Language Comprehension and Learning in Children

​Principal Investigator: Erin Smolak, Ph.D.

The goal of this project is to gather information about the strategies children use to understand language and learn new words. Children with both strong and weak language skills will be included in this study. Participants will complete tasks that include hearing and vision screenings, language testing, pattern completion and memory tasks. We will also see how your child understands language and learns new words by tracking and recording where your child is looking on a screen of pictures while they listen to a sentence.

• Who: Children with and without strong language skills
• Age: 4-6 years
• Compensation: $20 for the first hour. Compensation for participation after one hour is rounded up to the nearest quarter hour (e.g., if a session is 1 hour and 5 minutes long, compensation is $25).
• Time: 1–3 visits over the course of 2–3 weeks. Visit 1 is a Qualification Visit. If your child qualifies for participation in the full study, you will be asked to return for another 1 – 2 visits. If your child does not qualify, your participation in the study will be ended. Each visit will last about 1-1.5 hours.
• Visit Type: In-person
• Location: Boys Town Medical Campus – Downtown and Boys Town Campus
• Requirements: Participants must be English-speaking children ages 4-6 who do not have autism or an intellectual disability and are not deaf or hard of hearing.

Contact: Erin Smolak (erin.smolak@boystown.org or 531-355-5034