Contributions to Science
Early detection of speech and communication impairments in cerebral palsy
My research program is dedicated to advancing the early detection of speech impairments in infants and young children with cerebral palsy (CP) through the study of infant vocal behaviors. My primary hypothesis is that the neurological damage that affects speech production in children with CP can also impact prelinguistic articulation development, potentially revealing vocal biomarkers that can signal speech impairment. This work is informed by an infrastructural theoretical framework of vocal development, which presumes that early vocal production lays the foundation for later speech abilities. This research is richly grounded in my experience as an SLP where I served preschool and school-aged children with CP and complex communication needs. The long-term goal of this research is to facilitate earlier access to interventions for augmentative and alternative communication for children with CP and speech impairments.
Featured papers:
Communicative participation is Fellowship: Positioning the “F-Words for Child Development” in the scope of communication sciences and disorders (Long et al., under review)
Vocal production of infants at risk for speech motor involvement: A scoping review (Long et al., 2023)
Marginal and canonical babbling in ten infants at risk for cerebral palsy (Long & Hustad, 2023)
Longitudinal change in speech classification between 4 and 10 years in children with cerebral palsy (Long et al., 2022)
Infant vocal fitness signaling and the origins of language in humans
In my doctoral program, I examined social and nonsocial factors linked to infant vocalizations during interactive and non-interactive periods. These vocalizations are presumed to serve as signals to caregivers as an indication of their developmental progress. This research was conducted within the framework of evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo), which suggests that infant vocalizations are guided by a natural developmental logic that contributes to the emergence of speech in our species. The central hypothesis, known as the fitness signaling hypothesis, is rooted in the idea that there are positive selection pressures favoring advanced vocal behaviors that aid in the development of speech in infants. In other words, these vocal signals are not random but are shaped by evolutionary forces that support the eventual acquisition of speech in human infants, and these signals may be observably different in children with an elevated likelihood for communication differences or disorders.
Featured papers:
Canonical babbling trajectories across the first year of life in autism and typical development (Long et al., in press)
Perspectives on the origin of language: Infants vocalize most during independent vocal play but produce their most speech-like vocalizations during turn-taking (Long et al., 2022)
Protophones, the precursors to speech, dominate the human infant vocal landscape (Oller et al., 2021)
Social and endogenous infant vocalizations (Long et al., 2020)
Open science practices in communication sciences and disorders
Using a team science approach, I am actively involved in a secondary line of research investigating the impact and adoption of open science practices, including open access publication, in the field of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD). Our findings emphasize the necessity of promoting and incentivizing open science in CSD to improve equitable access to knowledge across international public and scientific communities.
Featured papers:
The effect of open access on scholarly and societal metrics of impact in the ASHA Journals (Long, Drown, & El Amin, 2023)
Open science practices in communication sciences and disorders: A Survey (El Amin et. al., 2023)
Access research beyond the paywall: Five strategies to read what you need (Pfeiffer, Long, & El Amin, 2022)
Upcoming and Recent
Conference Presentations
AACPDM 2024
American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine Annual Meeting
Quebec City, CAN October 23-26, 2024Speech and Language Development in Children with Cerebral Palsy and Seizures
Long, H. L., Romer, K., Spence, D., Warner, W., & Rhodes, L.MoLA 2024
Meeting on Language in Autism 2024
Durham, NC March 14-17, 2024Canonical babbling trajectories across the first year of life in autism and typical development
Long, H. L., Ramsay, G., Yoo, H., Su, P.L., Bene, E.R., Pileggi, M., Brane, N., Klaiman, C., Pulver, S.L., & Richardson, S., & Oller, D.K.Motor Speech Conference 2024
San Diego, CA February 21-24, 2024An examination of the relationship between infant vocal characteristics and later speech motor involvement in cerebral palsy
Long, H. L. & Hustad, K. C.ASHA 2023
Annual Convention for the American Speech-Language Hearing Association
Boston, MA November 16-18, 2023Vocal Production of Children with Anarthria and Cerebral Palsy
Long, H. L. & Hustad, K. C.Poster
An Examination of Early Vocal Production and Speech-Language Outcomes in Infants at Risk for CP
Long, H. L. Sandgren, C., Mabie, H., & Hustad, K. C.Technical Demo
Self-Archiving 101: Benefits for Clinicians and Researchers
Drown, L., Kearney, E., El Amin, M., & Long, H. L.Technical Demo
Bypassing the Paywall: Accessing Journal Articles for Clinical Practice and Evidence-Based Learning
Ciullo, B., Lassiter, T., Pfeiffer, D., Drown, L., Long, H. L., Gaeta, L., & Harold, M.Oral seminar