Objective measurement of naturalistic interaction and early social networks

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This project is about the role of language and social interaction with peers and teachers in shaping the development of preschoolers with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The researchers will use an innovative set of sensor systems to measure children's and teachers' locations and speech in real-time on the playground and preschool classroom to investigate how social interaction and development differ for children with and without ASD. This project will indicate the relative impact of children’s conversations with peers and teachers on their language development. A better understanding of these interactions may lead to clear and simple strategies which educators can use to support classroom interactions and children’s social and language development.Children’s social and language development is shaped by real-time interactions with peers and adults that are structured by their physical and social contexts. Understanding of the granular interactive processes through which language and social development occur is currently limited. Likewise, it is not clear how variation in children’s social interaction and language abilities-—such as the deficits associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)--affect these interactions. The current research asks how preschoolers with and without ASD interact and share language with their peers and teachers in the classroom and playground and how social contact, speech, and language abilities change over development. The researchers will use real-time data from objective measurements of movement and speech to predict children’s social and language development. The researchers will use emerging technologies to study children’s real-time interactions with peers and teachers to illustrate the development of social networks and their role in shaping children’s language abilities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.