Search

22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS), the most frequent microdeletion syndrome in humans, is related to a high risk of developing neurodevelopmental disorders. About 95% of patients with 22q11.2DS have speech and language impairments. Global articulation, story generation, and verbal memory tests were applied to compare articulatory characteristics of speech sounds, spontaneous language abilities, and immediate verbal memory between four groups of Serbian-speaking children: patients with 22q11.2DS, children with clinical presentation of 22q11.2DS that do not have the microdeletion, children with non-syndromic congenital heart defects, and their peers with typical speech–sound development. The obtained results showed that children with this microdeletion have impaired articulation skills and expressive language abilities. However, we did not observe weaker receptive language skills and immediate verbal memory compared to healthy controls. Children with 22q11.2DS should be considered a risk category for the development of speech–sound pathology and expressive language abilities. Since speech intelligibility is an instrument of cognition and adequate peer socialization, and language impairment in school-aged children with 22q11DS might be an indicator of increased risk for later psychotic symptoms, patients with 22q11.2 microdeletion should be included in a program of early stimulation of speech–language development immediately after diagnosis is established.

Early communication is a fundamental ability in the first years of life and a predictor of academic achievement, also as an indicator for the diagnosis of developmental disorders and a predictor of regulatory skills due to its role in the development of higher executive functions. In Argentina, according to statistics, 42% of the population in the second half of 2020 was below the poverty line and, in terms of age groups, more than half (57.7%) of infants between 0 and 14 years of age live in poverty. The aim of this research was to analyze the association between expressive language in infants aged 12 to 40 months, and individual (temperament and gender) and environmental factors such as social vulnerability (educational level and parental occupation, overcrowding and presence of unsatisfied basic needs) in a sample of 145 participants from both vulnerable (53.1%, n=77, M=29.58, SD=8.00, female=50.6%) and non-vulnerable (N=68, M=23.33, SD=7.55, female=42.6%) sectors. The Permanent Household Survey (EPH) and the versions validated in Argentina of the Macarthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory, Form II (CDI) and the abbreviated form of the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire were used. A positive correlation was found for extroversion with vocabulary. Then, in both expressive language tests we found differences according to socioeconomic level in favor of the non-vulnerable group, a greater strength of positive correlation with the variables education and parental occupation, and differences were reported in favor of the female gender only in the sentence use test. The conclusion of the present study is that context, specifically parental educational and occupational level, would exert a greater variability in infants' vocalization and sentence use scores than individual temperamental differences., La comunicación temprana es una capacidad fundamental en los primeros años de vida y un predictor de logros académicos, en tanto es indicador para el diagnóstico de trastornos del desarrollo, y predictor en las habilidades regulatorias por su rol en el desarrollo de funciones ejecutivas superiores. En Argentina, las estadísticas indicaron que un 42% de la población en el segundo semestre 2020 se encontraba por debajo de la línea de pobreza y se destaca que, en términos de grupos etarios, más de la mitad (57,7%) de los niños1de entre 0 a 14 años son pobres. Esta investigación tuvo como objetivo evaluar las asociaciones entre el lenguaje expresivo en infantes de 12 a 40 meses de edad, los factores individuales (temperamento y género) y el contexto de vulnerabilidad social (nivel educativo y ocupación parental, hacinamiento y presencia de necesidades básicas insatisfechas) en una muestra proveniente de 145 participantes provenientes tanto de sectores vulnerables (n=77, M=29,58, DE=8,00, femenino=40) como no vulnerables (n=68, M=23,33, DE=7,55, femenino=29). Se utilizó la Encuesta permanente de hogares (EPH) y las versiones validadas en Argentina del Inventario del Desarrollo Comunicativo MacArthur-Bates, Forma II (CDI) y la forma abreviada del Cuestionario de Conducta Infantil Temprana. Se encontró que la dimensión extroversión se correlacionó positivamente con la densidad léxica. Luego, en ambas pruebas de lenguaje expresivo, se encontraron diferencias según nivel socioeconómico a favor del grupo no vulnerable, correlaciones positivas con las variables educación y ocupación parental y se reportaron diferencias a favor del género femenino solamente en la prueba de uso de oraciones. Se concluye que en el presente trabajo el contexto, específicamente el nivel educativo y ocupacional parental, ejercerían una mayor variabilidad en los puntajes de vocalización y uso de oraciones de los infantes que las diferencias individuales temperamentales.

This research paper describes a mixed-methods study with a one group, pretest- posttest design that aimed to analyze the effects of writing reflective journals on the writing skills of 25 EFL sophomore learners. It also examined the participants’ perceptions of reflective journals as a learning strategy. The data were collected in two phases. In the first phase, a pre-test and a post-test were applied to gather the quantitative data. The researchers employed a writing assessment rubric to score the pre- and post-tests to assess the students’ EFL proficiency level. And in the second phase, participants were required to fill out an open-ended questionnaire of six questions to collect the qualitative data. It was demonstrated that reflective journals had a positive impact on the participants’ writing skills development and that they were perceived as a helpful learning strategy to boost English proficiency. These findings could help EFL students improve their metacognitive skills, which are required in the Ecuadorian curriculum.

In many autistic children, speech onset is delayed and expressive language emerges after 3 years of age. We qualitatively and quantitatively describe oral productions of autistic preschoolers, including many non- or minimally speaking, recorded during interactions with a caregiver and with an experimenter. Data clustering on manually coded oral production samples indicates five validated linguistic profiles of oral production in this diverse and inclusive sample (n = 59) of 3- to 5-year-old autistic children with highly variable expressive language abilities. These profiles are then compared on a series of demographic (age, socioeconomic status) and psychometric (autism severity, nonverbal and verbal IQ) measures, as well as on additional measures of language (expressive vocabulary, phonetic inventories). Two clusters are composed of speaking autistic children, while the three others comprise non- or minimally speaking children with qualitatively different patterns of vocal productions. The five-profile division suggests that traditional binary division of speaking vs nonspeaking children does not do justice to the complexity of early expressive language in autism., info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with substantial clinical heterogeneity, especially in language and communication ability. There is a need for validated language outcome measures that show sensitivity to true change for this population. We used Natural Language Processing to analyze expressive language transcripts of 64 highly-verbal children and young adults (age: 6-23 years, mean 12.8 years; 78.1% male) with ASD to examine the validity across language sampling context and test-retest reliability of six previously validated Automated Language Measures (ALMs), including Mean Length of Utterance in Morphemes, Number of Distinct Word Roots, C-units per minute, unintelligible proportion, um rate, and repetition proportion. Three expressive language samples were collected at baseline and again 4 weeks later. These samples comprised interview tasks from the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2) Modules 3 and 4, a conversation task, and a narration task. The influence of language sampling context on each ALM was estimated using either generalized linear mixed-effects models or generalized linear models, adjusted for age, sex, and IQ. The 4 weeks test-retest reliability was evaluated using Lin's Concordance Correlation Coefficient (CCC). The three different sampling contexts were associated with significantly (P < 0.001) different distributions for each ALM. With one exception (repetition proportion), ALMs also showed good test-retest reliability (median CCC: 0.73-0.88) when measured within the same context. Taken in conjunction with our previous work establishing their construct validity, this study demonstrates further critical psychometric properties of ALMs and their promising potential as language outcome measures for ASD research.

The need to develop linguistic competencies in a second language in Costa Rica’s early childhood has led state universities to review their curricula for teacher training. This reality and the mediation of materials in English as a requirement for accreditation led to the need to incorporate readings in a second language in the different subjects of the Early Childhood Education Program at UNED, knowing that the population lacks proficiency in this language. The intention of this study was to mediate readings in English using strategies based on tasks and cooperative work for graduate students with a basic command of the language. Both strategies were chosen because they were appropriate for distance learning. The material chosen by experts was a reading and a video, which meet the following requirements: 1- the reading: short (no more than 5 pages), simple vocabulary, and illustrative images. 2- the video: short (no more than 4 minutes) and with English subtitles. The mediation and evaluation of the material were carried out on the platform through prediction activities. The activities evaluated comprehension and listening skills and were presented in an academic forum. It was found that as long as the student population can use all visual, auditory, and prior knowledge resources in the assessment activities, language as such does not represent an obstacle. These results suggest the benefit of the strategy of task work, collaborative work, and predictive activities as techniques to mediate the material in another language, A necessidade de desenvolver competências linguísticas em uma segunda língua na educação infantil na Costa Rica levou as universidades estaduais a rever os seus currículos de formação de formadores. Esta realidade e a mediação de materiais em inglês como requisito para a acreditação levou à necessidade de incorporar leituras em uma segunda língua nas diferentes disciplinas do curso de Educação Infantil na UNED, sabendo que a população carece de proficiência nesta língua. A intenção deste estudo era mediar leituras em inglês com a estratégia baseada em tarefas e trabalho cooperativo em estudantes de graduação com um domínio básico da língua. Ambas as estratégias foram escolhidas como adequadas para o trabalho à distância. O material escolhido pelos especialistas consistiu em uma leitura e um vídeo, que cumprem os seguintes requisitos: 1- uma leitura: curta (não mais de 5 páginas), vocabulário simples e imagens ilustrativas. 2- um vídeo: curto (não mais de 4 minutos) e com legendas em inglês. A mediação e avaliação do material foram realizadas na plataforma, através de atividades de previsão. As atividades avaliaram as capacidades de compreensão e de escuta e foram apresentadas em um fórum acadêmico. Verificou-se que, desde que a população estudantil possa utilizar todos os recursos visuais, auditivos e de conhecimento prévio nas atividades de avaliação, a língua enquanto tal não representa um obstáculo. Estes resultados sugerem o benefício da estratégia de trabalho por tarefas, trabalho colaborativo e atividades de previsão como técnicas de mediação do material em língua estrangeira, La necesidad de desarrollar competencias lingüísticas en un segundo idioma en la primera infancia costarricense ha generado que las Universidades estatales empiecen a revisar sus programas de estudio para la formación de formadores. Esta realidad y la mediación de materiales en inglés como requisito de acreditación propiciaron la necesidad de incorporar lecturas en un segundo idioma en las diferentes asignaturas de la Carrera de Educación Prescolar de la UNED, a sabiendas de que la población carece del dominio de este. La intención de este estudio fue mediar lecturas en inglés con la estrategia basadas en tareas y trabajo cooperativo en estudiantes de diplomado con un dominio básico del idioma. Ambas estrategias se escogieron por ser apropiadas para el trabajo a distancia. El material elegido por expertos fue una lectura y un video, los cuales cumplen los siguientes requisitos: 1- la lectura: corta (no más de 5 páginas), vocabulario simple e imágenes ilustrativas. 2-el video: cortos (no más de 4 minutos) y con subtítulos en inglés. La mediación y evaluación del material se realizó en la plataforma, a través de actividades de predicción. Las actividades evaluaron la habilidad de comprensión, escucha y se presentaron en un foro académico. Se encontró que mientras la población estudiantil pueda utilizar todos los recursos visuales, auditivos y conocimientos previos en las actividades de evaluación, el idioma como tal no representa un obstáculo. Estos resultados sugieren el beneficio de la estrategia del trabajo en tareas, el trabajo colaborativo y las actividades de predicción como técnicas para mediar el material en otro idioma

Establishing expressive language benchmarks (ELBs) for children with Down syndrome (DS), as developed by Tager-Flusberg et al. for children with autism, is critically needed to inform the development of novel treatments, identify individualized treatment targets, and promote accurate monitoring of progress. In the present study, we assessed ELB assignments in three language domains (phonology, vocabulary, and grammar) for 53 young children with DS (CA range: 2.50-7.99 years) using standardized assessments. The participants were classified into one of four ELB levels (preverbal, first words, word combinations, and sentences) in each language domain. Associations with additional measures of language, chronological age, nonverbal cognition, and verbal short-term memory were considered. Analyses of individual ELB profiles indicated substantial variability across the three language domains, with six different patterns of variation across domains emerging. At the same time, the ELB categories were significantly associated with independent language measures and broader developmental domains. Moreover, ELB changes were observed in a small sample of children with DS reassessed 18-24 months after the initial visit. Results from the present study suggest the procedures outlined by Tager-Flusberg et al. for defining ELBs are a potentially useful tool for describing the language abilities of children with DS.

BackgroundAngelman syndrome (AS) occurs due to a lack of expression or function of the maternally inherited UBE3A gene. Individuals with AS typically have significant developmental delay, severe speech impairment with absent to minimal verbal language, gait abnormalities including ataxia, and an incongruous happy demeanor. The majority of individuals with AS also have seizures and microcephaly. Some individuals with mosaic AS have been reported to have expressive language and milder levels of developmental delay.Case reportWe report a male patient presenting with mild to moderate intellectual disability, hyperphagia, obesity, and the ability to communicate verbally. His phenotype was suggestive of Prader-Willi syndrome. However, methylation testing was positive for Angelman syndrome and additional methylation specific multiplex ligation-dependent amplification (MS-MLPA) study revealed low-level mosaicism for AS.ConclusionA broader phenotypic spectrum should be considered for AS as patients with atypical presentations may otherwise elude diagnosis.

Establishing expressive language benchmarks (ELBs) for children with Down syndrome (DS), as developed by Tager-Flusberg et al. for children with autism, is critically needed to inform the development of novel treatments, identify individualized treatment targets, and promote accurate monitoring of progress. In the present study, we assessed ELB assignments in three language domains (phonology, vocabulary, and grammar) for 53 young children with DS (CA range: 2.50-7.99 years) using standardized assessments. The participants were classified into one of four ELB levels (preverbal, first words, word combinations, and sentences) in each language domain. Associations with additional measures of language, chronological age, nonverbal cognition, and verbal short-term memory were considered. Analyses of individual ELB profiles indicated substantial variability across the three language domains, with six different patterns of variation across domains emerging. At the same time, the ELB categories were significantly associated with independent language measures and broader developmental domains. Moreover, ELB changes were observed in a small sample of children with DS reassessed 18-24 months after the initial visit. Results from the present study suggest the procedures outlined by Tager-Flusberg et al. for defining ELBs are a potentially useful tool for describing the language abilities of children with DS.

There is a need for psychometrically sound outcome measures for treatment studies that have a low burden for families and that are available in multiple languages. We have developed a language assessment in English and Spanish that parents can administer to their children at home via telehealth-delivered procedures. The current case study presents descriptive data on a single family of two parent-child dyads. Both the mother and father from a single family were trained in their primary language (Spanish) on how to administer the Expressive Language Sampling - Narration (ELS-N) in their secondary language (English) to their two English-speaking monolingual sons with ASD through telehealth-delivered procedures. Both parents learned to administer the procedures to a predetermined level of fidelity. Extension to a larger sample of bilingual families is needed for this home-based, parent-administered test; however, the present results suggest feasibility even when the language of training and administration differ.

Purpose: Communication skills are essential for all individuals in the world to interact with each other. It is the beauty of communication skills to make the population of world capable to share thoughts, experiences, and views with one another. Meaningful communication is always constructed by effective coordination of cognitive, motor, social and linguistic skills. Underlying reasons of genetic or environmental factors affect the cognitive, motor, social and linguistic skills, causing delays in language and communication skills. This comparative study envisioned to find out the communication skills of school going children with IDDs and those who are out of school. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study was descriptive in nature. A sample of 120 children with IDDSs from which 60 were school going and 60 were out of school, was selected from Punjab province of Pakistan. Parents and teachers rated the communication skills of their children with IDDs. Findings: Communication skills in school going children with IDDs significantly and remarkably higher than children with IDDs who are out of school. Study recommends to make education accessible for all and provide all children with IDDs to equitable access to schools so that their cognitive, motor, linguistic and social needs can be fulfilled. Implications: Parental training and awareness campaigns for the development of communication skills will be indispensable. Schools are important for the whole life grooming of individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Objective: To correlate the sociodemographic variables with the expressive and receptive language in children with 3 years of age from the city of Barranquilla. Introduction: Human language is a social realization that is not alien to the changes that society exerts, therefore, the acquisition is influenced by the sociodemographic variables that stimulate the aspects. The receptive, provides information about the reception of data and knowledge of the lexicon. The expressive one analyzes the use of phonological rules, the ability to produce sounds and the consistency in their production. Methodology: Two instruments were applied; REEL scale by telephone from 5 to 20 minutes and the survey of sociodemographic variables in self-administered digital format. The sample consisted of 14 3-year-old children in the city of Barranquilla. Results: In the combined variables, the age of the main caregiver and the number of people with whom he lives were those that interceded negatively in the expressive aspect with a regular classification. The receptive showed good grades. Conclusion: Sociodemographic variables; The age of the caregiver and the number of people they live with strongly influence the development of expressive language in 3-year-olds., El lenguaje durante las etapas tempranas de la vida se caracteriza por la progresiva adquisición de estructuras y funciones que ayudan a que fluya una interacción inalienable entre el ser humano y el entorno familiar, social, y cultural. Igualmente, permite que el orden en que se adquieren los componentes esenciales para su desarrollo sustentan las habilidades de comunicación, aprendizaje y experiencias significativas; tales componentes no responden a un patrón universal y eso hace que se dé un proceso de continuo desarrollo donde el niño puede verse beneficiado o afectado por el mismo. El lenguaje humano se desarrolla al estar en contacto con la realidad por lo que no está ajeno a los cambios que ejerce la sociedad, por tanto, la adquisición se ve influenciada por las variables sociodemográficas que estimulan los aspectos receptivo (o comprensivo) y el expresivo. El lenguaje receptivo brinda información acerca de la recepción de información y conocimiento del léxico. El expresivo, analiza el uso de reglas fonológicas, la habilidad de producir sonidos y la consistencia en la producción de los mismos. Las variables sociodemográficas juegan un papel esencial en la adquisición del lenguaje, ya que estas pueden influir para bien o para mal en el desarrollo de las habilidades, costumbres y hábitos que llegan a tomar distintos valores dependiendo el contexto donde se desenvuelve el niño. La presente investigación tuvo como objetivo correlacionar las variables sociodemográficas con el lenguaje expresivo y receptivo en niños con 3 años de edad de la ciudad de Barranquilla. Esta investigación consistió en un estudio de tipo no experimental cuantitativo, de naturaleza transversal. Se aplicaron dos instrumentos; escala REEL vía telefónica de 5 a 20 minutos y la encuesta de variables sociodemográficas en formato digital autoadministrable. La muestra estuvo comprendida con un total de 14 niños de 36 meses (3 años) de edad cronológica que viven actualmente en la ciudad de Barranq

Purpose: Communication skills are essential for all individuals in the world to interact with each other. It is the beauty of communication skills to make the population of world capable to share thoughts, experiences, and views with one another. Meaningful communication is always constructed by effective coordination of cognitive, motor, social and linguistic skills. Underlying reasons of genetic or environmental factors affect the cognitive, motor, social and linguistic skills, causing delays in language and communication skills. This comparative study envisioned to find out the communication skills of school going children with IDDs and those who are out of school. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study was descriptive in nature. A sample of 120 children with IDDSs from which 60 were school going and 60 were out of school, was selected from Punjab province of Pakistan. Parents and teachers rated the communication skills of their children with IDDs. Findings: Communication skills in school going children with IDDs significantly and remarkably higher than children with IDDs who are out of school. Study recommends to make education accessible for all and provide all children with IDDs to equitable access to schools so that their cognitive, motor, linguistic and social needs can be fulfilled. Implications: Parental training and awareness campaigns for the development of communication skills will be indispensable. Schools are important for the whole life grooming of individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Purpose: Communication skills are essential for all individuals in the world to interact with each other. It is the beauty of communication skills to make the population of world capable to share thoughts, experiences, and views with one another. Meaningful communication is always constructed by effective coordination of cognitive, motor, social and linguistic skills. Underlying reasons of genetic or environmental factors affect the cognitive, motor, social and linguistic skills, causing delays in language and communication skills. This comparative study envisioned to find out the communication skills of school going children with IDDs and those who are out of school. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study was descriptive in nature. A sample of 120 children with IDDSs from which 60 were school going and 60 were out of school, was selected from Punjab province of Pakistan. Parents and teachers rated the communication skills of their children with IDDs. Findings: Communication skills in school going children with IDDs significantly and remarkably higher than children with IDDs who are out of school. Study recommends to make education accessible for all and provide all children with IDDs to equitable access to schools so that their cognitive, motor, linguistic and social needs can be fulfilled. Implications: Parental training and awareness campaigns for the development of communication skills will be indispensable. Schools are important for the whole life grooming of individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Various features of infant- and child-directed speech (IDS/CDS) are known to have a positive impact on children’s language development. Some, such as directive language, appear to be less facilitating. We investigated whether mothers’ usage of negative language impacts children’s language development. Thirty-three mothers’ language samples at 30 months and children’s conversational language samples at 66 months were analyzed to locate operationally defined negative language and imperatives. Five language sample analysis measures were utilized to assess children’s expressive language abilities. Inverse relationships between maternal use of negative language and children’s language outcome measures were found. This preliminary result suggests that the more children hear negative language at an earlier age, the lower their language outcomes are at a later age. This study was exploratory in nature, and various limitations and implications for future studies are outlined in the paper.

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to evaluate expressive language sampling (ELS) as a procedure for generating spoken language outcome measures for treatment research in Down syndrome (DS). We addressed (a) feasibility, (b) practice effects across two short-term administrations, (c) test-retest reliability across two short-term administrations, (d) convergent and discriminant construct validity, and (e) considered comparisons across the conversation and narration contexts.MethodParticipants were 107 individuals with DS between 6 and 23 years of age who presented with intellectual disability (IQ < 70). The utility of ELS procedures designed to collect samples of spoken language in conversation and narration were evaluated separately. Variables of talkativeness, vocabulary, syntax, utterance planning, and articulation quality, derived from transcripts segmented into C-units (i.e., an independent clause and its modifiers), were considered. A 4-week interval was used to assess practice effects and test-retest reliability. Standardized direct assessments and informant report measures were collected to evaluate construct validity of the ELS variables.ResultsLow rates of noncompliance were observed; youth who were under 12 years of age, had phrase-level speech or less, and had a 4-year-old developmental level or less were at particular risk for experiencing difficulty completing the ELS procedures. Minimal practice effects and strong test-retest reliability across the 4-week test-retest interval was observed. The vocabulary, syntax, and speech intelligibility variables demonstrated strong convergent and discriminant validity. Although significant correlations were found between the variables derived from both the conversation and narration contexts, some differences were noted.ConclusionThe ELS procedures considered were feasible and yielded variables with adequate psychometric properties for most individuals with DS between 6 and 23 years old. That said, stu

BackgroundFew individuals with fragile X syndrome (FXS) successfully meet adult normative expectations in education, employment, peer relations, and habitation, although there is within-syndrome variability in this regard. The primary goal of this study was to determine whether expressive language skills contribute to the capacity for independent functioning in adulthood even after controlling for nonverbal cognitive ability.MethodsParticipants were 18- to 23-year-olds with FXS. Expressive language was assessed using the psychometrically validated Expressive Language Sampling (ELS) conversation and narration procedures. The language produced was transcribed and analyzed to yield measures of expressive vocabulary, syntax, and intelligibility. Parents concurrently completed questionnaires on the independent functioning of the participants with FXS.ResultsAll three ELS measures were significantly corelated with multiple measures of independence. The magnitudes of the correlations were reduced when nonverbal IQ was controlled through partial correlation. Nonetheless, many of the partial correlations were medium to large and several were statistically significant.ConclusionsExpressive language skills appear to contribute uniquely to the capacity for independence, although longitudinal data are needed to evaluate the possibility of a bidirectional relationship between these domains. Thus, language intervention may be a prerequisite for preparing youth with FXS for an independent adult life.

There is a need for psychometrically sound outcome measures for treatment studies that have a low burden for families and that are available in multiple languages. We have developed a language assessment in English and Spanish that parents can administer to their children at home via telehealth-delivered procedures. The current case study presents descriptive data on a single family of two parent-child dyads. Both the mother and father from a single family were trained in their primary language (Spanish) on how to administer the Expressive Language Sampling - Narration (ELS-N) in their secondary language (English) to their two English-speaking monolingual sons with ASD through telehealth-delivered procedures. Both parents learned to administer the procedures to a predetermined level of fidelity. Extension to a larger sample of bilingual families is needed for this home-based, parent-administered test; however, the present results suggest feasibility even when the language of training and administration differ.

BackgroundFew individuals with fragile X syndrome (FXS) successfully meet adult normative expectations in education, employment, peer relations, and habitation, although there is within-syndrome variability in this regard. The primary goal of this study was to determine whether expressive language skills contribute to the capacity for independent functioning in adulthood even after controlling for nonverbal cognitive ability.MethodsParticipants were 18- to 23-year-olds with FXS. Expressive language was assessed using the psychometrically validated Expressive Language Sampling (ELS) conversation and narration procedures. The language produced was transcribed and analyzed to yield measures of expressive vocabulary, syntax, and intelligibility. Parents concurrently completed questionnaires on the independent functioning of the participants with FXS.ResultsAll three ELS measures were significantly corelated with multiple measures of independence. The magnitudes of the correlations were reduced when nonverbal IQ was controlled through partial correlation. Nonetheless, many of the partial correlations were medium to large and several were statistically significant.ConclusionsExpressive language skills appear to contribute uniquely to the capacity for independence, although longitudinal data are needed to evaluate the possibility of a bidirectional relationship between these domains. Thus, language intervention may be a prerequisite for preparing youth with FXS for an independent adult life.

Background: This meta-analysis reviewed and synthesized the available evidence on the association between intrauterine exposure to maternal diabetes and language abilities in children. Method: MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Proquest Dissertations and Theses Global, and Google Scholar databases were searched through December 2020. Studies were systematically searched, and effect sizes were calculated using random effects models. Results: Twelve studies were identified for inclusion in this review, however, only 10 were included in the meta-analysis. Sample size ranged from 9 to 115 participants in the diabetes group and 28 to 8192 in the control and aged around 3 years. The pooled results of the meta-analysis showed a trend of decreased language abilities in receptive (z = −3.49, df = 10, I2 = 34, p = 0.001), expressive language development (z = −2.29, df = 11, I2 = 94%, p = 0.022) and general communication (z = −4.12, df = 4, I2 = 2, p = 0.001) However, results showed a limited effect of maternal diabetes on children's language abilities after excluding high-risk categories such as children born to mothers with other gestational comorbidities, obesity and low socio-economic status. Conclusion: Our meta-analysis recognises that exposure to maternal diabetes during pregnancy intersects with other factors within the intrauterine environment to create the conditions for reduced language abilities in the child. Multiple factors may contribute to the observed differences between groups in the meta-analysis. A focus on interventions to maintain optimal blood glucose levels during pregnancy and to screen for early developmental delay after birth is recommended.

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to evaluate expressive language sampling (ELS) as a procedure for generating spoken language outcome measures for treatment research in Down syndrome (DS). We addressed (a) feasibility, (b) practice effects across two short-term administrations, (c) test-retest reliability across two short-term administrations, (d) convergent and discriminant construct validity, and (e) considered comparisons across the conversation and narration contexts.MethodParticipants were 107 individuals with DS between 6 and 23 years of age who presented with intellectual disability (IQ < 70). The utility of ELS procedures designed to collect samples of spoken language in conversation and narration were evaluated separately. Variables of talkativeness, vocabulary, syntax, utterance planning, and articulation quality, derived from transcripts segmented into C-units (i.e., an independent clause and its modifiers), were considered. A 4-week interval was used to assess practice effects and test-retest reliability. Standardized direct assessments and informant report measures were collected to evaluate construct validity of the ELS variables.ResultsLow rates of noncompliance were observed; youth who were under 12 years of age, had phrase-level speech or less, and had a 4-year-old developmental level or less were at particular risk for experiencing difficulty completing the ELS procedures. Minimal practice effects and strong test-retest reliability across the 4-week test-retest interval was observed. The vocabulary, syntax, and speech intelligibility variables demonstrated strong convergent and discriminant validity. Although significant correlations were found between the variables derived from both the conversation and narration contexts, some differences were noted.ConclusionThe ELS procedures considered were feasible and yielded variables with adequate psychometric properties for most individuals with DS between 6 and 23 years old. That said, stu

Few individuals with fragile X syndrome (FXS) successfully meet adult normative expectations in education, employment, peer relations, and habitation, although there is within-syndrome variability in this regard. The primary goal of this study was to determine whether expressive language skills contribute to the capacity for independent functioning in adulthood even after controlling for nonverbal cognitive ability. Participants were 18- to 23-year-olds with FXS. Expressive language was assessed using the psychometrically validated Expressive Language Sampling (ELS) conversation and narration procedures. The language produced was transcribed and analyzed to yield measures of expressive vocabulary, syntax, and intelligibility. Parents concurrently completed questionnaires on the independent functioning of the participants with FXS. All three ELS measures were significantly corelated with multiple measures of independence. The magnitudes of the correlations were reduced when nonverbal IQ was controlled through partial correlation. Nonetheless, many of the partial correlations were medium to large and several were statistically significant. Expressive language skills appear to contribute uniquely to the capacity for independence, although longitudinal data are needed to evaluate the possibility of a bidirectional relationship between these domains. Thus, language intervention may be a prerequisite for preparing youth with FXS for an independent adult life.

This study investigates language use in political debates. It takes a closer look at linguistic markers of expressivity and truthmaking on word level in a presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The results show clear differences between these two debaters. Trump uses expressive language more extensively than Biden. Examples of markers that Trump uses more often than Biden are rein-forcing: very, much, super, totalizing: all, every, never, mental: know, think, want, verbal: tell, talk, say, hypothetical: if, could, would, and self-reference: I, me. Ex-amples of markers that Biden uses more often that Trump are reinforcing: more, totalizing: none, mental: feel verbal: ask, hypothetical: should, and self-reference: my. All in all, Trump uses these kinds of linguistic resources both more often and in lager clusters. There is also a difference between Trump and Biden in their choice of markers from the same group, for example between know (Trump) and feel (Biden), and between tell (Trump) and ask (Biden). The methodological results show that our current constellation of linguistic markers is effective as an analytical tool and highlights the importance of expressivity, in relation to empirical and logical truth, as a crucial component of truthmaking in political debates.

This study investigates language use in political debates. It takes a closer look at linguistic markers of expressivity and truthmaking on word level in a presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The results show clear differences between these two debaters. Trump uses expressive language more extensively than Biden. Examples of markers that Trump uses more often than Biden are rein-forcing: very, much, super, totalizing: all, every, never, mental: know, think, want, verbal: tell, talk, say, hypothetical: if, could, would, and self-reference: I, me. Ex-amples of markers that Biden uses more often that Trump are reinforcing: more, totalizing: none, mental: feel verbal: ask, hypothetical: should, and self-reference: my. All in all, Trump uses these kinds of linguistic resources both more often and in lager clusters. There is also a difference between Trump and Biden in their choice of markers from the same group, for example between know (Trump) and feel (Biden), and between tell (Trump) and ask (Biden). The methodological results show that our current constellation of linguistic markers is effective as an analytical tool and highlights the importance of expressivity, in relation to empirical and logical truth, as a crucial component of truthmaking in political debates.

The object of study of this work was to evaluate the efficacy of a cognitive and metacognitive intervention program to improve the processes of attention, receptive and expressive language, planning, and metacognition in children aged 4 to 6 years belonging to the transition grade of a public school in the cultural and historical tourist district of Santa Marta. This research was conducted under the analytical empirical paradigm, with a quasi-experimental design, consisting of pre-test and post-test, the EOECM instrument was applied (Sáiz, Flores and Román, 2010), the cognitive and metacognitive processes of the children, using Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon W statistics to make comparisons between groups. The results showed significant differences between the control group and the experimental group, in the variables of attention, receptive and expressive language, planning, and metacognition., El objeto de estudio de este trabajo fue evaluar la eficacia de un programa de intervención cognitivo y metacognitivo para mejorar los procesos de atención, lenguaje receptivo y expresivo, planificación, y metacognición en niños de 4 a 6 años pertenecientes al grado transición de un colegio público en el distrito turístico cultural e histórico de Santa Marta. Esta investigación se direccionó bajo el paradigma empírico analítico, con un diseño cuasiexperimental, que consta de pre-test y post-test, se aplicó el instrumento EOECM (Sáiz, Flores y Román, 2010), se midieron los procesos cognitivos y metacognitivos de los niños, empleándose estadísticos U de Mann-Whitney y W de Wilcoxon, para realizar las comparaciones entre grupos. Los resultados mostraron diferencias significativas entre el grupo control y el experimental, en las variables de atención, lenguaje receptivo y expresivo, planificación, y metacognición.

Background: This meta-analysis reviewed and synthesized the available evidence on the association between intrauterine exposure to maternal diabetes and language abilities in children. MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Proquest Dissertations and Theses Global, and Google Scholar databases were searched through December 2020. Studies were systematically searched, and effect sizes were calculated using random effects models. Results: Twelve studies were identified for inclusion in this review, however, only 10 were included in the meta-analysis. Sample size ranged from 9 to 115 participants in the diabetes group and 28 to 8192 in the control and aged around 3 years. The pooled results of the meta-analysis showed a trend of decreased language abilities in receptive (z = −3.49, df = 10, I2 = 34, p = 0.001), expressive language development (z = −2.29, df = 11, I2 = 94%, p = 0.022) and general communication (z = −4.12, df = 4, I2 = 2, p = 0.001) However, results showed a limited effect of maternal diabetes on children's language abilities after excluding high-risk categories such as children born to mothers with other gestational comorbidities, obesity and low socio-economic status. Conclusion: Our meta-analysis recognises that exposure to maternal diabetes during pregnancy intersects with other factors within the intrauterine environment to create the conditions for reduced language abilities in the child. Multiple factors may contribute to the observed differences between groups in the meta-analysis. A focus on interventions to maintain optimal blood glucose levels during pregnancy and to screen for early developmental delay after birth is recommended.

This study investigates language use in political debates. It takes a closer look at linguistic markers of expressivity and truthmaking on word level in a presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The results show clear differences between these two debaters. Trump uses expressive language more extensively than Biden. Examples of markers that Trump uses more often than Biden are rein-forcing: very, much, super, totalizing: all, every, never, mental: know, think, want, verbal: tell, talk, say, hypothetical: if, could, would, and self-reference: I, me. Ex-amples of markers that Biden uses more often that Trump are reinforcing: more, totalizing: none, mental: feel verbal: ask, hypothetical: should, and self-reference: my. All in all, Trump uses these kinds of linguistic resources both more often and in lager clusters. There is also a difference between Trump and Biden in their choice of markers from the same group, for example between know (Trump) and feel (Biden), and between tell (Trump) and ask (Biden). The methodological results show that our current constellation of linguistic markers is effective as an analytical tool and highlights the importance of expressivity, in relation to empirical and logical truth, as a crucial component of truthmaking in political debates.

Delays in language are a hallmark feature of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, little is known about the predictive role of language developmental trajectories on ASD. The present study aimed at identifying early different language developmental profiles of infants at high familial risk for ASD (HR-ASD) and testing their predictive role on ASD symptoms at 2 years. The role of gestures on socio-communicative skills has also been explored. Trajectories of expressive vocabulary were investigated in 137 HR-ASD infants at 12, 18, and, 24 months of age. Parents were requested to complete the Italian version of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory and ASD symptoms were measured by ADOS-2. Latent class growth analysis defined four trajectories: above average language development group (above-average LD, 18.2%), normal language development group (NLD, 38.7%), late-onset language development group (late-onset LD, 11.7%), and a group of children with stable language delay (SLD, 31.4%). Results showed that the SLD group obtained higher communicative difficulties and restricted/repetitive behavior compared to the other groups. Examining early increase of produced gestures in the different language classes, we found fewer produced gestures between 12 and 18 months in the SLD group compared to the late-onset LD group. The results identified clusters of HR infants who follow similar estimated trajectories based on individual differences in language development. These patterns of early language acquisition, together with produced gestures, may be predictive of later ASD symptoms and useful for planning prompt intervention. Lay Summary: Language/gesture deficits are hallmark features of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), but the predictive role of communicative trajectories on ASD remains unclear. In a longitudinal Italian sample of infants at high familial risk for ASD (HR-ASD), we tested if language trajectories and their link with gestures can predict ASD sy

This study investigates language use in political debates. It takes a closer look at linguistic markers of expressivity and truthmaking on word level in a presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The results show clear differences between these two debaters. Trump uses expressive language more extensively than Biden. Examples of markers that Trump uses more often than Biden are rein-forcing: very, much, super, totalizing: all, every, never, mental: know, think, want, verbal: tell, talk, say, hypothetical: if, could, would, and self-reference: I, me. Ex-amples of markers that Biden uses more often that Trump are reinforcing: more, totalizing: none, mental: feel verbal: ask, hypothetical: should, and self-reference: my. All in all, Trump uses these kinds of linguistic resources both more often and in lager clusters. There is also a difference between Trump and Biden in their choice of markers from the same group, for example between know (Trump) and feel (Biden), and between tell (Trump) and ask (Biden). The methodological results show that our current constellation of linguistic markers is effective as an analytical tool and highlights the importance of expressivity, in relation to empirical and logical truth, as a crucial component of truthmaking in political debates.

This study investigates language use in political debates. It takes a closer look at linguistic markers of expressivity and truthmaking on word level in a presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The results show clear differences between these two debaters. Trump uses expressive language more extensively than Biden. Examples of markers that Trump uses more often than Biden are rein-forcing: very, much, super, totalizing: all, every, never, mental: know, think, want, verbal: tell, talk, say, hypothetical: if, could, would, and self-reference: I, me. Ex-amples of markers that Biden uses more often that Trump are reinforcing: more, totalizing: none, mental: feel verbal: ask, hypothetical: should, and self-reference: my. All in all, Trump uses these kinds of linguistic resources both more often and in lager clusters. There is also a difference between Trump and Biden in their choice of markers from the same group, for example between know (Trump) and feel (Biden), and between tell (Trump) and ask (Biden). The methodological results show that our current constellation of linguistic markers is effective as an analytical tool and highlights the importance of expressivity, in relation to empirical and logical truth, as a crucial component of truthmaking in political debates.

Language development in toddlerhood forms the foundation for speech and language comprehension throughout childhood. Children born moderately preterm are at increased risk for problems in receptive and expressive language functioning, and they may need specific support or interventions. To understand the underlying mechanisms of language development, an integrated model of gestational age, attention capacities, and maternal sensitivity was examined in relation to receptive and expressive language functioning in toddlerhood. Our sample included 221 children (gestational age between 32–41 + 6 weeks; 54.7% born moderately preterm; 51.6% boys; 69.1% highly educated mothers). At 18 months (corrected age), attention capacities were measured using an eye-tracking procedure and maternal sensitivity was observed during mother-child interaction. Language was assessed at 24 months (corrected age). Results showed children with a higher gestational age scored higher on receptive language. This association was direct, as well as indirect through the child’s alerting attention. Expressive language was related to maternal sensitivity. Gestational age and alerting attention capacities specifically were related to language comprehension, whereas maternal sensitivity was related to speech. As language comprehension and speech in toddlerhood show different associations with biological, child, contextual, and regulation factors, they should be viewed as separate constructs in research and practice.

The usage-based model of language acquisition assumes that language is learned by its usage. General cognitive processes, especially analogical reasoning ability, are assumed to lead to the understanding of words and grammatical structures. It has been argued that the time of language or auditory deprivation children with cochlear implants (CIs) often experience early in life, might affect both their language and their cognitive abilities. Children with CIs have disadvantages in terms of language acquisition as they start receiving language input later than peers with typical hearing (TH), and the perceptual quality of the input is reduced. However, they might have additional difficulties in language acquisition if their analogical reasoning ability is negatively influenced by the language or auditory deprivation early in life. The results found in this thesis show that the language delays often seen in children with CIs are not explained by differences in analogical reasoning ability. Results indicate that analogical reasoning ability has a limited influence on language acquisition for the tested age-group. However, language abilities affect the performance on analogical reasoning tasks which are either verbal or can be supported by verbal strategies. This needs to be taken into consideration when comparing analogical reasoning ability of children with CI sand children with TH. In addition, the results from this thesis indicate that the structure of the mental lexicon is associated with the communication skills of children with CIs. The structure of the mental lexicon is most likely influenced by the amount of language input a child receives. The main implication of the results is that emphasis should be put on reducing the duration of language deprivation and to improve the quality of the language input for children with CIs.

BackgroundThe evaluation of treatment efficacy for individuals with fragile X syndrome (FXS) or intellectual disability (ID) more generally has been hampered by the lack of adequate outcome measures. We evaluated expressive language sampling (ELS) as a procedure for generating outcome measures for treatment research in FXS. We addressed: (a) feasibility, (b) practice effects over two administrations, (c) test-retest reliability over the repeated administrations, and (d) construct validity. We addressed these issues for the full sample as well as for subgroups defined by age, IQ, and ASD status.MethodsParticipants were 106 individuals with FXS between ages 6 and 23 years who had IQs within the range of intellectual disability (IQ < 70). ELS procedures for collecting samples in conversation and narration were followed and analyzed separately. Five measures were derived from transcripts segmented into C-units (i.e., an independent clause and its modifiers): number of C-units per minute (talkativeness), number of different word roots (vocabulary), C-unit length in morphemes (syntax), percentage of C-units containing dysfluency (utterance planning), and percentage of C-units that were fully or partly unintelligible (articulatory quality). ELS procedures were administered twice at 4-week intervals for each participant. Standardized tests and informant reports were administered and provided measures for evaluating construct validity of ELS measures.ResultsWe found low rates of noncompliance, suggesting the task can be completed meaningfully by most individuals with FXS, although noncompliance was higher for younger, lower IQ, and more autistic participants. Minimal practice effects and strong test-retest reliability over the 4-week interval were observed for the full sample and across the range of ages, IQs, and autism symptom severity. Evidence of convergent construct validity was observed for the measures of vocabulary, syntax, and unintelligibility for the full sampl

This article presents an arts integration program that uses drama and dance to promote foundational literacy skills, with an emphasis on the oral development of English Language Learners (ELLs). Previous research indicates that arts activities afford a beneficial opportunity for young students to practice language skills, but many teachers have received scant training in the arts. The Teaching Artist Project (TAP) is a professional development program that helps classroom teachers use dramatization and creative movement to enhance comprehension and promote verbal interaction in the classroom. Children learn to imaginatively connect the decontextualized vocabulary of the classroom with their own experiences. A mixed methods study of TAP found that K-1 ELLs who participated in TAP showed improvements in early literacy skills compared with their peers. This article introduces approaches used in TAP, suggests sources of the language gains, and discusses strategies for successful implementation.

The usage-based model of language acquisition assumes that language is learned by its usage. General cognitive processes, especially analogical reasoning ability, are assumed to lead to the understanding of words and grammatical structures. It has been argued that the time of language or auditory deprivation children with cochlear implants (CIs) often experience early in life, might affect both their language and their cognitive abilities. Children with CIs have disadvantages in terms of language acquisition as they start receiving language input later than peers with typical hearing (TH), and the perceptual quality of the input is reduced. However, they might have additional difficulties in language acquisition if their analogical reasoning ability is negatively influenced by the language or auditory deprivation early in life. The results found in this thesis show that the language delays often seen in children with CIs are not explained by differences in analogical reasoning ability. Results indicate that analogical reasoning ability has a limited influence on language acquisition for the tested age-group. However, language abilities affect the performance on analogical reasoning tasks which are either verbal or can be supported by verbal strategies. This needs to be taken into consideration when comparing analogical reasoning ability of children with CI sand children with TH. In addition, the results from this thesis indicate that the structure of the mental lexicon is associated with the communication skills of children with CIs. The structure of the mental lexicon is most likely influenced by the amount of language input a child receives. The main implication of the results is that emphasis should be put on reducing the duration of language deprivation and to improve the quality of the language input for children with CIs.

This article presents an arts integration program that uses drama and dance to promote foundational literacy skills, with an emphasis on the oral development of English Language Learners (ELLs). Previous research indicates that arts activities afford a beneficial opportunity for young students to practice language skills, but many teachers have received scant training in the arts. The Teaching Artist Project (TAP) is a professional development program that helps classroom teachers use dramatization and creative movement to enhance comprehension and promote verbal interaction in the classroom. Children learn to imaginatively connect the decontextualized vocabulary of the classroom with their own experiences. A mixed methods study of TAP found that K-1 ELLs who participated in TAP showed improvements in early literacy skills compared with their peers. This article introduces approaches used in TAP, suggests sources of the language gains, and discusses strategies for successful implementation.

BackgroundThe evaluation of treatment efficacy for individuals with fragile X syndrome (FXS) or intellectual disability (ID) more generally has been hampered by the lack of adequate outcome measures. We evaluated expressive language sampling (ELS) as a procedure for generating outcome measures for treatment research in FXS. We addressed: (a) feasibility, (b) practice effects over two administrations, (c) test-retest reliability over the repeated administrations, and (d) construct validity. We addressed these issues for the full sample as well as for subgroups defined by age, IQ, and ASD status.MethodsParticipants were 106 individuals with FXS between ages 6 and 23 years who had IQs within the range of intellectual disability (IQ < 70). ELS procedures for collecting samples in conversation and narration were followed and analyzed separately. Five measures were derived from transcripts segmented into C-units (i.e., an independent clause and its modifiers): number of C-units per minute (talkativeness), number of different word roots (vocabulary), C-unit length in morphemes (syntax), percentage of C-units containing dysfluency (utterance planning), and percentage of C-units that were fully or partly unintelligible (articulatory quality). ELS procedures were administered twice at 4-week intervals for each participant. Standardized tests and informant reports were administered and provided measures for evaluating construct validity of ELS measures.ResultsWe found low rates of noncompliance, suggesting the task can be completed meaningfully by most individuals with FXS, although noncompliance was higher for younger, lower IQ, and more autistic participants. Minimal practice effects and strong test-retest reliability over the 4-week interval were observed for the full sample and across the range of ages, IQs, and autism symptom severity. Evidence of convergent construct validity was observed for the measures of vocabulary, syntax, and unintelligibility for the full sampl

The usage-based model of language acquisition assumes that language is learned by its usage. General cognitive processes, especially analogical reasoning ability, are assumed to lead to the understanding of words and grammatical structures. It has been argued that the time of language or auditory deprivation children with cochlear implants (CIs) often experience early in life, might affect both their language and their cognitive abilities. Children with CIs have disadvantages in terms of language acquisition as they start receiving language input later than peers with typical hearing (TH), and the perceptual quality of the input is reduced. However, they might have additional difficulties in language acquisition if their analogical reasoning ability is negatively influenced by the language or auditory deprivation early in life. The results found in this thesis show that the language delays often seen in children with CIs are not explained by differences in analogical reasoning ability. Results indicate that analogical reasoning ability has a limited influence on language acquisition for the tested age-group. However, language abilities affect the performance on analogical reasoning tasks which are either verbal or can be supported by verbal strategies. This needs to be taken into consideration when comparing analogical reasoning ability of children with CI sand children with TH. In addition, the results from this thesis indicate that the structure of the mental lexicon is associated with the communication skills of children with CIs. The structure of the mental lexicon is most likely influenced by the amount of language input a child receives. The main implication of the results is that emphasis should be put on reducing the duration of language deprivation and to improve the quality of the language input for children with CIs.

The usage-based model of language acquisition assumes that language is learned by its usage. General cognitive processes, especially analogical reasoning ability, are assumed to lead to the understanding of words and grammatical structures. It has been argued that the time of language or auditory deprivation children with cochlear implants (CIs) often experience early in life, might affect both their language and their cognitive abilities. Children with CIs have disadvantages in terms of language acquisition as they start receiving language input later than peers with typical hearing (TH), and the perceptual quality of the input is reduced. However, they might have additional difficulties in language acquisition if their analogical reasoning ability is negatively influenced by the language or auditory deprivation early in life. The results found in this thesis show that the language delays often seen in children with CIs are not explained by differences in analogical reasoning ability. Results indicate that analogical reasoning ability has a limited influence on language acquisition for the tested age-group. However, language abilities affect the performance on analogical reasoning tasks which are either verbal or can be supported by verbal strategies. This needs to be taken into consideration when comparing analogical reasoning ability of children with CI sand children with TH. In addition, the results from this thesis indicate that the structure of the mental lexicon is associated with the communication skills of children with CIs. The structure of the mental lexicon is most likely influenced by the amount of language input a child receives. The main implication of the results is that emphasis should be put on reducing the duration of language deprivation and to improve the quality of the language input for children with CIs.

The usage-based model of language acquisition assumes that language is learned by its usage. General cognitive processes, especially analogical reasoning ability, are assumed to lead to the understanding of words and grammatical structures. It has been argued that the time of language or auditory deprivation children with cochlear implants (CIs) often experience early in life, might affect both their language and their cognitive abilities. Children with CIs have disadvantages in terms of language acquisition as they start receiving language input later than peers with typical hearing (TH), and the perceptual quality of the input is reduced. However, they might have additional difficulties in language acquisition if their analogical reasoning ability is negatively influenced by the language or auditory deprivation early in life. The results found in this thesis show that the language delays often seen in children with CIs are not explained by differences in analogical reasoning ability. Results indicate that analogical reasoning ability has a limited influence on language acquisition for the tested age-group. However, language abilities affect the performance on analogical reasoning tasks which are either verbal or can be supported by verbal strategies. This needs to be taken into consideration when comparing analogical reasoning ability of children with CI sand children with TH. In addition, the results from this thesis indicate that the structure of the mental lexicon is associated with the communication skills of children with CIs. The structure of the mental lexicon is most likely influenced by the amount of language input a child receives. The main implication of the results is that emphasis should be put on reducing the duration of language deprivation and to improve the quality of the language input for children with CIs.

The usage-based model of language acquisition assumes that language is learned by its usage. General cognitive processes, especially analogical reasoning ability, are assumed to lead to the understanding of words and grammatical structures. It has been argued that the time of language or auditory deprivation children with cochlear implants (CIs) often experience early in life, might affect both their language and their cognitive abilities. Children with CIs have disadvantages in terms of language acquisition as they start receiving language input later than peers with typical hearing (TH), and the perceptual quality of the input is reduced. However, they might have additional difficulties in language acquisition if their analogical reasoning ability is negatively influenced by the language or auditory deprivation early in life. The results found in this thesis show that the language delays often seen in children with CIs are not explained by differences in analogical reasoning ability. Results indicate that analogical reasoning ability has a limited influence on language acquisition for the tested age-group. However, language abilities affect the performance on analogical reasoning tasks which are either verbal or can be supported by verbal strategies. This needs to be taken into consideration when comparing analogical reasoning ability of children with CI sand children with TH. In addition, the results from this thesis indicate that the structure of the mental lexicon is associated with the communication skills of children with CIs. The structure of the mental lexicon is most likely influenced by the amount of language input a child receives. The main implication of the results is that emphasis should be put on reducing the duration of language deprivation and to improve the quality of the language input for children with CIs.

Some linguistic expressions do not have only a referential component, through which they refer to something in the world, but also (or exclusively) a connotative component, through which they express a speaker’s attitudes or feelings toward that which the expressions refer. Pejoratives are connoted expressions through which speakers express a negative attitude toward a person, a class of persons, or a state of affairs. Slurs, in particular, are pejoratives that express negative attitudes toward a class of people sharing the same race, sexual orientation, religion, health status, etc. The use of pejoratives and slurs is often impolite and offensive, but it is not clear to which degree their use in reported speech may also be offensive. On one hand, the reporter does not seem to express contempt toward the target by merely reporting what others have said. On the other hand, reporting a pejorative seems a form of association with the original speaker’s opinion anyway. Different theories on the status of the connotative component of slurs make different predictions about their offensiveness in reported speech. To investigate the matter, a questionnaire was designed with the aim of comparing the offensiveness of slurs and pejoratives directly addressed to their target with their offensiveness when they are used in reported speech. The findings collected through our questionnaire suggest that some of the theories on the connotation of slurs do not account for speakers’ intuitive judgments on the offensiveness of slurs in reported speech.

There is a need to further examine the mechanisms by which maternal sensitivity influences the development of child self-regulation. This study investigated the role of maternal sensitivity when infants were 10 months old and child verbal ability at 18 months, in relation to various aspects of self-regulation at 48 months, in a sample of 95 typically developing children (46.3% girls). In particular, the study examined, from a Vygotskian perspective, whether child verbal ability, as measured by receptive and expressive language, mediated the relationship between maternal sensitivity and hot and cool aspects of self-regulation in the child. As hypothesized, maternal sensitivity predicted child verbal ability, as well as working memory, set shifting, and delay of gratification. Child receptive language predicted set shifting, inhibition, and delay of gratification. In addition, receptive language mediated the relationship between maternal sensitivity and inhibition only. Additive effects of maternal sensitivity and child receptive language in relation to set shifting were found, and a main effect of maternal sensitivity on child delay of gratification. The results add to the body of research suggesting that responsive parenting and child verbal ability are important for the development of self-regulation, and suggest that different mechanisms may be at work for different aspects of self-regulation.

This study was designed to establish the extent of delay in complex sentence use by females with fragile X syndrome (FXS) and to identify sources of variability among individuals. Females with FXS (n = 16; 10;2-15;7) and younger typically developing girls (n = 17; 4;1-8;11) were group-wise matched on nonverbal cognition and receptive syntax. Language samples (conversation and narration) yielded syntactic complexity in terms of mean length of C-unit (MLCU) and Developmental Level sentence coding (DLevel; Rosenberg & Abbeduto, 1987 ). Complex syntax was not weaker than developmental expectations; however, MLCU was lower than expected for age. Phonological memory and verbal working memory correlated with measures of syntactic complexity in narration. Discourse demands may play an important role in the language produced by females with FXS.

BackgroundDespite research identifying verb knowledge as a strong predictor of later syntactic skills in typical development, virtually no research has examined verb development in Down syndrome.AimsThe purpose of this study was to examine verb production (density, diversity, and type-token ratios) by individuals with Down syndrome in the context of story generation relative to two comparison groups - nonverbal cognitive ability level matches with typical development and chronological age matches with mixed-etiology intellectual disability.Methods and proceduresThirty-five participants with Down syndrome (11-21 years), 27 participants with intellectual disability (13-20 years), and 29 participants with typical development (4-6 years) completed a narrative story generation task. Transcripts were coded and analyzed for verb production.Outcomes and resultsExamining overall verb production, participants with Down syndrome produced narratives with less verb density than participants with typical development and had smaller verb type-token ratios than participants with intellectual disability. Upon examining lexical verb production, participants with Down syndrome produced narratives with less lexical verb density than participants with typical development.Conclusions and implicationsThe results indicate that individuals with Down syndrome have a developmentally appropriate diversity of verbs in their lexicon but are not using verbs as frequently as comparison groups.

This article examines instances of a U.S.–Mexican transnational youth honing his critical translingual literacy skills through his engagement with corridos, Mexican balladry in Spanish that often emphasizes injustice and border strife. The author relies on ethnographic classroom observations, the student's journals, and semistructured interviews to provide a glimpse into the complexities and sophistication of the bilingual youth's everyday language and literacy practices in an era of vehement anti-immigrant rhetoric. This inquiry asks, (a) What do literacy practices deeply rooted in corridos look like? (b) How does one youth read and engage with the Mexican musical genre of corridos to make sense of his social and political world? and (c) What are the environments and educational settings that supported this literacy development? Findings detail a transnational youth's corridista (balladeer) consciousness and its concomitant language and literacy practices that shape and are shaped by his participation in both his Tijuana communities of origin and his Los Angeles communities. Specifically, this study showcases a student's uses of literary devices, including allegory, to describe myriad forms of oppression and resistance found in corrido lyrics and throughout the lives of U.S.–Mexican transnational youths. Attention to literary genres that are often unsanctioned in traditional English-medium classrooms and recognizing the complex cognitive abilities of bilinguals can harvest critical insight about literacy education in and out of school. Implications from this study highlight meaningful learning contexts for transnational adolescents’ literacies and how engagement of these literacies might be (re)conceptualized through an ethnic studies and Chicanx/Latinx Studies lens.

A translator works as a mediator between an original work that has been written in one language, a source text, and those who will be the audience of the translation, or, in other words, the target text. Translating a text is often a challenging task, as the translator must keep in mind both the source text and its author’s intentions with the text, and also its intended audience, but also keep in mind the target audience of the target text. Translating can become even more challenging with children’s literature, as they, among other things, often can contain very creative, imaginative and playful use of language. In this study, The BFG, a popular children’s book from 1982 written by the British author Roald Dahl, is analyzed – both the English source text and the Japanese translation by Taeko Nakamura. The research question to be answered is the following: When looking at the speech style, or idiolect, of the character "the BFG" of Roald Dahl’s The BFG, with a focus on neologisms, wordplay and allusions, what difficulties exist in the source text and what efforts have been made by the translator in attempts to achieve an equivalent effect in the target text? The results of this study display several difficulties that can arise when attempting to translate the idiolect of the BFG, especially due to its vast amount of expressive language. Replacement with standard language and deletion were two of the main translation strategies, and the number of identified cases of neologisms, wordplay and allusions in the source text was over double the amount identified in the target text. However, it is also shown how the translator has used different means to compensate for the source text features that may have gotten lost in translation.

BackgroundConstraint-induced (language) aphasia therapy (CIAT), based on constraint usage of the language channel only, massed practice and shaping through therapeutic language games, has been suggested as a more efficient therapy approach than traditional aphasia therapies. AimsTo examine the comparative efficacy of CIAT and a traditional therapy approach on expressive language ability, with the intensity of therapy controlled and matched, in the treatment of post-stroke aphasia. Methods & ProceduresTwo successive 4-week blocks of intense (1 h, 5 days a week) of aphasia therapy programmes were delivered in a randomized within-subject crossover design: one therapy block consisted of stimulation aphasia therapy (SAT, a common traditional therapy approach), another of CIAT. Twenty consecutive patients, up to 1 year after stroke, were randomly assigned either to have SAT followed by CIAT (S1C2 group) or to have CIAT followed by SAT (C1S2 group). Measurements of naming (Boston Naming Test) and spontaneous sentence production (Cookie Theft Picture description task) were carried at the baseline, following the first therapy block, following the second therapy block and 4 weeks following the last therapy block. Outcomes & ResultsBoth groups of patients significantly improved in all variables of expressive language skills; the improvement was maintained 1 month post-treatment. However, patients who started with CIAT and continued with SAT (C1S2 group) tended to have higher final improvement than the patients who started with SAT and continued with CIAT (S1C2 group). This was particularly pronounced for naming. Moreover, when CIAT was the first therapy (the C1S2 group) the improvement achieved in naming following CIAT significantly exceeded the improvements achieved following SAT, not only in the same group (when SAT was the second) but also in the S1C2 group (when SAT was the first). In addition, the improvement in naming following CIAT in the C1S2 group exceeded the one in

This article examines instances of a U.S.–Mexican transnational youth honing his critical translingual literacy skills through his engagement with corridos, Mexican balladry in Spanish that often emphasizes injustice and border strife. The author relies on ethnographic classroom observations, the student's journals, and semistructured interviews to provide a glimpse into the complexities and sophistication of the bilingual youth's everyday language and literacy practices in an era of vehement anti-immigrant rhetoric. This inquiry asks, (a) What do literacy practices deeply rooted in corridos look like? (b) How does one youth read and engage with the Mexican musical genre of corridos to make sense of his social and political world? and (c) What are the environments and educational settings that supported this literacy development? Findings detail a transnational youth's corridista (balladeer) consciousness and its concomitant language and literacy practices that shape and are shaped by his participation in both his Tijuana communities of origin and his Los Angeles communities. Specifically, this study showcases a student's uses of literary devices, including allegory, to describe myriad forms of oppression and resistance found in corrido lyrics and throughout the lives of U.S.–Mexican transnational youths. Attention to literary genres that are often unsanctioned in traditional English-medium classrooms and recognizing the complex cognitive abilities of bilinguals can harvest critical insight about literacy education in and out of school. Implications from this study highlight meaningful learning contexts for transnational adolescents’ literacies and how engagement of these literacies might be (re)conceptualized through an ethnic studies and Chicanx/Latinx Studies lens.

A translator works as a mediator between an original work that has been written in one language, a source text, and those who will be the audience of the translation, or, in other words, the target text. Translating a text is often a challenging task, as the translator must keep in mind both the source text and its author’s intentions with the text, and also its intended audience, but also keep in mind the target audience of the target text. Translating can become even more challenging with children’s literature, as they, among other things, often can contain very creative, imaginative and playful use of language. In this study, The BFG, a popular children’s book from 1982 written by the British author Roald Dahl, is analyzed – both the English source text and the Japanese translation by Taeko Nakamura. The research question to be answered is the following: When looking at the speech style, or idiolect, of the character "the BFG" of Roald Dahl’s The BFG, with a focus on neologisms, wordplay and allusions, what difficulties exist in the source text and what efforts have been made by the translator in attempts to achieve an equivalent effect in the target text? The results of this study display several difficulties that can arise when attempting to translate the idiolect of the BFG, especially due to its vast amount of expressive language. Replacement with standard language and deletion were two of the main translation strategies, and the number of identified cases of neologisms, wordplay and allusions in the source text was over double the amount identified in the target text. However, it is also shown how the translator has used different means to compensate for the source text features that may have gotten lost in translation.