The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test

Preliminary psychometric properties of a standard vocabulary test administered using a non-invasive brain-computer interface

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2022
FRONT HUM NEUROSCI

Objective To examine measurement agreement between a vocabulary test that is administered in the standardized manner and a version that is administered with a brain-computer interface (BCI).Method The sample was comprised of 21 participants, ages 9–27, mean age 16.7 (5.4) years, 61.9% male, including 10 with congenital spastic cerebral palsy (CP), and 11 comparison peers. Participants completed both standard and BCI-facilitated alternate versions of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test - 4 (PPVT™-4). The BCI-facilitated PPVT-4 uses items identical to the unmodified PPVT-4, but each quadrant forced-choice item is presented on a computer screen for use with the BCI.ResultsMeasurement agreement between instruments was excellent, including an intra-class correlation coefficient of 0.98, and Bland-Altman plots and tests indicating adequate limits of agreement and no systematic test version bias. The mean standard score difference between test versions was 2.0 points (SD 6.3).Conclusion These results demonstrate that BCI-facilitated quadrant forced-choice vocabulary testing has the potential to measure aspects of language without requiring any overt physical or communicative response. Thus, it may be possible to identify the language capabilities and needs of many individuals who have not had access to standardized clinical and research instruments.

Morphological awareness and its role in early word reading in English monolinguals, Spanish–English, and Chinese–English simultaneous bilinguals

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2022

Xin Sun

Words’ morphemic structure and their orthographic representations vary across languages. How do bilingual experiences with structurally distinct languages influence children's morphological processes for word reading? Focusing on English literacy in monolinguals and bilinguals ( N = 350, ages 5–9), we first revealed unique contributions of derivational ( friend-li-est ) and compound ( girl-friend ) morphology to early word reading. We then examined mechanisms of bilingual transfer in matched samples of Spanish–English and Chinese–English dual first language learners. Results revealed a principled cross-linguistic interaction between language group (Spanish vs. Chinese bilinguals) and type of morphological awareness. Specifically, bilinguals’ proficiency with the type of morphology that was less characteristic of their home language explained greater variance in their English literacy. These findings showcase the powerful effects of bilingualism on word reading processes in children who have similar reading proficiency but different language experiences, thereby advancing theoretical perspectives on literacy across diverse learners.

Academic Vocabulary as a Measure of School Readiness

Chapter

May 2022

Researchers have historically focused on characterizing vocabulary development in infants and toddlers. However, less is known about the vocabulary composition of children entering formal schooling. The authors propose that a critical next step in understanding school readiness is to characterize the academic vocabulary of children entering kindergarten. These assessments should identify knowledge of words used in general academic discourse and specific domains (e.g., science). This chapter outlines initial steps taken by the authors to identify children's science vocabulary around the age of school entry. Furthermore, the complexity of vocabulary assessment is illustrated via a discussion of vocabulary development in dual-language learners. Understanding the words that children can produce at various stages of development will help determine whether children are ready for school and inform interventions that target word knowledge. Indeed, focusing on children's vocabulary presents an exciting new opportunity to integrate developmental science with real-world educational settings.

Auditory Verb Generation Performance Patterns Dissociate Variants of Primary Progressive Aphasia

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2022

Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a clinical syndrome in which patients progressively lose speech and language abilities. Three variants are recognized: logopenic (lvPPA), associated with phonology and/or short-term verbal memory deficits accompanied by left temporo-parietal atrophy; semantic (svPPA), associated with semantic deficits and anterior temporal lobe (ATL) atrophy; non-fluent (nfvPPA) associated with grammar and/or speech-motor deficits and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) atrophy. Here, we set out to investigate whether the three variants of PPA can be dissociated based on error patterns in a single language task. We recruited 21 lvPPA, 28 svPPA, and 24 nfvPPA patients, together with 31 healthy controls, and analyzed their performance on an auditory noun-to-verb generation task, which requires auditory analysis of the input, access to and selection of relevant lexical and semantic knowledge, as well as preparation and execution of speech. Task accuracy differed across the three variants and controls, with lvPPA and nfvPPA having the lowest and highest accuracy, respectively. Critically, machine learning analysis of the different error types yielded above-chance classification of patients into their corresponding group. An analysis of the error types revealed clear variant-specific effects: lvPPA patients produced the highest percentage of “not-a-verb” responses and the highest number of semantically related nouns (production of baseball instead of throw to noun ball); in contrast, svPPA patients produced the highest percentage of “unrelated verb” responses and the highest number of light verbs (production of take instead of throw to noun ball). Taken together, our findings indicate that error patterns in an auditory verb generation task are associated with the breakdown of different neurocognitive mechanisms across PPA variants. Specifically, they corroborate the link between temporo-parietal regions with lexical processing, as well as ATL with semantic processes. These findings illustrate how the analysis of pattern of responses can help PPA phenotyping and heighten diagnostic sensitivity, while providing insights on the neural correlates of different components of language.

Searching for Best Predictors of Paralinguistic Comprehension and Production of Emotions in Communication in Adults With Moderate Intellectual Disability

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2022

Paralinguistic comprehension and production of emotions in communication include the skills of recognizing and interpreting emotional states with the help of facial expressions, prosody and intonation. In the relevant scientific literature, the skills of paralinguistic comprehension and production of emotions in communication are related primarily to receptive language abilities, although some authors found also their correlations with intellectual abilities and acoustic features of the voice. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate which of the mentioned variables (receptive language ability, acoustic features of voice, intellectual ability, social-demographic), presents the most relevant predictor of paralinguistic comprehension and paralinguistic production of emotions in communication in adults with moderate intellectual disabilities (MID). The sample included 41 adults with MID, 20–49 years of age (M = 34.34, SD = 7.809), 29 of whom had MID of unknown etiology, while 12 had Down syndrome. All participants are native speakers of Serbian. Two subscales from The Assessment Battery for Communication – Paralinguistic comprehension of emotions in communication and Paralinguistic production of emotions in communication, were used to assess the examinees from the aspect of paralinguistic comprehension and production skills. For the graduation of examinees from the aspect of assumed predictor variables, the following instruments were used: Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test was used to assess receptive language abilities, Computerized Speech Lab (“Kay Elemetrics” Corp., model 4300) was used to assess acoustic features of voice, and Raven’s Progressive Matrices were used to assess intellectual ability. Hierarchical regression analysis was applied to investigate to which extent the proposed variables present an actual predictor variables for paralinguistic comprehension and production of emotions in communication as dependent variables. The results of this analysis showed that only receptive language skills had statistically significant predictive value for paralinguistic comprehension of emotions (β = 0.468, t = 2.236, p < 0.05), while the factor related to voice frequency and interruptions, form the domain of acoustic voice characteristics, displays predictive value for paralinguistic production of emotions (β = 0.280, t = 2.076, p < 0.05). Consequently, this study, in the adult population with MID, evidenced a greater importance of voice and language in relation to intellectual abilities in understanding and producing emotions.

Executive Function and Theory of Mind in Children Living in Poverty: A Short-term Longitudinal Study

Article

Aug 2022

The early childhood years are critical for developing executive function (EF) and theory of mind (ToM). Prior literature suggests a robust relationship between EF and ToM; however, this relationship has seldom been investigated in children living in poverty. In addition, few studies have employed comprehensive ToM measures to explore how EF relates to different components of ToM. This study examined longitudinal relations between EF and ToM among 86 preschool children (3- to 5-year-old) attending Head Start programs in the United States. Children completed two EF tasks and a 5-task ToM battery twice, four months apart. Results showed that, for children living in poverty, early EF did not significantly predict later ToM as a composite after controlling for significant covariates. However, the emotionally salient component of ToM predicted children’s later Stroop performance, above and beyond several controls. Findings suggest that for impoverished children living in the U.S., the development of emotional perspective-taking may be particularly important for EF development compared to other components of ToM.

Dual Language Profiles in Spanish-Speaking English Learners

Article

Jul 2022
J SPEECH LANG HEAR R

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify and describe latent dual language profiles in a large sample of school-age Spanish-English bilingual children designated as English learners (ELs) by their school district. Method: Data for this study include 847 Spanish-speaking ELs from kindergarten to third grade. Spanish and English narrative retell language samples were collected from all participants. Four oral language measures were calculated in Spanish and English, including the subordination index, moving average type-token ratio, narrative structure scheme (NSS), and words per minute using Systematic Analysis of Language Transcript. These indicator measures were used in a latent profile analysis to identify dual language profiles. Results: The optimal model represents a four-profile solution, including a Spanish-dominant group (average Spanish, low English), an English-dominant group (low Spanish, average English), and two balanced groups (a balanced-average group and a balanced-high group). Additionally, participants displayed uneven performance across language domains and distinct patterns of unique strength or weakness in a specific domain in one of their two languages. Conclusions: Findings from this study highlight the large variability in English and Spanish oral language abilities in school-age Spanish-speaking ELs and suggest that a dichotomous classification of ELs versus English-proficient students may not be sufficient to determine the type of educational program that best fits a specific bilingual child's need. These findings highlight the need to assess both languages across multiple language domains to paint a representative picture of a bilingual child's language abilities. The dual language profiles identified may be used to guide the educational program selection process to improve the congruence among the linguistic needs of an individual child, teachers' use of instructional language, and the goals of the educational program (i.e., improving English proficiency vs. supporting dual language development). Supplemental material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.20151836.

Withdrawn Behavior in Preschool: Implications for Emotion Knowledge and Broader Emotional Competence

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2022

The present study investigated the respective roles of withdrawal, language, and context-inappropriate (CI) anger in the development of emotion knowledge (EK) among a subsample of 4 and 5 year-old preschoolers (n = 74). Measures included parent-reported withdrawn behavior, externalizing behavior, and CI anger, as well as child assessments of receptive language and EK. Ultimately, findings demonstrated that receptive language mediated the relationship between withdrawn behavior and situational EK. However, CI anger significantly interacted with receptive language, and, when incorporated into a second-stage moderated mediation analysis, moderate levels of CI anger rendered the indirect effect of withdrawn behavior on situational EK via receptive language insignificant. Cumulatively, these findings demonstrate a mechanism by which withdrawal may impact EK. They also indicate that such an effect may be attenuated in children with moderate levels of CI anger. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Thérapie d'interaction parents-enfants pour les enfants TSA Cpts Perturb 2022

Preprint

Full-text available

Jun 2022

Un nombre relativement important d’enfants avec un trouble du spectre de l’autisme (TSA) extériorise des problèmes comportementaux perturbateurs ou encore dits disruptifs. Alors que s’accumulent des données démontrant que les programmes d’entraînement comportemental de parents sont efficaces pour réduire les comportements disruptifs dans cette population, la littérature examinant leur impact sur la gamme de sévérité du TSA se fait rare. Pour évaluer l’efficacité de la thérapie d’interaction Parent-enfant (TIPE), un traitement basé sur des données probantes pour des enfants avec des comportements-problèmes et leur famille, dans la réduction des comportements perturbateurs (disruptifs) d’enfants (de 4 à 10 ans) avec un TSA (sans déficience intellectuelle). Cinquante-cinq enfants (85,5% de garçons de 7,15 ans ; DS 1,72) furent recrutés en provenance de consultations pédiatriques et de milieux éducatifs dans un essai clinique randomisé (TIPE : N = 30 ; Contrôles = 25). Les familles en TIPE ont démontré une réduction significative des comportements perturbateurs chez leur enfant, une augmentation de la communication parent-enfant positive, une amélioration de l’observance de l’enfant, et une réduction du stress parental en comparaison du groupe contrôle. Les analyses exploratoires n’ont révélé aucune différence de réponse au traitement en prenant pour base le degré de sévérité du TSA, le langage réceptif ou l’âge. Les résultats sont prometteurs quant à l’utilisation de la TIPE avec des enfants présentant des comportements disruptifs au long du spectre de l’autisme.

Teacher and Child Factors Associated with Emotion Talk between Teachers and Preschoolers Displaying Elevated Externalizing Behaviors

Article

Jun 2022
Early Educ Dev

Research Findings: Talking about emotions with their caregivers help young children develop emotional competence, and is particularly beneficial for children who display elevated externalizing behaviors. However, prior descriptive work has shown that teacher-child emotion talk in preschool classrooms is scarce. As children are spending increasing amounts of time in preschool programs, there is value in understanding the factors associated with teacher-child emotion talk for supporting these types of interactions. In this study, child and teacher factors associated with teacher-child emotion talk frequency were examined. Participants included 183 preschool teachers and 470 children rated by their teachers as displaying elevated externalizing behaviors in a mix of federally funded (Head Start), state funded, and private preschool programs within two eastern states in the United States. Emotion talk frequency was observed in the context of a standardized, dyadic teacher-child storybook reading task. Results from a multilevel model showed that emotion talk frequency was primarily explained by differences between teachers. Particularly, teachers talked with children about emotions more often when they (1) held an early childhood major and (2) were observed to engage in more responsive teaching. Policy or Practice: Results identify malleable teacher factors linked to teacher-child emotion talk frequency. Findings also highlight the role of preschool teachers as socializers of young children’s emotions and suggest the need for future research to understand how the quality of emotion talk varies between and within teachers.

Ideation, playful learning, and making in a Minecraft Virtual Learning Makerspace

Chapter

Jun 2022

Elemental Analysis of Hair Provides Biomarkers of Maternal Hardship Linked to Adverse Behavioural Outcomes in 4-Year-Old Children: The QF2011 Queensland Flood Study

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2022
J TRACE ELEM MED BIO

Background Exposure to adverse experiences during pregnancy, such as a natural disaster, can modify development of the child with potential long-term consequences. Elemental hair analysis may provide useful indicators of cellular homeostasis and child health. The present study investigated (1) if flood-induced prenatal maternal stress is associated with altered hair elemental profiles in 4-year-old children, and (2) if hair elemental profiles are associated with behavioural outcomes in children. Methods Participants were 75 children (39 boys; 36 girls) whose mothers were exposed to varying levels of stress due to a natural disaster (2011 Queensland Flood, Australia) during pregnancy. At 4 years of age, language development, attention and internalizing and externalizing problems were assessed and scalp hair was collected. Hair was analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for 28 chemical elements. Results A significant curvilinear association was found between maternal objective hardship and copper levels in boys, as low and high maternal objective hardship levels were associated with the highest hair copper levels. Mediation analysis revealed that low levels of maternal objective hardship and high levels of copper were associated with lower vocabulary scores. Higher levels of maternal objective hardship were associated with higher magnesium levels, which in turn were associated with attention problems and aggression in boys. In girls, high and low maternal objective hardship levels were associated with high calcium/potassium ratios. Conclusion Elemental hair analysis may provide a sensitive biomonitoring tool for early identification of health risks in vulnerable children.

Behavioral and Neurobiological Evidence for the Effects of Reading Interventions on Autistic Children: A Systematic Review

Article

Jun 2022
NEUROSCI BIOBEHAV R

This study systematically reviewed the literature on reading interventions for autistic children. Peer-reviewed articles that reported behavioral and/or neurobiological effects of reading intervention were identified in five online databases. After screening, 15 studies met the inclusion criteria for this review. These studies focus on interventions targeted towards improving specific reading skills: comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, and phonological awareness. Studied interventions included interactive and shared reading, visualization strategies, vocabulary and main idea instruction, video modeling, and interventions supported by tablet-based technology. Overall, the studies identified in this review reported improvements to each of the targeted reading skills and changes to neural activation and connectivity. In addition, changes at the brain level were associated with improvements in reading. Specifically, frontal, temporal, and occipital regions associated with visual and language processing showed increased activation and functional connectivity following intervention. This review provides important insights into the landscape of reading intervention studies in autism and into the neurobiological underpinnings of reading skills and how interventions affect those processes.

Path and rate of development in child heritage speakers: Evidence from Greek subject/object form and placement

Article

Jun 2022
INT J BILINGUAL

Aims: We investigated: (i) whether differences in accuracy between heritage (HS) and monolingual speakers (MS) signal differences in the path or merely in the rate of language development, and (ii) whether, independently of these differences, HS become more accurate as they grow older. Methods: Using an elicitation task, we collected data from three groups of speakers of Greek: HS in the US and Canada (78-226 months), MS of the same age (77-177 months), and younger MS (42-69 months). In terms of structures, we focused on two phenomena that are encoded differently in Greek and English: subject/object form in reference maintenance contexts and subject placement in embedded wh-dependencies. Data and Analysis: Data were analyzed with mixed-effects logistic regression models. Findings We found that the heritage group had a lower accuracy and produced different error patterns than both monolingual groups. Specifically, only the heritage group produced non-felicitous lexical subjects/objects in reference maintenance contexts and ungrammatical preverbal subjects in embedded wh-structures. Accuracy, though, increased with age. Furthermore, current amount of HL input and generation, which were included as covariates, emerged as significant predictors in some or all of the conditions. Originality: The inclusion of a younger monolingual group helped us determine whether the different patterns observed in the language of HS are also attested in the language of MS at earlier developmental stages. The inclusion of a wide age range helped us determine whether, independently of differences in the path/rate of development, HS become more accurate as they grow older and accumulate the necessary amount of HL input. Implications: HS may go through developmental stages not attested in L1 acquisition. However, differences in developmental stages do not necessarily entail differences in the outcome of language acquisition. HS’ accuracy may continue to increase, provided that they continue using their HL.

Developmental Language Disorder as Syntactic Prediction Impairment

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2022

We provide evidence that children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) are impaired in predictive syntactic processing. In the current study, children listened passively to auditorily- presented sentences, where the critical condition included an unexpected “filled gap” in the direct object position of the relative clause verb. A filled gap is illustrated by the underlined phrase in “The zebra that the hippo kissed the camel on the nose. . .”, rather than the expected “the zebra that the hippo kissed [e] on the nose”, where [e] denotes the gap. Brain responses to the filled gap were compared to a control condition using adverb-relative clauses with identical substrings: “The weekend that the hippo kissed the camel on the nose [e]. . .”. Here, the same noun phrase is not unexpected because the adverb gap occurs later in the structure. We hypothesized that a filled gap would elicit a prediction error brain signal in the form of an early anterior negativity, as we have previously observed in adults. We found an early (bilateral) anterior negativity to the filled gap in a control group of children with Typical Development (TD), but the children with DLD exhibited no brain response to the filled gap during the same early time window. This suggests that children with DLD fail to predict that a relativized object should correspond to an empty position after the relative clause verb, suggesting an impairment in predictive processing. We discuss how this lack of a prediction error signal can interact with language acquisition and result in DLD.

Child disruptiveness moderates the effects of home book reading on oral language development

Article

Full-text available

Oct 2022
PERS INDIV DIFFER

Pediatricians recommend that parents read aloud to children, on the assumption that book reading during early childhood promotes language skills. However, it is not clear that children similarly profit from the practice, particularly those whose behavioral tendencies interfere with processes that leverage supportive environmental experiences into language gains. Participants in this two-wave longitudinal cohort study were 546 (282 boys, 264 girls) 4–5 year-olds enrolled in 24 population-based childcare centers in 13 municipalities across Denmark. Teachers administered standardized assessments of child language skills twice, approximately 6 months apart. At the outset, parents reported the frequency an adult read books to the child at home, and teachers assayed child conduct problems and hyperactivity. Results indicated that home book reading benefits were not uniformly distributed. Book reading predicted improvements in communication skills (β = 0.74) and language comprehension (β = 0.31), with the strongest effects for children with above average conduct problems (β = 0.88 to 1.72) and those with below average hyperactivity (β = 1.35).

Impacts of signal processing factors on perceptual restoration in cochlear-implant users

Article

May 2022

Cochlear-implant (CI) users have previously demonstrated perceptual restoration, or successful repair of noise-interrupted speech, using the interrupted sentences paradigm [Bhargava, Gaudrain, and Başkent (2014). "Top-down restoration of speech in cochlear-implant users," Hear. Res. 309, 113-123]. The perceptual restoration effect was defined experimentally as higher speech understanding scores with noise-burst interrupted sentences compared to silent-gap interrupted sentences. For the perceptual restoration illusion to occur, it is often necessary for the masking or interrupting noise bursts to have a higher intensity than the adjacent speech signal to be perceived as a plausible masker. Thus, signal processing factors like noise reduction algorithms and automatic gain control could have a negative impact on speech repair in this population. Surprisingly, evidence that participants with cochlear implants experienced the perceptual restoration illusion was not observed across the two planned experiments. A separate experiment, which aimed to provide a close replication of previous work on perceptual restoration in CI users, also found no consistent evidence of perceptual restoration, contrasting the original study's previously reported findings. Typical speech repair of interrupted sentences was not observed in the present work's sample of CI users, and signal-processing factors did not appear to affect speech repair.

Relationships between executive functions and food rejection dispositions in young children

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2022
APPETITE

This study examined the associations between the two main kinds of food rejection, neophobia and pickiness, and executive functions in young children. Caregivers of children (n = 240) aged 3-6 years completed measures of their children's food neophobia and pickiness. A battery of tests measured children's executive functions and world knowledge. Children with higher levels of neophobia and pickiness had lower cognitive flexibility scores than children with lower levels of food rejection. Moreover, the association between food neophobia and cognitive flexibility was stronger than the association between food pickiness and cognitive flexibility. Working memory, inhibition, and world knowledge were not related to children's food rejection. These findings unraveled for the first time the negative relationship between cognitive flexibility and the main psychological barriers to dietary variety. These results contribute to a better understanding of the set of cognitive factors that are associated with food rejection in young children.

Preschoolers’ Sensitivity to Negative and Positive Emotional Facial Expressions: An ERP Study

Article

Full-text available

May 2022

The study examined processing differences for facial expressions (happy, angry, or neutral) and their repetition with early (P1, N170) and late (P3) event-related potentials (ERPs) in young children ( N = 33). EEG was recorded while children observed sequentially presented pairs of facial expressions, which were either the same (repeated trials) or differed in their emotion (novel trials). We also correlated ERP amplitude differences with parental and child measures of socio-emotional competence (emotion recognition, empathy). P1 amplitudes were increased for angry and happy as compared to neutral expressions. We also detected larger P3 amplitudes for angry expressions as compared to happy or neutral expressions. Repetition effects were evident at early and late processing stages marked by reduced P1 amplitudes for repeated vs. novel happy expressions, but enhanced P3 amplitudes for repeated vs. novel facial expressions. N170 amplitudes were neither modulated by facial expressions nor their repetition. None of the repetition effects were associated with measures of socio-emotional competence. Taken together, negative facial expressions led to increased neural activations in early and later processing stages, indicative of enhanced saliency to potential threating stimuli in young children. Processing of repeated facial expression seem to be differential for early and late neural stages: Reduced activation was detected at early neural processing stages particularly for happy faces, indicative of effective processing for an emotion, which is most familiar within this age range. Contrary to our hypothesis, enhanced activity for repeated vs. novel expression independent of a particular emotion were detected at later processing stages, which may be linked to the creation of new memory traces. Early and late repetition effects are discussed in light of developmental and perceptual differences as well as task-specific load.

Study protocol: a comprehensive multi-method neuroimaging approach to disentangle developmental effects and individual differences in second language learning

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2022

Background While it is well established that second language (L2) learning success changes with age and across individuals, the underlying neural mechanisms responsible for this developmental shift and these individual differences are largely unknown. We will study the behavioral and neural factors that subserve new grammar and word learning in a large cross-sectional developmental sample. This study falls under the NWO (Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek [Dutch Research Council]) Language in Interaction consortium (website: https://www.languageininteraction.nl/). Methods We will sample 360 healthy individuals across a broad age range between 8 and 25 years. In this paper, we describe the study design and protocol, which involves multiple study visits covering a comprehensive behavioral battery and extensive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols. On the basis of these measures, we will create behavioral and neural fingerprints that capture age-based and individual variability in new language learning. The behavioral fingerprint will be based on first and second language proficiency, memory systems, and executive functioning. We will map the neural fingerprint for each participant using the following MRI modalities: T1‐weighted, diffusion-weighted, resting-state functional MRI, and multiple functional-MRI paradigms. With respect to the functional MRI measures, half of the sample will learn grammatical features and half will learn words of a new language. Combining all individual fingerprints allows us to explore the neural maturation effects on grammar and word learning. Discussion This will be one of the largest neuroimaging studies to date that investigates the developmental shift in L2 learning covering preadolescence to adulthood. Our comprehensive approach of combining behavioral and neuroimaging data will contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms influencing this developmental shift and individual differences in new language learning. We aim to answer: (I) do these fingerprints differ according to age and can these explain the age-related differences observed in new language learning? And (II) which aspects of the behavioral and neural fingerprints explain individual differences (across and within ages) in grammar and word learning? The results of this study provide a unique opportunity to understand how the development of brain structure and function influence new language learning success.

Exploring the validity and reliability of online assessment for conversational, narrative, and expository discourse measures in school-aged children

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has created novel challenges in the assessment of children’s speech and language. Collecting valid data is crucial for researchers and clinicians, yet the evidence on how data collection procedures can validly be adapted to an online format is sparse. The urgent need for online assessments has not decreased the barriers that clinicians face during implementation. The current study emerged from the project ‘French/English Discourse Study – Canada’ (FrEnDS-CAN), which focuses on a variety of discourse skills in typically developing monolingual and bilingual school-aged children. The present study describes the adapted procedures and compares the outcomes of online and in-person testing using discourse samples and standardized vocabulary testing for monolingual and bilingual children. For the present analyses, 127 (103 in-person, 24 online) English monolinguals and 78 (53 in-person, 25 online) simultaneous French-English bilinguals from ages 7-12 were studied. Several measures were analyzed : receptive vocabulary, conversational discourse, expository discourse, and narrative discourse. Across these measures, productivity, proficiency, and syntactic complexity were calculated . Bayesian statistics and MANOVAs were run to assess the comparability of the two contexts. This study found that there were no differences across testing contexts for receptive vocabulary or narrative discourse. However, some differences were found for conversational and expository discourse. The results from the study contribute to understanding how clinical assessment can be adapted for online format in school-aged children.

Language level predicts perceptual categorization of complex reversible events in children

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2022

Language plays a well-documented role in perceptual object categorization, but little is known about its role in the categorization of complex events. We explored this here with a perspective from age or developmentally appropriate language capacities in neurotypical children between the ages of two and four years (N=21), and from delayed language development in a clinical group of children (N=20), whose verbal mental ages (VMA) often fell far below their chronological ages (CAs). All participants watched two demonstrations of a series of transitive events (e.g. tiger jumps over a girl). The toy agents were then moved out of sight, and participants had to act out the same event type, based on a different tiger and girl that were selected among two distractors. We aimed to determine how mastery of this task relates to CA in the neurotypical group, and whether task performance in the clinical group was predicted by VMA and a standardized measure of grammatical comprehension. Results from a series of logistic mixed-effect regression models showed that neurotypical children start to perform correctly on this task with a chance of around 50% during their third year of CA but reach ceiling performance only during their fourth. A similar pattern emerged for VMA in the clinical group, despite a wide range of CAs and diagnoses. In addition, grammatical comprehension predicted performance. These patterns suggest that language competence plays a role in the perceptual categorization and encoding of complex reversible events.

Erken Okuryazarlık Becerileri Üzerinde Etkili Olan Değişkenler: Sosyo Ekonomik Düzey ve Ev Okuryazarlığı

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2022

Bu çalışmanın temel amacı, 60-72 aylık çocukların erken okuryazarlık becerilerinde sosyo ekonomik düzey (SED) ve ev okuryazarlığının etkilerinin belirlenmesidir. Çalışmaya Gaziantep ilinde okul öncesi eğitimine devam eden 235 çocuk ve anneleri dahil edilmiştir. Çalışmada çocukların erken okuryazarlık becerilerine yönelik performansları ‘Erken Okuryazarlık Testi (EROT)’, SED’lerine ilişkin bilgiler ‘Aile Bilgi Formu’, ev okuryazarlığı etkinliklerine yönelik bilgiler ise ‘Ev Okuryazarlığı Uygulamaları Ölçeği (EVOKU)’ ile elde edilmiştir. EROT uygulamaları çocukların kendi okulları içinde belirlenmiş bir oda ya da sınıfta gerçekleştirilmiştir. SED ve ev okuryazarlığı etkinliklerine yönelik bilgiler ise annelerle yapılan telefon görüşmeleri ile elde edilmiştir. Çalışmadan elde edilen veriler Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis H ve Spearman Brown Sıra Farkları Korelasyon Katsayısı hesaplanarak analiz edilmiştir. Bulgular, çocukların erken okuryazarlık becerileri üzerinde SED’in anlamlı farklılık yarattığını ve özellikle düşük SED’den gelen çocukların erken okuryazarlık becerileri açısından risk grubunda olduklarını göstermiştir. Ayrıca ev ortamında gerçekleştirilen etkinliklerin erken okuryazarlık becerilerinin gelişimi üzerinde etkili olduğu ve iyi bir erken okuryazarlık gelişimi için ev ortamında gerçekleştirilecek olan nitelikli etkinliklerin ve sağlanan olanakların önemli olduğunu göstermiştir.

Variables Affecting Early Literacy Skills: Socio-Economic Level and Home Literacy

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2022

The main purpose of this study is to determine the effects of socio-economic level (SEL) and home literacy on the early literacy skills of 60-72 months old children. Two hundred thirty-five children attending pre-school education in the city of Gaziantep and their mothers were included in the study. Children's performances regarding early literacy skills were obtained in the study using the "Early Literacy Test (ELT)", information related to their SELs with the "Family Information Form", and information on home literacy activities with the "Home Literacy Practices Scale (HLP)". ELT implementations were carried out in a designated room or classroom in the children's schools. Telephone interviews conducted with mothers acquired information regarding SEL and home literacy activities. The study's data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis H tests and calculating the Spearman-Brown Rank Differences Correlation Coefficient. The findings indicated that SEL created a significant difference in children's early literacy skills and that children, particularly from low SEL, were in the risk group regarding early literacy skills. Furthermore, they showed that the activities carried out in the home environment are influential in the development of early literacy skills and that the qualitative activities and opportunities provided in the home environment are significant for good early literacy development.

Fostering Effective Early Learning: A review of the current international evidence considering quality in early childhood education and care programmes - in delivery, pedagogy and child outcomes

Article

Jan 2017

Iram Siraj

Rapid automatic naming and phonological awareness deficits in preschool children with probable developmental coordination disorder

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2022

Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) have been reported to have a higher risk of dyslexia than children with typical development (TD). Phonological awareness (PA) and rapid automatic naming (RAN) are known to be predictive of children’s reading development. The present study examined PA and RAN in preschool children with and without probable DCD in Taiwan. In total, 704 children aged 5–6 years old from 25 preschools in Taichung City were included as participants. The probable DCD children performed more poorly than the children with TD on the PA and the RAN tests. Put in deficit terms, 22% of the children with TD, but 48% of the probable DCD children, had a single or dual PA/RAN deficit. Furthermore, it was manual dexterity that bore the unique relationship with RAN. Automatic visual perceptual-motor coordination may be the common processing component that underlies RAN and probable DCD. The early visual perceptual-motor profile of probable DCD children has not been well recognized before.

Is cultural variation the norm? A closer look at sequencing of the theory of mind scale

Article

Jul 2022
COGNITIVE DEV

Wellman and Liu’s (2004) ToM scale canonized efforts to generate a developmentally nuanced understanding of ToM. Further elaboration has come from studies showing some variability in task sequencing across two broad categories of culture (i.e., ‘Collectivist’, ‘Individualist’). The current study contributes to our understanding of ToM by exploring intra-cultural variation in task sequencing for a Turkish sample. The ToM scale, language, and EF tasks were administered to 366 preschoolers. When analyzed as a single group, preschoolers showed a sequence most consistent with Chinese/Iranian samples. However, when children were grouped according to age, 3-year-olds were most similar to the US/Australian samples, 4-year-olds were most similar to Chinese/Iranian samples, and 5-year-olds showed a new sequence where knowledge access was the easiest. The analyzes suggest that EF alone was related to the differences in sequencing. Current findings imply that explaining sequence differences may require considering the interactive effects of culture and cognitive abilities.

The Long-Run Effects of Peers on Mental Health

Article

Jul 2022
ECON J

This paper studies how peers in school affect students’ mental health. Guided by a theoretical framework, we find that increasing students’ relative ranks in their cohorts by one standard deviation improves their mental health by 6% of a standard deviation conditional on own ability. These effects are more pronounced for low-ability students, persistent for at least 14 years, and carry over to economic long-run outcomes. Moreover, we document a pronounced asymmetry: Students who receive negative rather than positive shocks react more strongly. Our findings therefore provide evidence on how the school environment can have long-lasting consequences for individuals’ well-being.

Joint attention performance in preschool-aged boys with autism or fragile X syndrome

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2022

Early development marks a period of rapid learning facilitated by children’s natural curiosity about the people around them. In children with typical development, these early social attentional preferences set the foundation for learning about and from the surrounding world of people. Much of this learning happens using joint attention, the ability to coordinate attention between people and objects of mutual interest. It is well documented that decreased gaze use is commonly observed in individuals with autism and individuals with fragile X syndrome (FXS). Despite the growing body of research comparing phenotypic similarities between individuals with autism and individuals with FXS, no studies have directly compared joint attention performance between these groups. In the present study, we considered the similarities and differences in joint attention between preschool-aged boys with autism or FXS, and the relation between joint attention, language, and other phenotypic characteristics known to differ between boys with autism and boys with FXS. Although joint attention appeared similar, between-group differences emerged when controlling for the influence of age, non-verbal IQ, and autism symptom severity. Differences were also observed when considering how joint attention performance related to other aspects of the phenotype. For example, strong positive associations were observed between joint attention and language performance in boys with autism but not boys with FXS, even after controlling for non-verbal IQ. In contrast, the negative association between joint attention and anxiety symptom severity was significant and stronger in boys with FXS than in autism. These data offer preliminary insights into the similarities and differences between the autism and FXS phenotypes.

Intervention Response by Genetic Subtype: PRETEND-Preschool Program for Children with Prader-Willi Syndrome via Remote Parent Training

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2022
J AUTISM DEV DISORD

Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder associated with social cognitive challenges, and pretend play has been demonstrated as a tool to achieve developmental goals. Following previous report on feasibility and acceptability of a remote, play-based parent-training program (Zyga, Russ, & Dimitropoulos, 2018), we now report on preliminary efficacy of this program to enhance pretend play skills and social cognitive skills in preschoolers with PWS. Results across two studies demonstrated efficacy when live-coaching play sessions incorporated children into the intervention. Increases in play skills were observed for children with the mUPD subtype of PWS who underwent intervention, compared with children with mUPD who were waitlisted. Children with DEL subtype were less likely to respond to intervention. Implications for results are discussed.

Recognizing Voices Through a Cochlear Implant: A Systematic Review of Voice Perception, Talker Discrimination, and Talker Identification

Article

Aug 2022

Objective Some cochlear implant (CI) users report having difficulty accessing indexical information in the speech signal, presumably due to limitations in the transmission of fine spectrotemporal cues. The purpose of this review article was to systematically review and evaluate the existing research on talker processing in CI users. Specifically, we reviewed the performance of CI users in three types of talker- and voice-related tasks. We also examined the different factors (such as participant, hearing, and device characteristics) that might influence performance in these specific tasks. Design We completed a systematic search of the literature with select key words using citation aggregation software to search Google Scholar. We included primary reports that tested (a) talker discrimination, (b) voice perception, and (c) talker identification. Each report must have had at least one group of participants with CIs. Each included study was also evaluated for quality of evidence. Results The searches resulted in 1,561 references, which were first screened for inclusion and then evaluated in full. Forty-three studies examining talker discrimination, voice perception, and talker identification were included in the final review. Most studies were focused on postlingually deafened and implanted adult CI users, with fewer studies focused on prelingual implant users. In general, CI users performed above chance in these tasks. When there was a difference between groups, CI users performed less accurately than their normal-hearing (NH) peers. A subset of CI users reached the same level of performance as NH participants exposed to noise-vocoded stimuli. Some studies found that CI users and NH participants relied on different cues for talker perception. Within groups of CI users, there is moderate evidence for a bimodal benefit for talker processing, and there are mixed findings about the effects of hearing experience. Conclusions The current review highlights the challenges faced by CI users in tracking and recognizing voices and how they adapt to it. Although large variability exists, there is evidence that CI users can process indexical information from speech, though with less accuracy than their NH peers. Recent work has described some of the factors that might ease the challenges of talker processing in CI users. We conclude by suggesting some future avenues of research to optimize real-world speech outcomes.

Inclusion of Individuals With Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Norm-Referenced Language Assessments

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2022

Standardized, norm-referenced language assessment tools are used for a variety of purposes, including in education, clinical practice, and research. Unfortunately, norm-referenced language assessment tools can demonstrate floor effects (i.e., a large percentage of individuals scoring at or near the lowest limit of the assessment tool) when used with some groups with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), such as individuals with intellectual disability and neurogenetic syndromes. Without variability at the lower end of these assessment tools, professionals cannot accurately measure language strengths and difficulties within or across individuals. This lack of variability may be tied to poor representation of individuals with NDDs in normative samples. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify and examine common standardized, norm-referenced language assessment tools to report the representation of individuals with NDDs in normative samples and the range of standard/index scores provided. A systematic search identified 57 assessment tools that met inclusion criteria. Coding of the assessment manuals identified that most assessment tools included a “disability” or “exceptionality” group in their normative sample. However, the total number of individuals in these groups and the number of individuals with specific NDDs was small. Further, the characteristics of these groups (e.g., demographic information; disability type) were often poorly defined. The floor standard/index scores of most assessment tools were in the 40s or 50s. Only four assessment tools provided a standard score lower than 40. Findings of this study can assist clinicians, educators, and researchers in their selections of norm-referenced assessment tools when working with individuals with NDDs.

Focal amyloid and asymmetric tau in an imaging-to-autopsy case of clinical primary progressive aphasia with Alzheimer disease neuropathology

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2022

Quantification of in vivo amyloid and tau PET imaging relationships with postmortem measurements are critical for validating the sensitivity and specificity imaging biomarkers across clinical phenotypes with Alzheimer disease neuropathologic change (ADNC). This study examined the quantitative relationship between regional binding of in vivo ¹⁸ F-florbetapir amyloid PET and ¹⁸ F-flortaucipir tau PET with postmortem stereological counts of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) in a case of primary progressive aphasia (PPA) with ADNC, where neurodegeneration asymmetrically targets the left hemisphere. Beginning 2 years prior to death, a 63-year-old right-handed man presenting with agrammatic variant PPA underwent a florbetapir and flortaucpir PET scan, and neuropsychological assessments and magnetic resonance imaging sessions every 6 months. Florbetapir and flortaucpir PET standard uptake value ratios (SUVRs) were quantified from 8 left and right hemisphere brain regions with stereological quantification of amyloid plaques and NFTs from corresponding postmortem sections. Pearson’s correlations and measures of asymmetry were used to examine relationships between imaging and autopsy measurements. The three visits prior to death revealed decline of language measures, with marked progression of atrophy. Florbetapir PET presented with an atypical focal pattern of uptake and showed a significant positive correlation with postmortem amyloid plaque density across the 8 regions ( r = 0.92; p = 0.001). Flortaucipir PET had a left-lateralized distribution and showed a significant positive correlation with NFT density ( r = 0.78; p = 0.023). Flortaucipir PET and NFT density indicated a medial temporal lobe sparing presentation of ADNC, demonstrating that AD does not always target the medial temporal lobe. This study adds additional evidence, in a non-amnestic phenotype of ADNC, that there is a strong correlation between AD PET biomarkers, florbetapir and flortaucipir, with quantitative neuropathology. The atypical and focal presentation of plaque density and florbetapir PET uptake suggests not all amyloid pathology presents as diffuse across neocortex.

Baseline Stimulability Predicts Patterns of Response to Traditional and Ultrasound Biofeedback Treatment for Residual Speech Sound Disorder

Article

Aug 2022

Purpose This study aimed to identify predictors of response to treatment for residual speech sound disorder (RSSD) affecting English rhotics. Progress was tracked during an initial phase of traditional motor-based treatment and a longer phase of treatment incorporating ultrasound biofeedback. Based on previous literature, we focused on baseline stimulability and sensory acuity as predictors of interest. Method Thirty-three individuals aged 9–15 years with residual distortions of /ɹ/ received a course of individual intervention comprising 1 week of intensive traditional treatment and 9 weeks of ultrasound biofeedback treatment. Stimulability for /ɹ/ was probed prior to treatment, after the traditional treatment phase, and after the end of all treatment. Accuracy of /ɹ/ production in each probe was assessed with an acoustic measure: normalized third formant (F3)–second formant (F2) distance. Model-based clustering analysis was applied to these acoustic measures to identify different average trajectories of progress over the course of treatment. The resulting clusters were compared with respect to acuity in auditory and somatosensory domains. Results All but four individuals were judged to exhibit a clinically significant response to the combined course of treatment. Two major clusters were identified. The “low stimulability” cluster was characterized by very low accuracy at baseline, minimal response to traditional treatment, and strong response to ultrasound biofeedback. The “high stimulability” group was more accurate at baseline and made significant gains in both traditional and ultrasound biofeedback phases of treatment. The clusters did not differ with respect to sensory acuity. Conclusions This research accords with clinical intuition in finding that individuals who are more stimulable at baseline are more likely to respond to traditional intervention, whereas less stimulable individuals may derive greater relative benefit from biofeedback. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.20422236

The Relationship Between Early Classroom Activities and English Language Learners’ Later Math Problem‐Solving Performance: An Exploratory Study

Article

Jun 2022

This exploratory study determined the relationship between math instructional activities in Wave (year) 1 and English language learner (ELL) children's math problem‐solving performance in Wave (year) 2. The math performance of ELL children (N = 291) in Grades 1, 2, and 3 was tested in two testing waves. Two major findings emerged. First, strategy instruction, peer interaction, and explicit instruction in Wave 1 uniquely predicted English problem‐solving scores in Wave 2 independent of grade level, vocabulary, calculation, and problem‐solving at Wave 1. Second, the frequency of explicit instruction and peer interactions was significantly related to the odds of predicting ELL children at risk for math disabilities. The results are discussed within the context‐specific instructional activities that were positively related to later math outcomes.

Complexity of understanding the role of dietary and erythrocyte docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on the cognitive performance of school-age children

Article

Jun 2022

Background Early childhood is a period of rapid brain development, with increases in synapses rich in the omega-3 fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (22:6ω3, DHA) continuing well beyond infancy. Despite the importance of DHA to neural phospholipids, requirement of dietary DHA for neurodevelopment remains unclear. Objective To assess the dietary DHA and DHA status of young children, and determine the association with cognitive performance. Methods This was a cross-sectional study of healthy children (5–6 y), some of whom were enrolled in a follow up of a clinical trial (NCT00620672). Dietary intake data (n = 285) was assessed with a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and three 24-h recalls. Family characteristics were collected by questionnaire, and anthropometric data measured. Venous blood was collected, cognitive performance assessed using several age-appropriate tools including the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children. Relationship between dietary DHA, red blood cell (RBC) DHA and child neurodevelopment test scores was determined using Pearson's correlation or Spearman's Rho, and quintiles of test scores compared by Mann-Whitney U-test. Results Child DHA intakes were highly variable, with a stronger association between RBC DHA and DHA intake assessed by FFQ (rho = 0.383, P < 0.001) compared to one or three 24-h recalls. Observed ethnic differences in DHA intake, status as well as neurodevelopmental test scores led to analysis of the association between DHA intake and status with neurodevelopment test scores for Caucasian children only (n = 190). Child RBC DHA status was associated with neurodevelopment test scores, including language (rho = 0.211, P = 0.009) and short-term memory (rho = 0.187, P = 0.019), but only short-term memory was associated with dietary DHA (rho = 0.221, P = 0.003). Conclusions Child RBC DHA but not dietary DHA was associated with multiple tests of cognitive performance. In addition, DHA intake was only moderately associated to RBC DHA, raising complex questions on the relationship between diet, DHA transfer to membrane lipids, and neural function. Summary In children 5–6y red blood cell (RBC) docosahexanoic acid (DHA), but not dietary intake of DHA is associated with multiple tests of cognitive performance, emphasizing complexity of DHA metabolism.

Associations Between Parent Mental State Language and Child Inhibitory Control in Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Article

Aug 2022

Purpose Children who are deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) are at increased risk for neurocognitive delays, which can have cascading effects on development. Associations between neurocognition and the content of parental language—specifically the use of mental state vocabulary—have been observed in typically hearing (TH) children. This study investigated the role of parental use of mental state language (e.g., vocabulary related to thought processes, desires, and emotions) in explaining variability in neurocognition in children who are D/HH. Method Dyads of 62 TH and 69 D/HH children who wear hearing aids or cochlear implants (ages 3–8 years) and their primary parent were videorecorded during a 20-min play session. Specific mental state words used by parents were extracted. Child neurocognition (specifically, inhibitory control) was assessed using norm-referenced measures. Results Parent use of mental state language predicted child inhibitory control differentially based on hearing status, with a significant relation in the D/HH but not the TH group. Mental state vocabulary related to cognition (e.g., “think,” “know”), but not to desire (e.g., “want,” “like”) or emotion (e.g., “feel,” “frustrated”), predicted child inhibitory control in the D/HH group. Finally, there was a significant relation between the use of first person, but not second or third person, mental state verbs (e.g., “I think”) and child inhibitory control. Conclusions Parental use of cognitive mental state vocabulary models language around thought processes, and parents' use of first-person referents models “self-talk.” Modeling of these linguistic forms is likely foundational for developing self-regulation. Children who are D/HH often experience reduced auditory access and/or language delays and thus rely on high-quality parental language input for longer periods of development than their TH peers. Continued support from interventionists is indicated to coach parents to be high-quality models of more abstract, decontextualized language, supporting complex language development and inhibitory control in children who are D/HH.

Measurement of Lexical Diversity in Children’s Spoken Language: Computational and Conceptual Considerations

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2022

Background: Type-Token Ratio (TTR), given its relatively simple hand computation, is one of the few LSA measures calculated by clinicians in everyday practice. However, it has significant well-documented shortcomings; these include instability as a function of sample size, and absence of clear developmental profiles over early childhood. A variety of alternative measures of lexical diversity have been proposed; some, such as Number of Different Words/100 (NDW) can also be computed by hand. However, others, such as Vocabulary Diversity (VocD) and the Moving Average Type Token Ratio (MATTR) rely on complex resampling algorithms that cannot be conducted by hand. To date, no large-scale study of all four measures has evaluated how well any capture typical developmental trends over early childhood, or whether any reliably distinguish typical from atypical profiles of expressive child language ability. Materials and methods: We conducted linear and non-linear regression analyses for TTR, NDW, VocD, and MATTR scores for samples taken from 946 corpora from typically developing preschool children (ages 2-6 years), engaged in adult-child toy play, from the Child Language Data Exchange System (CHILDES). These were contrasted with 504 samples from children known to have delayed expressive language skills (total n = 1,454 samples). We also conducted a separate sub-analysis which examined possible contextual effects of sampling environment on lexical diversity. Results: Only VocD showed significantly different mean scores between the typically -developing children and delayed developing children group. Using TTR would actually misdiagnose typical children and miss children with known language impairment. However, computation of VocD as a function of toy interactions was significant and emerges as a further caution in use of lexical diversity as a valid proxy index of children's expressive vocabulary skill. Discussion: This large scale statistical comparison of computer-implemented algorithms for expressive lexical profiles in young children with traditional, hand-calculated measures showed that only VocD met criteria for evidence-based use in LSA. However, VocD was impacted by sample elicitation context, suggesting that non-linguistic factors, such as engagement with elicitation props, contaminate estimates of spoken lexical skill in young children. Implications and suggested directions are discussed.

The development of early numeracy in deaf and hard of hearing children acquiring spoken language

Article

Jun 2022

Most deaf and hard‐of‐hearing (DHH) children are born to hearing parents and steered toward spoken rather than signed language, introducing a delay in language access. This study investigated the effects of this delay on number acquisition. DHH children (N = 44, meanage = 58 months, 21F, >50% White) and typically‐hearing (TH) children (N = 79, meanage = 49 months, 51F, >50% White) were assessed on number and language in 2011–13. DHH children showed similar trajectories to TH children but delayed timing; a binary logistic regression showed that the odds of being a cardinal‐principle (CP) knower were 17 times higher for TH children than DHH children, controlling for age (d = .69). Language fully mediated the association between deaf/hearing group and number knowledge, suggesting that language access sets the pace for number acquisition.

Interpretation and Use of Standardized Language Assessments for Diverse School-Age Individuals

Article

Aug 2022

Purpose The ultimate aim of an assessment is to help examiners make valid conclusions about an individual's skill given their performance on a particular measure. However, assessing the language abilities of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) individuals requires researchers and practitioners to carefully consider the appropriateness of traditional parameters of test psychometrics (e.g., reliability, or consistency of assessments as measurement) plus the intersectional identities that inform the generalizability of these parameters. The purpose of this clinical focus article is to provide clinicians and researchers with resources to interpret and use common standardized language assessments in English for CLD school-age youth. We present theories from psychometrics, legal studies, and education relevant to language assessment of diverse individuals, review standardized language assessments in English, and provide theory-to-practice applications of language assessment scenarios. Conclusions Implementing intersectional approaches in working with diverse children and using assessment scores as just one piece of evidence amid a broader evidence base will contribute to a more accurate evaluation of CLD children's language abilities. A comprehensive approach involving multiple stakeholders across the field of communication sciences and disorders may support achieving such implementation.

Accommodations to cognitive assessment for a child with dyskinetic cerebral palsy: case study

Article

Jun 2022

Purpose: Despite the importance of having knowledge about a child's cognitive functioning, less than one-third of children with cerebral palsy (CP) are formally assessed. Consequently, the cognitive strengths of many children with severe CP may be underestimated or go overlooked. This case study aimed to test accommodations to cognitive assessment administration procedures to enable switch access. Methods: A 9-year-old boy with dyskinetic CP tested a suite of cognitive assessments with accommodations for single switch access and measures of user experience. The cognitive assessment included: receptive vocabulary; non-verbal reasoning; sustained attention; executive functions of problem solving and shifting; and visual perception skills. Results: The participant's ability to independently undertake assessment on the receptive vocabulary, non-verbal reasoning and the sustained attention measures indicates that accommodations made for single switch access were appropriate. Assessment took 1-2 h longer than expected for a typically developing child via standardised administration procedures, but was considerably faster than expected if undertaken via low-tech partner assisted scanning. Accessibility barriers continued to be present for the executive function and visual perception measures. Overall, the user experience was positive, both in regards to usability and cognitive load. Conclusions: This case study provides emerging data for usability and accessibility of accommodations to a battery of cognitive assessment tasks. Further research is needed to devise appropriate accommodations for executive function and visual perception measures and to determine whether the accommodations are accessible more generally for children with motor and/or speech impairments. Implications for rehabilitationAccommodations can be successfully made to receptive vocabulary, non-verbal reasoning and sustained attention assessment administration procedures for switch technologies.Cognitive assessment with switch accommodations takes considerably longer to complete than standardised administration estimates for a typically developing child. Assessment may need to be scheduled over more than one session.User experience, including usability and cognitive load, of accommodations was positive.

Aided communication, mind understanding and co-construction of meaning

Article

Jul 2022

Mind understanding allows for the adaptation of expressive language to a listener and is a core element when communicating new information to a communication partner. There is limited knowledge about the relationship between aided language and mind understanding. This study investigates this relationship using a communication task. The participants were 71 aided communicators using graphic symbols or spelling for expression (38/33 girls/boys) and a reference group of 40 speaking children (21/19 girls/boys), aged 5;0-15;11 years. The task was to describe, but not name, drawings to a communication partner. The partner could not see the drawing and had to infer what was depicted from the child's explanation. Dyads with aided communicators solved fewer items than reference dyads (64% vs 93%). The aided spellers presented more precise details than the symbol users (46% vs 38%). In the aided group, number of correct items correlated with verbal comprehension and age.

Auditory‐motor mapping training: Testing an intonation‐based spoken language treatment for minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder

Article

Jun 2022

We tested an intonation‐based speech treatment for minimally verbal children with autism (auditory‐motor mapping training, AMMT) against a nonintonation–based control treatment (speech repetition therapy, SRT). AMMT involves singing, rather than speaking, two‐syllable words or phrases. In time with each sung syllable, therapist and child tap together on electronic drums tuned to the same pitches, thus coactivating shared auditory and motor neural representations of manual and vocal actions, and mimicking the “babbling and banging” stage of typical development. Fourteen children (three females), aged 5.0–10.8, with a mean Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule‐2 score of 22.9 (SD = 2.5) and a mean Kaufman Speech Praxis Test raw score of 12.9 (SD = 13.0) participated in this trial. The main outcome measure was percent syllables approximately correct. Four weeks post‐treatment, AMMT resulted in a mean improvement of +12.1 (SE = 3.8) percentage points, compared to +2.8 (SE = 5.7) percentage points for SRT. This between‐group difference was associated with a large effect size (Cohen's d = 0.82). Results suggest that simultaneous intonation and bimanual movements presented in a socially engaging milieu are effective factors in AMMT and can create an individualized, interactive music‐making environment for spoken‐language learning in minimally verbal children with autism. We tested an intonation‐based speech treatment for minimally verbal children with autism (Auditory‐Motor Mapping Training, AMMT) against a non‐intonation–based control treatment (Speech Repetition Therapy, SRT). AMMT involves singing, rather than speaking, two‐syllable words or phrases. In time with each sung syllable, therapist and child tap together on electronic drums tuned to the same pitches, thus co‐activating shared auditory and motor neural representations of manual and vocal actions, and mimicking the “babbling and banging” stage of typical development.

Cross-linguistic differences in the associations between morphological awareness and reading in Spanish and English in young simultaneous bilinguals

Article

Jun 2022

What Predicts Oral Narrative Competence Among African American Children? Exploring the Role of Linguistic and Cognitive Skills

Article

Aug 2022

Nicole Gardner-Neblett

Purpose Oral narrative, or storytelling, skills may constitute a linguistic strength for African American children, with implications for academic and social well-being. Despite this possibility, few studies have examined individual differences in oral narrative skill among African American children. To address this gap in the literature, this study examined how children's linguistic and cognitive skills predicted their competence in structuring oral stories, both on average and for children with different levels of narrative skill. Method Fictional oral narratives were elicited from a sample of 144 typically developing African American children, aged 4–8 years, using a wordless picture book as the stimulus. The effects of children's vocabulary, complex syntax, and nonverbal cognitive skills on macrostructural performance were assessed using linear regression to test average effects and simultaneous quantile regression to test effects across different levels of narrative skill. Results Children's competence in using complex syntax and nonverbal cognition, but not vocabulary, was predictive of narrative production, on average and as a function of narrative skill. Syntactic complexity appeared increasingly more relevant as children's narrative skill increased, whereas nonverbal cognition emerged as the most important for children at the lower to moderate ends of the narrative skill distribution. Conclusions Both linguistic and cognitive skills help explain individual differences in African American children's macrostructural competence. Promoting children's development of complex syntax and nonverbal reasoning may provide potential mechanisms for supporting oral narrative skill development.

Multimodal music training enhances executive functions in children: Results of a randomized controlled trial

Article

Jul 2022

Music training programs have shown mixed results on children's executive functions. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the impact of a 10‐week multimodal music program with vocal development, bimanual coordination, and musical improvisation, on children's executive functions. We hypothesized that a 10‐week music program would enhance executive functions in working memory in 4‐ to 6‐year‐old children. Eighty‐four children were randomly assigned to a multimodal music program, an active control Lego program, or no treatment control condition (i.e., randomized controlled design). All children completed measures of music aptitude, music achievement, and executive functions (i.e., EF Touch) pre‐ and post‐training. Results revealed enhanced pitch accuracy and working memory for children in the music training group as compared to the other conditions. Children in the Lego condition demonstrated significant enhancements of spatial working memory. Tonal music aptitude significantly predicted performance on measures of working memory. Contributions to the literature include the randomized controlled design, group multimodal music program appropriate for 4‐ to 6‐year‐old children, and the use of executive function measures sensitive to individual differences. Early childhood is a pivotal period of cognitive development, particularly in inhibition and working memory. Inhibition refers to the ability to control automatic responses, resisting impulse responses. Working memory requires individuals to hold two or more pieces of information in short‐term memory storage while processing other information. We hypothesized these components of children's EF could be enhanced through participation in a multimodal music program.

The Story So Far: A Systematic Review of the Dialogic Reading Literature (Supporting Information)

Article

Jul 2022
J RES READ

Dialogic reading (DR; Whitehurst et al., 1988) is an evidence‐based intervention that promotes children's active participation in shared reading (Towson, 2016; Urbani, 2020; WWC, 2007, 2010). Since the development of DR, there has been a proliferation of studies evaluating the conditions and populations with which it is effective. However, to date, there has not been a systematic review of the literature focusing specifically on the impact of DR on the literacy and non‐literacy skills of children under 10 years old. As DR research evolves, it is important that a review of the existing literature is undertaken to capture these advances and guide future research. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses protocol, the aim of this review is to systematically explore, synthesise and critically evaluate the extant literature. A systematic search of electronic databases identified 46 relevant studies, and the overall methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the MMAT. Findings are organised according to sample and population, country of origin and setting, programme duration, language and literacy outcomes, social‐emotional and other cognitive outcomes, impact and effect sizes to provide overview and insight into where and with whom DR is most effective. The review findings suggest DR can positively impact a wide range of language and literacy skills for children under 5 years. There is some evidence that DR can have positive effects on enjoyment of reading, reading motivation, parental–child attachment, parental confidence and stress. However, the extant research is subject to limitations, and more methodologically robust research is needed to enable thorough assessment of the conditions in which DR is most effective. What is already known about this topic Shared reading can have a positive impact on a wide range of language skills for young children. DR is an easy‐to‐administer interactive shared book reading intervention for parents and educators. DR can have positive effects on the language and literacy development of young children. What this paper adds Previous literature reviews have been somewhat limited in scope, utilising a limited number of search engines, comprising a small number of studies and focusing solely on language outcomes. This is the first comprehensive systematic review, focusing on the impact of DR on language and literacy outcomes, social‐emotional and other cognitive outcomes for children under 10 years. Provides a summary of the extant research on DR (based on the Whitehurst et al., 1988 model). Provides a quality appraisal of the extant DR literature. Implications for theory, policy or practice DR can have positive effects on the language, literacy and social‐emotional development of young children (<5 years) More methodologically robust research is needed to identify the practical and/or theoretical importance of the DR intervention (e.g. calculation of reporting of effect size) and the effects of DR on complex language skills. DR could be considered a useful intervention for increasing parental engagement in shared book reading. It may be the case that DR's more structured approach places fewer demands on parents who are less confident reading with their child and therefore provides a useful starting point for encouraging parental engagement in joint storybook reading interactions. The increased exposure to books in the home, in turn, facilitates language development for the child.

Physical activity and physical and mental health in middle‐aged adults with Down syndrome

Article

Jul 2022

Adults with Down syndrome have an increased risk of aging‐related physical and mental health conditions and experience them at an earlier age than the general population. There is a need to investigate modifiable lifestyle factors that may reduce risk for these conditions. The present study investigated the associations between physical activity (i.e., sedentary behavior and moderate‐to‐vigorous activity) assessed via accelerometer across 7 days and caregiver‐reported physical and mental health of 66 nondemented middle‐aged adults with Down syndrome aged 25–55 years (52% female). Regression analyses indicated that more time spent in moderate intensity physical activity was associated with less risk of sleep apnea (β = −0.031, p = 0.004) and endocrine/metabolic conditions (β = −0.046, p = 0.009), and lower total number of physical health conditions (β = −0.110, p = 0.016) and anxiety disorders (β = −0.021, p = 0.049) after controlling for relevant sociodemographics. After also adjusting for body‐mass‐index (BMI), the association between time spent in moderate intensity physical activity and sleep apnea (β = −0.035, p = 0.002), endocrine/metabolic conditions (β = −0.033, p = 0.045) and total physical health (β = −0.091, p = 0.026) remained significant. Unexpectedly, time spent in sedentary behavior was negatively associated with musculoskeletal conditions (β = −0.017, p = 0.044). Findings indicate important associations between physical activity in everyday life and the physical and mental health of adults with Down syndrome. Social policies and interventions aimed at reducing time spent sitting around (i.e., sedentary behavior) and encouraging moderate‐to‐vigorous activity may be a low‐burden and low‐cost mechanism for fostering healthy physical and mental aging in the Down syndrome population.

Predicting developmental outcomes in middle childhood from early life language and parenting experiences

Article

Jul 2022
BRIT J DEV PSYCHOL

Children's early life experiences of language and parenting are thought to have pervasive, long‐term influence on their cognitive and behavioural development. However, studies are scarce that collected naturalistic observations to broadly assess children's early life experiences and test their associations with developmental outcomes in middle childhood. Here, we used digital audio‐recorders to collect three full days of naturalistic observations from 107 British families with children (46 boys) aged 2–4 years, of whom 89 participated in a follow‐up assessment four years later when the children were 5–8 years old. We found that children's early life experiences of language and parenting were not significantly associated with their later language ability, academic performance and behavioural outcomes. We explore differences in methodology, sample characteristics and the role of developmental periods as possible explanations for the discrepancy in findings between the current and previous studies.

Removing the Academic Framing in Student Evaluations Improves Achievement in Children with Dyslexia: The Mediating Role of Self-Judgment of Competence

Article

Full-text available

May 2022

Self‐judgement is known to play a crucial role in academic achievement, and as such, may be expected to have an impact on students with dyslexia. Their self‐judgements may reflect the negative stereotype of low competence that targets people with disabilities. Their repeated academic failures may lead to a negative association between “school” and “failure”. The aim of the present study was to investigate how such factors contribute to academic failure in students with dyslexia. Participants were 183 French middle school students. We assessed students' self‐judgement and manipulated the framing of performance tasks so that students completed literacy tasks in both academic and non‐academic forms. We expected a detrimental impact of dyslexia on performance in academic but not in non‐academic tasks. We also expected self‐judgement to account for this difference. Students with dyslexia perceive themselves as less competent than students without dyslexia. Significantly, structural equation modeling revealed that students with dyslexia performed poorly in academic tasks, compared to students without dyslexia. This difference no longer appeared in non‐academic tasks. Self‐judgement of competence is a predictor of the performance of students with and without dyslexia at school and their impact is related to how the academic features of the tasks are emphasized.

The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test

No full-text available

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