Software Intervention for Advanced Syntax Development

该提案要求SBIR第二阶段提供支持，以完成并现场测试旨在促进学龄儿童(5-12岁)句法发展的语言干预软件。语言迟缓在学龄儿童中普遍存在。更重要的是，三分之二的儿童被认为以前有语言特有的障碍，在他们的学龄前几年也没有接受过任何形式的语言干预。因此，显然有必要制定专门为满足这一群体的需要而设计的语言干预策略，即旨在促进这些儿童语法中通常缺少的更高级句法结构的发展的干预措施。在第一阶段，开发了一门课程，介绍疑问操作符的句法。课程设计是以当代语言学研究为指导的，这些研究提出了改进治疗和取得更成功成果的方法。软件是为提供本课程的部分内容而开发的，并与人工智能组件集成，能够根据新出现的能力生成个性化课程。26名幼儿园学生在实地测试中成功使用了该软件。在第二阶段，将通过开发一系列综合的语言干预单元并验证这些单元在典型课堂条件下是否有效来扩大这些努力。拟议的商业应用：言语语言病理学家、教师和家长认识到当儿童的语言地位受损时进行干预的重要性，这种干预是联邦法律规定的。因此，我们预期我们的电脑语言干预系统，旨在促进学龄儿童的语言发展，将在商业上取得成功，并将满足对个人服务的未得到满足的需求。

This proposal requests SBIR Phase II support to complete and field test language intervention software designed to promote syntactic development in school-age children (5-12 years old). Language delays are pervasive among school-age children. What's more, two thirds of children identified as having language-specific impairments previously nor have received any form of language intervention during their preschool years. Consequently, there is a clear need to develop language intervention strategies designed specifically to meet the needs of this population; that is, intervention designed to promote development of the more advanced syntactic constructions typically missing from the grammar of these children. In Phase I, a curriculum was developed for introducing the syntax of interrogative operators. Curriculum design was guided by contemporary linguistic research, which suggests ways in which treatment may be improved and more successful outcomes achieved. Software was developed to deliver parts of this curriculum, and was integrated with an artificial intelligence component capable of generating individualized lessons based on emerging competencies. Twenty-six kindergartners used the software successfully during field- testing. In Phase II these efforts will be expanded by developing an integrated series of language intervention modules and verifying that the modules are effective under typical classroom conditions. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: Speech-language pathologists, teachers and parents recognize the importance of intervention when a child's language status is impaired, and such intervention is mandated by Federal Law. As such, we anticipate that our computer-based language intervention system, designed to facilitate language development in school-age children, will be a commercial success and will fulfill an unmet need for individual services.