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Caroline Rowland

@carorowland.bsky.social

1.2K followers 550 following 380 posts

Researcher in child language development @MPI for Psycholinguistics & Radboud Uni. She/her. "All models are wrong but some are useful" (George Box 1978). https://www.mpi.nl/people/rowland-caroline

www.mpi.nl

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Caroline Rowland @carorowland.bsky.social · Jun 27

Children are incredible language learning machines. But how do they do it? Our latest paper, just published in TICS, synthesizes decades of evidence to propose four components that must be built into any theory of how children learn language. 1/
www.cell.com/trends/cogni... @mpi-nl.bsky.social

Constructing language: a framework for explaining acquisition

Explaining how children build a language system is a central goal of research in language acquisition, with broad implications for language evolution, adult language processing, and artificial intelli...

www.cell.com

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Caroline Rowland @carorowland.bsky.social · 1d

Fabulous review here! Essential reading for language and literacty bods

Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 2d

🧩Learning to talk & read isn’t just about effort or teaching—it’s shaped by biology, experience & context

🧠Our new review links genetics, neuroscience, psychology & education to show why some children find language or reading easier.

📖 doi.org/10.31234/osf...

🖼️genes→brain→cognition→behaviour 🧵👇

Figure 2 in the review: Levels of analysis from genes and brain systems to cognition and behaviour.
The child both influences and is influenced by parents through genetically shaped interactions, and by the wider school and social environment.
Figure design by Neil Usher.
Figure from this review paper: https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/w23yz_v1

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Reposted by Caroline Rowland

DamsonEd @damsoned.bsky.social · 1d

I knew something was going to happen, as my husband (a clinical researcher) was involved in planning COVID studies. As a school leader, I was finding out as much as I could and planning in any way I could.
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bsky.app/profile/tesm...

Tes magazine @tesmagazine.bsky.social · 1d

The CEO of the biggest MAT criticises the DfE for ‘an extraordinary dereliction of duty’ in not planning for school closures during the pandemic

DfE not planning for school closures ‘was a dereliction of duty’

Leader of the biggest MAT tells the UK Covid inquiry that while his trust was making preparations for closures in March 2020, he was not aware of the DfE issuing directives to local authorities

www.tes.com

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Reposted by Caroline Rowland

The Author, Séamas O'Reilly @seamas.bsky.social · May 17

When I was 7, my teacher told us to write an article about “world cultures” for school over the weekend. I remembered it late on Sunday so in a panic I made up something called the "Icelandic Fish Festival", figuring said teacher wouldn’t know either way.

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Reposted by Caroline Rowland

Cambridge University Press - Linguistics @cambup-linguistics.cambridge.org · 7d

"A compelling and thought-provoking analysis of human sociality and the origins of language."

The Interaction Engine by Stephen C. Levinson (@mpi-nl.bsky.social), Out Now & #OpenAccess

https://cup.org/4nusznG

#OA #Linguistics #LangSky 🐦🐦

Abstract painting of two people gesturing

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Caroline Rowland @carorowland.bsky.social · 2d

Cat Davies reports to the UK covid-19 inquiry this week "early childhood .... was significantly disrupted...Normally, when one support system falters, families can turn to alternatives... the pandemic removed almost all options simultaneously". medium.com/@ahcresearch...

Little Lives, Big Changes: How Covid-19 Shaped Young Children’s Development in the UK

Catherine Davies is a Professor of Language Development at the University of Leeds’ School of Languages, Cultures and Societies. Her…

medium.com

Reposted by Caroline Rowland

Simon Fisher @profsimonfisher.bsky.social · 4d

Twenty-four years ago today, our paper “A forkhead-domain gene is mutated in a severe speech and language disorder” was published: www.nature.com/articles/350....
A personal thread about the ups & downs of the journey we took to get to that point....1/n
🗣️🧬🧪

Image shows the first two printed pages of the paper “A forkhead-domain gene is mutated in a severe speech and language disorder” by Cecilia Lai and colleagues, published in Nature in 2001 (volume 413, pages 519-523). The abstract reads as follows:
Individuals affected with developmental disorders of speech and language have substantial difficulty acquiring expressive and/or receptive language in the absence of any profound sensory or neurological impairment and despite adequate intelligence and opportunity. Although studies of twins consistently indicate that a significant genetic component is involved, most families segregating speech and language deficits show complex patterns of inheritance, and a gene that predisposes individuals to such disorders has not been identified. We have studied a unique three-generation pedigree, KE, in which a severe speech and language disorder is transmitted as an autosomal-dominant monogenic trait. Our previous work mapped the locus responsible, SPCH1, to a 5.6-cM interval of region 7q31 on chromosome 7. We also identified an unrelated individual, CS, in whom speech and language impairment is associated with a chromosomal translocation involving the SPCH1 interval. Here we show that the gene FOXP2, which encodes a putative transcription factor containing a polyglutamine tract and a forkhead DNA-binding domain, is directly disrupted by the translocation breakpoint in CS. In addition, we identify a point mutation in affected members of the KE family that alters an invariant amino-acid residue in the forkhead domain. Our findings suggest that FOXP2 is involved in the developmental process that culminates in speech and language.

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Reposted by Caroline Rowland

Christina Bergmann @chbergma.bsky.social · 2d

This weekend I gave another workshop on #ShamelessSelfPromotion and now you all can apply what I am preaching by self-nominating as new Max Planck Director, for example in psycholinguistics

Go for it, especially if you think you aren't 'good enough'

www.mpg.de/directors
www.mpi.nl/news/help-sh...

Directors

The Max Planck Society offers Directors a unique platform for groundbreaking research and leadership in diverse scientific fields.

www.mpg.de

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Reposted by Caroline Rowland

Daniela O’Neill @danielaoneill.bsky.social · 3d

Oct 17 is #DLDday Internationally!

This is a great podcast to learn more about Developmental Language Disorder, a hidden but common lifelong disability that affects 2 children in every classroom of 30.

#DLD #ElemEd #cdned #K12 #languagedevelopment

Daniella Green @daniellagreen.bsky.social · Aug 12

🚗 This week, Kate welcomes Dr. Tiffany Hogan to explore Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). They dig into what DLD is, how it relates to dyslexia, signs educators can watch for at different grade levels, and how to support students in the classroom

🎧 reading-roadtrip.castos.com/episodes/s4-...

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Reposted by Caroline Rowland

Matt Goldrick @mattgoldrick.bsky.social · 6d

Postdoc (flexible start): child language development across different populations and contexts, methods including behavioral studies, large-scale data analysis, and/or computational modeling. M. Cychosz, Linguistics, Stanford Univ. postdocs.stanford.edu/prospective/...

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Caroline Rowland @carorowland.bsky.social · 5d

I want to go back to college and learn stats this way!

Andrew Perfors @andyperfors.bsky.social · 6d

Slight timeline cleanse maybe? I was interviewed about teaching and the article ended up being kind of sweet and full of bunnies so some of you may enjoy it 😊

Storytelling, stats, and helping everyone belong with Andy Perfors

about.unimelb.edu.au

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Reposted by Caroline Rowland

Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics @mpi-nl.bsky.social · 5d

We're seeking the next Director of the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics! Lead cutting-edge research in language & cognition. Nominations (incl. self) due 19 Dec 2025.
mpi.nl/career-education/vacancies/vacancy/nominations-and-self-nominations-sought-position-director-max

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Caroline Rowland @carorowland.bsky.social · 5d

Nominate yourself to come run your own research dept in lovely MPI-PL in the woods. Or nominate someone amazing - your colleague, supervisor, former student.... Deadline for nominations 19th December

Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics @mpi-nl.bsky.social · 5d

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Reposted by Caroline Rowland

wimpouw @wimpouw.bsky.social · 6d

www.envisionbox.org has been shortlisted for the Leo Waaijers Open Science price: ukb.nl/en/news/shor...

@babajideowoyele.bsky.social @jamestrujillo.bsky.social @sarkadava.bsky.social @DavideAhmar @acwiek.bsky.social

Amazing Markus Küpper made an animated video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HduI...

EnvisionBOX overview2025

YouTube video by Wim Pouw

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Caroline Rowland

Simon Fisher @profsimonfisher.bsky.social · 7d

"Earlier- & later-diagnosed autism have different developmental trajectories & genetic profiles. The findings have important implications for how we conceptualize autism & provide a model to explain some of its diversity." @vw1234.bsky.social & an international team report today in @nature.com: 👇🧪

Polygenic and developmental profiles of autism differ by age at diagnosis - Nature

A study of several longitudinal birth cohorts and cross-sectional cohorts finds only moderate overlap in genetic variants between autism that is diagnosed earlier and that diagnosed later, so they may represent aetiologically different conditions.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Caroline Rowland

Kat Tenbarge @kattenbarge.bsky.social · 9d

The real generational divide is people who refuse to watch a video if it could be an article versus people who refuse to read an article if it could be a video

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Dan Wuori @danwuori.bsky.social · 8d

Your face is an endless source of fascination and information for your baby.

Thread 🧵

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Nikki Botting @profnikkibotting.bsky.social · 8d

If you are the parent of an #autistic child and would like to help to shape #research please contact Mariana.

You don’t need to be an expert in anything except your experience of being a parent of an autistic child!

Your views will help to make our research relevant and family-friendly.

#autism

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Vincent Arel-Bundock @vincentab.bsky.social · 9d

{tinytable} 0.14.0 for #RStats makes it super easy to draw tables in html, tex, docx, typ, md & png.

There are only a few functions to learn, but don't be fooled! Small 📦s can still be powerful.

Check out the new gallery page for fun case studies.

vincentarelbundock.github.io/tinytable/vi...

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Reposted by Caroline Rowland

andrea e. martin @andreaeyleen.bsky.social · 9d

Ode to the original language model, or:
Give me literally Anything* instead of Large Language Models (LLMs)
*(no predictive coding either!)

By Lady Byronadrea LLMartin 1/n

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Reposted by Caroline Rowland

Mike Frank @mcxfrank.bsky.social · 9d

Ever wonder how habituation works? Here's our attempt to understand:

A stimulus-computable rational model of visual habituation in infants and adults doi.org/10.7554/eLif...

This is the thesis of two wonderful students: @anjiecao.bsky.social @galraz.bsky.social, w/ @rebeccasaxe.bsky.social

conceptual schema for different habituation models

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Reposted by Caroline Rowland

Julia Carrie Wong @joolia.bsky.social · 13d

Microsoft will no longer allow Israel to use its cloud services to enable its mass surveillance of occupied Palestinians – "the first known case of a US technology company withdrawing services provided to the Israeli military since the beginning of its war on Gaza"

Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its technology in mass surveillance of Palestinians

Exclusive: Tech firm ends military unit’s access to AI and data services after Guardian reveals secret spy project

www.theguardian.com

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Caroline Rowland @carorowland.bsky.social · 12d

Okay so someone in the DfE said "kids are disengaged, lets add more tests" and no one in the room said "hang on a minute...."?

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · 13d

Exclusive: The government plans to introduce a mandatory reading test for year 8 pupils in its upcoming schools white paper, amid fears poorer children are disengaging in the early years of secondary school

schoolsweek.co.uk/year-8s-to-s...

White paper to usher in year 8 reading test

Move to ensure poorer pupils are not shut off from wider curriculum

schoolsweek.co.uk

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Jacqueline Antonovich @jackiantonovich.bsky.social · 12d

-It's safe for pregnant people to take Tylenol
-It's safe to give your child Children's Tylenol
-It's fine to get a combined MMR
-It's fine to get an MMRV (MMR+ chicken pox)
-It's potentially dangerous to wait until 12 to get the Hep B shot
-It's safe to follow the vaccine schedule as is.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 12d

Highly normal. Nothing to see here, folks.

Pregnant Women, DON’T USE TYLENOL UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, DON’T GIVE TYLENOL TO YOUR YOUNG CHILD FOR VIRTUALLY ANY REASON, BREAK UP THE MMR SHOT INTO THREE TOTALLY SEPARATE SHOTS (NOT MIXED!), TAKE CHICKEN P SHOT SEPARATELY, TAKE HEPATITAS B SHOT AT 12 YEARS OLD, OR OLDER, AND, IMPORTANTLY, TAKE VACCINE IN 5 SEPARATE MEDICAL VISITS! President DJT

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Marah Jaraisy @marahjaraisy.bsky.social · 12d

Very excited to announce that yesterday I submitted my PhD thesis: The Linguistic Life of the Kufr Qassem Deaf Community: Language Emergence, Variation, Change, and Persistence.

I dedicate this thesis to my people: the resilient Palestinian people

THE LINGUISTIC LIFE OF THE KUFR QASSEM DEAF COMMUNITY LANGUAGE EMERGENCE, VARIATION, CHANGE, AND PERSISTENCE by MARAH JARAISI A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Supervised by Professor Adam Schembri and Dr. Marcus Perlman Department of Linguistics and Communication School of English, Drama, and Creative Studies College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham September 2025

Dedication This thesis is dedicated to the resilient Palestinian people.

(poem) Because I am not like match sticks, I light up once… and die. but I am like the fires of the Magi: I burn… from my cradle to my grave and from my predecessors to my descendants. Long as the horizon is my breath, and I have mastered the craft of ants, gently for history is written the way we dictate

By - Tawfiq Ziad -

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Simon Fisher @profsimonfisher.bsky.social · 13d

New paper alert! Systematic epidemiological analyses of up to 39,000 people illuminate biological/clinical links between impaired musical rhythm abilities & disorders affecting speech-language development. International collaboration led by @drsrishtin.bsky.social, out in @natcomms.nature.com. 👇🧪

Musical rhythm abilities and risk for developmental speech-language problems and disorders: epidemiological and polygenic associations - Nature Communications

Impaired musical rhythm abilities and developmental speech-language related disorders are biologically and clinically intertwined. Here, the authors explore the correlation between the two traits, finding evidence of epidemiological associations and genetic overlap.

www.nature.com

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