Periodic Reporting for period 1 - EPIC Read (Entrainment and Production In Children with dyslexia)
Período documentado: 2023-08-01 hasta 2025-07-31
The main objectives of the project were to Identify acoustic markers in production associated with poor phonological processing skills in typically developing children, to determine whether we can predict reading ability based on speech production markers in typically developing children, to Investigate the relationship perception and production ability in children, and to determine whether production indexes contribute to clinical classification of dyslexia.
To accomplish these objectives, two experiments were conducted. Experiment 1, we examined speech production and reading ability in typically developing children in first-grade ages 6–7. We tested children at two timepoints: at the beginning of the school year before reading instruction has begun and at the end of the school year. In experiment 2 we investigated how production is associated with other sources of variability in the input such as accents and variability in motor movement skills.
For both experiments, we examine measures tapping into production variability, which have been shown to correlate with poor phonemic representations, one of the main hallmarks of dyslexia (high variability=poor phoneme representation). we also extract measurements that are correlated with stress in Spanish and Basque (e.g. duration), the two languages spoken by the participants.
Children from Experiment 1 were recruited from the Carmelitas school in Vitoria which includes a junior laboratory for testing school-aged children. Parents signed consent forms and a language questionnaire detailing the languages the children are exposed to on a daily basis. Sixty children have completed a battery of speech production and phonological processing assessments in phase 1 and phase 2. Production ability was measured using a battery of production tasks (naming, word/nonword repetition, sentence repetition), and phonological processing skill will be measured using a composite score of phonological awareness tasks (segmenting, blending, elision, rhyme identification). The production tasks were elicited in multiple repetitions (randomized, with breaks between tasks) which will allow me to obtain the variability measures. Since Spanish is the main language spoken in school, production data will be obtained in Spanish while also controlling for language proficiency. For experiment 2, Thirty children ages 5-8 were recruited in this study. Children completed the same phonological processing battery and speech production battery, and a task where they are exposed to variability in the input (accents
Our results from experiment 1 show that children were more variable when production stop consonants and when producing vowels but that their productions were not necessarily less distinct. This suggests that some of the underlying issues in dyslexia are related to how phonological information is stored and accessed but not necessarily that the relationship between the sounds is compromised. These results have potential to change the way we treat dyslexia as it shows a clear connection between perception and production, such that clinicians can use production tasks in order to uncover reading issues or to include it into their treatment plans.
To accomplish these objectives, two experiments were conducted. Experiment 1, we examined speech production and reading ability in typically developing children in first-grade ages 6–7. We tested children at two timepoints: at the beginning of the school year before reading instruction has begun and at the end of the school year. In experiment 2 we investigated how production is associated with other sources of variability in the input such as accents and variability in motor movement skills.
For both experiments, we examine measures tapping into production variability, which have been shown to correlate with poor phonemic representations, one of the main hallmarks of dyslexia (high variability=poor phoneme representation). we also extract measurements that are correlated with stress in Spanish and Basque (e.g. duration), the two languages spoken by the participants.
Children from Experiment 1 were recruited from the Carmelitas school in Vitoria which includes a junior laboratory for testing school-aged children. Parents signed consent forms and a language questionnaire detailing the languages the children are exposed to on a daily basis. Sixty children have completed a battery of speech production and phonological processing assessments in phase 1 and phase 2. Production ability was measured using a battery of production tasks (naming, word/nonword repetition, sentence repetition), and phonological processing skill will be measured using a composite score of phonological awareness tasks (segmenting, blending, elision, rhyme identification). The production tasks were elicited in multiple repetitions (randomized, with breaks between tasks) which will allow me to obtain the variability measures. Since Spanish is the main language spoken in school, production data will be obtained in Spanish while also controlling for language proficiency. For experiment 2, Thirty children ages 5-8 were recruited in this study. Children completed the same phonological processing battery and speech production battery, and a task where they are exposed to variability in the input (accents
Our results from experiment 1 show that children were more variable when production stop consonants and when producing vowels but that their productions were not necessarily less distinct. This suggests that some of the underlying issues in dyslexia are related to how phonological information is stored and accessed but not necessarily that the relationship between the sounds is compromised. These results have potential to change the way we treat dyslexia as it shows a clear connection between perception and production, such that clinicians can use production tasks in order to uncover reading issues or to include it into their treatment plans.
Current project aims to link production data to reading skills. Given that the first experiment in the MSCA project is a longitudinal study, data collection in two time points, we expect 2 papers to be published by the end of the year 2025:
In preparation/under review:
• Abu El Adas, S., Lallier, M. (in prep). Perception-production links in Spanish-speaking children.
• Abu El Adas, S., Lallier, M. (in prep). The relationship between production ability and reading skills in children ages 5-6.
• Abu El Adas, S., McLaughlin, D.J. Lallier, M., Samuel, A.G. (in prep). Accent recalibration in Spanish-speaking children.
In addition, the following papers have been published:
• Abu El Adas, S., Yen, I. & Levi, S. V. (2025). Talker Variability and Individual Difference Effects on Word Learning. Brain Research, 1850, 149454.
• Abu El Adas, S., Ivy Yen, Levi, S. (2023). Does talker variability help adults learn novel words? 20th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (Czech Republic, Prague).
The following projects have been invited presentations:
• Abu El Adas, S. (2024). How production variability manifests in clinical and non-clinical populations. Long Island University (colloquium series), NY, NY.
• Abu El Adas, S. (2024). Production variability in clinical and non-clinical populations. Sorbonne Nouvelle & CNRS, Paris, France.
• Abu El Adas, S. (2024). The importance of variability in learning. The 6th annual San Sebastián ELT conference. Donostia San-Sebastián, Spain.
• Abu El Adas, S. (2024). Production variability in clinical and non-clinical populations. Stony Brook University, NY, NY.
• Abu El Adas, S. (2021). Do individual differences in reading impact talker processing and word learning? The Basque Center on Cognition, Brian and Language. Donostia San-Sebastián, Spain.
The following projects have been presented as posters:
• Abu El Adas, S. & Lallier, M. (2023). The relationship between speech production and phonological processing in children learning to read. Poster for presentation at the International Workshop on Reading and Developmental Dyslexia (iWORDD). June 7-9, 2023. San-Sebastian, Spain.
• Cavaluzzi, R., Abu El Adas, S. & Lallier, M. (2023). Acoustic Durations of Speech Production of Children with DLD. Poster for presentation at the International Workshop on Reading and Developmental Dyslexia (iWORDD). June 7-9, 2023. San-Sebastian, Spain.
• Abu El Adas, S., Ivy Yen, Levi, S. (2023). Does talker variability help adults learn novel words? Poster for presentation at the International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS). August 7-11, 2023. Prague, Czech Republic.
• Abu El Adas, S., Ivy Yen, Levi, S. (2023). Influences of talker variability, reading ability, and language ability on word learning. Poster for presentation at the Acoustical Society of America. May 8-12, 2023. Chicago, USA.
In preparation/under review:
• Abu El Adas, S., Lallier, M. (in prep). Perception-production links in Spanish-speaking children.
• Abu El Adas, S., Lallier, M. (in prep). The relationship between production ability and reading skills in children ages 5-6.
• Abu El Adas, S., McLaughlin, D.J. Lallier, M., Samuel, A.G. (in prep). Accent recalibration in Spanish-speaking children.
In addition, the following papers have been published:
• Abu El Adas, S., Yen, I. & Levi, S. V. (2025). Talker Variability and Individual Difference Effects on Word Learning. Brain Research, 1850, 149454.
• Abu El Adas, S., Ivy Yen, Levi, S. (2023). Does talker variability help adults learn novel words? 20th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (Czech Republic, Prague).
The following projects have been invited presentations:
• Abu El Adas, S. (2024). How production variability manifests in clinical and non-clinical populations. Long Island University (colloquium series), NY, NY.
• Abu El Adas, S. (2024). Production variability in clinical and non-clinical populations. Sorbonne Nouvelle & CNRS, Paris, France.
• Abu El Adas, S. (2024). The importance of variability in learning. The 6th annual San Sebastián ELT conference. Donostia San-Sebastián, Spain.
• Abu El Adas, S. (2024). Production variability in clinical and non-clinical populations. Stony Brook University, NY, NY.
• Abu El Adas, S. (2021). Do individual differences in reading impact talker processing and word learning? The Basque Center on Cognition, Brian and Language. Donostia San-Sebastián, Spain.
The following projects have been presented as posters:
• Abu El Adas, S. & Lallier, M. (2023). The relationship between speech production and phonological processing in children learning to read. Poster for presentation at the International Workshop on Reading and Developmental Dyslexia (iWORDD). June 7-9, 2023. San-Sebastian, Spain.
• Cavaluzzi, R., Abu El Adas, S. & Lallier, M. (2023). Acoustic Durations of Speech Production of Children with DLD. Poster for presentation at the International Workshop on Reading and Developmental Dyslexia (iWORDD). June 7-9, 2023. San-Sebastian, Spain.
• Abu El Adas, S., Ivy Yen, Levi, S. (2023). Does talker variability help adults learn novel words? Poster for presentation at the International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS). August 7-11, 2023. Prague, Czech Republic.
• Abu El Adas, S., Ivy Yen, Levi, S. (2023). Influences of talker variability, reading ability, and language ability on word learning. Poster for presentation at the Acoustical Society of America. May 8-12, 2023. Chicago, USA.
Through media outlets we demonstrated the importance of production variability in dyslexia.
“Los alumnos que conviven en un entorno bilingüe tienen más facilidad para aprender a leer” Article published in El Correo (a leading daily newspaper in Bilbao and the Basque Country), May, 2025: Investigadoras del centro BCBL presentan en Carmelitas los resultados de dos estudios sobre aprendizaje en los que han participado alumnos del colegio vitoriano (link)
“Carmelitas acogerá dos estudios pioneros en Euskadi sobre el cerebro de los niños” Article published in El Correo (a leading daily newspaper in the Basque Country), October, 2024: Las investigaciones centradas en el acento extranjero y la lectura se harán en un laboratorio impulsado por el Gobierno Vasco con sede en este colegio de vitoria (link)
“Los alumnos que conviven en un entorno bilingüe tienen más facilidad para aprender a leer” Article published in El Correo (a leading daily newspaper in Bilbao and the Basque Country), May, 2025: Investigadoras del centro BCBL presentan en Carmelitas los resultados de dos estudios sobre aprendizaje en los que han participado alumnos del colegio vitoriano (link)
“Carmelitas acogerá dos estudios pioneros en Euskadi sobre el cerebro de los niños” Article published in El Correo (a leading daily newspaper in the Basque Country), October, 2024: Las investigaciones centradas en el acento extranjero y la lectura se harán en un laboratorio impulsado por el Gobierno Vasco con sede en este colegio de vitoria (link)