1. Janine Settle: See Research Poster Here

It is estimated that 7% of the population has developmental language disorder (DLD), a deficit with the understanding and use of language. This disorder cannot be explained by global deficits in cognitive development, hearing impairment, multilingualism, or autism. Unfortunately, DLD is usually not diagnosed and treated until children reach school age and, by then, large language deficits are noted in their academic performance. A current theory in the field is that children with DLD struggle with the coordination of sequentially patterned elements that underlie several developmental areas, such as grammar, speech-motor control, and gross/fine motor skills. According to the current literature, children with DLD show significant deficits in motor control, especially in manual dexterity and balance, compared to children with typical development (TD). The goal of this project is to evaluate the relationship between motor tasks and novel sign (gesture) learning, with a focus on coordinated sequential patterns in children with DLD and their TD peers. Understanding how the motor component of DLD is characterized in young children could aid in earlier identification and intervention efforts. Children with DLD should not have to wait until they present a serious struggle with language to be diagnosed and receive help.

2. Ruben Rivas: See Research Poster Here

Spanish is the second most spoken language in the US, yet Spanish use at home has declined in recent years. There’s abundant research on how parents influence their children’s language development, but there’s little work on how siblings, many of whom attend English schools, impact children’s dual language development. My research looks at the impact of sibling language input on the language outcomes of preschool children from Spanish-dominant homes. I am investigating this question by looking at parent reports of the language spoken to children by their siblings and relating that to children’s Spanish and English Language assessment scores. Hopefully, my findings will offer a renewed look into the impact of sibling interactions on child language development.

3. Andrea Roguer: See Research Poster Here

Higher socioeconomic status (SES) is related to better health and sleep (Moore et al., 2002). Additionally, higher SES is linked to lower levels of household chaos. Few studies have investigated how SES and household chaos relate to sleep and health, and fewer focus on Hispanic/Latino parents. Hence, this study aims to identify how SES may relate to household chaos, and how both factors may relate to sleep quality, among Hispanic/Latino parents. We predict that parents with low SES will experience greater household chaos and thus report poorer sleep. By examining the relationship between SES, household chaos, and sleep quality among Hispanic/Latino parents, this study may shed light on potential mechanisms underlying health disparities and inform the development of culturally sensitive interventions to improve sleep and overall health outcomes. Improving sleep quality may have significant implications for positive physical and mental health, academic and work performance, and overall quality of life for Hispanic/Latino parents.

4. Marley Richter: See Research Poster Here

Ethnic-racial socialization is a fundamental process in identity formation where children adopt values, beliefs, and a sense of belonging to their ethnic group from their caretakers. Promoting a strong connection to the child’s cultural background can result in better academic, behavioral, and emotional outcomes for children of color later on. Our research looks at how parenting strategies measured in discussions about racism between parent and child impact child ethnic identity. Further, we are investigating how positive parenting strategies can foster a strong connection between a child and their ethnic group, and whether this connection can have an effect on the child’s sense of belonging in the school environment. This is especially important in the face of possible racial bias and serves to safeguard a child’s social-emotional wellbeing in school.

5. Paola Golemon: See Research Poster Here

My research is focused on the relationship between Latine parents’ calm authority and the language development of their autistic children. Parents’ calm authority is based on the value of respeto, a parenting trait that is highly regarded in Latine culture. There is often a misconception that respeto is an authoritarian or harsh parenting style. Latine parents, however, use respeto as an authority that is calm and affectionate while also conveying their expectations regarding their children’s obedience. Parenting styles have a noticeable effect on children’s language development, and this is especially important in autistic children, who often struggle with language. This research area is fairly new but of much importance since it is still unknown how Latine parents’ use of calm authority facilitates the language development of their autistic children. It is important to see this kind of inclusivity in research since culture plays an essential role in all aspects of child development. Early intervention is crucial to promote language development in autistic children. With the population of the Latine community on the rise in this country, in order to provide services that promote the language development of autistic children, there needs to be an understanding first of the cultural values that these children are being raised with.

6. Sebastian Oliva: See Research Poster Here

Latine parenting is heavily guided by respeto, a cultural value that calls for calm authority from the parent and affiliative obedience from the child. Previous studies indicate that affiliative obedience, the ability to follow directions in a way that communicates warmth and affection, positively correlates with parent responsivity (verbal feedback) and language match (how parents match their language to their child’s level). However, these studies have been conducted with neurotypical children, and not with autistic children who may lack the social awareness to adhere to cultural standards like affiliative obedience. Our study focuses on how parent responsivity and language shape interactions between Latine parents and their autistic children. We hypothesize that parents who are more verbally responsive to their children’s communication and who use language that is sensitive to their child’s language level will have children with higher levels of affiliative obedience. Our findings would give Latine parents of autistic children insight into how to better facilitate interactions with their children in ways that align with the values of their culture.

7. Yanet Admasu: See Research Poster Here

My research question focuses on how adult and child language use during mealtimes impacts children’s language outcomes, specifically in Spanish-speaking homes. This research is important because mealtime talk between parent and children has long been associated with children’s current and future language skills (Smolen et al., 2021) and this could have a significant impact on children’s language outcomes. This research allows us to take a holistic look at children’s language environment by looking at their interaction with parents, other adults in the house, as well as siblings. We expect that children who are asked more open-ended questions during mealtime conversations will have higher language outcomes than those whose conversations are marked by more imperative (commands) or declarative statements. Overall, we found it important to investigate this topic because the results may shed light on how families can support children’s language development during mealtimes.

8. Bella Burda: See Research Poster Here

Infants and young children spend a majority of their time asleep and this is essential for their developing brain and body. Sleep quantity and sleep quality are equally important when it comes to sleep health. Parents play a huge role in child sleep outcomes, such as developing a bedtime routine to encourage better sleep. Children’s sleep outcomes may be affected by parents’ attachment style to each other, but little research has examined the relationship between adult attachment and child sleep in Hispanic/Latino families. In our study with Hispanic/Latino families, we predict that parents with poorer attachments to their partner (rated higher in attachment anxiety or attachment avoidance) will report greater child sleep problems. Learning more about this topic could help pave a way for future early intervention programs that promote stronger attachments in parents’ relationships to improve children’s sleep health.

9. Monse Hernandez Ramirez: See Research Poster Here

The relationship that exists between a parent and a child is a critical component of a child’s emotional and mental development. Further, this relationship can be affected by parents’ behavior and sleep. Research findings have demonstrated that poor sleep is associated with greater daily stress reactivity. Therefore, poor parental sleep can interfere with positive parent-child interactions, as parents can experience more stress after nights of poorer sleep, but this association can be overlooked in research. The goal of our study is to assess how sleep relates to perceptions of everyday life stress and how this ultimately impacts parent-child relationships among Hispanic families. Our findings will indicate whether there is a direct relationship between parents’ sleep and the way they interact with their children. The overall goal for this study is to assess sleep and stress reactivity among Hispanic families to help promote positive parent-child relationships.

10. Mi Huynh: See Research Poster Here

Adults can implicitly learn prosodic sequences in languages to help them remember pronunciation. Prosody is the rhythmic pattern of languages. For example, the phonetic transcription for remember is /rImEmbUH/. The emphasis on vowels produces the prosody and this pattern is continued every time the word is pronounced. While substantial work on prosodic variation exists, culturally responsive research is needed to explore this among underrepresented groups, such as Spanish-English bilingual speakers. How do Spanish-English speaking adults with either high or low English proficiency apply prosodic structure in their language use? This study will analyze how different types of Spanish-English speakers perform. Our prediction is that individuals with lower language proficiency will apply less prosody to facilitate their learning. The results of this study will expand the research on bilingual speakers and could be used to assist bilingual children with their language learning.