Word Learning From Parentese in Autistic Children

NCT06649916 | Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: IRB-24-616R21DC021803
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 100
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The overall objective of this research is to determine whether parentese delivered in the video format (Aim 1) and in live interaction (Aim 2) facilitates novel word learning in autistic children and to investigate if there are factors that influence the effect of parentese on word learning (Aim 3).

Conditions

Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Keywords

autism; word learning; language development

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Proportion of time during which children's eye gaze is directed toward the target object

  Children's eye gaze is recorded as they look at images. The proportion of time during which gaze is directed to an image of the targeted word is the dependent measure.

  300 ms after the target words are introduced

Study Arms (2)

Parentese

EXPERIMENTAL

All participants will learn novel words in two conditions (parentese vs adult register) in each of the experiment (video and live word learning). In the Parentese condition, participants will listen to sentences that contain novel words in parentese.

Behavioral: Parentese Speech

Adult Register

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

All participants will learn novel words in two conditions (parentese vs adult register) in each of the experiment (video and live word learning). In the Adult Register condition, participants will listen to sentences that contain novel words in adult register speech.

Behavioral: Adult Registered Speech

Interventions

Parentese Speech BEHAVIORAL

Novel words are introduced in parentese, a type of speech that is typically characterized by greater pitch variation, longer duration, and louder volume

Also known as: Infant-Directed Speech

Parentese

Adult Registered Speech BEHAVIORAL

Novel words are introduced in standard adult register.

Also known as: Adult-Directed Speech

Adult Register

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Months - 59 Months
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• children with or without a diagnosis of ASD between 18 and 59 months

You may not qualify if:

• hears another language more than 10% of time based on parent report
• has uncorrected visual impairment or hearing impairment
• has developmental disorders or medical conditions other than ASD that affect language or cognition (excepting psychiatric conditions often comorbid with ASD such as ADHD)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The University of Texas at Dallas: lead
• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Texas at Dallas

Richardson, Texas, 75080, United States

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Autistic Disorder; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Child Development Disorders, Pervasive; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Pumpki L. Su, PhD

  The University of Texas at Dallas

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Pumpki L Su, PhD

CONTACT

972-883-2384; lei.su@utdallas.edu

McKenzie Cullinan, MS

CONTACT

mckenzie.cullinan@utdallas.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 17, 2024
• First Posted: October 21, 2024
• Study Start: October 4, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2028
• Last Updated: October 23, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-10

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)