Auditory-motor learning in speech development

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The first several years of a child's life are characterized by dramatic improvements in speaking ability, typically progressing from simple babble to intelligible speech by age 4. While these developmental changes in speech output have been well documented, the sensory and motor processes upon which they are based remain poorly understood. In current models of speech development, a child's perception of their own acoustic output (auditory feedback) is presumed to play a critical role by providing information about speech outcomes that is used to improve the planning of oral speech movements. Surprisingly, few studies have directly investigated children's use of auditory feedback during speech production, in part because of limitations in available research methods. Utilizing recently developed techniques for the manipulation of auditory feedback in real-time, the proposed research program will explore the role of auditory feedback in children's speech development by focusing directly on its role in speech motor learning. A series of studies will examine, for the first time, the extent to which children of different ages rely on auditory-feedback to improve the quality of their speech production, and how this capacity may be tied to the development of more basic auditory perceptual skills (such as the ability to detect fine acoustic changes). The focus of the proposed research program on the links between auditory feedback and speech motor learning will not only contribute to our understanding of the sensorimotor processes driving speech motor development, but also strengthen our understanding of how auditory-perceptual deficits may contribute to speech production disorders (phonological or articulation disorder) --- a prevalent condition among young school-aged children that can impact later language and reading development.