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Meeting the needs of the non-English-speaking parents of a communicatively disabled child.

This article provides some suggestions for clinicians to assist them in working effectively with students and families who do not speak English or for whom English is a second language. Included is a brief review of the diversity of languages and cultures represented by families living in the United States. There are differences in the ways in which the families view language development, the educational process, and their roles in working with their children. It is important to learn to respect the families' views on language development and education, learn how to work with an interpreter, and how to help the families help their children. Communication with the families and their involvement in the process of assisting their children's development of language skills should be individualized to accommodate the families' views, languages, and available resources.

Adolescent↗

Reevaluation of recent criteria for blood exchange transfusion in term infants with hyperbilirubinemia.

For hyperbilirubinemic infants treated according to the higher criterion for a blood exchange transfusion (BET), auditory brainstem response (ABR) was performed to evaluate whether the treatment was adequate. Twenty hyperbilirubinemic infants were collected as the study group. They were divided into 2 groups; group A consisted of 17 infants receiving intensive phototherapy only, while group B consisted of 3 infants receiving BET plus phototherapy. Fourteen healthy neonates were collected as the control group. Language development was evaluated with "language/communication development milestone: infancy through school-age" at the age of 5 months to 3 years old. Wave V at 30 dB HL was clearly identified in all infants in group A and in the control group. There was no significant difference in the latency between them (p > 0.05). In group A, peak bilirubin levels of 16 cases reached the former criteria for BET Their ABRs were normal. Language development was normal in 12 cases, while 4 cases were lost to follow-up. In group B, 2 cases had abnormal ABRs, while the third had normal ABR and language development. By analyzing the condition of these babies, we could conclude that in addition to peak bilirubin level and age, other factors such as anemia, the duration of hyperbilirubinemia, and the decline rate of bilirubin in response to intensive phototherapy should also be taken into consideration. For infants with borderline bilirubin levels for BET, we suggest performing BET if they have severe anemia or if intensive phototherapy fails to produce a proper decline in bilirubin.

Child, Preschool↗

Symbolic play of children with language impairment: a critical review.

There have been a number of studies that have reported on the symbolic play abilities of children assessed as demonstrating developmental language disorders or specific language impairment. In general, this research has reported significant differences in the symbolic play abilities of children with language impairment and those developing language normally. In most, though interestingly, not all cases, the differences reflected less developed symbolic play of the children with language impairments. It will be argued here that these reported differences should not be interpreted as demonstrative of marked deficits in the general representational or specific symbolic play competence of children with language impairments. It will be argued further that part of the research conducted to date on the symbolic play abilities of children with language impairment has been confounded by the encroachment of language into the research procedures, that the level of play often investigated has not been unquestionably symbolic in nature, and that the actual differences in symbolic play have not been substantial.

Child, Preschool↗

Gesture development: a review for clinical and research practices.

The aim of this article is to provide clinicians and researchers a comprehensive overview of the development and functions of gesture in childhood and in select populations with developmental language impairments. Of significance is the growing body of evidence that gesture enhances, not hinders, language development. In both normal and impaired populations, gesture and language development parallel each other and share underlying symbolic abilities. Gesture serves several functions, including those of communication, compensation, and transition to spoken language. In clinical practice, gesture may play a valuable role in diagnosis, prognosis, goal selection, and intervention for children with language impairments. Where available, supporting evidence is presented. Needs for additional research on gesture are also highlighted.

Autistic Disorder↗

Lexical and grammatical development: a behavioural genetic perspective.

The relation of lexical and grammatical knowledge is at the core of many controversies in linguistics and psycholinguistics. Recent empirical findings that the two are highly correlated in early language development have further energized the theoretical debate. Behavioural genetics provides an illuminating new tool to explore this question, by addressing the question of whether the empirical correlation simply reflects the fact that environments which facilitate one aspect of language growth also facilitate the other, or whether the same underlying acquisition mechanisms, influenced by the same genes, are responsible for the correlation. We explored this issue in a study of 2898 pairs of two-year-old twins born in England and Wales. Language development was assessed by their parents using an adapted version of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory which assesses vocabulary and grammar. Moderate heritabilities were found for both. As in previous studies, measures of vocabulary and sentence complexity were substantially correlated (r = 0.66). Behaviour-genetic modelling of the relation of vocabulary and grammar produced an estimated value of 0.61 for the genetic correlation, a measure of the overlap of the genetic effects that contribute to the two aspects of language development. In contrast, a measure of nonverbal cognitive development, the PARCA, was only weakly correlated at both the phenotypic level and at the level of genetic correlations with the language measures. Thus, although the distinction between verbal and nonverbal skills has a genetic basis underlying the phenotypic dissociation, there is little evidence either genetically or phenotypically for a dissociation between vocabulary and grammar within language.

Child Language↗

Is the syntax development of dysphasic children deviant and why? New findings to an old question.

The present study addresses three main issues: First, it considers whether the syntax development of dysphasic preschoolers is adequately described as being a purely quantitative retardation or whether there are qualitative differences as well. Second, the suggestion put forward by Grimm (1987) that the syntactic deficits of dysphasic children result from deficient language processing strategies is further explored. Third, it asks whether the language deficits are related to specific structural and interactional aspects of the language input. We examined two groups of children with comparable levels of language development: 8 dysphasic children, ages 3:9 to 4:8 years, and 8 control children, ages 2:1 to 2:11 years, who showed normal language development. The empirical evidence suggested that the dysphasic children's syntax development was not only delayed but also deviant, and that the children's deviant syntax structures were the result of insufficient language processing and could not be traced back to structural characteristics of the sentences used by their mothers.

Age Factors↗

Hierarchical planning abilities in children with specific language impairments.

The present study examined Cromer's (1983) claim that children with language impairments have a hierarchical planning deficit that affects language as well as performance on complex construction tasks. Subjects were 30 boys (ages 5-7 years), 15 with specific language impairments (SLI) and 15 with normally developing language. Children were asked to build four hierarchical structures: a block construction, a puzzle construction, a simple straw construction, and a complex straw construction. Children who failed to complete the complex straw construction were taught how to construct the model using a sequential strategy. The two groups tended to perform comparably on the block and complex straw construction, the easiest and hardest of the four constructions. The two groups performed least comparably on the puzzle, simple straw construction, and the training task. On the basis of these findings and recent work by Greenfield (1991), we concluded that it is time to reject the notion that a central hierarchical planning mechanism underlies language and non-language structures that contain hierarchical components. The possible exception is early in development before language and manual actions become more autonomous and modular in nature.

Child↗

Development of language in 18-30-month-old HIV-1-infected but not ill children.

Thirty-six children (age range, 18-30 months) born to HIV-1-infected mothers were studied for speech development by matching 18 infected with 18 non-infected subjects for age, sex and socioeconomic status. All the children were in good health. Each child was given three comprehension and three production tasks. In addition, each child's mean length of utterance (MLU) was obtained by observation of natural child-parent interactions. The development quotients (DQ) were assessed by Brunet-Lézine's tests. Infection significantly affected children's MLU, the infected children being less advanced than those non-infected. Both infected and non-infected children progressed in language acquisition from the second to the third year of age, but infected children had significantly greater production difficulty than non-infected children in the second year of life. The matched subjects design adopted gives some strength to the conclusion that HIV-1 infection impairs the genesis rather than the later development of language in infected but not ill children.

Analysis of Variance↗

Developmental milestones: sign language acquisition and motor development.

The sign language and motor development of 11 young children of deaf parents were studied across a 16-month period. The subjects showed accelerated early language development producing, on the average, their first recognizable sign at 8.5 months, their tenth sign at 13.2 months, and their first sign combination at 17.0 months. In contrast, children learning to speak typically do not attain the equivalent spoken language milestones until 2-3 months later. The structure and content of the subjects' 50-sign vocabularies closely resembled those for children at the same stage in previously published studies of spoken language acquisition. The pattern of synchrony between motor and language development previously reported by investigators of children learning to speak was found not to apply to the population of the present study: most of the subjects learning to sign did not slow down in their rate of language acquisition after achieving a new motor milestone, but rather continued to show a gradual increase in the size of their sign language vocabularies.

Child Development↗

Preschool language outcomes of children with history of bronchopulmonary dysplasia and very low birth weight.

A prospective follow-up of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants with and without bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and term control infants was conducted. The effects of BPD and VLBW on speech-language development and specific language impairment at 3 years of age were investigated, controlling for the effects of sociodemographic and other medical risk factors. Groups were compared on cognitive and speech-language outcomes using the Battelle Language and Bayley Mental Scales of Infant Development. Children with a history of BPD had lower receptive language skills than VLBW children without BPD, who in turn had lower receptive skills than term children. Children with a history of BPD also had lower expressive skills than the two comparison groups, whereas VLBW children without BPD did not differ in expressive language from term children. When IQ score was controlled, children with BPD demonstrated specific language impairment in receptive language. The presence of patent ductus arteriosis (PDA) was the best predictor of language deficits and the combined occurrence of PDA and BPD resulted in differentially lower language scores. Neurologic complications, low socioeconomic status, and minority race were also significant predictors of language delay. The findings emphasize the importance of considering both medical and sociodemographic factors in evaluating the risk of VLBW infants for poorer speech-language outcomes.

Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia↗

Profiles of communicative and cognitive-social abilities in autistic children.

The purpose of this study was to examine profiles of communicative and cognitive-social abilities in a small group of autistic children functioning in the prelinguistic and early stages of language development and to compare them with those of normal children functioning at similar stages of language development. The results of measures in the cognitive-social areas of communicative intent, tool use, imitation, and play and in language comprehension demonstrated uneven development for the autistic subjects. A functional analysis of communicative behaviors indicated that, despite a wide variation in communicative means, the autistic subjects displayed a relatively homogeneous profile of communicative functions that was both quantitatively and qualitatively different from the normal profile. Explanations for the heterochrony in communicative and cognitive-social development of these autistic children are discussed.

Autistic Disorder↗

[The development of language and problems in 30 mild, moderate, and moderately severe hearing-impaired children].

Some mild, moderate, and moderately severe-hearing impaired children have poor language and educational problems despite comparatively good hearing. We studied 30 mild, moderate, and moderately severe hearing-impaired children cared for at Showa University and Jiseikai Hospitals. Their ages ranged from 3 to 14 years and average hearing from 35.0 dB HL to 68.8 dB HL. Our findings were as follows: (1) The average age of suspected hearing problem onset was 2 years 10 months. On the average, delayed diagnosis was made at 4 years 2 months and children were fitted with hearing aids at 5 years 3 months. (2) Over 25% them wore hearing aids infrequently. (3) Language delay was observed in 14 of 24 children examined using the WISC-III test. Many wore hearing aids infrequently and exhibited inadequate oral communication in Japanese due, for example, to deaf parents or children educated overseas. (4) According to a questionnaire, many mothers usually talked to the children aware of their hearing condition. But almost mothers of children with delayed development could not teach children if they couldn't hear, and only repeated same words for children's clarification, e.g., "Pardon?". It is important to detect hearing impairment in children as early as possible. Guidance by specialists and communication training are very important, especially for children who are mild, moderate, and moderately severe hearing-impaired.

Adolescent↗

Twins as a natural experiment to study the causes of mild language delay: I: Design; twin-singleton differences in language, and obstetric risks.

BACKGROUND: Twins tend to lag behind singletons in their language development, but the causes were unknown. The possibilities suggested include obstetric complications, twin-specific features, and postnatal differences in family interaction. The present study was designed to pit these alternatives against one another as possible causal influences. METHOD: The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) was used to identify the 116 twin pairs (of whom 96 participated) and 114 pairs of singletons (of whom 98 participated) whose ages were no more than 30 months apart. The McArthur Communicative Development Inventory was completed at 20 months, and the Pre-School Language Scales (PLS-3), and the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities at 36 months. Obstetric and perinatal complications were assessed on the basis of detailed systematic parental reports, together with a systematic coded abstraction of all medical records dealing with pregnancy and the neonatal period. Family background details were assessed from parental reports, and the primary carer's verbal functioning was assessed by the Mill Hill Vocabulary Scale. Congenital anomalies were assessed using the method of Waldrop and Halverson. RESULTS: The language of twins was 1.7 months below that of singletons at 20 months and 3.1 months at 3 years. The verbal cognitive score of twins was about half a standard deviation lower than that of singletons. The twin-singleton differences in language level were found tobe unassociated with obstetric/perinatal features as assessed from both parental reports and medical records, to birthweight or gestation, to birthweight discrepancy within the twin pair, or to congenital anomalies. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that obstetric/perinatal features do not account for the slower language development in twins as compared with singletons, within a sample born after at least 33 weeks gestation.

Case-Control Studies↗

The prevalence of language delay in a population of three-year-old children and its association with general retardation.

Using a simple assessment of language and a behaviour screening questionnaire, a one-in-four random sample of a total population of three-year-olds was screened for the presence of language delay and behaviour problems. A full psycho-developmental assessment was carried out in children with suspected language delay or a behaviour problem, and in a group of control children, and the sensitivity and specificity of the language screening-test was examined. The results showed the importance of investigating language delay in relation to nonverbal abilities. Of those children with a language age less than two-thirds of their chronological age, 37 per cent also had similarly delayed non-verbal mental abilities. 50 per cent of the children with a language age of less than 30 months were generally retarded in their non-verbal abilities. The estimated prevalence of delayed language development is 31 per 1000, of specific language delay 5-7per 1000, and of severe retardation 4-2 per 1000. Boys were most likely than girls to have language and general developmental delay.

Age Factors↗

Severity of prenatal cocaine exposure and child language functioning through age seven years: a longitudinal latent growth curve analysis.

The current study estimates the longitudinal effects of severity of prenatal cocaine exposure on language functioning in an urban sample of full-term African-American children (200 cocaine-exposed, 176 noncocaine-exposed) through age 7 years. The Miami Prenatal Cocaine Study sample was enrolled prospectively at birth, with documentation of prenatal drug exposure status through maternal interview and toxicology assays of maternal and infant urine and infant meconium. Language functioning was measured at ages 3 and 5 years using the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals--Preschool (CELF-P) and at age 7 years using the Core Language Domain of the NEPSY: A Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment. Longitudinal latent growth curve analyses were used to examine two components of language functioning, a more stable aptitude for language performance and a time-varying trajectory of language development, across the three time points and their relationship to varying levels of prenatal cocaine exposure. Severity of prenatal cocaine exposure was characterized using a latent construct combining maternal self-report of cocaine use during pregnancy by trimesters and maternal and infant bioassays, allowing all available information to be taken into account. The association between severity of exposure and language functioning was examined within a model including factors for fetal growth, gestational age, and IQ as intercorrelated response variables and child's age, gender, and prenatal alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana exposure as covariates. Results indicated that greater severity of prenatal cocaine exposure was associated with greater deficits within the more stable aptitude for language performance (D = -0.071, 95% CI = -0.133, -0.009; p = 0.026). There was no relationship between severity of prenatal cocaine exposure and the time-varying trajectory of language development. The observed cocaine-associated deficit was independent of multiple alternative suspected sources of variation in language performance, including other potential responses to prenatal cocaine exposure, such as child's intellectual functioning, and other birth and postnatal influences, including language stimulation in the home environment.

Adult↗

Language and speech perception outcomes in hearing-impaired children with and without connexin 26 mutations.

This study addressed the question of whether a hearing loss caused by mutations in the connexin 26 gene had a significant effect on language and speech perception outcomes in children using cochlear implants or hearing aids. The families of children who had participated in two previous studies of language development were invited to participate in this genetic study. From the 52 children whose families agreed to participate, 15 children with connexin 26 mutations in both chromosomes were identified. After taking into account other factors which are known to affect language development and speech perception in children with impaired hearing, no significant differences were found between the 15 children where connexin 26 was known to be the cause of deafness and the other 37 children in the study.

Child↗

Oculomotor abnormalities parallel cerebellar histopathology in autism.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate cerebellar function in autism by measuring visually guided saccades. METHODS: A visually guided saccade task was performed by 46 high-functioning individuals with autism with and without delayed language acquisition, and 104 age and IQ matched healthy individuals. RESULTS: Individuals with autism had increased variability in saccade accuracy, and only those without delayed language development showed a mild saccadic hypometria. Neither autistic group showed a disturbance in peak saccade velocity or latency. CONCLUSIONS: The observed saccadic abnormalities suggest a functional disturbance in the cerebellar vermis or its output through the fastigial nuclei, consistent with reported cerebellar histopathology in autism. The pattern of mild hypometria and variable saccade accuracy is consistent with chronic rather than acute effects of cerebellar vermis lesions reported in clinical and non-human primate studies, as might be expected in a neurodevelopmental disorder. The different patterns of oculomotor deficits in individuals with autism with and without delayed language development suggest that pathophysiology at the level of the cerebellum may differ depending on an individual's history of language development.

Adolescent↗