DeafnessNCT05993832
Word Learning in Deaf Children Using Eye-tracking and Behavioral Measures
A study testing input cue in people with Deafness, run by Boston University Charles River Campus at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
Mutual exclusivity is a word learning constraint in which the learner assumes that a given word refers to only one category of objects. In spoken languages, mutual exclusivity has been demonstrated in monolingual children as young as 17 months and cross-linguistically, while multilingual learners show an attenuated… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 60 months
- Conditions the study is for
- Deafness
- What is being tested?
- input cue
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 48 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 7 Aug 2023to 20 Jun 2025
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 60 months
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Child
Who may be able to join
- Deaf children ages 18-60 months
- born severely to profoundly deaf
- have either deaf or hearing parents
- communicate using American Sign Language
- have normal to corrected normal vision
Who cannot join
- Deaf children who have not been exposed to American Sign Language
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Mutual exclusivity is a word learning constraint in which the learner assumes that a given word refers to only one category of objects. In spoken languages, mutual exclusivity has been demonstrated in monolingual children as young as 17 months and cross-linguistically, while multilingual learners show an attenuated mutual exclusivity bias. Mutual exclusivity has not been robustly demonstrated in deaf children acquiring American Sign Language (ASL). Further, it is unclear if mutual exclusivity applies to those learning both a signed and a spoken language. Like unimodal bilinguals, bimodal bilingual (BiBi) children learn two words for an object, but these words are separated by modality. A BiBi child could therefore assume that all objects have two words (like unimodal bilinguals) or that all objects have one spoken word and one sign (within-modality mutual exclusivity). The goals of the current study are to demonstrate mutual exclusivity in monolingual deaf children acquiring ASL, and to determine if BiBi deaf children utilize mutual exclusivity within each modality.
Read the detailed description
The investigators will investigate how deaf children prioritize input cues to word meaning when linguistic cues (i.e. mutual exclusivity) and referential gaze are in conflict in a structured word learning task.
Participants: Deaf children (n=40) ages 18 to 60 months are eligible to participate. Investigators will recruit 60 children to allow for 33% attrition. While the inclusion criteria are the same as other studies, here investigators do use spoken language exposure as a grouping variable, as follows: based on responses to the language background questionnaire regarding exposure to spoken English, participants will be grouped according to language use as monolingual ASL or bimodal bilingual (spoken English/ASL). Participants will be identified as bimodal bilingual is 1) the primary caregiver reports spoken English to communicate with their child (either alone or in conjunction with ASL), and 2) the primary caregiver reports that their child's ability to understand spoken English is at least a 3 on a Likert-type scale ranging from 0-5. Parents in this group will complete the short-form English CDI in addition to the ASL language measures.
Procedure: Participants will sit across a table from an experimenter who will present pairs of objects--one familiar, one novel--with one pair in each of nine trials (three per condition). The experimenter will prompt the participant to give them one of the toys, signing "I WANT YOU-GIVE-ME WHAT?" Then the experimenter will provide a cue; the child's selection will be recorded. In the gaze condition, the cue will be a gaze shift to the familiar object. In the mutual exclusivity condition, the cue will be a novel sign. In the conflict condition, both a gaze shift to the familiar object and a novel sign will be used. The trial order and object pair will be pseudo-randomly assigned.
Planned analysis: Investigators will use an omnibus mixed effects binomial model to determine how well condition and language environment predict the likelihood to select the novel object, with item and child as random factors.
- Conditions
- Deafness
- Being tested
- input cue
- Keywords
- deafness, American Sign Language
- Medical subject headings
- Deafness
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
input cueOther
The object is labelled with 1) gaze only; 2) novel label only; or 3) conflicting gaze and novel label
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Word learning from referential cues | Experimental | All participants are provided pairs of objects (one familiar, one novel) with an accompanying prompt. The prompt types are 1) gaze (3 trials); 2) mutual exclusivity (3 trials); or 3) conflict (3 trials) Receives: Other: input cue |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Novel Object Selected
In each trial two objects are presented to the child, one novel and one familiar, along with one of three prompt types. Children select one of the two objects on the table in front of them by picking it up and handing it to the experimenter. One each trial, the selected object is scored as novel or familiar based on which object is selected. Data is analyzed as proportion of trials on which the novel object was selected.
Measured: Trial time frame: 10 seconds, beginning from the end of the experimenter's prompt, i.e. once the experimenter asked the child for an object, the child had 10 seconds to respond by selecting one of the two presented objects.
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted15 Aug 2023
- Study start7 Aug 2023
- Primary completion20 Jun 2025
- Study completion20 Jun 2025
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Posted resultsParticipant flow, outcome measures and adverse events reported by the sponsor.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for DeafnessStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 48 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Boston University Charles River Campus
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Amy Lieberman, PhD, Principal investigator, Boston University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05993832
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 4067E
- Other IDs
- R01DC015272
- Status last verified
- Aug 2026
- First submitted
- 7 Aug 2023
- Last updated
- 15 Sep 2026
- Results posted
- Yes, on ClinicalTrials.gov
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Publications
Fitch A, Lieberman AM. Deaf Children's Use of Mutual Exclusivity and Eye Gaze to Determine Word Meanings in American Sign Language. Dev Sci. 2026 Sep;29(5):e70202. doi: 10.1111/desc.70202.
PubMed 42374996
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 15 Sep 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Word Learning in Deaf Children Using Eye-tracking and Behavioral Measures
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05993832
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 4067E
- Conditions
- Deafness
- Keywords
- deafness, American Sign Language
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 48 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Boston University Charles River CampusUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
- Study start
- 7 Aug 2023 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 20 Jun 2025 (actual)
- Study completion
- 20 Jun 2025 (actual)
- First posted
- 15 Aug 2023 (actual)
- Results
- Posted 15 Sep 2026
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Mutual exclusivity is a word learning constraint in which the learner assumes that a given word refers to only one category of objects. In spoken languages, mutual exclusivity has been demonstrated in monolingual children as young as 17 months and cross-linguistically, while multilingual learners show an attenuated mutual exclusivity bias. Mutual exclusivity has not been robustly demonstrated in deaf children acquiring American Sign Language (ASL). Further, it is unclear if mutual exclusivity applies to those learning both a signed and a spoken language. Like unimodal bilinguals, bimodal bilingual (BiBi) children learn two words for an object, but these words are separated by modality. A BiBi child could therefore assume that all objects have two words (like unimodal bilinguals) or that all objects have one spoken word and one sign (within-modality mutual exclusivity). The goals of the current study are to demonstrate mutual exclusivity in monolingual deaf children acquiring ASL, and to determine if BiBi deaf children utilize mutual exclusivity within each modality.
Detailed description
The investigators will investigate how deaf children prioritize input cues to word meaning when linguistic cues (i.e. mutual exclusivity) and referential gaze are in conflict in a structured word learning task.
Participants: Deaf children (n=40) ages 18 to 60 months are eligible to participate. Investigators will recruit 60 children to allow for 33% attrition. While the inclusion criteria are the same as other studies, here investigators do use spoken language exposure as a grouping variable, as follows: based on responses to the language background questionnaire regarding exposure to spoken English, participants will be grouped according to language use as monolingual ASL or bimodal bilingual (spoken English/ASL). Participants will be identified as bimodal bilingual is 1) the primary caregiver reports spoken English to communicate with their child (either alone or in conjunction with ASL), and 2) the primary caregiver reports that their child's ability to understand spoken English is at least a 3 on a Likert-type scale ranging from 0-5. Parents in this group will complete the short-form English CDI in addition to the ASL language measures.
Procedure: Participants will sit across a table from an experimenter who will present pairs of objects--one familiar, one novel--with one pair in each of nine trials (three per condition). The experimenter will prompt the participant to give them one of the toys, signing "I WANT YOU-GIVE-ME WHAT?" Then the experimenter will provide a cue; the child's selection will be recorded. In the gaze condition, the cue will be a gaze shift to the familiar object. In the mutual exclusivity condition, the cue will be a novel sign. In the conflict condition, both a gaze shift to the familiar object and a novel sign will be used. The trial order and object pair will be pseudo-randomly assigned.
Planned analysis: Investigators will use an omnibus mixed effects binomial model to determine how well condition and language environment predict the likelihood to select the novel object, with item and child as random factors.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Word learning from referential cues | Experimental | Other: input cueAll participants are provided pairs of objects (one familiar, one novel) with an accompanying prompt. The prompt types are 1) gaze (3 trials); 2) mutual exclusivity (3 trials); or 3) conflict (3 trials) |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 60 months
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Child
Key inclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Deaf children ages 18-60 months
- born severely to profoundly deaf
- have either deaf or hearing parents
- communicate using American Sign Language
- have normal to corrected normal vision
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Deaf children who have not been exposed to American Sign Language
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| input cueThe object is labelled with 1) gaze only; 2) novel label only; or 3) conflicting gaze and novel label | Other | Word learning from referential cues |
Primary outcome
Novel Object Selected
Time frame: Trial time frame: 10 seconds, beginning from the end of the experimenter's prompt, i.e. once the experimenter asked the child for an object, the child had 10 seconds to respond by selecting one of the two presented objects.
In each trial two objects are presented to the child, one novel and one familiar, along with one of three prompt types. Children select one of the two objects on the table in front of them by picking it up and handing it to the experimenter. One each trial, the selected object is scored as novel or familiar based on which object is selected. Data is analyzed as proportion of trials on which the novel object was selected.
Results and safety
Loading the posted results from ClinicalTrials.gov…
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 15 Sep 2026.
- Posted resultsParticipant flow, baseline, all outcome measures and adverse events.
- Results publication: PubMed 42374996Fitch A, Lieberman AM. Deaf Children's Use of Mutual Exclusivity and Eye Gaze to Determine Word Meanings in American Sign Language. Dev Sci. 2026 Sep;29(5):e70202. doi: 10.1111/desc.70202.
- OSF site with study materials, code, and dataLink provided by the sponsor.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Amy Lieberman, PhD principal investigator
Boston University
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing input cue in people with Deafness, run by Boston University Charles River Campus at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 15 Sep 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 15 Sep 2026). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Novel Object Selected (time frame: Trial time frame: 10 seconds, beginning from the end of the experimenter's prompt, i.e. once the experimenter asked the child for an object, the child had 10 seconds to respond by selecting one of the two presented objects.). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT05993832, which also lists 1 linked publication.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 15 Sep 2026.