Increasing evidence suggests that disturbances in attention and working memory may contribute to the development of specific language impairment (SLI) and stuttering. However, how a detriment in these functions interacts with both linguistic and motor aspects of communication development in creating the unique clinical profile of each disorder remains uninvestigated. One productive and innovative approach to understanding the role of attention and working memory in developmental communication disorders may be a comparative study of these functions in typically developing children, children with SLI, and children who stutter. A strong collaboration between the faculty of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences (SLHS) and Psychological Sciences (PSYC) at Purdue provides a tremendous pool of expertise in both typical and disordered speech and language development and thus presents an excellent opportunity for such a comparative approach. Further, the issues of attention and working memory in SLI and stuttering are highly relevant to the research programs of multiple SLHS and PSYC faculty, yet not a single laboratory in these departments presently focuses on these questions. Research into the role of attention and working memory in developmental speech-language disorders may be especially amenable to the electrophysiological approach because of its well-established methods for investigating these cognitive processes and its ease of use with children. Therefore, the goal of this application is to hire Dr. Natalya Kaganovich as a tenure-track assistant professor with a joint appointment in SLHS and PSYC and with a research focus on the behavioral and electrophysiological indices of attention and working memory in developmental communication disorders. Dr. Kaganovich is a post-doctoral researcher in SLHS and PSYC and has already begun to investigate questions related to attention and working memory in both typically developing and speech disordered children and adults. While drawing on the expertise of the current faculty, she would be able to create a research program that not only forges new connections between existing areas of SLHS and PSYC, but also contributes to research of significant public health relevance.
The proposed faculty hire will foster interdisciplinary collaboration between the faculty of SLHS and PSYC aimed at understanding the role of attention and working memory in developmental communication disorders, such as SLI and stuttering. Resultant research findings will help create Intervention techniques that are better suited to the cognitive needs of children with these disorders.
