RESEARCH

Learn about breakthroughs that make a measurable difference.

Research Publications

To see examples of how researchers have used LENA technology to advance the areas of study below, click on a title to browse by subject area. Find out about new studies on language and brain development and read Q&As with expert researchers on the research section of the LENA blog.

For a complete listing of research studies that have used LENA, download the bibliographies of journal publications and LENA user research presentations.

Download the latest report from LENA’s research team: Inside Early Talk.

Data analyses from the over 10,000 children annually impacted by LENA’s programs have put us in the position to answer important questions about language environments in early childhood education. For instance, we’ve uncovered wide disparities between the language environments child experience at child care versus in the home.

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Deaf and Hard of Hearing

VanDam, M., Oller, D. K., Ambrose, S. E., Gray, S., Richards, J. A., Xu, D., . . . Moeller, M. P. (2015). Automated vocal analysis of children with hearing loss and their typical and atypical peers. Ear and Hearing, 36(4), e146-e152. doi: 10.1097/AUD.0000000000000138
Ambrose, S. E., VanDam, M., & Moeller, M. P. (2014). Linguistic input, electronic media, and communication outcomes of toddlers with hearing loss. Ear and Hearing, 35(2), 139-147. doi: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e3182a76768
Aragon, M., & Yoshinaga-Itano, C. (2012). Using Language ENvironment Analysis to improve outcomes for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Seminars in Speech and Language, 33(04), 340-353. doi:10.1055/s-0032-1326918

Intervention Studies

Suskind, D. L., Leffel, K. R., Graf, E., Hernandez, M. W., Gunderson, E. A., Sapolich, S. G., . . . Levine, S. C. (2015). A parent-directed language intervention for children of low socioeconomic status: A randomized controlled pilot study. Journal of Child Language. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1017/S0305000915000033
Zhang, Y., Xu, X., Jiang, F., Gilkerson, J., Xu, D., Richards, J. A., . . . Topping, K. J. (2015). Effects of quantitative linguistic feedback to caregivers of young children: A pilot study in China. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 37(1), 16-24. doi: 10.1177/1525740115575771
Suskind, D., Leffel, K. R., Hernandez, M. W., Sapolich, S. G., Suskind, E., Kirkham, E., & Meehan, P. (2013). An exploratory study of "quantitative linguistic feedback": Effect of LENA feedback on adult language production. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 34(2), 1-11. doi: 10.1177/1525740112473146

TV/Electronics

Sosa, A. V. (2016). Association of the type of toy used during play with the quantity and quality of parent-infant communication. JAMA Pediatrics, 170(2), 132-137. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics2015.3753
Christakis, D. A., Gilkerson, J., Richards, J. A., Zimmerman, F. J., Garrison, M. M., Xu, D., . . . Yapanel, U. (2009). Audible television and decreased adult words, infant vocalizations, and conversational turns: a population-based study. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 163(6), 554-558. doi: 10.1001/archpediatrics.2009.61
Zimmerman, F. J., Gilkerson, J., Richards, J. A., Christakis, D. A., Xu, D., Gray, S., & Yapanel, U. (2009). Teaching by listening: The importance of adult-child conversations to language development. Pediatrics, 124(1), 342-349. doi:10.1542/peds.2008-2267

Preschool

Burgess, S., Audet, L., & Harjusola-Webb, S. (2013). Quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the school and home language environments of preschool-aged children with ASD. Journal of Communication Disorders, 46(5-6), 428-439. doi: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2013.09.003
Irvin, D. W., Hume, K., Boyd, B. A., McBee, M. T., & Odom, S. L. (2013). Child and classroom characteristics associated with the adult language provided to preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 7(8), 947-955. doi: 10.1016/j.rasd.2013.04.004
Wiggin, M., Gabbard, S., Thompson, N., Goberis, D., & Yoshinaga-Itano, C. (2012). The school to home link: Summer preschool and parents. Seminars in Speech and Language, 33(04), 290-296. doi:10.1055/s-0032-1326919

Low Socioeconomic Status Populations

Wood, C., Diehm, E. A., & Callender, M. F. (2016). An investigation of language environment analysis measures for Spanish-English bilingual preschoolers from migrant low-socioeconomic-status backgrounds. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 47(2), 123-134. doi: 10.1044/2015_LSHSS-14-0115
Suskind, D. L., Leffel, K. R., Graf, E., Hernandez, M. W., Gunderson, E. A., Sapolich, S. G., . . . Levine, S. C. (2015). A parent-directed language intervention for children of low socioeconomic status: A randomized controlled pilot study. Journal of Child Language. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1017/S0305000915000033
Weisleder, A., & Fernald, A. (2013). Talking to children matters: Early language experience strengthens processing and builds vocabulary. Psychological Science, 24(11), 2143-2152. doi: 10.1177/0956797613488145

Linking Early Measures to Outcomes

Ambrose, S. E., VanDam, M., & Moeller, M. P. (2014). Linguistic input, electronic media, and communication outcomes of toddlers with hearing loss. Ear and Hearing, 35(2), 139-147. doi: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e3182a76768
Caskey, M., Stephens, B., Tucker, R., & Vohr, B. (2014). Adult talk in the NICU with preterm infants and developmental outcomes. Pediatrics, 133(3), 1-7. doi: 10.1542/peds.2013-0104

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Caskey, M., Stephens, B., Tucker, R., & Vohr, B. (2014). Adult talk in the NICU with preterm infants and developmental outcomes. Pediatrics, 133(3), 1-7. doi: 10.1542/peds.2013-0104
Caskey, M., & Vohr, B. (2013). Assessing language and language environment of high risk infants and children: A new approach. Acta Paediatrica, 102(03), 1-11. doi: 10.1111/apa.12195
Caskey, M., Stephens, B., Tucker, R., & Vohr, B. (2011). Importance of parent talk on the development of preterm infant vocalizations. Pediatrics. Online publication. doi:10.1542/peds.2011-0609

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Dykstra, J., Sabatos-DeVito, M. G., Irvin, D. W., Boyd, B. A., Hume, K. A., & Odom, S. L. (2012). Using the Language Environment Analysis (LENA) system in preschool classrooms with children with autism spectrum disorders. Autism, 17(6), 582-594. doi: 10.1177/1362361312446206
Oller, D. K., Niyogi, P., Gray, S., Richards, J. A., Gilkerson, J., Xu, D., . . . Warren, S. F. (2010). Automated vocal analysis of naturalistic recordings from children with autism, language delay, and typical development. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(30), 13354-13359. doi:10.1073/pnas.1003882107
Warren, S. F., Gilkerson, J., Richards, J. A., Oller, D. K., Xu, D., Yapanel, U., & Gray, S. (2010). What automated vocal analysis reveals about the vocal production and language learning environment of young children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40(5), 555-569. doi:10.1007/s10803-009-0902-5

Research Focusing on Adults

Li, L., Vikani, A. R., Harris, G. C., & Lin, F. R. (2014). Feasibility study to quantify the auditory and social environment of older adults using a Digital Language Processor. Otology & Neurotology, 35(8), 1301-1305. doi: 10.1097/MAO.0000000000000489
Wang, Z., Pan, X., Miller, K. F., & Cortina, K. S. (2014). Automatic classification of activities in classroom discourse. Computers & Education, 78, 115-123. doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2014.05.010
Wang, Z., Miller, K., & Cortina, K. (2013). Using the LENA in teacher training: Promoting student involvement through automated feedback. Unterrichtswissenschaf, 41(4), 290-305.

Validation in Other Languages

Orena, A. J., Byers-Heinlein, K., & Polka, L. (2019). Reliability of the Language Environment Analysis recording system in analyzing [Canadian] French-English Bilingual Speech. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 62(7), 2491-2500. doi: 10.1044/2019_JSLHRL-18-0342
Canault, M., Le Normand, M. T., Foudil, S., Loundon, N., & Thai-Van, H. (2015). Reliability of the Language ENvironment Analysis system (LENA™) in European French. Behavior Research Methods. Advance online publication. doi: 10.3758/s13428-015-0634-8
Gilkerson, J., Zhang, Y., Xu, D., Richards, J. A., Xu, X., Jiang, F., . . . Topping, K. (2015). Evaluating LENA System performance for Chinese: A pilot study in Shanghai. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 58(2), 445-452. doi: 10.1044/2015_JSLHR-L-14-0014
McDonald, M., Kwon, T., Kim, H., Lee, Y., Eon-Suk, K. (2021) Evaluating the Language ENvironment Analysis System for Korean. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 64(3), 792-808. doi: 10.1044/2020_JSLHR-20-00489
Schwarz, I.-C., Botros, N., Lord, A., Marcusson, A., Tidelius, H., & Marklund, E. (2017). The LENA system applied to Swedish: Reliability of the Adult Word Count estimate. Proceedings Interspeech 2017, 2088-2092. doi:10.21437/Interspeech.2017-1287
Weisleder, A., & Fernald, A. (2013). Talking to children matters: Early language experience strengthens processing and builds vocabulary. Psychological Science, 24(11), 2143-2152. doi: 10.1177/0956797613488145

Right from Birth: Eliminating the Talk Gap in Young Children

Read Dr. Steve Warren’s white paper describing the challenges presented by the “word gap” discovered by Hart and Risley in 1995 and the evidence-based strategies that are the core of LENA's technology and programs. Download the paper.

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