Language and the Brain Moonshot Poster Session

LING104 Language and the Brain

Students in LING104 at the University of Pennsylvania have worked on a semester-long project attempting to solve a huge problem or big open question in Language and the Brain. In this poster session, each team will present their solutions.


Use this form to give a virtual award sticker to your favorite posters


More info: https://languageandthebrain.org

DisOrder and DatOrder helps children find their voice in social situations

Christina DiCindio, Sophie Faircloth, Olivia Kenny

Abstract
A child's interaction with peers is essential to a satisfying, social, and joyful life. Children with pragmatic language disorder are unable to make meaningful relationships with their peers because of their impairments. We aim to improve the peer interactions for children with pragmatic language disorder to increase self esteem, reduce difficulties in social settings, and prevent further issues relating to behavior and learning. A network of camps with guided conversational activities, including a final play production, is our solution to this growing problem for children struggling with pragmatic language disorder.
Presented by
Dis Order and Dat Order
Hashtags
#PragmaticLanguageDisorder #DisOrderDatOrder #KidsFirst #Moonshot #Languageandthebrain
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Available December 8th 10:45-11:45am

Down Syndrome is Going Down: A Wearable Device that Increases Environmental Speech Input

Alexander Auchus, Bridget Yu, Parvati Ragoobeer

Abstract
Those struggling with Down syndrome have impairments in language skills, often exacerbated due to a lack of sufficient and high quality language input from the environment. Thus, our product is designed to improve their language skills, without the need for any invasive procedure or process. Rather than treating the person with Down syndrome, we are treating the environment in which they live. This method is not only non-invasive, but it also emphasizes how impairments do not always have to be treated within the person and can instead be treated by targeting external factors. The AI would track the child’s language development and speech intake and inform parents/caregivers of the most effective ways to facilitate conversation practice, allowing for increased modes of communication and improved language skills. An authentic way of increasing speech input, the AI would be capable of providing suggestions to parents as the child continues to grow and adapt, thereby constantly supplying appropriate advice at any given age or developmental period.
Presented by
Psych Squad
Hashtags
#isAIthesolution #psychsquad #downsyndrome #artificialintelligence #speechinput #environment #caregivers
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Available December 8th 10:45-11:45am

Chatty Charlie Welcomes You To LA: The Language Academy

Ariadni Oikonomou, Ebony Goldman, Silvani Amin

Abstract
Our group set out to explore how we could develop an effective and accessible online therapy solution for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder who are affected by deficits in the acquisition of prosody. Upon researching different forms of prosodic speech therapies, we developed a prototype for an interactive AI application that can combine multiple forms of therapy to improve children's prosody and adapt to their growing skills.
Presented by
Acquisition Ladies
Hashtags
#prosody #asd #acquisition #language #languageacquisition #languageandthebrain
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Available December 8th 10:45-11:45am

Lost in Translation: Prosodic Translation

Nikhil Avadhani, Jackie Martinez, Sarah Lee

Abstract
While machine translations are better now than they ever have been before, there is still one huge feature missing from these: prosody. Prosody includes all the rhythms and stress of speech, and focuses on how things are said rather than what is said. Prosody is a huge part of how we communicate, and so we felt that translations would never feel whole until this was included! Our idea was thus to create a translation app which could encode features of prosody such as stress, timing, and pitch patterns, and bring these from one language into another. However, this technology also has many other applications, and could open a new avenue for machine-driven speech interpretation.
Presented by
Bilingualism Gang
Hashtags
#bilingualism #translation #prosody #AI #apps
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Available December 8th 10:45-11:45am

Predicting and Preventing Childhood Speech Disorders

Ben Rutherford, Joan Shaho, Danny Chiarodit

Abstract
Our project is focused on the early detection of various childhood speech disorders. This early prediction ability will make therapy more efficient and effective.
Presented by
Phonetic Fanatics
Hashtags
#moonshot #phoneticsfanatics
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Available December 8th 10:45-11:45am

Language Deprivation in Deaf Children

Namrita Kumar, Amy Krimm, Ashley Barrett

Abstract
Language deprivation is a serious issue pervasive in deaf children. It is an issue that is exacerbated by physicians, nurses, audiologists, and other medical personnel recommending speech therapy and cochlear implants as a first-step "cure" for deafness. Our solution creates a system that educates healthcare workers to ensure a deaf child's access to sign language and Deaf Culture early in life. We predict that our virtual curriculum will reduce the number of deaf children with language deprivation.
Presented by
Pop Signers
Hashtags
#moonshot #ASL
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Available December 8th 10:45-11:45am

Sopht Music Poster

Allie Comite, Simone Fortin, Savannah Sparks

Abstract
Online Schooling has been a tough adjustment for all parties involved. We wanted to create a platform that will help benefit teachers, students, and guardians. Through our moonshot, we have created an app that takes all the best features of online schooling and combines them into one. We also added key features that have not been created yet from direct feedback from teachers themselves.
Presented by
Sopht Music
Hashtags
#moonshot #onlineschool #zoom #teachers #students
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Available December 8th 10:45-11:45am

Become a Polyglot Later in Adulthood with Auditory Training as a Baby

Maxwell Roling, Michael Hackett, Isabella Vura, & Nicolas Tola

Abstract
We attempt to answer the question of how can we help adults achieve multilingualism at a native proficiency?
Presented by
The Plastics
Hashtags
#plastics #polyglots #multilingualism
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Available December 8th 10:45-11:45am

Word Play: The Program to Mitigate the 30 Million Word Gap

Stephanie Walsh, Sophie Weich, Jason Yan

Abstract
Our Moonshot question is: how can we effectively narrow the vocabulary gap between low and high SES preschool-aged children to lessen long term effects. The final solution we have decided to pursue is a summer program aimed at preschool aged children 3-4 years old. This program will focus on providing these children with one-on-one time with either an older student or an adult, so that they get more experience with engaging conversations than they may get at home. This program will be externally funded in order to make it free to parents, and will offer high school students volunteer hours as an initiative to get them to work as trained volunteers. The program will include both structured and unstructured activities in order to make it both beneficial and fun for the kids involved.
Presented by
The Words
Hashtags
#words #SES #inequality #children
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Available December 8th 10:45-11:45am