PROJECT SPOTLIGHT: Small Talk

Project Spotlight: Take a look at one of our ongoing projects which is looking to identify the early risk factors of early language impairment.

SMALL Talk

Early Language Impairment (LI) affects as many as 10% of children and disproportionately affects children from low-income households. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) are actively investing in public health efforts to reduce risks for LI in vulnerable populations by preventing risk factors.

To combat LI in low-income communities, NIH funded a Crane Center research project called SMALL Talk. The goal? To identify risk for early language impairment among young children from low-income households, and to determine how caregiver parenting and chronic stress interact to affect language growth among these vulnerable children. Identifying early risk factors for development of LI is the first step to prevention of these risk factors, which makes SMALL Talk an integral player in the field of public health.

SMALL Talk addresses the critical need for interdisciplinary, community-based research to better understand the complexities of family processes and children’s language development in economically vulnerable households. Importantly, we are conducting multiple home visits per year over five years to gain an in-depth view of the SMALL Talk children’s exposures and language patterns as they grow. The findings will help us identify resources and family social processes that promote language learning in children from low-income households.”

– Dr. Kammi Schmeer, associate professor of Sociology at The Ohio State University and SMALL Talk Co-Investigator

The project is in its beginning stages, recruiting mothers to participate and starting home visits. SMALL Talk is a five-year study longitudinal study that works with 320 low-income mothers and their children from 6 months until 5 years of age. The project is set to conclude in September 2024.