Which lab are you representing?
– UConn Child Language Lab

What is your position in the Lab?
– Lab Coordinator UConn Child Language Lab

Can you tell us more about the study you’re currently involved with?
– The current study I’m involved with is titled, “Early Predictors to School Age Language: Individual and Interactional Child and Parent Factors” (IRB H18-208, PI Dr. Letitia Naigles). This study is a multi-pronged approach to the study of language-learning in ASD that includes individual child, individual parent, and parent-child interactional measures to predict variability in school-age language. We’ll be looking at the child’s narratives and category knowledge and parent-child join attention among other things. This project is being funded through a 5-year R01 grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). https://cll.research.uconn.edu/

Where did you study & what degree were you awarded?
– I graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2018 with my bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a minor in Women’s Studies.

What are your future goals and how has research fit into those?
– While I was at UNH, I was a McNair Scholar and completed an undergraduate research project that looked at cultural variations in narrative discourse style between U.S. and Colombian children. I’m interested in language development of children on the autism spectrum and their families within bilingual contexts, with a particular focus on how children tell narratives. In the future I hope to get my PhD and continue to research underrepresented populations.

What do you like to do in your free time?
– During my free time, I enjoy hiking or going to the beach and whenever I’m home, one of my favorite activities to do is paint. Painting landscapes is my favorite.

Link to UConn Child Language Lab website: https://cll.research.uconn.edu/