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Development of an Inclusive and Accessible Grammatical Language Assessment

Award Number: F31HD121262
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: FELLOWSHIP/SCHOLARSHIP/STUDENT LOANS
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 03/01/2027
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/29/2028

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Development of an Inclusive and Accessible Grammatical Language Assessment - PROJECT SUMMARY Adolescents and young adults with Down syndrome (DS) often demonstrate difficulty acquiring language, with particular difficulty understanding grammatical structures (morphosyntax; Martin et al., 2009). Difficulties with morphosyntactic comprehension, among other features of language disorders, can lead to poor educational and social outcomes. Fortunately, such difficulties can be mitigated with language intervention (ASHA, n.d.). However, we lack replicable evidence-based language interventions designed specifically for adolescents and young adults with DS and that target morphosyntactic comprehension. A primary barrier to developing such interventions is that we lack reliable and valid measurement tools. Existing measures of global and receptive language are inadequate because they: (a) do not include individuals with DS in the normative sample, (b) include too few items per skill to adequately evaluate mastery, and/or (c) fail to depict essential grammatical structures due to the limitations of two-dimensional imagery and written test responses. To close this gap, a novel morphosyntactic comprehension tool will be developed using innovative strategies. Individuals with DS will be involved in its conceptualization, development, and creation as co-researchers. This inclusive research approach will center the perspectives and experiences of the individuals the assessment is designed to benefit throughout the development process. The Receptive Morphosyntactic Probe (RMP) will assess understanding of four morphosyntactic structures that are common areas of weakness for children with language disorders. Video-stimuli will be incorporated into the RMP to allow for visually salient depictions of tense morphology. Following its development, the RMP will be administered to thirty-five 10- to 21-year olds with DS at two timepoints, 1-2 weeks apart, along with a battery of speech, language, and cognitive assessments. The first aim of the study is to determine the reliability of the RMP by assessing its test-retest, inter-rater, and internal consistency reliabilities. The second aim is to determine the construct validity of the RMP by assessing (a) the concurrent validity of the novel assessment and existing measures of receptive language ability and expressive morphosyntax and (b) the discriminant validity of the RMP and gold-standard measures of articulation, cognition, and adaptive behavior. The third aim is to determine the clinical utility of the RMP by evaluating participants’ perspectives regarding its appropriateness, acceptability, and comfortability as well as its feasibility as determined by the completion rate and administration time. The RMP will provide researchers and practitioners a much-needed tool for identifying treatment targets and assessing intervention outcomes. This project will support future grammatical intervention research for individuals with DS by serving as a model for inclusive research and by providing a reliable and valid outcome measurement tool. Furthermore, this project will lay the foundation for a line of research dedicated to mitigating morphosyntactic language weaknesses for individuals with DS.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $50,114 )
2026	2026	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA	2221 UNIVERSITY AVE SE STE 100	MINNEAPOLIS	MN	55414	HENNEPIN	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	1	9/11/2026	NEW	$50,114
														Subtotal = $50,114

Grand Total All Awards = $50,114

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Development of an Inclusive and Accessible Grammatical Language Assessment

Award Number: F31HD121262

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: FELLOWSHIP/SCHOLARSHIP/STUDENT LOANS

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 03/01/2027

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/29/2028

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