Early Language Learning Project
Investigators: Susan Ellis Weismer, Ph.D.
Julia Evans, Ph.D.
Robin Chapman, Ph.D.
In
this study we are attempting to:
1. identify which children are at risk of continuing problems in
language
learning
2.
understand better the developmental change in processing that takes place.
Eligibility
Participation
How
to get here
Project
Staff
Investigators'
Related Research
Sources
for Information on Child Speech-Language Development and Disorders
University
of WI-Madison Department of Communicative Disorders and Speech
For more information, contact:
o Chris Hollar (Project Coordinator)
E-mail: chollar@facstaff.wisc.edu
Phone: 608-263-3123
Fax: 608-263-7710
Mail: Early Language Learning Project
Waisman Center, Room
427
University of Wisconsin-Madison
1500 Highland Avenue
Madison, WI 53705-2280
We are seeking:
toddlers (22-26 months)
from English-speaking homes
who are developing typically in all areas
-or-
developing typically in all areas except language.
Participation in the longitudinal study will include a comprehensive
language assessment at 2
1/2, 3 1/2, 4 1/2, and 5 1/2 years. Each yearly
assessment study will take
about two hours.
Some children will also participate in one of two additional studies,
consisting of six 30-minute
sessions over a period of two weeks (3
times/week).
The annual language assessment will include a half-hour of free play
with the parent and a set
of toys, a hearing screening, a test of language,
speech and other development.
Participation
Schedule:
2
years 6 months = Initial language
assessment &
Vocabulary learning study
3
years 6 months = Annual language
assessment &
Grammatical learning study
4
years 6 months = Annual language
assessment &
Conversational skills study
5
years 6 months = Final language
assessment
Graduation! 
Receive a commemorative video depicting your child's language development
over the past three years.
Some children will also participate in one of two additional studies
2
years 9 months = Extended Vocabulary
Learning Study
Six 30-minute sessions over a period of two weeks looking at the
learning
of novel words in a play setting.
3
years 9 months = Extended Grammatical
Learning Study
Six 30-minute sessions over a period of two weeks
looking at
learning
of grammatical endings in a play setting.
Children will be scheduled for participation at the family's convenience.
Families will be compensated for their time at a rate of $10 per hour.
Travel will be reimbursed for families living more then 20 miles from
the Waisman Center.
The Language Learning
Project is located on the fourth floor of the
Waisman Center.
Click
here for maps and instructions for getting to the Waisman Center.
Click
here for a close up view of the Waisman Center and information onvisiting
and
parking
Click
here for a photo of the "new" addition to the Waisman Center -
construction
began Fall 1998
Investigators:
Susan Ellis Weismer
Professor of Communicative
Disorders
Principal Investigator,
Early Language Learning Project
473 Waisman Center, Phone:
(608)263-7710
E-mail: ellisweismer@wisc.edu
Julia Evans
Assistant Professor of Communicative
Disorders
Co-PI, Early Language Learning
Project
445 Waisman Center,
Phone: (608)263-9906
E-Mail: jevans2@wisc.edu
Robin Chapman
Professor of Communicative
Disorders
Co-PI, Early Language Learning
Project
425 Waisman Center, Phone
: (608)263-5820
E-Mail: chapman@waisman.wisc.edu
Staff:
Kathy Schumacher
Research Specialist
427 Waisman Center, Phone:
(608)263-3123
E-Mail: kfschumacher@facstaff.wisc.edu
Chris Hollar
Research Specialist
427 Waisman Center, Phone:
(608)263-3123
Maura Jones
Project Assistant
443 Waisman Center, Phone:
(608)263-9750
E-Mail: majones2@students.wisc.edu
Suzanne Kulin
Student Assistant
443 Waisman Center, Phone:
(608)263-9750
E-Mail: snkulin@students.wisc.edu
Ellis Weismer, S., Evans, J., & Hesketh, L.J. (In Press).
An
examination of verbal working
memory capacity in children with specific
language impairment. Journal
of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.
Robertson, S., & Ellis Weismer, S. (In Press). Effects
of treatment on
linguistic and social skills
in toddlers with delayed language development.
Journal of Speech, Language,
and Hearing Research.
Chapman, R.S. (in press). Semantic deficits in childhood language
disorders. In R.G.
Schwartz (Ed.), Linguistics, Cognitive Science, &
Childhood Language Disorders.
Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc.
Ellis Weismer, S., & Hesketh, L. (1998). The role of emphatic
stress in
novel word learning by children
with specific language impairment. Journal
of Speech, Language and
Hearing Research, 41, 1444-1458.
Ellis Weismer, S. (1997). The role of stress in language processing
and
intervention. Topics
in Language Disorders, 17, 41-52.
Evans, J., Viele, K., & Kass, R. (1997). Response latency
and Verbal
Complexity: Stochastic
Models of Individual Differences in Children with
Specific Language Impairments.
Journal
of Speech and Hearing Research, 40,
754-764
Robertson, S., & Ellis Weismer, S. (1997). The influence
of peer models
on the play scripts of children
with specific language impairment. Journal
of Speech, Language,
and Hearing Research, 40, 49-61.
Ellis Weismer, S. (1996). Capacity limitations in working memory:
The
impact on lexical and morphological
learning by children with language
impairment. Topics
in Language Disorders, 17, 33-44.
Ellis Weismer, S., & Hesketh, L. (1996). Lexical learning
by children
with specific language impairment:
Effects of linguistic input presented
at varying speaking rates.
Journal
of Speech and Hearing Research, 39,
177-190.
Evans, J. (1996). SLI subgroups: Interaction between
discourse
constraints and morpho-syntactic
deficits. Journal of Speech and Hearing
Research, 39, 655-660.
Evans, J. (1996). Plotting the Complexities of Language Sample
Analysis: Linear and
Nonlinear Models of Assessment. In P. Dale, D. Thal
& K. Cole (Eds.)
Advances in Assessment of Communication and Language.
Brookes Publishing.
Ellis Weismer, S., Murray-Branch, J., & Miller, J. (1994).
A
prospective longitudinal
study of language development in late talkers.
Journal of Speech and
Hearing Research , 37, 852-867.
Craig, H., & Evans, J. (1993). Pragmatics and SLI:
Within group
variations in discourse
behavior. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research,
36, 777-789.
Ellis Weismer, S., Murray-Branch, J., & Miller, J. (1993).
A
comparison of two methods
for promoting productive vocabulary in late
talkers. Journal
of Speech and Hearing Research, 37, 1037-1050.
Chapman, R.S., Streim, N., Crais, E., Salmon, D., & Negri, N. (1992).
Child Talk: Assumptions
of a developmental process model for early
language learning.
In R.S. Chapman (Ed.), Child talk: Processes in
language acquisition
and disorder (pp. 3-19). Chicago: Mosby-Year Book.
Chapman, R.S. (Ed.) (1992). Processes in language acquisition
and
disorders.
Chicago: Mosby-Year Book.
Evans, J., & Craig, H. (1992). Language sampling collection
and
analysis: Interview
compared to freeplay assessment contexts. Journal of
Speech and Hearing Research,
35, 343-353.
Chapman, R.S. (1991). Child language disorders: A twenty-five
year
retrospective. Journal
of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, 15,
1-6.
Craig, H., & Evans, J. (1991). Turn Exchange behaviors
of children
with normally developing
language: The influence of gender. Journal of
Speech and Hearing Research,
34, 866-879.
Chapman, R.S. (1990). Models of language disorder. In
J. Miller (Ed.),
Progress in research
on child language disorders. Boston: College-Hill
Press.
Chapman, R.S., Kay-Raining Bird, E., & Schwartz, S.E. (1990).
Fast
mapping of novel words in
event contexts by children with Down syndrome.
Journal of Speech and
Hearing Disorders, 55, 761-770.
Craig, H. & Evans, J. (1989). Turn exchange characteristics of
SLI
children's simultaneous
and nonsimultaneous speech. Journal of Speech and
Hearing Research,
54, 334-347.
Chapman, R.S. (1988). Language acquisition in the child.
In Lass, N.,
Northern, J., Yoder, D.,
& McReynolds, L. (Eds.), Handbook of speech
-language pathology and
audiology (pp. 309-353). Toronto: B.C. Decker
Chapman, R.S. , & Miller, J.F. (1983). Early stages of
discourse,
comprehension and production:
Implications of assessment and intervention.
In R. Golinkoff (Ed.), The
transition from prelinguistic to linguistic
communication
(pp. 219-234). New York: Academic Press
Questions
and Answers About Child Language Disorders
Child Speech Disorders: