Interactions between language and cognition in deaf individuals
Lead Research Organisation:
Royal Holloway University of London
Department Name: Psychology
Abstract
Over 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents. These children are at risk of delays in language and cognitive development due to diminished early language input. Impoverished language access also affects other domains, including cognitive function (e.g. Figueras et al., 2008; Botting et al., 2017). In my PhD thesis, I investigated associations between language skills, performance during cognitive tasks, and brain function in deaf individuals. My research shows that language proficiency is associated with nonverbal cognitive processes, such as switching between different tasks and planning. It demonstrates how language may shape aspects of cognition outside of the language domain, therefore characterising language as one of the critical stepping stones for successful cognitive development.
During this Fellowship, I will pursue the following objectives:
I will build my research track record by publishing papers based on my PhD and share my findings with academics to form new connections with researchers who study language development in different populations. This will benefit my long-term aim of bridging the gap between research on deafness and language development in other children with atypical language development experiences. Such research and collaborations will be critical for informing behavioural interventions that aim to facilitate cognitive and language development in children.
I will dedicate substantial time during my Fellowship to communicate findings from my thesis to the general public, deaf individuals, and practitioners. My thesis recognises the complexity of the interactions between language and cognition, and emphasises that access to language of any modality supports even nonverbal aspects of cognition. This has implications for the scientific understanding of interactions between language and cognition, for how early intervention and educational programmes may be promoting language and cognitive development in deaf children, and for how these aspects of development are assessed in this population. In particular, assessments conducted in a single language and modality (e.g. spoken English) may not be representative of the children's actual language ability if their environment is multi-modal. This is important evidence to change current practice, where assessments are limited to the language known by the tester.
I will also gain new skills by attending a course on computational methods in research on cognition, which will help me form a bridge between research on deafness and in children with atypical language development experiences. I will also expand my research portfolio by creating an online- based task to assess word/sign-learning in deaf individuals. This will allow me to build on my PhD, consolidate plans for my future research programme, generate pilot data for funding applications, and pursue new avenues in research on language development and learning. I will focus my research programme on exploring associations between various cognitive processes (e.g., components of executive function and motivation) and language skills in deaf individuals.
By achieving these key aims, I will be able to develop a competitive research proposal that builds on my previous work and incorporates other cognitive processes outside of the language domain into the picture. I will focus on what may support the development of language skills in deaf individuals. By targeting children that are at risk of developmental language delays, by either selecting those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, or from countries where intervention and education do not shield children from issues resulting from the inaccessibility of language input (e.g. Georgia), I will be able to provide a better understanding of the relationship between language deprivation, learning, and cognition. Better knowledge of the factors that aid language learning in both spoken and signed modalities is critical for designing interventions.
During this Fellowship, I will pursue the following objectives:
I will build my research track record by publishing papers based on my PhD and share my findings with academics to form new connections with researchers who study language development in different populations. This will benefit my long-term aim of bridging the gap between research on deafness and language development in other children with atypical language development experiences. Such research and collaborations will be critical for informing behavioural interventions that aim to facilitate cognitive and language development in children.
I will dedicate substantial time during my Fellowship to communicate findings from my thesis to the general public, deaf individuals, and practitioners. My thesis recognises the complexity of the interactions between language and cognition, and emphasises that access to language of any modality supports even nonverbal aspects of cognition. This has implications for the scientific understanding of interactions between language and cognition, for how early intervention and educational programmes may be promoting language and cognitive development in deaf children, and for how these aspects of development are assessed in this population. In particular, assessments conducted in a single language and modality (e.g. spoken English) may not be representative of the children's actual language ability if their environment is multi-modal. This is important evidence to change current practice, where assessments are limited to the language known by the tester.
I will also gain new skills by attending a course on computational methods in research on cognition, which will help me form a bridge between research on deafness and in children with atypical language development experiences. I will also expand my research portfolio by creating an online- based task to assess word/sign-learning in deaf individuals. This will allow me to build on my PhD, consolidate plans for my future research programme, generate pilot data for funding applications, and pursue new avenues in research on language development and learning. I will focus my research programme on exploring associations between various cognitive processes (e.g., components of executive function and motivation) and language skills in deaf individuals.
By achieving these key aims, I will be able to develop a competitive research proposal that builds on my previous work and incorporates other cognitive processes outside of the language domain into the picture. I will focus on what may support the development of language skills in deaf individuals. By targeting children that are at risk of developmental language delays, by either selecting those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, or from countries where intervention and education do not shield children from issues resulting from the inaccessibility of language input (e.g. Georgia), I will be able to provide a better understanding of the relationship between language deprivation, learning, and cognition. Better knowledge of the factors that aid language learning in both spoken and signed modalities is critical for designing interventions.
People |
ORCID iD |