Emily Stanford holds a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Geneva with a specialization in Psycholinguistics. Following her doctoral studies, Emily was the recipient of an Early Postdoc Mobility grant awarded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) for which she spent 18 months as a visiting postdoctoral researcher at the Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca. This research aimed to examine the diagnostic validity of novel language-independent measures when assessing multilingual children for syntactic impairment. Her ongoing postdoctoral research at the University of Geneva (2023-2027), also funded by the SNSF, investigates the potential of explicit syntactic training to (i) improve syntactic abilities in French native-speaking children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), and to (ii) promote English Foreign Language (EFL) learning in French-speaking adolescents with DLD.       

Emily is an interdisciplinary enthusiast who believes strongly in the power of uniting rather than demarcating disciplines, in particular when it comes to language acquisition research. Although she has a background in theoretical linguistics, she has worked closely with researchers in the Psycholinguistics department at the University of Geneva for the last several years, collaborating on numerous projects investigating the language-cognition interface. She is passionate about using formal syntactic principles to design theory-guided tools for evaluating the syntactic abilities of mono and multilingual children with suspected language impairment as well as developing innovative evidence-based remediation strategies. The pathologies with which she has specialized expertise are DLD, Specific Learning Difficulties, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder.    

Finally, Emily has 15 years of EFL teaching experience and is especially drawn to working with English L2 learners with literacy and language difficulties. In addition to her other qualifications, she is currently working towards a Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (DELTA) as well as a Diploma in Strategic Teaching Support for Dyslexia and Literacy.   

Publications: 

Stanford, E. & Delage, H. (in press). The language-cognition interface in atypical development: Support for an integrative approach. Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica.

Stanford, E., Eikerling, M., Hadjadj, O., & Delage, H. (under revision). Supporting multilingual children with language impairment in a multilingual environment: Experience and perspectives from practitioners in Switzerland. International Journal of Multilingualism.

Delage, H., Eigsti, I.M., Stanford, E., & Durrleman, S. (2021). A preliminary examination of the impact of working memory training on syntax and processing speed in children with ASD:  Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1-19.

Stanford, E. & Delage, H. (2021). The contribution of visual and linguistic cues to the production of passives in ADHD and DLD: Evidence from thematic priming. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 1-35.

Delage, H., Stanford, E., & Durrleman, S. (2021). Working memory training enhances complex syntax in children with Developmental Language Disorder. Applied Psycholinguistics, 42(5), 1341-1375.

Stanford, E. & Delage, H. (2020). Executive functions and morphosyntax: Distinguishing DLD from ADHD in French-speaking children. Frontiers in Psychology.

Delage, H., Stanford E., Pillier, A., & Durrleman, S. (2020). Entraînement de la mémoire de travail : Quels effets sur la mémoire et la syntaxe d’enfants présentant un trouble développemental du langage ? Approche Neuropsychologique des Apprentissages chez l’enfant.

Stanford, E. & Delage, H. (2019). Complex syntax and working memory in children with specific learning difficulties. First Language, 1-26. doi: 10.1177/0142723719889240

Stanford, E., Durrleman, S., & Delage, H. (2019). The effect of working memory training on the production of object clitics in French-speaking children with Developmental Language Disorder. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 1-23. 28(4). doi: 10.1044/2019_AJSLP-18-023.