Mission

Thousands of children are diagnosed annually with developmental disorders that involve impaired cognition and language. Familiar examples include autism, ADHD, reading disabilities, and specific language impairment (SLI). The aim of the Cognitive and Language Development Center (CLDC) is to conduct interdisciplinary research that will reveal the interplay of cognition and language during development and determine how cognition and language contribute to developmental disorders.

An additional goal of CLDC is to provide interdisciplinary training in the scientific literatures and methods relevant to studying cognitive and language development. Students are admitted to the graduate program through either through the Department of Psychological Sciences or the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. Graduate training involves coursework in both departments but the main emphasis is on research training following an apprenticeship model in which a premium is placed on obtaining research experience in multiple laboratories in both departments. Thus, consistent with the goals of CLDC, students become well-versed in multiple conceptual approaches and methods that cross disciplinary boundaries.