-old children with and without delayed language development (Aim 1); furthermore,
in the delayed language development group, we will examine relations between speech and motor skills at age
24 months and subsequent expressive language skills at age 36 months (Aim 2). To accomplish these goals, we
will derive a variety of acoustic speech features (to quantify speech precision, consistency, coordination, speed,
and rate) and language features (to quantify lexical-semantic, morphosyntactic, and phonological development)
from audio and video recordings of children participating in a semi-structured play session and a speech
elicitation task. Gross and fine motor skills will also be measured using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning.
Machine learning techniques will then be used to integrate multimethod data (i.e., speech, motor, and language
variables) in examining predictive relationships across domains. The results of this study will directly inform our
understanding of mechanisms underlying communication development and dysfunction and advance a precision
medicine approach to clinical decision-making. Successful completion of the project will (1) yield currently
unavailable and clinically significant information regarding language development and its association with motor
development in children with and without an early language delay; and (2) support the development of valid,
clinically feasible assessment and prognostic procedures. The candidate is a pediatric speech-language
pathologist and clinical researcher with expertise in the instrumental assessment of children’s speech. The
proposed F32 application will provide the candidate with the skills needed to investigate speech, motor, and
language development in pediatric populations through direct training in (1) the collection, analysis, and
interpretation of developmental gross and fine motor data; (2) the collection, analysis, and interpretation of
language features derived from natural language samples; and (3) advanced quantitative methodologies related
to motor analysis, language analysis, and the analysis of complex data.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11068635
- **Project number:** 1F32DC022496-01
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS)
- **Principal Investigator:** Marc Maffei
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $75,176
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-15 → 2025-08-15

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11068635

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11068635, Speech, Language, and Motor Skills in Late Talkers (1F32DC022496-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11068635. Licensed CC0.

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