2025 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 9-11, 2025 • Pittsburgh, PA
DAVID L. LAWRENCE CONVENTION CENTER
| The Modality and Eye Gaze Organization (MARGO) Project: A Look at Caregiver Eyes
The Modality and Eye Gaze Organization (MARGO) Project: A Look at Caregiver Eyes
Eye gaze is an intrinsic part of communication, vital to supporting language learning, as seen by joint attention research. However, eye gaze usage varies depending on language modality, such as spoken English and American Sign Language (ASL). In spoken English, eye gaze is a social feature, showing attention and interest to the conversation. In ASL, eye gaze is an essential grammatical feature used to reference outside people and places, show role-shifting, and more. In ASL, there is a gaze towards the receiver’s face before the utterance to ensure their attention, and eye contact remains throughout the conversation, possibly breaking to be used for grammatical purposes. In English, eye contact might be made as an utterance begins, but may break off throughout the remainder of the utterance.
Using data from the Parent Infant Eyetracking Project, the Modality and Relative Eye Gaze Organization (MARGO) Project aims to explore how experience with different language modalities is reflected in caregiver eye gaze behaviors during play. MARGO specifically investigates where caregivers’ eye gaze falls while talking about the toys they are playing with, measuring if the caregiver is looking at the child, toy they are referencing, or other at different points in the utterance, including pre-utterance, initial utterance, terminal utterance, and post-utterance. Currently, results using a U Mann-Whitney test indicate eye gaze (n=652) during the pre-utterance period of a target word differ based on the child’s hearing status (p=.005), rather than caregiver experience with spoken versus visual language (p=.606). Caregivers with children who are D/deaf or hard of hearing tend to look more at the child’s face during the pre-utterance period than caregivers of hearing children. Up to 188 instances will be added to the current data set before presentation and will be analyzed using the current method as well as a chi-squared test.
- From this session, viewers will be able to compare the observed differences in eye gaze patterns between American Sign Language and spoken English
- From this session, viewers will be able to describe the differences in eye gaze use based on parental language exposure.
- From this session, viewers will be able to explain how eye gaze can be utilized in hearing related and language learning research.
Presentation:
3545975_18355GiovannaDoria.pdf
Handouts:
Handout is not Available
Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Giovanna Doria
(Primary Presenter), University of Connecticut, giovanna.doria@uconn.edu;
Giovanna Doria is a current junior undergraduate Honors student at the University of Connecticut, double majoring in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences and American Sign Language Studies. After finishing her undergraduate degree, Giovanna plans on pursuing her Doctorate of Audiology and hopes to work with the pediatric population as an audiologist.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Salary for Employment from University of Connecticut Office of Undergraduate Research.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Torri Ann Woodruff-Gautherin
(Co-Author), University of Connecticut, torri.woodruff@uconn.edu;
Torri Ann Woodruff-Gautherin, PhD is a Research Scientist in the HELLO Lab of Dr. Derek Houston at UCONN. Passionate about bolstering the voices of stakeholders, Torri Ann implements qualitative methods to highlight the power and value of individual voices in making change. Torri Ann is interested in the intersection of public health, early intervention, and family support.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Grants for Other activities from EAA.
• Receives Salary,Grants for Employment,Other activities from UConn.
Nonfinancial -
• Has a Professional
(Co Chair)
relationship for Board membership.
• Has a Professional
(Board memeber)
relationship for Board membership.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Financial relationship with UConn
EAA
NIH
CT EHDI Taskforce
CT Hands & Voices.
Nature: UConn - employee and a grant on this topic
EAA - grant for related work
NIH - employed on grant
CT EHDI Taskforce - co-chair
CT Hands & Voices - board memeber.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Derek Houston
(Co-Author), University of Connecticut, derek.houston@uconn.edu;
Derek M. Houston, PhD, received his doctorate in cognitive psychology from Johns Hopkins University in 2000, focusing on how typically developing infants segment words from fluent speech and recognize words across different talkers. After graduating, he constructed the world's first laboratory to investigate the speech perception and language skills of deaf infants who receive cochlear implants at Indiana University. Since then, his work (supported by NIDCD) has investigated the role of early auditory experience and parent-child interactions on cognitive, linguistic, and social building blocks of language development. He also engages in community-based participatory research aimed at addressing barriers families face in obtaining high-quality early intervention services for their children.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.