Thursday, December 18, 2025 12/18/2025

Understanding Word-Reading & Calculations Comorbid Learning Disabilities

Award Number: R01HD097772
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/06/2019
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2025

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Understanding Word-Reading & Calculations Comorbid Learning Disabilities - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Despite important advances in the treatment of learning disabilities (LDs), the dominant approach to intervention—direct skills instruction—fails to meet the needs of 25-40% of LD students. This, combined with the heterogeneity of LDs, indicates the need to expand the framework for LD treatment with innovative approaches that target the specific needs of subgroups of LD students. This study addresses a subset of the LD population with a distinctive set of needs: students with comorbid difficulty across word reading & calculations. This LD subgroup experiences weaker outcomes in both reading & math and poorer response to reading & math treatment than do peers with difficulty in just 1 of these domains. This study is guided by an innovative Theoretical Framework, which identifies opportunities for strengthening early word reading & calculations in theoretically coordinated fashion for this understudied and underserved population. The aim of this Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial is to extend understanding about connections between early reading & math and investigate the mechanisms by which effects of coordinated treatment may occur (Phase 1) while also assessing short-term effects of coordinated treatment (Phase 2). Comorbid 1st-grade students are randomly assigned to 4 conditions, a control group, coordinated treatment across reading & math, reading-only treatment, & math-only treatment. We (1) test coordinated treatment’s short-term effects on reading & math outcomes, while assessing (2) whether improved reading skill serves as a mediator of coordinated treatment’s effects on math outcomes and whether improved math skill serves as a mediator of coordinated treatment’s effects on reading outcomes; (3) whether improvement in targeted cognitive processes mediates coordinated treatment’s effects on reading & math outcomes in similar ways; & (4) whether other associated cognitive processes moderate coordinated treatment’s effects on reading & math outcomes in similar ways. This study impacts science by deepening understanding about connections between early reading & math development and offering insights to guide future directions for accelerating the learning of students with these comorbid LDs. This study impacts clinical practice by addressing word-reading + calculations comorbid LDs in a theoretically coordinated manner, which should ease the logistical challenges schools face in providing multiple forms of intervention to students with comorbidity – challenges that often mean these children do not receive treatment in both domains. The focus is highly relevant & significant because comorbid reading & math LDs are associated with long-term negative consequences, including problems with employment, health, social adjustment, & quality of life.


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 = -$18,654 )
2026	2023	VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY	110 21ST AVE S	NASHVILLE	TN	37203	DAVIDSON	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	5	12/15/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$18,654
														Subtotal = -$18,654

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $590,482 )
2023	2023	VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY	110 21ST AVE S	NASHVILLE	TN	37203	DAVIDSON	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	5	8/10/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$590,482
														Subtotal = $590,482

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $598,534 )
2022	2022	VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY, THE	110 21ST AVENUE S STE 800	NASHVILLE	TN	37203	DAVIDSON	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	4	7/29/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$598,534
														Subtotal = $598,534

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $614,489 )
2021	2021	VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY, THE	110 21ST AVENUE S STE 800	NASHVILLE	TN	37203	DAVIDSON	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	3	8/14/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$614,489
														Subtotal = $614,489

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $637,472 )
2020	2020	VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY, THE	110 21ST AVENUE S STE 800	NASHVILLE	TN	37203	DAVIDSON	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	2	6/12/2020	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$637,472
														Subtotal = $637,472

Issue Date FY: 2019 ( Subtotal = $653,812 )
2019	2019	VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY, THE	110 21ST AVENUE S STE 800	NASHVILLE	TN	37203	DAVIDSON	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	1	9/6/2019	NEW	$653,812
														Subtotal = $653,812

Grand Total All Awards = $3,076,135

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Understanding Word-Reading & Calculations Comorbid Learning Disabilities

Award Number: R01HD097772

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/06/2019

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2025

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer