| Laurence B. Leonard | |
| Occupation: | Rachel E. Stark Distinguished Professor, Purdue University |
| Citizenship: | American |
| Workplaces: | Purdue University |
| Alma Mater: | University of Pittsburgh |
| Awards: | Callier Prize, University of Texas at Dallas, 2015Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2015Honorary Doctorate, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Sweden, 2021 |
| Education: | B.A., Psychology, University of South FloridaM.S., Speech Pathology, University of South Florida |
| Discipline: | Speech Pathology, Psycholinguistics |
| Sub Discipline: | Language development, Language Disorders in Children; Cross-Linguistic Research; Language Development; Language Intervention |
Laurence Baker Leonard is an American speech pathologist and linguist, recognized for his research on Specific Language Impairment (SLI) in children. As a leading scholar in this field, he has been selected to receive the biennial Callier Prize in Communication Disorders.[1] He also holds the Rachel E. Stark Distinguished Professorship at Purdue University,[2] where he directs research on language acquisition difficulties across different languages. Dr. Leonard's research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health for 26 years.[3] He has authored numerous publications on the phonological, lexical, and morphosyntactic challenges faced by children with SLI, and his work has greatly influenced treatment methodologies for language impairments. Leonard earned his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1973.
Leonard received his B.A. in Psychology from the University of South Florida in 1969 and his M.S. in Speech Pathology from the same institution in 1970. He went on to complete his Ph.D. in Speech Pathology/Psycholinguistics in 1973 at the University of Pittsburgh, where he was mentored by Audrey Holland.[4] Leonard's doctoral research focused on language disorders in children, and during this time, he began exploring what would become his lifelong research interest: Specific Language Impairment (SLI). After his Ph.D., Leonard embarked on an academic career, starting at Memphis State University.
Leonard has authored over 200 scientific papers, articles, and book chapters.[5] His extensive research on Specific Language Impairment (SLI) focuses on grammatical morphology, verb acquisition, and cross-linguistic comparisons.He received substantial funding from the National Institute of Health (NIH) through the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) for his research on grammatical morphology in children with specific language impairment (SLI).[6]
Leonard has employed methodologies ranging from experimental designs to longitudinal studies, working with languages such as English, Hebrew, and Italian. His work has been foundational in understanding the linguistic challenges of children with SLI, earning him several accolades, including the Alfred K. Kawana Council of Editors Award for Lifetime Achievement in Publications [7] from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Laurence Baker Leonard has been recognized by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) for his significant contributions to the field of speech-language pathology. He has been awarded the ASHA Fellow[8] and ASHA Honors,[9] the highest awards given by the association, acknowledging his extensive research and influential work on Specific Language Impairment (SLI) in children.
Leonard and his students have received Best Article Awards on several occasions, highlighting the significance of their contributions. For example, one of Leonard's award-winning articles was published in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research,[10] where his work as an editor also earned recognition. For instance, in 1987, Laurence Baker Leonard was the editor for the article "Characteristics of Children With Phonologic Disorders of Unknown Origin" by L.D. Shriberg, J. Kwiatkowski, S. Best, J. Hengst, and B. Terselic-Weber,[11] which earned the Editor's Award from the Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders.
Following this, in 1987, Laurence Baker Leonard served as the editor for the article "Phonetic Development in Identical Twins Differing in Auditory Function" by Raymond D. Kent, Mary Joe Osberger, Ronald Netsell, and Carol Goldschmidt Hustedde,[12] which received the Editor's Award from the Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders. The study provided significant insights into the phonetic development of twins with different auditory capabilities.