Research

LEAD is an fMRI neuroimaging study examining the brain basis of early language, literacy, and mathematics learning. We are specifically interested in the mechanisms underlying neurodevelopmental disorders that frequently co-occur: developmental language disorder (DLD), and specific learning disabilities in both reading (RD) and mathematics (MD).

Our goals are to: 1. Precisely characterize individual differences in brain activation for language processing in 5–6-year-old pre-readers, oversampling for vulnerable language skills; and 2. Identify behavioral and brain correlates of language processing that are associated with early reading and math development.

5- and 6-year-old children will visit Purdue’s campus for two sessions. First is an fMRI visit, in which the child will play language games and watch videos while researchers take images of their brain activity. On the same day, or in a separate visit, children will participate in various activities with a researcher to assess language, early literacy, and math skills.

We are especially recruiting children who meet one or more of the following criteria:

● Were late talkers or had an expressive communication delay

● Have demonstrated more difficulty than their peers in learning letters and letter sounds, or who struggle with other early literacy skills

● Have a parent or sibling with a history of a reading disorder such as dyslexia

● Have a parent or sibling with a specific learning disability in mathematics

● Have been diagnosed with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Dyslexia, Specific Learning Disability with impairment in Reading, and/or Specific Learning Disability with impairment in Mathematics

Morphological awareness, or sensitivity to the meaningful parts of words as in quick+ly, has been associated with literacy skills as early as age 5 (Marks et al., 2022) but is rarely formally taught. ​​The aim of this project is to design, implement, and test the efficacy of direct instruction in morphological awareness in early childhood and its relation to other pre-literacy skills.

WordBuilders is a new in-school morphology intervention for pre-readers. Our lab team has designed 10 small group active learning activities with a meaningful scope and sequence to support 4-5-year-olds in building morphological awareness and morphological knowledge. We use a randomized-control trial (RCT) design to examine how WordBuilders participation may influence language and pre-literacy skills over time.

Interested families can sign up to participate in WordBuilders here: https://redcap.link/word-builders

In collaboration with Dr. Chenell Loudermill and the Purdue Literacy Education and Practice Project (Purdue-LEaPP), we are studying reading development over summer vacation to understand how summer can be leveraged as an opportunity for growth. The SOLAR study tests the impact of intensive morphology-focused intervention on literacy outcomes for struggling readers going into grades 2–3.

Current 1st and 2nd graders (as of Fall 2026) with reading difficulties will be eligible to participate during the summer of 2027! Children will be randomly assigned to two groups: half will receive free intervention services over the summer, and half will receive delayed services during the following school year. Summer intervention will be delivered on Purdue’s West Lafayette campus by pre-professional Speech-Language Pathologists through the Purdue-LEaPP training clinic.

Families can indicate their interest at https://redcap.link/solar.

This project investigates morphological processing in child readers with and without dyslexia using a combination of neuroimaging and behavioral methods. Its goal is to inform literacy theory and research-based educational practices for struggling readers. This project was funded by NIH F32 HD110967. Data collection was completed in 2026, but data analysis is still underway!

Many educators and parents might expect that students with a reading disability (dyslexia) will experience greater reading impairment if they also have Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Dyslexia and ADHD are neurodevelopmental disorders with a high rate of comorbidity (an estimated 40% co-occurrence rate), but their shared risk factors and neurocognitive substrates are not well understood. In collaboration with Drs. Joanna Christodoulou, John Gabrieli, and a team at M.I.T. and MGH, this project illuminates the shared and discrete contributions of dyslexia and ADHD to reading mechanisms, both behaviorally and in the brain. Visit https://www.mrireading.org/ to learn more!

See recent products from this work:

Marks, R. A., Thesken, H. Norton, R. T., Kaminsky, A. J., Cardinaux, A., Wade, K., Azor, A. M., Takahesu Tabori, A., Doyle, A. E., Braaten, E. B., Gabrieli, J. D. E., & Christodoulou, J. A. (2026). Reading disabilities with and without co-occurring ADHD: No evidence for additive impact on reading skills. Scientific Studies of Reading,1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888438.2026.2672100