Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for Information and Practice Needs Relevant to Late Talking Children (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

Key Dates

None

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Tackling Acquisition of Language in Kids (TALK) initiative seeks to support activities to better understand early language learning and delay. Late talking, also known as late language emergence, is diagnosed when a child, usually over the age of 18 months, is not meeting expressive language milestones. Approximately 10% to 20% of children receive this diagnosis. Children may be at higher risk for late talking for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, premature birth, exposure to maltreatment or trauma, and intellectual and developmental disorders; and yet other children present as late talkers for no other known reason and with no other symptoms. NIH TALK intends to publish a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) to solicit applications for research projects that aim to better understand the information and practice needs of caregivers, professionals, and other invested parties who support late talking children and to determine whether those needs are being effectively met. Community engaged research combined with rigorous qualitative research and diverse teams is needed to enrich our understanding of how to get state-of-the-science information and practice to those who need it most to guide decisions about late talking children. This Notice of Intent to Publish (NOTIP) is being provided to allow potential applicants time to develop meaningful partnerships that will contribute to the NOFO’s requirements for community engagement, qualitative research partnerships, and Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP). The NOFO is expected to be published in fall 2023 with an expected application due date in winter 2024. The NOFO will use the R21 activity code. Details of the planned NOFO are provided below.

This research initiative aims to understand (1) the information and practice gaps that caregivers, professionals, and other invested parties face when making decisions and supporting late talking children; (2) how state-of-the-science information about developmental trajectories, potential outcomes, and evidence-based practice options for late talking children are being disseminated to caregivers, professionals, and other invested parties to effectively meet their needs. Resulting findings should set a sufficient foundation for subsequent research that would further engage invested parties to develop, evaluate, and/or implement state-of-the-science information and evidence-based practices to effectively guide caregivers, professionals, and other invested parties in supporting the success of late talking children.

Projects under this initiative can focus on single or multiple groups of invested parties who care for and support late talking children. Likewise, projects can focus on single or multiple groups of late talkers with varying conditions or risk factors associated with their late language emergence. Any portion of the continuum of service delivery, from birth to adolescence, is eligible for study. Projects must include a clear justification for how the proposed sample, design, and methods will contribute to understanding the information, practice, and/or dissemination needs of invested parties who support late talking children.

Examples of relevant research topics include, but are not limited to studies that:

• Explore what caregivers, professionals, or other invested parties want to know about the nature, extent, and developmental course of late language emergence
• Examine what caregivers, professionals, or other invested parties want to know about service delivery and evidence-based practice for late talking children
• Describe how caregivers, professionals, or other invested parties get information about the nature, extent, developmental course, and service options for late talking children
• Investigate whether existing informational programs or service delivery practices about late talking meet the needs of caregivers, professionals, or other invested parties
• Identify critical gaps in information and practice needs of caregivers, professionals, or other invested parties
• Explore the information and practice needs of caregivers, professionals, or other invested parties who support culturally and linguistically diverse late talking children
• Investigate the information and practice needs of caregivers, professionals, or other invested parties who support late talking children from communities at elevated risk for health disparities

The following studies will be considered non-responsive for this opportunity and will not be reviewed:

• Studies not on late talking children or those with a history of late talking
• Studies that use only a quantitative approach
• Studies that fail to incorporate a community engaged approach
• Projects that fail to include a plan for enhancing diverse perspectives
• Studies classified as clinical trials

Funding Information

Public/State Controlled Institution of Higher Education
Private Institution of Higher Education
Nonprofit with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institution of Higher Education)
Small Business
For-Profit Organization (Other than Small Business)
State Government
Indian/Native American Tribal Government (Federally Recognized)
County governments
Independent school districts
Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
Indian/Native American Tribally Designated Organization (Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
U.S. Territory or Possession
Indian/Native American Tribal Government (Other than Federally Recognized)
Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entity (Foreign Organization)
Regional Organization
Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government

Applications are not being solicited at this time.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Holly L. Storkel, Ph.D.
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Telephone: (301) 496-5061
Email: holly.storkel@nih.gov