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Descriptors:
Spelling; Language Impairments; Language Skills; Oral Language; Short Term Memory; Verbs; Nouns; Nonverbal Ability; Phonology; Children; Comparative Analysis; Receptive Language; Vocabulary Development; Writing Evaluation; Writing (Composition); Error Patterns; Decoding (Reading); Grammar; Morphology (Languages); Accuracy

Abstract:
In this study, we performed a fine grained analysis of writing by children with a specific language impairment (SLI) and examined the contribution of oral language, phonological short-term memory (STM), nonverbal ability, and word reading to three writing constructs (productivity, complexity and accuracy). Forty-six children with SLI were compared with 42 children matched for chronological age, receptive vocabulary (N = 46) and reading decoding (N = 46) on a measure of narrative writing. The SLI group performed worse on all measures compared to children of a similar chronological age. The SLI group produced a greater proportion of orthographic spelling errors than children with similar receptive vocabularies, but were comparable to children matched for reading decoding. The children with SLI showed specific difficulties in the omission of whole words (e.g. auxiliary verbs and subject nouns) and omissions of grammatical morphology (e.g. past tense--"ed") reflecting the difficulties shown in their oral language. Receptive grammar made a significant contribution to writing complexity and accuracy. Phonological fluency contributed to writing productivity, such as the production of diverse vocabulary, ideas and content and writing fluency. Phonological STM and word reading explained additional variance in writing accuracy over and above the SLI group's oral language skills. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Pregnancy; Language Impairments; Phonological Awareness; Child Development; Grade 1; Leisure Time; Foreign Countries; Preschool Children; Birth; Parent Background; Age Differences; Migration; Intelligence; Smoking; Television Viewing; Risk; Language Acquisition

Abstract:
Early child development is influenced by various genetic and environmental factors. This study aims to identify factors that affect the phonological awareness of preschool and first grade children. Based on a sample of 330 German-speaking children (mean age = 6.2 years) the following domains were evaluated: Parent factors, birth and pregnancy, child factors, and leisure time activities (all based on parent report). Regression analysis provided information on the relative contribution of each predictor on the explained variance. Results indicate that the variables "migration background," "child age," "child intelligence," "smoking during pregnancy," "language difficulties" (impairments of word expression, grammatical deficits, stutter), and "watching TV" have a significant influence on phonological awareness. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Preschool Children; Scaffolding (Teaching Technique); Intervention; Cloze Procedure; Speech Impairments; Language Impairments; Black Dialects; Accuracy; Speech; Outcomes of Treatment; Word Frequency; Phonology

Abstract:
This study investigated the effects of a scaffolded-language intervention using cloze procedures, semantically contingent expansions, contrastive word pairs, and direct models on speech abilities in two preschoolers with speech and language impairment speaking African American English. Effects of the lexical and phonological characteristics (i.e., word frequency, neighborhood density, and phonotactic probability) of contrastive word pairs and direct models on speech production accuracy were examined. Speech outcomes support the application of a scaffolded-language intervention with children with speech and language impairment. Results lend support to the assertion that fundamental intervention principles are applicable regardless of native dialect. Effects of word frequency, neighborhood density, and phonotactic probability clarified their role within the scaffolded-language intervention. (Contains 6 tables and 4 figure.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Intervention; Equipment; Auditory Stimuli; Elementary School Students; Reading Difficulties; Language Impairments; Reading Achievement; Reading Rate; Reading Fluency; Reading Comprehension; Outcomes of Treatment

Abstract:
This exploratory study examined the effects of Interactive Metronome (IM) when integrated with a traditional language and reading intervention on reading achievement. Forty-nine school-age children with language and reading impairments were assigned randomly to either an experimental group who received the IM treatment or to a control group who did not. Both groups received language and reading intervention, and the experimental group received an additional four hours of IM treatment during a four-week period. Although both groups made gains in reading rate/fluency and comprehension, the extent of the gains was much larger in the IM group. IM training may be useful for promoting the reading rate/fluency and comprehension of children with language and reading impairments. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Language Impairments; Dyslexia; Phonology; Language Skills; Models; Children; Comparative Analysis; Comorbidity; Factor Analysis; Profiles

Abstract:
An on-going debate surrounds the relationship between specific language impairment and developmental dyslexia, in particular with respect to their phonological abilities. Are these distinct disorders? To what extent do they overlap? Which cognitive and linguistic profiles correspond to specific language impairment, dyslexia and comorbid cases? At least three different models have been proposed: the severity model, the additional deficit model and the component model. We address this issue by comparing children with specific language impairment only, those with dyslexia-only, those with specific language impairment and dyslexia and those with no impairment, using a broad test battery of language skills. We find that specific language impairment and dyslexia do not always co-occur, and that some children with specific language impairment do not have a phonological deficit. Using factor analysis, we find that language abilities across the four groups of children have at least three independent sources of variance: one for non-phonological language skills and two for distinct sets of phonological abilities (which we term phonological skills versus phonological representations). Furthermore, children with specific language impairment and dyslexia show partly distinct profiles of phonological deficit along these two dimensions. We conclude that a multiple-component model of language abilities best explains the relationship between specific language impairment and dyslexia and the different profiles of impairment that are observed. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Neurological Impairments; Head Injuries; Chronic Illness; Brain; Males; Athletes; Veterans; Self Destructive Behavior; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); Comorbidity; Alzheimers Disease; Dementia; Depression (Psychology); Attention; Executive Function; Short Term Memory; Language Impairments; Aggression

Abstract:
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a progressive tauopathy that occurs as a consequence of repetitive mild traumatic brain injury. We analysed post-mortem brains obtained from a cohort of 85 subjects with histories of repetitive mild traumatic brain injury and found evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in 68 subjects: all males, ranging in age from 17 to 98 years (mean 59.5 years), including 64 athletes, 21 military veterans (86% of whom were also athletes) and one individual who engaged in self-injurious head banging behaviour. Eighteen age- and gender-matched individuals without a history of repetitive mild traumatic brain injury served as control subjects. In chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the spectrum of hyperphosphorylated tau pathology ranged in severity from focal perivascular epicentres of neurofibrillary tangles in the frontal neocortex to severe tauopathy affecting widespread brain regions, including the medial temporal lobe, thereby allowing a progressive staging of pathology from stages I-IV. Multifocal axonal varicosities and axonal loss were found in deep cortex and subcortical white matter at all stages of chronic traumatic encephalopathy. TAR DNA-binding protein 43 immunoreactive inclusions and neurites were also found in 85% of cases, ranging from focal pathology in stages I-III to widespread inclusions and neurites in stage IV. Symptoms in stage I chronic traumatic encephalopathy included headache and loss of attention and concentration. Additional symptoms in stage II included depression, explosivity and short-term memory loss. In stage III, executive dysfunction and cognitive impairment were found, and in stage IV, dementia, word-finding difficulty and aggression were characteristic. Data on athletic exposure were available for 34 American football players; the stage of chronic traumatic encephalopathy correlated with increased duration of football play, survival after football and age at death. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy was the sole diagnosis in 43 cases (63%); eight were also diagnosed with motor neuron disease (12%), seven with Alzheimer's disease (11%), 11 with Lewy body disease (16%) and four with frontotemporal lobar degeneration (6%). There is an ordered and predictable progression of hyperphosphorylated tau abnormalities through the nervous system in chronic traumatic encephalopathy that occurs in conjunction with widespread axonal disruption and loss. The frequent association of chronic traumatic encephalopathy with other neurodegenerative disorders suggests that repetitive brain trauma and hyperphosphorylated tau protein deposition promote the accumulation of other abnormally aggregated proteins including TAR DNA-binding protein 43, amyloid beta protein and alpha-synuclein. (Contains 4 tables and 6 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Grammar; Language Impairments; Language Acquisition; Multilingualism; Naming; Verbs; Nouns; Second Language Learning; Comparative Analysis; Pictorial Stimuli; Task Analysis; Control Groups; Preschool Children; Psycholinguistics; Linguistic Theory; Foreign Countries; Greek; English (Second Language); Elementary School Students

Abstract:
Against the background of the increasing number of multilingual children with atypical language development around the world, this study reports research results on grammatical word class processing involving children with specific language impairment (SLI). The study investigates lexical retrieval of verbs (through picture-naming actions) and compares performances for the same children with noun retrieval (through picture-naming objects). It was found that nouns (object names) were better retrieved than verbs (action names) in the multilingual group with SLI, a finding similar to bilectal peers with SLI and typically developing language-matched controls. The results suggest that grammatical class is an organising principle shared across languages. Moreover, when tested in first and third language, multilingual children with SLI revealed a comparable verb-noun dissociation both in terms of the direction of the effect (V less than N) and major error type. These findings are discussed in relation to the delayed acquisition hypothesis for SLI and psycholinguistic models of multilingualism. (Contains 5 tables and 6 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Accuracy; Language Impairments; Speech; Syllables; Control Groups; Databases; Young Children; Speech Impairments; Scores; Comparative Analysis; Phonemes

Abstract:
Speech disorder that continues into middle childhood is rarely studied compared with speech disorder in the early years. Speech production in single words, connected speech and nonword repetition was assessed for 7390 eight-year-old children within the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). The majority (n=6399) had typical speech and 50 of these children served as controls. The remainder were categorised as using common clinical distortions only (CCD, n=582) or speech difficulties (SDiff, n=409). The samples from the CCD children were not analysed further. Speech samples from the SDiff and the control children were transcribed and analysed in terms of percentage consonants correct, error type and syllable structure. Findings were compared with those from children in the Shriberg et al. (1997) lifespan database (n=25). The 8-year-old children from ALSPAC in the SDiff and control groups achieved similar speech accuracy scores to the 8-year-old children in the lifespan database. The SDiff group had consistently lower scores than the ALSPAC control group, with the following measures most clearly differentiating the groups: single word task (percentage of substitutions and distortions), connected speech task (percentage of vowels correct (PVC), percentage of omission of singletons and entire clusters, and stress pattern matches), nonword repetition task (PVC, percentage of entire clusters omitted, percentage of distortions, and percentage of stress pattern matches). Connected speech and nonword samples provide useful supplementary data for identifying older children with atypical speech. Learning outcomes: The reader will recognize the methods used to identify speech characteristics in a large scale population study. They will describe how measures of speech accuracy in connected speech compare with the Shriberg et al. (1997) lifespan database. The reader will also recall information on how typically and atypically developing children differ on a range of measures across different types of speech sample. (Contains 8 tables and 1 figure.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Accuracy; Language Impairments; Language Acquisition; Imitation; Bilingualism; Monolingualism; Linguistic Input; Sentences; Economic Status; French; English; Repetition; Young Children

Abstract:
Purpose: Nonword repetition (NWR) and sentence imitation (SI) are increasingly used as diagnostic tools for the identification of Primary Language Impairment (PLI). They may be particularly promising diagnostic tools for bilingual children if performance on them is not highly affected by bilingual exposure. Two studies were conducted which examined (1) the effect of amount of bilingual exposure on performance on French and English nonword repetition and sentence imitation in 5-year-old French-English bilingual children and (2) the diagnostic accuracy of the French versions of these measures and of receptive vocabulary in 5-year-old monolingual French-speakers and bilingual speakers with and without PLI, carefully matched on language exposure. Method: Study 1 included 84 5-year-olds acquiring French and English simultaneously, differing in their amount of exposure to the two languages but equated on age, nonverbal cognition and socio-economic status. Children were administered French and English tests of NWR and SI. In Study 2, monolingual and bilingual children with and without PLI (four groups, n=14 per group) were assessed for NWR, SI, and receptive vocabulary in French to determine diagnostic accuracy. Results: Study 1: Both processing measures, but in particular NWR, were less affected by previous exposure than vocabulary measures. Bilingual children with varying levels of exposure were unaffected by the length of nonwords. Study 2: In contrast to receptive vocabulary, NWR and SI correctly distinguished children with PLI from children with typical development (TD) regardless of bilingualism. Sensitivity levels were acceptable, but specificity was lower. Conclusions: Bilingual children perform differently than children with PLI on NWR and SI. In contrast to children with PLI, bilingual children with a large range of previous exposure levels achieve high NWR scores and are unaffected by the length of the nonwords. Learning outcomes: Readers will recognize the effect of language input on the rate of language development, focusing specifically on how bilingual exposure affects the language learning of each language of bilingual children. (Contains 3 tables and 5 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Anxiety Disorders; Standardized Tests; Expressive Language; Speech; Stimuli; Oral Language; Receptive Language; Parents; Training; Testing; Scores; Parent Child Relationship; Language Impairments; Vocabulary; Story Telling; Listening Comprehension; Classification

Abstract:
Children with selective mutism (SM) display a failure to speak in select situations despite speaking when comfortable. The purpose of this study was to obtain valid assessments of receptive and expressive language in 33 children (ages 5 to 12) with SM. Because some children with SM will speak to parents but not a professional, another purpose was to explore the efficacy of employing parents to deliver test stimuli. Parents received training on presenting standardized test material and were monitored during testing by a professional who scored and interpreted the results. Professional-administered tests underestimated children's capabilities. However, even with parents, children's scores decreased as the tasks changed from receptive to expressive vocabulary and from narrative comprehension to telling a story on their own. Thus, although SM is typically classified as an anxiety disorder, an underlying expressive narrative language deficit was identified in 42% of children with SM using this new procedure. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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