# Social Rhythmic Entrainment and Language Development in Autism Spectrum Disorders

> **NIH NIH R21** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · 2020 · $163,519

## Abstract

The objective of the proposed project is to examine how visual and vocal social rhythmic
entrainment scaffolds language development in typically developing infants and those at risk
for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD is a common and lifelong neurodevelopmental
disorder characterized by impairments in social communication and repetitive behaviors. Yet,
there is striking heterogeneity in language acquisition in children with ASD. Additionally,
language delays in ASD are often a first concern for parents that their child is not developing as
expected. Elucidating individual differences in language acquisition and promoting meaningful
language development in ASD is of utmost importance because language abilities are linked
with long-term outcome. In typically developing infants, rhythm plays a crucial role in social
communication and language development. This is exemplified by caregivers’ use of highly
rhythmic infant-directed speech and singing to attract and maintain their infants’ attention.
Infants attend to rhythm at multiple levels including the acoustic speech signal (e.g., rhythmic
stress cues) and the social interaction in which speech is embedded (e.g., rhythmically
coordinated eye gaze, gestures, vocalizations). Individual differences in social rhythm sensitivity
may be a marker of social attunement and serve as an important predictor of individual
differences in language development in ASD. This R21 extends our prior work demonstrating
rhythmically entrained eye gaze in typical infants and toddlers to infants at-risk for ASD by
examining rhythmic social visual engagement using novel eye-tracking paradigms (Aim 1) and
rhythmic social vocal engagement based on an innovative marker of speech rhythms (Aim 2).
Moreover, we propose to examine whether visual and vocal social entrainment predict
individual differences in language acquisition (Aim 3). This research is well aligned with NIDCD’s
focus on language acquisition in children with ASD. These findings are expected to provide
preliminary data to guide future longitudinal investigations of social entrainment and language
development in ASD. This research may lead to the development of biomarkers of rhythmic
entrainment that may inform early ASD assessment and diagnosis, as well as intervention
strategies that, if warranted, include rhythm and timing of social interactions as one aspect of
comprehensive language intervention for these children.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9820728
- **Project number:** 5R21DC016710-03
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Miriam Lense
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $163,519
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-12-01 → 2021-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9820728

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9820728, Social Rhythmic Entrainment and Language Development in Autism Spectrum Disorders (5R21DC016710-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9820728. Licensed CC0.

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