Primary Investigators:
Bayan Ahmad
Rachael Amira Brimm
In Collaboration With Dr. Kristen Chris, Ed.D., CCC-SLP, School of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / Speech-Language Pathology and Mary Sill
About The Study
Developmental speech and language disorders (DSLDs) affect roughly 1 in 20 preschool children, impacting either the clarity of speech sounds, the structure of language, or both. Despite extensive research, no consistent symptom-based markers exist to help predict outcomes for these children.
This project evaluates and compares traditional language-based therapy, where children remain seated during sessions, with a nontraditional approach that incorporates fine and gross motor skills into therapy. By studying the effects of each method on the brain’s dorsal and ventral streams, this research aims to generate valuable insight for speech-language pathologists, child psychiatrists, psychologists, and neuroscientists.
Journal Articles
Coming Soon…
Conferences and Poster Presentations
Conference Papers
Brimm RA, Ahmad B, Sill M, Crish KS, Barkana BD. Explainable AI and EEG for Cognitive Load Monitoring in Pediatric Language Therapy. 4th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, and Internet of Things, Central Michigan University (CMU), USA, on September 05 – 06, 2026.
Ahmad B, Brimm RA, Sill M, Barkana BD, Crish KS. Comparing the Neural and Behavioral Outcomes of Fine and Gross Motor Language Intervention in Children with DLD: An Exploratory Study. In2026 12th International Conference on Control, Decision and Information Technologies (CoDIT) 2026 Jul 13 (pp. 2891-2896). IEEE.
Poster Presentations
Bayan Ahmad, Rachael Amira Brimm, Mary Sill, Kristen. Crish, PhD, Buket D. Barkana, PhD. Neural Correlates During Fine and Gross Motor Based Language Therapies in Children. UA Biomedical Engineering Research Day, March 6, 2026
Bayan Ahmad, Mary Sill, Rachael Amira Brimm, Kristen. Crish, PhD, Buket. Barkana, PhD. Towards a Pediatric Neural Model for Speech and Language Therapy: An EEG Study. UA Biomedical Engineering Research Day, March 14, 2025
