Sunday, January 18, 2026 1/18/2026

Improving Literacy Outcomes in Children who use AAC

Award Number: R21DC020814
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/16/2022
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2025

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Improving Literacy Outcomes in Children who use AAC - Project Summary Individuals with severe disabilities who cannot use speech to communicate and use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC; pointing to pictures, using a speech-generating device) are at high risk for life-long health issues that are exacerbated by illiteracy and limited communication skills. Over 90% of these individuals leave high school illiterate, resulting in reduced communication skills and a higher probability of life-long health issues. Our long-term goal is to improve literacy outcomes in individuals who use AAC, and in doing so, improve health and well-being outcomes. Daily instruction in literacy practices that are evidence-based have the potential to change the current poor outcomes, yet limited effectiveness research exists related to literacy interventions that include phonics-based tasks that are adapted specifically for individuals who use AAC. To improve reading outcomes, it is essential to explicitly teach how sounds in words work (phonemic awareness) and how those sounds connect to letters they see in print (phonics). Yet, the majority children who use AAC are provided literacy instruction solely in sight words using memorization strategies. The ALL (Accessible Literacy Learning) technology has the potential to improve early literacy skills. It is an evidence-informed literacy curriculum that includes literacy instruction specifically adapted for individuals who use AAC. Research using components of the ALL curriculum have been conducted, yet prior to our pilot studies, no research has been conducted with the ALL technology. There is a critical need to understand the effectiveness of literacy interventions that are specifically adapted for individuals who use AAC. The objective of this application is to examine the efficacy and feasibility of the ALL technology on a larger-scale through these aims: (1) Assess the effectiveness of the ALL technology on six early literacy skills for children ages 4-10 who have intellectual and developmental disabilities and use AAC, and, (2) Assess the acceptability, feasibility, and adoptability of literacy lessons using the ALL technology to evaluate components that are helpful or hindering to adoption of the ALL technology. The proposed research will make important advances in the science associated with teaching children who use AAC how to learn to read. This project is innovative in three ways: (1) the ALL technology provides phonemic and phonics- based literacy instruction to a population that does not typically receive this instruction due to their inability to speak; (2) the intervention targets multiple literacy skills, which may contribute to better literacy outcomes. Teaching multiple skills during a lesson could potentially improve both the rate and the amount of literacy skills acquired; and, (3) the ALL technology uses automated data-driven decision making with materials adapted for individuals who use AAC – addressing many implementation challenges documented by service providers. The expected outcomes of the project include efficacy of the ALL technology, as well as sufficient data in six early literacy skill areas; foundational for a future R01 that improves the provision of evidenced-based literacy and maximizes literacy outcomes for children who use AAC.


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 = -$928 )
2026	2024	THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY	201 OLD MAIN	UNIVERSITY PARK	PA	16802	CENTRE	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	3	12/10/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$928
														Subtotal = -$928

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $201,250 )
2024	2024	THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY	201 OLD MAIN	UNIVERSITY PARK	PA	16802	CENTRE	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	3	7/5/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$201,250
														Subtotal = $201,250

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $201,250 )
2023	2023	PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE	201 OLD MAIN	UNIVERSITY PARK	PA	16802	CENTRE	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	2	7/18/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$201,250
														Subtotal = $201,250

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $201,250 )
2022	2022	PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE	201 OLD MAIN	UNIVERSITY PARK	PA	16802	CENTRE	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	1	9/16/2022	NEW	$201,250
														Subtotal = $201,250

Grand Total All Awards = $602,822

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Improving Literacy Outcomes in Children who use AAC

Award Number: R21DC020814

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

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

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/16/2022

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2025

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer