Research

Parents and their children can participate in any of the studies currently running in the ECDC.

Our research would not be possible without the generous support of parents with children and students who take part in our projects. If you are interested in participating with your child in our upcoming studies, please enter your details below, and we will be in touch with you when a study becomes available within the age of your child.

Register your interest to be contacted for future research studies.

2 x Siblings (2.5 - 8 years): LD Mother's Talk

Name of Researcher: C harlotte Casey

Age of children required: 2 x Siblings (2.5 - 8 years)

Description of study: In this study we are interested in how mothers talk to different children within the same family when one sibling experiences a delay in developing language. During early childhood children begin to learn how others think, feel, and act.We know conversations between mothers and their children are important for helping children to learn about others. Participation will involve a single, one hour visit to the Early Cognitive Development Centre at The University of Queensland, St Lucia.

During this visit, each child will complete a measure of vocabulary understanding and expressive vocabulary knowledge, and a fun play-based social thinking task with toy characters. Each child will also be asked to engage in a book reading activity with their mother. Mothers and children will be video- and audio-recorded during these tasks.

Eligibility

Families that include the following:

One child aged 2.5 – 8 years old diagnosed with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)
One child aged 2.5 – 8 years old who is typically developing

Participant Benefits

Families will receive a $20 gift voucher.

Register your interest

Please email charlotte.casey@uq.edu.au or register to participate here

(18-months-old): Recognising correct and incorrect counting

Name of Researcher: Kate Macklin

Age of children required: 18-months-old

Description of study: This study investigates monolingual and bilingual children’s abilities to learn abstract counting principles, which is regarded as a central element of their cognitive development. For this study, we are specifically interested in the principle of ‘one-to-one correspondence’, where children learn that one number tag can only be applied to one item in a group of items. Children will watch a short video of counting events in an extinct foreign language, with the session recorded. This study addresses exciting new questions about the cognitive abilities of typically developing children and help us better understand how monolingual and bilingual children may differ in their acquisition of abstract counting principles.

Additional information: This study takes approximately 20 minutes to complete, and you will be with your child at all times. If you and your child would like to participate, or you have any further questions, please email Kate (kate.macklin@uq.net.au).

(2½ - 5 years): How children learn the cardinality principle of counting

Name of Researcher: Kate Macklin

Age of children required: 2½ - 5 years

Description of study:

This study investigates young children’s ability to learn abstract counting principles, which is regarded as a central element of their cognitive development. For this study, we are specifically interested in the principle of ‘cardinality’, where children learn that the final number value in a group or array of items is the total number. Children will play a series of games on investigating their performance on cardinality and working memory using an iPad and a puppet. This study addresses exciting new questions about the cognitive abilities of typically developing children and help us better understand how monolingual and bilingual children may differ in their acquisition of abstract counting principles.

(3 - 7 years): Sibling influence on development of children with autism spectrum disorder

Name of researchers: Professor Virginia Slaughter and Kendall Wall

Age of children required: 3 - 7 years

Description of the study: This Australian Research Council project aims to learn whether and how typically-developing (TD) siblings affect development of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD involves difficulties with language, executive functions and social understanding. For TD children, growing up with siblings gives an advantage in these cognitive functions. Yet little is known about how having siblings impacts on cognitive development of children with ASD. This study will explore longitudinally the mechanisms of sibling impact in families with and without a child with ASD. This project will create a deeper understanding of sibling processes in families with a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) – knowledge that may contribute to effective, evidence-based interventions to support families.

Additional information: If there are any further questions about this study please email Kendall Wall (k.wall@uqconnect.edu.au)