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- Staff & AdvisorsStaff & Advisors Our Leadership Team Steve Hannon, PhD President and CEO Read More Jill Gilkerson, PhD Chief Research and Evaluation Officer Read More Jess…
- Terms and Conditions of Site UseTerms and Conditions of Site Use General Thank you for visiting our Website. This agreement sets forth the terms and conditions that apply to…
- Thank YouCONTACT Let's strengthen early talk in your community.Thanks for contacting us! We will get in touch with you shortly. Sales Inquiries 303.441.9085 866.503.9918 info@lena.org Technical…
- Thank You for SubscribingNEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION Let's strengthen early talk in your community.Thanks for partnering in our mission! We are grateful for your support in all forms. If you…
- The 14 Talking TipsDOWNLOAD OUR FREE TALKING TIPS 14 Simple Strategies to Help Caregivers Talk More with Babies Build Talk During Daily Routines The 14 Talking Tips are…
- The LENA Shop and StoreShop for the latest LENA clothing and LENA vests in the LENA Store. Visit the LENA Store Try out the LENA Shop
- Understanding LENA TechnologyTechnologyUnderstanding LENA Technology LENA technology is the industry standard for measuring talk with children, which is a critical factor in early brain development. LENA uses…
- Understanding the Achievement GapUnderstanding the Achievement Gap What is the "achievement gap" and how does it form?The term "achievement gap" originated in the 1960s, when researchers began studying…
- What We DoWhat We DoWhat We Do Transform interactions in child care through job-embedded professional development LENA Grow is an innovative, research-based professional development program for early…
- Where are LENA ProgramsHelping communities reach children worldwideWhere are LENA's partners?LENA helps communities reach children worldwide.Organizations all over the world use LENA programs to enrich the language environments…
Webinars
- A conversation with Black Family Development on culturally responsive programming through a racial equity lensIn this webinar, we will hear from Black Family Development in Detroit, Michigan, on how their organization implements programming through a racial equity lens to achieve their mission. Through hearing their commitments and stories, we can continue to learn about ourselves and apply their ideas to our work.
- Beyond the 30 Million Word Gap: A Conversation with Dr. Rachel RomeoJoin LENA’s president and chief operating officer, Dr. Steve Hannon, as he hosts a conversation with Dr. Rachel Romeo, lead author on a study from Harvard and MIT that sheds light into the underlying neural mechanism that makes conversational turns so critical for brain development.
- Building Classroom Quality Through LanguageLearn about how organizations can support teachers in building classroom quality through interactive language, featuring guest presenter Sarah Hadden from Teachstone. We’ll discuss why classroom language matters, where we stand, and the challenges and opportunities associated with increasing interactions.
- Building culturally responsive, strengths-based programming across languages: Approaches from Denver and New ZealandIn this webinar, we will hear from program leads in the United States and New Zealand about the approaches they have used to build culturally and linguistically responsive programming. Working through this lens, their programs are building community and a holistic foundation of support for the children and families they serve.
- Connecting Cradle to Career: Why Universities Need to Care About Early ChildhoodIn recent years, the concept of cradle-to-career (C2C) planning and investing has highlighted how we can best use our resources across a person’s lifetime to improve their individual outcomes, as well as improve outcomes for the collective whole. In this conversation we’ll learn how two universities — one in California and the other in New York — have taken on innovative roles in their communities’ C2C pipelines and connected the “career” end of the spectrum back to the “cradle.”
- Creating Inclusive and Equitable Classroom ExperiencesLENA and Trust for Learning both recognize the importance of language and interaction to boost early brain development and set children up for a lifetime of learning success. Sign up for this webinar to learn more about what equity looks like in early childhood classrooms along with concrete strategies for supporting coaches, teachers, and administrators in fostering more equitable classroom environments.
- Every child ready by kindergarten: A case study in one school district’s vision of early childhoodNew neuroscience research shows us that the first five years of a child’s life are the most critical period for brain development, when the foundation of all language and literacy skills are built. Recognizing this, school districts around the country are increasingly investing in the early years to give children an equitable start long before kindergarten. We’re excited to explore this topic in a webinar with Jim Duggan, supplemental interim superintendent at Bourbonnais School District 53 in Illinois.
- Family Resiliency and Early Language: Leveraging a Public Health Lens With Interactive-Talk Initiatives to Improve Child OutcomesThis webinar leveraged expert perspectives from medical practitioners in the field to explore how helping families to increase communication can help build family resiliency and protective factors.
- Field notes: LENA Start implementers on building community partnershipsForming partnerships is one of the most effective ways to supercharge your program’s reach and impact. In this webinar, hear from a panel of representatives from LENA Start sites on how they’ve identified and engaged key partners.
- Funding a Head Start Model that Will Change the Course of Children’s Lives: Strategies for a Winning Head Start ApplicationIn September, the Office of Head Start will release over $1 billion in Head Start funding competitions for communities in 38 states across the country. In this webinar, we will get an overview of the Head Start funding opportunities from Jeffrey Capizzano, President of The Policy Equity Group. He will also provide participants concrete takeaways for developing a vision and strategy for writing a compelling Head Start application.
- Head Start Funding OpportunitiesThis fall, there are a number of funding opportunities available through the Office of Head Start. These include expanding Early Head Start Child Care Partnerships and state-specific opportunities, among others. Yvette Sanchez Fuentes, the former director of the Office of Head Start, and Dr. Candice N. Pittman, program manager with the Mississippi Head Start Association, will walk us through these opportunities and answer any accompanying questions.
- How to Implement LENA Start with Parents Younger than 20In this webinar, we’ll discuss how to implement LENA Start with groups of teenage parents. We’ll examine the unique challenges and opportunities that come with serving this age range. Two experienced panelists will share their learnings, walking us through best practices and solutions to common obstacles.
- Implementing a new community program: What we’ve learned in the first five years of LENA StartIn 2015, we launched LENA Start, a program for families that provides regular feedback from LENA technology to help increase adult-child interactive talk. Along the way, dedicated local partners have helped us to refine the curriculum, improve implementation, and evaluate success. In this webinar, Partner Success Manager Laura Camp will discuss lessons learned with panelists from two early partner organizations, Iowa State University and Huntsville City Schools.
- Integrating Innovative Professional Development for EHS/HS classrooms into Statewide SystemsLearn about how the state of Mississippi is seeking to meet their school readiness goals by piloting a systems-level approach to supporting Early Head Start/Head Start providers, rolling out job-embedded professional development designed to increase the quality of caregiver-child engagement county by county.
- Integrating LENA Home into Early Head Start ProgramsLearn how two different Early Head Start programs integrated LENA into their supports for families in this webinar. Through LENA Home, which embraces a trauma-informed approach, home visitors are able to use data to individualize their coaching and meet families where they are.
- Integrating Professional Development for Family Child Care Providers into Statewide SystemsLearn about how the state of Colorado is piloting a systems-level approach to supporting family child care providers in increasing the quality of caregiver-child engagement county by county.
- Introduction to LENA for Head Start Association StaffJoin LENA, a national nonprofit, to learn about how we partner with Head Start programs to promote language and literacy skill development in both center- and home-based programs. LENA uses an innovative, research-based approach that provides objective data on children’s talk environments to help foster a positive climate and improve child outcomes without increasing provider stress. This objective data is particularly critical amidst increasing concern that social distancing and mask requirements are curtailing teacher-child interactions.
- Introduction to LENA GrowFind out how LENA Grow is helping teachers to increase talk and interactive conversations in early childhood classrooms, and learn about the impacts we’ve seen with the program so far. Hear what teachers and coaches participating across the country are saying about the program!
- Introduction to LENA HomeLearn about LENA Home, an add-on to existing home visiting programs that combines a flexible, research-based curriculum with evidence-based feedback from LENA technology. Find out how LENA is helping parents and home visitors collaborate to improve children’s language environments.
- Introduction to LENA SPLearn more about LENA SP, a tool for researchers, clinicians, language professionals, and others who need detailed, scientifically reliable speech-language measurements of children 2 months to 48 months old.
- Introduction to LENA StartJoin us to learn more about the effectiveness and ease of implementation of LENA Start, a parent group model designed to support increased early language development and interaction.
- LENA for LibrariesJoin us for a brief overview of how libraries can incorporate LENA programs into their offerings for patrons. We’ll explore how other libraries are using LENA programs and share about benefits and positive results they’ve experienced.
- Maximizing Coaching Sessions with LENA Grow DataHow do we support teachers in making strong connections between data and action? Join us as we talk through the insights embedded in LENA metrics and strategies for using them to foster a strengths-based dialogue with teachers that builds enthusiasm for classroom talk.
- Mitigating the Academic and Social Impacts of COVID-19 in Child CareAs child care starts to re-open, COVID-19 recommendations are changing the way child care providers are able to interact with children and support their early academic and social development. In this webinar, we’ll hear directly from providers in three states on how COVID-19 recommendations have impacted their work. Join us for a conversation on how we can continue to adapt while creating a positive learning environment where interactions matter, now more than ever.
- Providence Talks Replication: Early Childhood Innovation at the Municipal LevelThis webinar will take a deep dive into how Bloomberg Philanthropies has thought about the work involved with the Providence Talks replication and the unique role of city leadership in spearheading change. Join us for an engaging panel discussion that brings in the multiple stakeholder perspectives that make large-scale innovation possible at the city level.
- Supporting teachers in building a responsive caregiving environmentAs many organizations and small businesses across the child care industry fight to stay operational, they must at the same time find ways to continue to support their staff and maintain a positive learning environment for children. In this webinar, we will discuss new data looking at the variability of interactions across child care settings, explore what quality means now, and offer strategies for supporting teachers in this work with an emphasis on reducing provider stress at the same time. We will hear from Amy Cubbage, president of Smart Start and a longtime advocate of quality, along with Rhonda Rakow, Director of Provider Services of Child Care Group and a program director working with LENA Grow in the field in ... Read More
- Supporting young children and families during COVID: Launching new programs and adapting to virtual family engagementFamilies with young children are facing exceptional challenges during the pandemic and need support now more than ever. At the same time, organizations are facing uncertainty in budgets and staffing, while also rapidly innovating and pivoting to virtual support. During this discussion, we’ll hear from an organization that has recently launched a new LENA Start program and another that has shifted their existing program from in-person to virtual. We’ll discuss why they took on a new program now, what was most challenging, and strategies for effective family engagement in a virtual context.
- The Power of Conversational TurnsThree studies published this year have shown the relationship between conversational turns and brain development. Join us for a discussion with the lead researchers, Drs. Jill Gilkerson and Rachel Romeo, moderated by Shannon Rudisill of the Early Childhood Funders Collaborative.
- Virtual Family Engagement: Ingredients for SuccessThe coronavirus pandemic upended program implementation plans across the country last year. From libraries to school districts to community organizations, local leaders pivoted and adapted, finding new ways to serve families. Though solutions to 2020’s challenges were as varied as the communities facing them, LENA’s Partner Success team witnessed creativity, innovation, and dynamic problem solving every day. In this special webinar, join us to hear stories from the front line about how our partners adapted to the challenges the pandemic presented, utilizing LENA’s virtual program offerings to reach deeper into their communities and beyond. Learn about practical strategies that worked for them, and get your creative, problem-solving juices flowing as you design your family engagement strategy for 2021.
FAQs
- Has LENA received media coverage?LENA has been covered in everything from research papers from Harvard-MIT to the Netflix series “Babies.” Visit our news page to read more about our news coverage in national and local media.
- How do you know LENA technology works?LENA technology has been proven in use worldwide for close to a decade by researchers, clinicians, and interventionists. Its language statistics were validated in a large-scale study that established norms for adult words, conversational turns, and child vocalizations. Every aspect of LENA technology has been extensively tested and calibrated in use through thousands of recordings in multiple languages and widely documented in published research. Download the technical reports to read more details.
- How does increasing early talk support closing equity gaps between students?LENA partner sites across the country are implementing the technology as part of programs focused on closing opportunity gaps by boosting early language. Aggregated results show that relative to where they started, children whose parents or teachers participated in LENA programs are experiencing more brain-building interactions, particularly those who started the programs experiencing the least amount of talk. Children whose parents participate in the LENA Start program are gaining nearly two months of developmental skill every month. Longer-term, a longitudinal evaluation from Huntsville City Schools in Alabama looked at the school readiness of 4-year-olds whose families had participated in LENA Start an average of 2.5 years prior, finding that the children demonstrated considerably higher early literacy scores than a matched ... Read More
- How does LENA align to my center or my school’s current evaluations?LENA’s programming will support the unique goals of your center or your school. Whether it’s through the lens of teacher professional development or increasing CLASS scores, we have found that our programming aligns seamlessly with your vision and priorities. Learn more about how different programs have seen results in their CLASS assessment scores using LENA.
- How does LENA protect privacy and maintain data security?LENA takes data security and privacy very seriously. We have built and implemented a multitude of technologies and processes to protect your data – and we stand behind them. We are proud to be Type II SOC 2 compliant, which means that every year an outside group audits LENA to confirm that we have appropriate data and privacy protections in place and are using them correctly. In LENA Grow, LENA Start, and LENA Home, audio recordings are automatically deleted immediately after processing into data (number of words and turns, etc.). The device has no playback capability, and the software doesn’t recognize the meanings of words, so no one can ever tell what was said. LENA SP and LENA Pro are ... Read More
- How does LENA’s “talk pedometer” technology work?LENA uses a small wearable device — often referred to as a “talk pedometer” — combined with cloud-based software to deliver detailed feedback that helps adults make proven, sustainable increases in interactive talk with children. Research shows that there’s significant variability in how much adults talk with children and tells us that those who talk the least tend to overestimate how much they talk the most. Adult talk levels vary significantly during the course of the day and from week to week. That’s where LENA comes in — our language-measurement technology is an objective tool to help parents and teachers understand, measure, and increase conversations with children.
- I am a partner site, and I have an implementation question. Who do I contact for help?We are happy to help with any technical problems you have. Please contact our support staff by emailing support@lena.org, calling 303.441.9072, or by completing the form on our contact page.
- Is the LENA device safe for toddler and infants?LENA devices are completely safe. They meet U.S. and international safety standards for electronics and toys. Unlike cell phones, they do not transmit. They use the same kind of low-power processors as hearing aids.
- What does LENA stand for?“LENA” stands for Language ENvironment Analysis.
- What is a conversational turn?A conversational turn is a simple back and forth alternation between a child and an adult. LENA technology counts that a turn has occurred when an adult speaks and a child follows, or vice versa, with no more than five seconds in between. Conversational turns are LENA’s proxy for quality “serve and return” interactions. Learn more here.
- What languages can LENA technology be used with?Caregivers can use LENA technology in any language to see changes over time. LENA has primarily been used in English and Spanish, and studies have been published to validate adult word counts in English, Spanish, European French, the Shanghai dialect of Mandarin Chinese, and Swedish. Researchers are working on validation studies in several other languages, including Hebrew, Korean, Norwegian, Danish, and Brazilian Portuguese. For other languages, the word count may be less accurate, but we would expect that the error rate would be consistent, so users can still confidently measure change over time and see times of high talk and turns.
- When was LENA founded?LENA is a national 501 (c)(3) nonprofit that was founded in 2004 by the late Terry Paul and his wife Judi, entrepreneurs who pioneered reading, math, and testing products used in 70,000 schools in the United States and more than 50 countries worldwide. Since then, LENA has become the industry standard for measuring early talk, used by communities all over hte world in programs for families and teachers. In keeping with Terry and Judi’s original vision to level the playing field for children experiencing inequities, LENA’s programs utilize the technology to couple actional feedback with coaching to help adults increase the quality and quantity of talk with children. The unique measurement tool has also fueled research breakthroughs in neuroscience and ... Read More
- Which communities are currently using LENA?Organizations all over the world use LENA programs and tools to understand and enrich the language environments of children in their communities. Trusted community institutions like schools districts, libraries, hospitals, early learning coalitions, and Head Start programs are building early literacy skills, stronger families, and school readiness through collaborative partnerships with LENA. Explore our interactive map to learn more.
- Which research studies have used LENA technology?For a complete listing of research studies that have used LENA technology, download the bibliographies of journal publications and LENA user research presentations. To see examples of how researchers have used LENA technology to advance the different areas of study, visit our research page to browse by subject area. Find out about the latest studies on language and brain development and read Q&As with expert researchers on the research section of the LENA blog.
- Why is “early talk” so important for children’s development?Early talk is one of the most important factors shaping children’s brain development during the first few years of life. To understand why early talk matters, it’s helpful to understand what science tells us about child development during the earliest years: Brains are built from the ground up. Unlike other organs, the human brain is unfinished at birth, and must be built through interactions with adults. Research shows that back-and-forth interactions with adult caregivers are one of the most powerful tools to create a firm foundation of healthy brain architecture for children. During the first years of life, infant and toddler brains are forming more than 1 million neural connections every second, the Harvard Center on the Developing Child reports. ... Read More
Articles
- ‘Just Talk’: In Wausau, Technology Program Helps Parents Boost Babies’ Language Skills
- ‘Nothing short of remarkable’: Study finds parents’ chats with their toddlers pay off 10 years later
- ‘Word pedometer’ aims to improve language development for children in Southwest Colorado
- $20K grant helps Catholic preschool teach tots to read for life
- 5 Top Takeaways from Catalyzing Connections: Promise Venture’s Latest Entrepreneur Showcase
- A high-tech approach to boost language skills starts with infants in Detroit
- A Look Back on 2020: Supporting Impact in a Year of Challenge and Innovation
- A new technology counts words babies hear. This program aims to get parents to talk.
- A Smart Start
- A smarter way to start
- After One City Experiments With Toddlers Wearing Recorders and Sees the Number of Words They Hear Grow 50%, 5 More Mayors Will Pilot Innovative ‘Word Gap’ Program
- Baby talk linked to later adolescent IQ
- Baby vest measures talk between parent and child
- Back And Forth Conversation With Children Important For Children’s Brain Development
- Back-and-forth exchanges boost children’s brain response to language
- Before I had kids, I vowed never to use baby talk. Here’s why I was wrong.
- Big Ideas for Early Childhood Innovation and Education Partnerships
- Birmingham receives grant for talk-based early childhood learning program
- Birmingham selected to partner with Bloomberg Philanthropies on early learning initiative
- Bloomberg cites Providence’s success in expanding childhood language program to 5 other cities
- Bloomberg Philanthropies Announces Replication of Mayors Challenge-Winning Early Childhood Learning Innovation in Five U.S. Cities
- Boulder non-profit LENA publishes research on importance of early talk with infants, toddlers
- Bridging the Word Gap
- Brilliant Detroit opening 7 new neighborhood sites this year in expansion push
- Can ‘word pedometers’ boost toddlers’ cognitive development?
- Can a bit of technology called LENA help young brains develop language?
- Central Iowa literacy program for babies expands this fall
- City of Providence Launches “Providence Talks”
- Coaching parents on toddler talk to address low-income word gap
- Connecticut Families Extra: More Conversation equals more Brain Growth
- Deploying the Power of Talk for Toddlers Reaps Academic and Social Rewards As They Become Adolescents
- Device capturing words you say to your child growing in our area
- Does “Early Education” Come Way Too Late?
- Does speaking to your baby boost brain development? Virginia Beach uses “talk pedometers” to help parents find out
- Early childhood language program launches second session in Wichita Falls
- Early education program addresses R.I. youth literacy
- Early Language Exposure and Middle School Language and IQ: Implications for Primary Prevention
- Early speech exposure could boost language skills for kids with autism
- Education Opportunity Project Spotlight: LENA
- Efforts To Close the Achievement Gap In Kids Start At Home
- Foundation Awards $765,125 in Grants
- Get them early, the key to educational success
- Gift of gab: Frayser children reach for kindergarten readiness before they learn to talk
- Grantee Spotlight Blog Series: Spartanburg County Public Libraries
- Hartford one of five U.S. cities launching language development program for young children
- HCS School Readiness Shares New Success Results of Early Start LENA Program
- Here’s an intervention to keep our youngest learners from falling behind
- High-tech device tracks communication with toddlers
- How to end the word gap? Cities invest big in baby talk.
- How to Raise Verbal Children
- Huntsville parenting program creating stronger student readers
- Impact Series: Agape’s Thrive by Five program enhances children’s conversation skills in preparation for kindergarten
- Importance of language development in low-income, high-risk children
- In the Beginning was the Word
- Infant nutrition and machine-based learning: Preliminary findings from Danone reveal colic promise
- Invention Opportunity In Early Learning And Development
- It’s time to harness the power of interactive talk to boost school readiness
- Language program is helping local kids get kindergarten-ready
- LENA Early Childhood Development Research
- LENA HOME – Developing children’s language
- LENA programs offer path to close the early childhood word gap
- LENA Start program teaches parents about benefits of early speech patterns in children
- Literacy program looking for new participants
- Measuring the tides of talk
- Muscatine library to expand on early talk programs
- New “Babies” Series on Netflix Features UC Merced Professor’s Research on Development
- New language program could increase school readiness in Spartanburg County children
- New program helping Memphis parents, children fight illiteracy and poverty
- New Program To Help Parents Monitor How Much They Talk To Infants, Young Children
- New Study Aims To Identify Autism Early With Telehealth
- New technology aiding parents and toddlers to communicate
- Not just ‘baby talk’: Parentese helps parents, babies make ‘conversation’ and boosts language development
- Parents learn how to talk to their babies in new Virginia Beach program
- Parents learn, babies talk: How coaching moms and dads leads to better language skills among infants
- Phoebe Child Development Center performs above national average
- Positive Parenting: Conversations
- Providence Talks Graduation
- Providence Talks: This Nonprofit Is Giving Children a Start in Life
- Public Policies, Made to Fit People
- Randomized Trial of LENA Home in A Home Visiting Program
- Read Aloud Delaware Launches New Partnership to Close Literacy and Talk Gap in Children
- Read Aloud launches initiative to close literacy and talk gap
- Roberts: Parent Coaching Can Relieve Stress, Bolster Babies’ Language Skills and Create a Deeper Sense of Community
- Sioux City recognized for work in supporting early school success
- Southwest Colorado program helps parents grow child’s literacy
- Speak to Me, Baby
- Speaking with toddlers could boost IQ scores and language skills later in life
- St. Vrain Valley, Longmont’s OUR Center partner to tackle the early childhood ‘word gap’
- Study aims to prevent children’s speech and language disorders before they start
- Talk pedometers may boost your baby’s brain development
- Talk pedometers may boost your baby’s brain development
- Talk pedometers may boost your baby’s brain development
- Talking To Your Baby Might Make Them Smarter, New Study Finds, Especially When They Can Respond
- Talking with babies helps them bridge word gap
- Talking with your toddler could boost IQ scores and language skills later: Study
- Talking with—Not Just to—Kids Powers How They Learn Language
- Teachers use technology too!
- Tech Can Make Your Conversations with Kids Way More Effective
- Techie Tools Teach Parents to Talk to Toddlers
- The ‘word gap’ and 1 city’s plan to close it
- The More You Talk to Your Babies, the Smarter They’ll Be as Teens, New Study Finds
- The Power of Conversation in Virginia Beach
- The Talking Cure
- The Vocabulary Gap
- This growing program is addressing Detroit’s literacy crisis — just don’t say it’s filling a ‘word gap’
- This Powerful Activity Can Change Your Child’s Brain
- Trying to Close a Knowledge Gap, Word by Word
- UCLA Study: Give Young Children a Chance to Converse
- Using Digital Recording Devices to Encourage Talk with Children
- Video: Beyond babble, back-and-forth conversations are critical for baby brains
- Voice as biomarker: Using vocalizations to screen for autism
- Want to Boost Your Baby’s Intelligence? Talk to Them – A Lot
- Wearable device counts words Detroit parents say to their young children
- Wearable Tech Helps Early Learners Improve Language Contact
- WEB EXTRA: Parent shares how LENA program prepared her child for success in school
- West metro program helps parents build babies’ and toddlers’ vocabularies
- What cutting-edge neuroscience tells us about early childhood development
- What went missing when Vice President Biden talked about the ‘word gap,’ record players and poor children
- What’s new in civic tech: Bloomberg Philanthropies replicates early childhood innovation program in five more cities
- Why the way we talk to children really matters
- Wyndham Vale Childcare Centre in Australian First to Use Technology to Boost Language Development in Early Childhood
- Your toddler is learning 8 new words a day. Here’s the best way to make use of that language
Posts
- 10 Tips for Family EngagementWe’ve pulled together 10 strategies for connecting with families in your local community.
- 2017: Year in ReviewThis past year, we've seen the number of parents and caregivers focused on improving interactive talk increasing every day, and many have been putting into practice what they've learned through LENA-based solutions.
- 5 “Wows” and 5 “Worries” from LENA Conference 2017Ten key insights from presentations and discussions at the 2017 LENA Early Language Conference.
- 5 ways to make data a part of your program success story (or, how I learned to stop worrying and love the data)We’ve all heard the saying, “No data, no dollars,” but in the field of early childhood services, collecting objective and reliable data can be uniquely challenging. Learn about how to use your data to share the real story of the great work your program is doing.
- 7 Ways Forward on the Paths to OpportunityAs we ponder learnings from the 2017 LENA Early Language Conference, the question emerges: where do we go from here? The discussions and presentations suggested seven ways forward.
- A Message to Early Childhood Educators — We see you!We see you washing paint off little fingers for the tenth time today. We see you using silly voices to make shared reading fun. And we see you putting your heart into your work.
- A parent perspective on LENA’s new longitudinal studyParent Traci Martin shares strategies for unpacking new research with parents, teachers, and caregivers.
- Atlanta Speech School uses LENA for families of hard of hearing childrenStaff from the Atlanta Speech School share how they use LENA feedback in coaching sessions with families to help increase their awareness and understanding of the audio environment in their home.
- Being culturally responsive to families during LENA Start classes and beyondPedro Mendez, birth to three program administrator at Denver Public Library, explains how his team prioritizes and responds to the needs of families in a culturally appropriate way.
- Bright Beginnings LENA Grow pilot shows significant change in the language environment of children experiencing homelessnessA pilot of the professional development program shows that teachers significantly increased the amount of interaction with the children in their classrooms.
- Case Study: How Sound Start Babies uses LENA SP to support parentsRead about how a nonprofit in New Jersey uses LENA SP to provide targeted feedback and coaching to parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
- Case Study: Teen parent program adopts LENA Start to grow connections between clients, childrenA home-visiting program for teen parents in Boulder County expanded their services to include parent-group classes, to the benefit of clients and their children.
- Case study: Why three organizations pivoted to offer virtual LENA Start classesWhen the pandemic hit, community organizations found their regular programming for families abruptly cut off. Learn why three pivoted to virtual.
- Celebrate Good Times, Come On: Virtual Ways to Acknowledge Your Families, Teachers, and TeamsIt can be easy to plug away at tasks and deadlines without taking time to pause and acknowledge accomplishments. Celebrating the small and big wins within your program is crucial to the health of your community.
- Children show elevated language skills one year after LENA StartChildren whose families participated in LENA Start are showing elevated language skills one year after the program, an analysis of longitudinal data shows.
- Clarke uses LENA technology to bridge home and school environmentsClarke Schools for Hearing and Speech, a listening and spoken language program for children who are deaf or hard of hearing, has recently incorporated LENA technology as a “standard of care” for all children enrolled in their early intervention program.
- CLASS Scores Increase After Using LENA Grow at The Primary SchoolEarly childhood teachers at The Primary School in East Palo Alto, Calif., used LENA Grow professional development to better understand and improve interactions in their classrooms.
- Colorado Home Intervention Program (CHIP) uses LENA SP to simplify program logistics statewideThe Colorado Home Intervention Program uses data from LENA SP to monitor language development in children who are deaf or hard of hearing and coach their parents to create a rich language environments.
- Early Head Start centers in Tennessee use LENA programs to improve early literacyPorter-Leath uses LENA programs to boost early literacy and connect teachers and families.
- Early Head Start programs use LENA Home to improve language and literacy outcomesTo help families and home visitors collaborate to improve language outcomes for children, many Early Head Start programs are using LENA technology in tandem with coaching during home visits.
- Early learning classrooms in Fort Worth ISD using LENA Grow increase CLASS scoresClassrooms that used LENA Grow, an experiential professional development program for early childhood teachers, increased scores in key CLASS domains compared to classrooms that did not use the program, a pre-post evaluation shows.
- Early pilot results show teacher approval, improvements in child language skills in classrooms using LENA GrowA pilot of LENA Grow in nine classrooms in Kansas found that teachers responded well to the program’s data-based coaching and children demonstrated better language skills after participating.
- Engaging resilience: How responsive caregiving lays the foundation for children to thriveIt is imperative for children beginning at a young age have the opportunity for secure, engaging relationships.
- Equitable and inclusive classroom experiences: Your questions answered!We’re answering questions submitted during our webinar about how to create equitable and inclusive classroom experiences for children with Dr. Iheoma Iruka of HighScope, Ellen Roche of Trust for Learning, and Lauren Cooper from LENA.
- Family child care provider used LENA Grow to connect with parents, childrenFor Pamela Robinson, a family child care provider in Georgia, using LENA Grow was an opportunity to show parents all the brain-building interaction that happens during the day in her home as she watches children.
- First Book Partnership Brings High-quality Books at Lower CostLENA is teaming up with First Book, a nonprofit working exclusively with programs and schools serving children in need to ensure they have access to top-quality books. Through First Book's LENA Marketplace, partners can browse a curated collection of bilingual and wordless books.
- First paper published linking conversational turns with brain structureThe first research showing a relationship between conversational turns and brain structure has ben published in JNeurosci. The paper investigates how back and forth interaction between children and their adult caregivers relate to white matter connectivity in the brain.
- Five best practices for parent recruitment and retention (virtually or in person)Explore key learnings on how community programs can recruit and retain families.
- Five cities will replicate Providence Talks, offering LENA programs for parents and teachers citywideFive cities have been selected to replicate Providence Talks — one of the first early language initiatives implemented at the municipal level — with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
- Five things to know about LENA and privacyAt LENA, we take data security and privacy seriously. We meet the highest industry standards for data protection.
- Four strategies one nonprofit uses to boost literacy citywideCalgary Reads, a nonprofit in Alberta, Canada, uses LENA Start as a core component of their citywide strategy to boost early literacy in Calgary.
- Frameworks for understanding effective family engagementWorking with families and communities is at the heart of what we do at LENA. This post provides an overview of well-established definitions of family engagement that inform our programs.
- From the archives: Conversations with adults boost child language development, study findsUCLA professor Dr. Frederick Zimmerman explains his 2009 research which indicates conversational turns have unique power to boost child language development.
- Georgia Department of Public Health uses community partnerships and Project LAUNCH funding to scale parent programming county-wideThe team at the West Central Health District drew on a range of existing community partners to find space to run classes, recruit parents, and scale impact.
- Harnessing the power of toddler talk for long-term child outcomesMegan Carolan, Director of Policy Research at the Institute for Child Success, shares how families, schools, and communities can all play a role in driving child language development.
- Honoring Pioneers in Improving Early Language DevelopmentCongratulations to the winners of the 2017 Terry Paul “Making a Difference” awards! These awards are given at our biennial conference, to recognize outstanding contributions to fostering talk with children birth to three.
- How coaches can help teachers take a deep dive into LENA dataExplore ideas and strategies to support teachers get the most out of their LENA reports and drive changes in interactive talk in the classroom.
- How researchers have adapted to continue using LENA SP during the pandemicTwo teams share how they’ve adapted their data-collection process to continue their studies.
- How to harness the untapped potential of family child care providersWe sat down with Jessica Sager, CEO of All Our Kin, to learn how boosting support for family child care providers can help solve America’s child care crisis.
- How to make video calls more engaging for infants and toddlersExplore tips and strategies for making video calls more interactive for young children.
- Implementing statewide PD for ECE teachers in Mississippi: Questions from the webinarWe had the privilege of hosting a webinar featuring our partners in Mississippi to learn how they implemented LENA Grow at a statewide level. Here, we answer common questions that arose during the webinar.
- Infant and parent brainwaves synchronize during playtimeParents’ brainwaves track and respond to changes in their infant’s brain activity when they play together.
- Infant and toddler CLASS assessment: Your questions answered!Teachstone’s senior research advisor discusses the state of early childhood classrooms, challenges and opportunities for growth, and answers common questions about CLASS.
- Initial longitudinal evaluation results: Huntsville children whose parents participated in LENA Start have stronger literacy skills two years laterPromising new data show that children whose families participated in LENA Start, a parent-group program focused on increasing early talk, demonstrated considerably higher early literacy scores and were far more likely to be at an advanced literacy level entering pre-K.
- Introducing LENA Home 2.0 – Easier to deliver and more accessible!The May 2018 release of LENA Home, which adds an early language focus to home visiting initiatives, includes easier access to key metrics, a fully revised coaching guide, and a refreshed online library of print and video resources.
- It’s never too late for interactive talk! Your questions on conversational turns research answered.In 2018, researchers published three studies examining the long- and short-term effects of interactive talk. Here we’ve answered the top questions on the role of conversational turns in child development.
- It’s Time to Shine a Light on Language Isolation in Infant and Toddler ClassroomsNew grant opportunities are making it possible to adopt data-informed strategies for ensuring that we can look forward to a time when every child’s day is filled with wonderful, nourishing conversation.
- Just call us LENAWe're excited to announce that we're simplifying our name to LENA. This change reflects who we are and the work we’re doing to support parents, educators, and researchers in improving the language environments of children worldwide.
- Justice starts at birthIn response to recent events, we have made a point to step back and deeply reflect in order to be both authentic and to highlight commitments on which we can and will act.
- Launch Fund Grant Recipients 2020 – Welcome to our new partners!In the month of June, we made awards to 12 communities to launch LENA programs. We are pleased to introduce you to our newest LENA partners!
- Launch Fund Grant Recipients 2020 Pt 2. – Welcome to our new partners!Through our philanthropic partnerships, LENA awarded more than $525,000 in launch grants in 2020. We’d love to introduce you to our newest partners!
- LENA Grow coach shares best practiceA peer coach shares how she incentivizes teachers during the LENA Grow program.
- LENA Grow: Lessons from our learning siteWe launched a learning site to gain hands-on experience implementing our professional development program for early childhood teachers. Read what we learned about establishing trust, engaging staff, and what’s next.
- LENA Launches Local “Learning Site” for LENA GrowWe’re excited to announce the first LENA Grow site in Colorado in partnership with the Aspen Center for Child Development, and this time LENA staff will be playing an active role in the coaching!
- LENA Programming Aligns with Head Start’s Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (PFCE) FrameworkLearn more about how LENA’s programs support key aspects of Head Start’s updated Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (PFCE) Framework.
- LENA researchers’ work featured in new Netflix seriesResearch by Dr. Eric Walle and Dr. Anne Warlaumont on the relationship between child language development and movement is featured in a new Netflix documentary, Babies.
- LENA Start partners with school-readiness texting program to add continued support for parents after graduationParents who graduate from LENA Start will be enrolled in Ready4K, an evidence-based program which sends texts to parents with suggestions on how to increase interaction with children.
- LENA Start Reflections & Funding AnnouncementLENA has the opportunity to offer matching funds through the generosity of philanthropists who are interested in expanding the reach of LENA Start. Applications are now open for 2019 LENA Start Matching Funds!
- LENA Start® Triples Its ReachIn the fall of 2017, LENA Start expanded to 16 metro areas, in partnership with 11 organizations around the country.
- Let’s NOT stop talking about talk.At LENA, we believe that adult caregivers have the power to make a difference in a child’s life. Helping parents – and early childhood teachers – use that power to boost vocabulary and literacy is a good thing.
- Libraries serve as community catalysts to build pre-literacy skillsPublic libraries around the country are using LENA Start to build children’s early literacy skills, connect families with community, and increase library engagement.
- Making a difference: We reached our goal to impact 10,000 children in 2019!Because of our work, more than 10,000 children experienced 14 million brain-building conversational turns this year.
- Matching funds support launch of new LENA Start sites nationwideOver the last two years, LENA Start has quickly expanded into 35 communities across the United States and Canada. Read about our newest community partners launching LENA Start this fall through our ongoing matching funds opportunity.
- Meet Miss VeraVera Dunson was skeptical at first. After all, she’s in her 70s, and she knows how to take great care of the kids in her classroom — what difference was having them wear a little device once a week going to make? But the results surprised her.
- Meet the new LENA Grow, redesigned for even greater impact!The new LENA Grow is refreshed, streamlined, and ready to bring an early language focus to your professional development initiative for early childhood teachers.
- Mom credits pre-teen son’s success to increased interactive talk in early childhoodChristine Gardy, a mom who gained insights from LENA feedback while her son was just a baby, attributes much of his success 10 years later to increased interactive talk.
- Mom uses LENA technology to advocate for more robust school support for daughter who is hard of hearingLisa Eberlein used LENA technology to investigate the language environment her daughter experienced at school. She used the data to demonstrate the need for her daughter to have an FM system in the classroom.
- New meta-analysis confirms that LENA’s automated measures significantly predict child language outcomesResearchers found a correlation between three of LENA’s measures – adult word count, conversational turns, and child vocalizations — and children’s language and cognitive skills.
- New report from Escambia County on LENA Grow Shows CLASS® GainsData from the first year of partnership with the Early Learning Coalition of Escambia County (ELCEC) shows that classrooms using LENA Grow, our professional development program for early childhood educators, showed gains on CLASS® assessment scores.
- New research says how much you talk with babies is linked to their IQ in adolescence10-year longitudinal study published in Pediatrics correlates interactive talk in early childhood with later cognitive outcomes.
- New research sheds light on the importance of conversational turnsNew research by a team at Harvard and MIT used LENA technology and brain imaging to measure the relationship between children’s language experience and their brain activity. The study found that conversational turns predicted variance in verbal scores, while the sheer number of adult words did not.
- New research strengthens link between adult-child conversation and brain structure, reading skillsA new study exploring associations between family socioeconomic background, children’s brain structure, and children’s reading skills indicates that children who experience more conversational turns may have increased brain growth, and in turn, better reading skills.
- Now is the time to support child care providers in building positive interactionsIt’s time we acknowledge that early childhood teachers are brain architects.
- Parent Profile: Kristen Rhodes finds community, concrete feedback in LENA Start programA mom who graduated from LENA Start shares how the program helped her to connect with her daughter and her community.
- Parent Profile: Lily Ellison Shares how LENA Start Changed her Approach to Reading“The thing I found the most interesting in the classes was the difference between reading to and reading with a child,” Lily explained. “Roseanna had heard the entire Harry Potter series, but we didn’t read it together, so the same parts of her brain weren’t lighting up.”
- Parent Recruitment 101: A Q&A with Jennifer CalderonA Recruitment Specialist shares her strategies for recruiting parents and families to participate in early childhood intervention programs.
- Parents as Teachers Affiliates Add an Early-talk FocusLENA and multiple affiliates of Parents as Teachers, a MIECHV-approved home visiting organization, are working together to promote optimal early development for children by supporting and training parents and caregivers.
- Parents gain confidence, skills, and awareness through LENA Start classesA young couple from Texas share how LENA Start classes helped them gain confidence in their parenting skills after the birth of the first daughter.
- Providence Talks replication: Your questions answered!We’re answering questions submitted during last week’s webinar about early childhood innovation at the municipal level.
- Putting a bow on 2018 and looking forward to 20192018 has been an incredible year for LENA with new research, strong partnerships, and 10 million conversational turns! We're thoroughly excited about the road ahead and all that 2019 will bring as we work toward our vision of all children entering school prepared for success.
- Q & A with Dr. Dana SuskindDr. Dana Suskind shares about the origins of her book, how she uses LENA technology, and why we all need to "spread the words."
- Q & A with Elizabeth Szymanski: Supporting family child care providers with business servicesElizabeth Szymanski shares about how family child care providers could help end America’s child care crisis, the resources and support they need to thrive, and how MyVillage eliminates common challenges.
- Q & A: How a philanthropic investment in LENA advanced the early childhood portfolio of the Overdeck Family FoundationWe sat down with Carly Roberts, Program Officer, Early Impact at Overdeck Family Foundation, to learn more about why the foundation invested in LENA and what’s surprised them along the way.
- Q&A with Dr. Beate Peter: Researching early speech and language intervention for children with classic galactosemiaA new clinical trial will use LENA SP to evaluate the effectiveness of a speech-language intervention for infants with a known genetic risk factor for speech and language delays.
- Q&A with Dr. Fred ZimmermanDr. Zimmerman explains his latest research into how environments and external factors affect population health and child development.
- Q&A with Dr. Jim Duggan: Why school districts should prioritize early childhoodYour questions on school readiness answered by the assistant superintendent of Bourbonnais 53 school district in Illinois.
- Q&A with Dr. Loretta Rudd: How University of Memphis is broadening their collective impact approach to scale early childhood programmingThrough a collective impact model, the University of Memphis is implementing LENA programs to build stronger families, increase teachers’ skills, and support students’ learning in their local community.
- Q&A with Dr. Reem Khamis-Dakwar: Empowering families to reclaim minority languages with LENA StartIn New York City, LENA Start classes empowered Spanish- and Arabic-speaking families to value their native languages and maintain them across generations.
- Q&A with economist Flávio CunhaAn economics professor explains his research on human capital formation, with a particular focus on understanding the forces that explain the large differences in the quality and quantity of investments that children receive from their parents and family.
- Q&A with Elliot Haspel, author of “Crawling Behind: America’s Child Care Crisis and How to Fix It”We were delighted to welcome author Elliot Haspel to our staff book club discussion.
- Q&A with Emma Quigan: How COMET Auckland is using LENA with indigenous families in New ZealandIn New Zealand, LENA is a tool to empower whānau (families) to connect to culture and each other.
- Q&A with Kai-ama Hamer: A discussion of family engagement and parent recruitmentFamily engagement specialist Kai-ama Hamer shares strategies for involving parents in community and school-based programs.
- Q&A with Katherine Bryan: Funding evidence-based programs to improve outcomes for childrenKatherine Bryan is a Program Officer at the Urban Child Institute in Memphis. Here, she shares about why the institute invested in LENA programs and how early investments have the potential to move the needle on kindergarten readiness.
- Research Roundup: Brain Waves, Intelligence, and Voter AttitudesDid you know your brain waves sync with your baby’s? Read the study and see other exciting new findings in this month’s research roundup.
- Research Roundup: How adult friendship, socioeconomic status, and screen time may affect developing brainsRead the latest studies exploring how everything from a child’s socioeconomic status to the hours they spend looking at a screen are related to their brain development.
- Research Roundup: How parents can shape children’s early brain development through readingThree new studies highlight how reading supports brain growth and cognitive function.
- Research Roundup: How researchers are using LENA technology to make new discoveriesRead about how LENA technology is facilitating new research breakthroughs.
- Research Roundup: How researchers are using LENA technology to understand child developmentLearn how different scientists are using LENA technology to better understand how children learn and develop and in what type of environment they thrive.
- Research Roundup: How social influences shape a child’s developmentRead new research that sheds light on how children’s peers, caregivers, and social environments may affect their development.
- Research Roundup: How to reduce the effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)Explore research-based strategies for helping children overcome adversity.
- Research Roundup: Learning during the first few years of lifeThree new studies provide insight into how children learn during the first months and years of life.
- Research Roundup: Long-term impacts of early childhood educationRead about new studies examining the long-term impacts of early childhood education on individuals and society as a whole.
- Research Roundup: New information on infant language acquisitionRead summaries of three newly-published studies exploring how young children develop and acquire language.
- Research Roundup: Supporting young children and caregivers during crisisAs normal caregiving routines are disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak, three research studies provide insight into how to support children and caregivers.
- Research Roundup: The Latest Findings on ReadingWe all know we should read with kids. But why? See the latest research on how reading affects child development.
- Research Roundup: Winter 2017Want to stay up-to-date on happenings in the realm of early childhood education? Our new blog series is designed to keep you in the loop on the latest early childhood education news, research, and updates. Check it out!
- Resources to help support your family and community during COVID-19Amidst mounting pressures, we believe the core truths of LENA still apply: early talk is key, and caregivers are the secret sauce.
- Results from parent survey confirm LENA Start is building stronger familiesWe analyzed data from 1,700 program participants and found that families report spending more time with children, talking more, and feeling more confident in their parenting abilities.
- School districts use LENA programs to improve kindergarten readiness, child outcomesSchool districts around the country are increasingly investing in the early years to give children an equitable start long before kindergarten.
- School readiness team at Huntsville City Schools uses LENA Start to increase children’s kindergarten readinessTo help prepare children to succeed in kindergarten, one school district in northern Alabama launched an early language intervention to boost cognitive development in children ages 0-3.
- Sequatchie Valley Head Start uses LENA Grow to meet performance standards for professional developmentSequatchie Valley Head Start uses LENA Grow to meet federal coaching requirements and work with teachers geographically separated over five counties.
- Simple, timely resources to build resilience in child care through talkAs child care programs navigate disruption this fall, a focus on maintaining positive interactions can help reduce stress and build responsive relationships.
- St. Vrain Valley Schools launches new initiative to close the early talk gapCommunity organizations in Longmont, Colo. are partnering to bring LENA Start to local families to help increase children’s school readiness.
- State of Colorado helps FCC providers build confidence, self-esteem, and relationships with children with LENA GrowThe professional development program has been built into Colorado’s statewide initiative to improve quality in infant and toddler care.
- State of Georgia Adopts LENA Grow™The first of six new LENA Grow™ implementations nationwide, the program will serve 800 children in 16 centers across the state during the first year!
- Study finds that families who participate in LENA Start increased adult words, conversational turns, and child vocalizationsFamilies who participated in LENA Start provided increasingly rich home language environments for their children, expanding how much they talked to and with them over the duration of the three-month class, compared to families who did not attend, a new study has found.
- Study from University of Minnesota finds LENA Start fits well into community infrastructureA new study on LENA Start from the University of Minnesota discovered that the program can be successfully implemented in community-based settings and that families enjoy participating.
- Survey results: How COVID-19 is impacting child care providersOur team surveyed hundreds of people working with young children – including teachers, family child care providers, and center directors — to better understand how they have and will continue to adapt to protect the wellbeing of their children and staff during the coronavirus outbreak.
- Teachers and coaches share their experiences with LENA GrowWe’ve interviewed LENA Grow participants nationwide for an inside look at what it’s like to complete the professional development program for early childhood teachers.
- Teachers, children benefit from LENA Grow Pilot with Teaching StrategiesDuring the four-month pilot, LENA technology was used to measure talk and provide objective feedback to early childhood educators in two early childhood classrooms in central Virginia. In one classroom, an impressive 87.5 percent of children experienced an increase in either adult words or conversational turns.
- Texas Children’s Hospital Becomes First Healthcare Organization to Launch LENA StartIn the summer of 2016, Texas Children’s Hospital launched LENA Start to support healthy developmental outcomes for children at a population-wide level.
- Thoughts on 15 years and the staying power of LENAReflecting on the past 15 years, Judi and I are struck once again by how much the team at LENA has achieved drawing from Terry’s first insights and ideas.
- To improve quality in child care, Dallas nonprofit looks to LENA Grow with virtual coaching sessionsCoaches have created a new system to ensure teachers are still receiving crucial PD on how to support early brain development.
- To improve quality outcomes, Early Head Start program looks to LENA Grow for timely feedbackLearn how one of the most successful Early Head Start programs in the country used LENA Grow to improve quality classroom practices.
- Two moms establish new parenting habits through LENA Start classesBest friends Kathryn Royse and Samantha Stover enrolled in LENA Start classes in Houston together and began looking for ways to increase conversation at home.
- Understanding how to support early brain development: Four themes that emerged in 2019This year, we explored many different aspects of early brain development through special webinars, blog posts, and conversations with experts. Here, we’ve highlighted four themes that emerged during 2019.
- Universities use LENA to put early childhood research into actionUniversities that use LENA are putting research into action, producing valuable data, and creating hands-on learning opportunities for students and faculty.
- Urban library expands reach and impact through community partnershipsSan Mateo County Libraries has built successful partnerships to boost the reach and impact of their programs. Learn about how they are delivering LENA Start through partnerships with San Mateo County Housing Authority, Ravenswood Family Health Center, and The Primary School.
- Virginia Beach adapts to virtual programming to boost child outcomes, reduce caregiver stressWhen the coronavirus pandemic hit, the team in Virginia Beach knew that they couldn’t afford to wait to transition to virtual programming for families and teachers.
- Virginia Beach family increases two-generation, bilingual engagement with children through LENA StartTaking LENA Start classes helped the Ochoa family learn to connect with their children in new ways.
- Virtual LENA Start classes help parents and teachers to connect and collaborateAt Best Memories Academy in Orlando, parents and teachers are partnering together virtually to create rich early childhood language environments for children.
- Virtual retention: Strategies for keeping families engaged in a community programThere are intentional methods you can integrate within your virtual communication to cultivate a space that welcomes vulnerability, trust, and collaborative participation.
- What’s new in LENA Start 3.0We’re excited to share that we’ve released a new version of our group program for parents and families.
- Why I joined LENA after 25 years in the public school systemLaura Camp, one of LENA’s most recent hires, joined the team after 25 years in public education. Read about why she left to join the movement to close the talk gap.
- Wisconsin health care company offers parenting classes as employee benefitIn a state where 77 percent of employers report having trouble finding employees, North Central Health Care is looking for an answer in an unexpected place: early childhood.
- Year in review: Looking back at progress in the midst of a pandemic2020 wasn’t the year we planned for. Yet, we’ve adapted, and the pivots have had impressive outcomes.
Staff & Advisors
- Betty R. Vohr, MDBetty R. Vohr, MD PROFESSOR OF PEDIATRICS, ALPERT MEDICAL SCHOOL; BROWN UNIVERSITY DIRECTOR, NEONATAL FOLLOW-UP CLINIC; WOMEN AND INFANTS HOSPITAL Dr. Betty Vohr’s research focuses on prospective studies examining the impact of interventions on the comprehensive neurodevelopmental, cognitive, motor, growth, functional, educational, and behavioral outcomes of high-risk infants, especially very low birth weight infants and infants with permanent hearing loss. Dr. Vohr has been Medical Director of the Rhode Island Hearing Assessment Program since 1990, and Coordinator for the NICHD Neonatal Research Network Follow-up Studies since 1997. Dr. Vohr has used LENA technology since 2008 to investigate the language environment of premature infants in the NICU and children with congenital hearing loss. Investigations with colleague Dr. Melinda Caskey have demonstrated ... Read More
- Charles R. Greenwood, PhDCharles R. Greenwood, PhD PROFESSOR OF APPLIED BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE, SENIOR SCIENTIST AT THE INSTITUTE FOR LIFE SPAN STUDIES, DIRECTOR OF JUNIPER GARDENS CHILDREN’S PROJECT; UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Dr. Charles Greenwood’s research is focused on evidence-based interventions. He has received KU’s highest award for research (the Irvin Youngberg Research Achievement Award in Applied Science) and is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. He directs Kansas City’s Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, which earned the Research Award of the Council for Exceptional Children for contributions to evidence-based practice, measurement, and for the training of researchers. Dr. Greenwood is also Co-Director of the Bio-Behavioral Measurement Core in the Kansas Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center. He is currently Co-Principal Investigator of a Research ... Read More
- Christine Yoshinaga-Itano, PhDChristine Yoshinaga-Itano, PhD Research Professor, Professor Emerita; University of Colorado-Boulder Dr. Christine Yoshinaga-Itano’s research focuses in the areas of language, speech, and social-emotional development of deaf and hard-of-hearing infants and children. She is both a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing and an audiologist. She has concentrated on the impact of early-identification and early intervention on the developmental outcomes of children with significant hearing loss. Dr. Yoshinaga-Itano was the first to demonstrate that when infants with hearing loss are identified in the first few months of life and provided with appropriate intervention services, that 80% are able to maintain age-appropriate language development and intelligible speech in the first five years of life. She also studies the development of ... Read More
- D. Kimbrough Oller, PhDD. Kimbrough Oller, PhD Professor and Plough Chair of Excellence; University of Memphis Dr. D. Kimbrough Oller’s research focuses on vocal development and acquisition of spoken language. In over 200 articles and books, his work addresses infant vocalizations, early speech production, multilingualism, and evolution of language. In addition to his position at the University of Memphis, Dr. Oller is an External Faculty Member of the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Klosterneuburg, Austria. In 2013 he was awarded the Honors of the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association, its highest honor. His bilingualism research includes Language and Literacy in Bilingual Children. His research in evolution and development of language includes The Emergence of the Speech Capacity, The Evolution of ... Read More
- Jess SimmonsJess Simmons CHIEF GROWTH OFFICER Jessica Simmons is the Chief Growth Officer at LENA and is thrilled to work with organizations across the country to support parents, children, educators, and communities in closing opportunity gaps. She brings over 14 years of experience in program design and replication, fund and partnership development, and program operations. In her recent past, Jess helped Reading Partners grow from eight locations to over 15 locations nationally and launched new program designs for Outward Bound across the Rocky Mountains. Jess has regularly consulted with local and national organizations on how to build systems to scale operations and increase impact. From her experience as a classroom teacher in North Carolina and Maine, she knows firsthand how important ... Read More
- Jill Gilkerson, PhDJill Gilkerson, PhD CHIEF RESEARCH AND EVALUATION OFFICER Dr. Jill Gilkerson is the Chief Research and Evaluation Officer at LENA and leads all research and analysis activities. Since joining the team in 2005, Jill has been instrumental to just about every major initiative involving LENA. She manages a team of researchers responsible for collecting and analyzing the spontaneous speech data used for software development, the LENA normative scales, and a wide range of academic research studies. Jill is a recognized expert in the relationship between parent talk and child language development, and her research has focused on the relationship between early language environment and demographic variables such as birth order, gender, and TV exposure. Jill led LENA’s efforts through the ... Read More
- John H.L. Hansen, PhDJohn H.L. Hansen, PhD ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR RESEARCH AT THE JONSSON SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCE, PROFESSOR OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, PROFESSOR OF SPEECH AND HEARING SCIENCES; UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS – DALLAS Dr. John H. L. Hansen’s research focuses in the field of speech processing and hearing science. He holds the University Distinguished Chair in Telecommunications Engineering, and is a Fellow of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), Fellow of ISCA (International Speech Communications Association), and received the Acoustical Society of America’s 25th Year Award. He has graduated 66 PhD/MS thesis candidates in speech and language processing (as well as in speech and hearing science) and is an author/co-author of 495 journal and conference papers and 11 textbooks. ... Read More
- Judith K. Montgomery, PhD, CCC-SLPJudith K. Montgomery, PhD, CCC-SLP Professor and Director of the Communication Sciences and Disorders Program; Chapman University Dr. Judith Montgomery’s research focuses on the effects of hearing loss on adults and children; child language and vocabulary development; and response to intervention models for speech language pathologists in schools. She worked for 23 years as an SLP, elementary principal, and then Director of Special Education in school districts in southern California. A Board Certified Specialist in Child Language, she is Editor-in-Chief of the journal Communication Disorders Quarterly. She received the Annie and John Glenn Award for Outstanding Leadership in School-Based Speech Language Services and has received honors from California Speech Hearing Association and the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA). She ... Read More
- Keith J. Topping, PhDKeith J. Topping, PhD Director of the Centre for Paired Learning; University of Dundee, Scotland, UK Dr. Keith Topping’s research interests are in the development and evaluation of methods for non-professionals (such as parents or peers) to tutor others one-to-one in fundamental skills (such as language, reading, or math) and higher order learning across many different subjects, contexts, and ages. He also has interests in electronic literacy and computer-aided assessment and in behavior management and social competence in schools. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts. He has extensive experience working with teachers, children, and parents in numerous school districts, as well as with government and non-governmental organizations, ... Read More
- Soyeong Pae, PhDSoyeong Pae, PhD Professor and Program Director of Speech Language Pathology & Audiology; Hallym University, S. Korea Dr. Soyeong Pae focuses her research on language acquisition across life span, development of culturally and linguistically fair Korean assessment tools of language and communication, evidence-based language/reading intervention in monolingual and multicultural contexts in consideration with low social economic status and language environment, and clinical markers for language/reading difficulties from dyslexia to language learning difficulties in transparent orthography. Dr. Pae is former president of the Korean Academy of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology and chief supervisor for language facilitators in Korea for children with multicultural backgrounds. She is an associate editor of Communication Sciences & Disorders.
- Stephen M. Hannon, PhDStephen M. Hannon, PhD President and CEO, LENA Dr. Stephen M. Hannon is the President and Chief Executive Officer of LENA, a national nonprofit focused on increasing adult-child talk to improve child outcomes. Steve is privileged to lead a talented team in the shaping and scaling of the organization’s caregiver-directed initiatives that integrate LENA’s “talk pedometer” technology. Steve leverages a wealth of technical and leadership skills honed over a 25-year career spanning multiple industries. He has been instrumental in transitioning LENA from an organization known solely for its research on early language to one known for putting research into action and positively impacting children and families around the world. An expert in optical remote sensing and statistical signal processing, he ... Read More
- Steven F. Warren, PhDSteven F. Warren, PhD University Distinguished Professor of Speech-Language-Hearing: Science and Disorders, Investigator with the Institute of Life Span Studies; University of Kansas Dr. Steven Warren’s research has focused on communication and language development in children with developmental delays and disabilities. Much of this work has focused on the effects of different types of communication and language interventions as well as the way that children with specific disorders (e.g., Down syndrome) respond to different approaches. Over the past 15 years he and his colleagues have conducted several randomized clinical trials on the effects of these interventions on children’s language development. For the past 10 years Dr. Warren has been investigating the impact of parenting on the development of children with ... Read More
- Vince SwartoutVince Swartout Chief Information & Operations Officer, LENA After graduating Western Michigan University with a BS in Mathematics, Vince began developing web solutions for a myriad of companies and eventually led the creation of large-scale SaaS solutions. He played strategic and tactical roles building a nationwide data processing company, and helped the Dolan Company through its IPO. Along the way he developed proprietary process improvement and workflow modelling methods, became well versed in audit and information security, and saw first-hand how important it is to connect good people and good “IT.” Vince moved to Colorado and joined LENA in 2013. At LENA he is back to his real passions – creating solutions and managing teams that help LENA scale and ... Read More