Dr. Mead’s research explores language development in young children within a variety of contexts, focusing on the transcription and analysis of language samples and examining how they relate to other language areas (e.g., private speech, narrative complexity, bilingualism), cognitive abilities (e.g., non-verbal skills, executive functioning), and typical and/or atypical development (e.g., children on the autism spectrum).  She brings her research experiences and expertise into the classroom as she primarily teaches courses in introduction to child development, infant/toddler development, language development, research methods, and graduate-level cognitive/language development.  Read Danielle’s full profile below and listen to her personality playlist on the Lurie College Spotify account!

Assistant Professor, Child & Adolescent Development

Education

• Ph.D., Applied Developmental Psychology, George Mason University
• M.A., Applied Developmental Psychology, George Mason University
• B.S., Psychology, University of Mary Washington

Recent Publications

• Mead, D. L., & Winsler, A. (2019). Change over time in the type and functions of crib speech around the fourth birthday. Language & Communication, 67, 29-44. doi: 10.1016/j.langcom.2018.12.00
• Manwaring, S. S., Swineford, L. B., Mead, D. L., Yeh, C. C., Zhang, Y., & Thurm, A. (2019). The gesture-language association over time in toddlers with and without language delays. Autism & Developmental Language Impairments, 4, 1-15. doi: 10.1177/2396941519845545
• Thurm, A., & Mead, D. L. (2018). Skill attainment and loss. In Bornstein, M. H. (Ed.), The SAGE encyclopedia of lifespan human development (Vol. 5, pp. 2009-2010). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. doi: 10.4135/9781506307633.n745

Recent Presentations

• Mead, D. L., Hutchison, L., & Winsler, A. (2019, March). Narrative competence and executive functioning in young children with varying degrees of bilingualism. Poster presented for presentation at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Baltimore, MD.
• Manwaring, S. S., Swineford, L. B., Mead, D. L., & Thurm, A. (2019, March). The gesture-language association over time in toddlers with and without language delays. Poster presented for presentation at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Baltimore, MD.

Areas of Research Interest

• Autism spectrum disorder
• Communication
• Gesture
• Language delays
• Language development
• Private speech
• Solitary play

Recommended Reading

• Jim Henson: The Biography by Brian Jay Jones
• The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
• The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer