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At least 1,189 records · Page 66Linked to original sources
PubMed2003

Intravelar veloplasty in cleft lip, alveolus and palate and outcome of speech and language acquisition: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Speech and language acquisition are major, important criteria in the treatment outcomes of cleft lip and palate patients. A generally accepted and definitive treatment protocol regarding surgical techniques and the time schedule does not yet exist. In the world literature, there are reports of velo-pharyngeal insufficiency rates between 7 and 30%. PURPOSE: In a prospective study, all children aged 312 months with cleft lip, alveolus and palate, or cleft palate only, underwent an intravelar veloplasty. Follow-up monitoring consisted of frequent clinical linguistic checks and supervision of language development without a planned intention of articulation therapy before the age of about 5 years. RESULTS: Three hundred and ninety-seven children with non-syndromic clefts were included in this study, the youngest being 8-year old. Sixty children (15%) showed deviations in language and speech acquisition. From these, 56 (14%) had received articulation therapy after the 5th birthday. From these 56 children, 45 had overcome their problems with speech therapy alone whereas 11 (3%) needed a velo-pharyngeoplasty. DISCUSSION: Although these results are much better than those reported in other cohorts, some children still have velo-pharyngeal incompetence for no apparent reason. One possible explanation might be surgical, since on occasions, the intravelar muscle bundle is divided into two parts and the palato-pharyngeal part runs isolated more laterally and can be missed during reconstruction and retropositioning.

Alveolar Process↗
PubMed2000

Spontaneous language of children with specific neurological syndromes.

This paper presents data concerning the early phases of language development in 8 children with congenital neurological syndromes (NS) who are cognitively impaired. The children are native speakers of Hebrew, and their verbal achievements assessed on normative tests are below their age level. The children's spontaneous speech was analyzed with respect to 13 different language variables known to be diagnostic of a child's developmental level. No differences were found between the children and their language-matched controls on 10 grammatical variables. The groups differed, however, in number of pragmatic errors, errors of word choice, and errors of gender marking on animate nouns. Profile analysis was done through the use of POSAC (partial order scalogram analysis by base coordinates; Shye, 1985; Shye, Elizur, & Hoffman, 1994). The analysis did not reveal differences between the children with NS and the controls. These findings suggest the possibility of a mechanism that is functionally akin to brain plasticity. Such a mechanism will guarantee the preservation of basic linguistic skills in children with NS.

Brain Diseases↗
PubMed2004

[Adolescence and cochlear implant].

During adolescence, the identity is constructed and the communication changes. The cochlear implant may disturb the identity's construction. The restrictions and advantages may be misunderstood due to the communication difficulties. It is important to take time to discuss and explain the limits of this hearing aid. It must not be perceived as a miracle resolving all auditory and oral communication problems. The hearing aid is effective for motivated and informed adolescents. The outcome depends on the level of auditory experience and oral language development before implantation. It can be very positive. (full article translated in English available on www.ent-review.com).

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Concordance between school outcomes and developmental follow-up results of very preterm and/or low birth weight children at the age of 5 years.

INTRODUCTION: Long-term follow-up studies have revealed a high frequency of developmental disturbances in preterm survivors of neonatal intensive care who were formerly considered to be non-disabled. These developmental disturbances interfere with the acquisition of everyday skills and, in particular, with normal school functioning. METHODS: Developmental and school outcomes of 355 children, age 5 years at the time of the study, who had a mean gestational age of 30.2 weeks (SD: 1.95) and a mean birth weight of 1272 g (SD: 326) were investigated. Children with severe handicaps were excluded from the study. Perinatal data, information from a parental and school questionnaire and data from standardized developmental tests were used to explain the differences. RESULTS: An agreement of 72% was found between developmental follow-up and school outcomes. Normal developmental results but problematic school outcomes were found for 15% of the children tested. There were more boys than girls in this latter group as well as small-for-gestational-age children with relatively poor motor or language development. The schools had not identified problems in 13% of the children, whereas their developmental outcomes were problematic. These children had less neonatal morbidity and relatively higher IQ's than children who also had problematic developmental outcomes but who had been signalled as problematic by their schools. CONCLUSIONS: Schools have a good insight in the school functioning of children who are developing well and of children with the lowest developmental scores and the most complicated neonatal histories. How school and developmental outcomes interrelate in the in-between groups remains a challenging question that could be answered by following these children throughout their school career.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1996

Idiom understanding in Australian youth: a cross-cultural comparison.

In this developmental study, idiom understanding was examined in Australian students from Grades 5 and 8 (n = 50 per group; mean ages = 10.7 and 13.8, respectively). Twenty-four idioms with familiarity ratings ranging from high to low (as judged by Australian adolescents) were each presented in a brief story context. The students read each story and selected the best interpretation of the idiom from a set of four answer choices. Results indicated that performance on the task improved as a function of increasing grade level and that idiom familiarity was significantly correlated to idiom understanding for both groups of students. These results, which were consistent with a previous study of American students of comparable educational levels (Nippold & Taylor, 1995), provide further support for the "language experience" hypothesis of figurative language development. In replicating the previous developmental study, evidence of external validity is provided.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Inattentive behavior in childhood: epidemiology and implications for development.

Poor concentration is a relatively common childhood problem. The current North American psychiatric diagnostic classification system (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition; DSM-IV), American Psychological Association, 1994) differentiates children whose problems are distinguished primarily by symptoms of inattention (ADHD-I) from those whose difficulties are characterized by overactive, impulsive behavior by providing various subtypes within a broad diagnostic category. Yet, comparatively little is known about children who exhibit purely inattentive behavior. This study aims to redress this issue by using a large, community-based, epidemiological sample of 7-year-old children to compare the developmental functioning, social, and environmental backgrounds of children with pure inattentive behavior to that of children with pure overactive behavior and combined problems of inattentive and overactive behavior. Five hypotheses, centered on the validity of distinguishing inattentive behavior from overactivity, are tested. Children with pure inattentive behavior were more likely to have general cognitive delays, particularly in the area of language development, and were more likely to come from a family in which the father was of low occupational status. The results are discussed in relation to the implications for research and the identification of needs and intervention with children who exhibit pure inattentive behavior.

Attention↗
PubMed2002

Practical aspects of conducting large-scale functional magnetic resonance imaging studies in children.

The potential benefits of functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the investigation of normal development have been limited by difficulties in its use with children. We describe the practical aspects, including failure rates, involved in conducting large-scale functional MRI studies with normal children. Two hundred and nine healthy children between the ages of 5 and 18 years participated in a functional MRI study of language development. Reliable activation maps were obtained across the age range. Younger children had significantly higher failure rates than older children and adolescents. It is concluded that it is feasible to conduct large-scale functional MRI studies of children as young as 5 years old. These findings can be used by other research groups to guide study design and plans for recruitment of young subjects.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Necessity versus sufficiency: the role of input in language acquisition.

There is data which indicates that the critical/sensitive period(s) for language development begins in the 6th month of fetal life and may be most susceptible to impairment during the first 2 years of life. There are observations which would indicate that the linguistic abilities which develop are dependent upon the amount of linguistic information available to the infant and are not dependent upon any particular receptive sensory mode. The challenge for the cochlear implant is to be able to transmit sufficient linguistic information--flux of information--during this period so that the resultant language is optimal. Language must be the primary outcome measure of the cochlear implant in the infant and young child.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed2000

Screening for developmental language disability in 3-year-old children. Experiences from a field study in a Swedish municipality.

This study evaluates a screening instrument for identification of severe developmental language disability (DLD) in 3-year-old children, which is used as a routine assessment at several child health centres (CHCs) in Sweden. The results are reported in terms of clinical outcome (false- and true-positive rates), kind and extent of DLD, signs of comorbidity and relation between nurses' and parents' observations. More than 60 CHC nurses, all with experience of the screening instrument, assessed in all 2359 3-year-old children (98% of the whole population) by direct observation of their language comprehension, language production and level of co-operation. In addition to the screening parents answered a questionnaire. Children who failed the screening had their hearing assessed and were clinically examined by trained speech and language therapists. Forty-four (34 boys and ten girls) of the 65 referred children were clinically examined. Apart from two false-positive cases most of them were diagnosed as generally and severely language disabled. According to the nurses' observations attention deficit was common among the referred boys, which was later confirmed by the speech therapist in two-thirds of them. Agreement between nurses and parents was poor and only half of the parents were concerned about their child's language development. In the light of this result, continued application of the screening and the use of parent questionnaires is discussed.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed2005

A medical qigong methodology for early intervention in autism spectrum disorder: a case series.

A medical Qigong protocol was applied to a group of eight autistic children under the age of six. The children received medical Qigong massage twice weekly from the physician and daily Qigong massage from the parents for a five-week period, followed by daily parent massage for an additional four weeks. Standardized tests showed a decrease in autistic behaviors and increase in language development in all the children, as well as improvement in motor skills, sensory function and general health.

Autistic Disorder↗
PubMed2005

The effects of prenatal maternal stress on children's cognitive development: Project Ice Storm.

There exists considerable research on the effects of prenatal maternal stress on offspring. Animal studies, using random assignment to experimental and control groups, demonstrate the noxious effects of prenatal maternal stress on physical, behavioural and cognitive development. The generalizability of these results to humans is problematic given that cognitive attributions moderate reactions to stressors. In humans, researchers have relied upon maternal anxiety or exposure to life events as proxies for the stressors used with animals. Yet, the associations between maternal anxiety or potentially non-independent life events and problems in infants are confounded by genetic transmission of temperament from mother to child. We summarize the literature on prenatal maternal stress and infant cognitive development, leading to the conclusion that the human literature lacks the ability to separate the effects of the objective exposure to a stressor and the mother's subjective reaction. We then describe our prospective Project Ice Storm in which we are following 150 children who were exposed in utero to a natural disaster. We demonstrate significant effects of the objective severity of exposure on cognitive and language development at age two years with important moderating effects of the timing during pregnancy. The implications of our findings are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

[Objective auditory evaluation by evoked potentials].

We have analyzed 1300 Auditory Brain-Stem Response Audiometry exams. The patients were distributed according to criteria related to age, clinical presentation, hearing impairment risk-factors and hearing thresholds. The results were divided into five groups of hearing thresholds: normal hearing (threshold response obtained up to 25 dBHL); mild hearing loss (25-50 dBHL); moderate hearing loss (50-70 dBHL); severe hearing loss (70-90 dBHL); and without response to acoustic stimuli. We have studied the risk-factors related to gestation, delivery and neonatal period, family history of hearing loss, hearing apparatus malformations, craniofacial anomalies, certain modalities of infectious diseases, hearing impairment associated syndromes, and the use of some kind of drugs. Cerebral palsy, neuropsychomotor development retardation and cases without known antecedents were also studied. The main results of our study show: 82.8% incidence of hearing impairment; the late performance of examinations to evidence a definite hearing loss as 54.1% of the examined patients were at ages ranging from one to three years old; 54.0% of total cases have not presented any language development; the risk-factor "Congenital Rubeola" has the expressive incidence of 14.8% and the distribution of this value into hearing threshold ranges has shown an exponential increase which demonstrates a close correlation between that disease and hearing impairment.

Audiometry, Evoked Response↗
PubMed1990

Follow-up of preterm children: II. Growth and development at four years of age.

In a long-term prospective study, 46 unselected infants born before 35 completed weeks of gestation were compared with 26 full-term infants. At four years of age, 44 preterms and 25 full-terms were available to follow-up. The preterms were somewhat shorter in stature and lighter in weight than the full-terms but fell well within the normal range for Swedish children. Head circumference in the preterm group was significantly correlated to neurological development. Psychometric evaluation with Griffiths' mental developmental scale showed the preterms to fall within the normal range, though their performance was inferior to that of the full-terms. The greatest differences between the groups were in scores for the subscales eye and hand coordination, performance, and practical reasoning. There was no correlation within the preterm group between the test results and birthweight, gestational age, prenatal score, perinatal score, or parental social status or education. Language development was delayed among the preterms, more of whom required speech therapy. Visual and hearing disorders were more common among preterms than expected. Although they were all in good health, more preterms than full-terms needed hospital care during the first four years of life.

Body Height↗
PubMed2006

Early language and communication development of infants later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

It is well recognized that delayed "first words" is among the most common presenting symptoms of autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). However, data on earlier language and communication development in children with ASD are limited to retrospective reports from parents and from home videos. In this study, we prospectively collected parent report data on early communication and language development in 97 infant siblings of children with ASD and 49 low-risk controls. Parents completed the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory--Infant Form at 12 and 18 months. Analysis compared 3 groups defined on the basis of diagnostic assessment at 24 months: (1) siblings with ASD (n = 15), (2) siblings not meeting diagnostic criteria for ASD (n = 82), and (3) low-risk controls, none of whom had ASD (n = 49). Children with ASD showed delays in early language and communication compared with non-ASD siblings and controls. At 12 months, the ASD group was reported to understand significantly fewer phrases and to produce fewer gestures. At 18 months, they showed delays in their understanding of phrases, comprehension and production of single words, and use of gestures. Siblings not diagnosed with ASD also used fewer play-related gestures at 18 months than low-risk controls, even when children with identified language delays were excluded. Overall, this prospective study confirms that delays in communication and language development are apparent early in life in children with ASD, and emphasizes that developmental surveillance should include monitoring for delays in gesture, which may be among the earliest signs of ASD.

Autistic Disorder↗
PubMed2004

Genetic, environmental, and gender effects on individual differences in toddler expressive language.

In this article, the authors examined the genetic and environmental factors influencing expressive language development in a sample of 386 toddler twin pairs participating in the Wisconsin Twin Project. Expressive language was assessed using 2 measures from the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories-Short Form: Total Vocabulary and Two-Word Combination Use (L. Fenson et al., 2000). A sex-limitation structural equation model estimated the contribution of genetics, shared environment, and nonshared environment to individual variation. For vocabulary, heritability was higher for boys than for girls (20% vs. 8%). For word combination use, heritability was higher for girls (28% vs. 10%). However, the majority of individual variation in both boys and girls could be attributed to shared environment (54%-78%).

Environment↗
PubMed1994

Developmental and stylistic variation in the composition of early vocabulary.

Results are reported for stylistic and developmental aspects of vocabulary composition for 1,803 children and families who participated in the tri-city norming of a new parental report instrument, the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories. We replicate previous studies with small samples showing extensive variation in use of common nouns between age 0; 8 and 1;4 (i.e. 'referential style'), and in the proportion of vocabulary made up of closed-class words between 1;4 and 2;6 (i.e. 'analytic' vs. 'holistic' style). However, both style dimensions are confounded with developmental changes in the composition of the lexicon, including three 'waves' of reorganization: (I) an initial increase in percentage of common nouns from 0 to 100 words, followed by a proportional decrease; (2) a slow linear increase in verbs and other predicates, with the greatest gains taking place between 100 and 400 words; (3) no proportional development at all in the use of closed-class vocabulary between 0 and 400 words, followed by a sharp increase from 400 to 680 words. When developmental changes in noun use are controlled, referential-style measures do not show the association with developmental precocity reported in previous studies, although these scores are related to maternal education. By contrast, when developmental changes in grammatical function word use are controlled, high closed-class scores are associated with a slower rate of development. We suggest that younger children may have less perceptual acuity and/or shorter memory spans than older children with the same vocabulary size. As a result, the younger children may ignore unstressed function words until a later point in development while the older children tend to reproduce perceptual details that they do not yet understand. Longitudinal data show that early use of function words (under 400 words) is not related to grammatical levels after the 400-word point, confirming our 'stylistic' interpretation of early closed-class usage. We close with recommendations for the unconfounding of stylistic and developmental variance in research on individual differences in language development, and provide look-up tables that will permit other investigators to pull these aspects apart.

Child Language↗
PubMed2005

Language in benign childhood epilepsy with centro-temporal spikes abbreviated form: rolandic epilepsy and language.

Although Benign Childhood Epilepsy with Centrotemporal Spikes (BECTS) has a good prognosis, a few studies have suggested the existence of language disorders relating to the interictal dysfunction of perisylvian language areas. In this study, we focused on language assessment in 16 children aged 6-15 currently affected by BECTS or in remission. An important proportion of children showed moderate or more severe language impairment. The most affected domains were expressive grammar and literacy skills. We found linguistic deficits during the course of epilepsy but also persistent deficits in children in remission, suggesting possible long-term effects. Our results support the hypothesis that BECTS may be associated with impairment to language and suggest the possibility of a direct link between epileptic activity and language development, and the existence of long-term consequences.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Syntactic processing in Turner's syndrome.

A significant controversy concerning language development in Turner's syndrome has been found. Whereas some authors have observed that girls with Turner's syndrome maintain their verbal abilities intact, others have reported significant differences in Wechsler Verbal IQ when compared with normal controls. However, little has been studied about the linguistic characteristics of these patients when using tests to evaluate different linguistic levels. With the aim of assessing syntactic processes, 15 patients with Turner's syndrome (aged 8 to 19 years) were compared with 15 healthy girls, matched by age, Wechsler Full-Scale IQ range, type of school (private or public), and school grade. A syntactic processing battery including 11 different subtests was developed. Compared with controls, the participants with Turner's syndrome obtained a fewer number of correct answers in most of the subtests and shorter latencies in some of them. We concluded that the subjects with Turner's syndrome have difficulties in using syntactic structures. It is suggested that some of these language difficulties are related to disturbances in using spatial-language relationships.

Adolescent↗