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Language Delay (language + delay)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Psychology	43%
Humanities and Social Sciences	31%
Medical Sciences	25%

Selected Abstracts

Screening for language delay in the United Arab Emirates

CHILD: CARE, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 5 2004
V. Eapen
Abstract Background Developmental language delay (DLD) is frequent among two- and three-year-olds but little is known about this condition in the Arabian Peninsula. This paper forms part of a multipurpose community psychiatric survey conducted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The findings regarding the prevalence and psychosocial correlates of DLD are reported here. Methods A total of 694 children, representative of the UAE 3-year-old population were screened using the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST) and the language screening procedure as used by Westerlund and Sundelin. Results Of the 694 children screened for DLD at 3 years of age, 69 children (9.9%; CI 7.8,12.4) were found to have delays in the language sector of DDST. A total of 45 (6.5%; CI 4.3,8.7) were identified as having general language disability, both in comprehension and expression as per the language screening procedure. Language delay was found to be associated with rural living, mother being from a different nationality, non-involvement of domestic help in child care, family history of language delay, obstetric and perinatal problems and presence of behavioural problems in the child. Using stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis, two factors emerged as important with regard to general language delay, which were previous non-UAE nationality of the mother and total monthly income of the family. Conclusion The pattern and correlates of DLD found in this survey are in line with those reported by other surveys, but some unique socio-cultural risk factors specific to this community were identified. The implications of these findings to screening and referral for further evaluation and intervention are discussed. [source]

Pervasive developmental disorders in individuals with cerebral palsy

DEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE & CHILD NEUROLOGY, Issue 4 2009
AYSE KILINCASLAN MD
The aim of the present study was to describe the prevalence and associated factors of pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), including autistic disorder and PDD not otherwise specified (NOS), in a clinical sample of 126 children and adolescents (75 males, 51 females; age range 4,18y, mean 8y 8mo, SD 3y 8mo) with tetraplegic, hemiplegic, diplegic, dyskinetic, or mixed types of cerebral palsy (CP); 28% could not crawl or walk even with support, 29% could move with support, and 43% walked independently. Participants were examined for PDD in two stages. In the first stage, probable participants were determined by direct observation, Autism Behavior Checklist score, and medical reports. In the second stage, those with ,probable' symptoms underwent psychiatric examination and their autistic symptoms were scored on the Childhood Autism Rating Scale. The final diagnosis of autistic disorder or PDD-NOS was given according to DSM-IV criteria. Fourteen (11%) and five (4%) of the participants met the criteria for autistic disorder and PDD-NOS respectively. Children with CP and PDD differed from those without PDD in terms of type of CP (p=0.02), presence of epilepsy (p<0.001), intellectual level (p<0.001), and level of speech (p<0.001). PDD was more common in children with tetraplegic, mixed, and hemiplegic CP, and in children with epilepsy, learning disability,, and low level of speech. The findings corroborate the notion that CP is a complex disorder, often associated with additional impairments. PDD is not rare in CP and should be considered in patients with comorbid conditions such as epilepsy, learning disability, and language delay and in the presence of tetraplegic, mixed, and hemiplegic CP types. [source]

Developmental path between language and autistic-like impairments: a twin study

INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2008
Katharina Dworzynski
Abstract Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are diagnosed when individuals show impairments in three behavioural domains: communication, social interactions, and repetitive, restrictive behaviours and interests (RRBIs). Recent data suggest that these three sets of behaviours are genetically heterogeneous. Early language delay is strongly associated with ASD, but the basis for this association and the relationship with individual sub-domains of ASD has not been systematically investigated. In the present study, data came from a population-based twin sample with language development data at 2,4 years, measured by the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory (MCDI), and data at 8 years using the Childhood Asperger Syndrome Test (CAST). For the total CAST and the three subscales at 8 years, approximately 300 same-sex twin pairs were selected as showing extreme autistic-like traits (ALTs), defined here as pairs in which at least one member of the twin pair scored in the highest 5% of the distribution. Phenotypic analyses indicated that children showing extreme social and communication ALTs (but not the RRBI subscale) at 8 years were below average in language development at 2,4 years. A regression model for selected twin data suggested that genetic influences account for this overlap, but that these effects are only in part mediated by genes that are shared between language and extreme autistic traits. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Word recognition and cognitive profiles of Chinese pre-school children at risk for dyslexia through language delay or familial history of dyslexia

THE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 2 2008
Catherine McBride-Chang
Background:, This study sought to identify cognitive abilities that might distinguish Hong Kong Chinese kindergarten children at risk for dyslexia through either language delay or familial history of dyslexia from children who were not at risk and to examine how these abilities were associated with Chinese word recognition. The cognitive skills of interest were syllable awareness, tone detection, rapid automatised naming, visual skill, and morphological awareness. Method:, We recruited 36 children whose sibling had been previously diagnosed with dyslexia (familial risk group) and 36 children who were initially reported to have difficulties in preschool literacy acquisition by either teachers or parents and subsequently found to demonstrate clinical at-risk factors in aspects of language by paediatricians (language delayed group); the mean age of these groups was approximately 61 months. Thirty-six children with no such risk factors were matched by age, IQ, and parents' education to the at-risk groups. All children were tested on cognitive skills and Chinese word recognition. Results:, Compared to the controls, children in the language delayed group scored significantly lower on all measures, whereas children in the familial risk group performed significantly worse only on tone detection, morphological awareness, and Chinese word recognition. In regression analyses, word recognition was best explained by morphological awareness, tone detection and visual skill. Conclusions:, Language-related measures are strongly associated with early reading development and impairment in Hong Kong Chinese children. Tests of tone detection and morphological awareness may be important clinical tools for diagnosing risk for reading problems in young Chinese children. In contrast, Chinese language delay may be associated with broader cognitive impairments as found previously in various Indo-European languages (e.g., Bishop & Snowling, 2004). [source]

Antenatal maternal stress and long-term effects on child neurodevelopment: how and why?

THE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 3-4 2007
Nicole M. Talge
We review a significant body of evidence from independent prospective studies that if a mother is stressed while pregnant, her child is substantially more likely to have emotional or cognitive problems, including an increased risk of attentional deficit/hyperactivity, anxiety, and language delay. These findings are independent of effects due to maternal postnatal depression and anxiety. We still do not know what forms of anxiety or stress are most detrimental, but research suggests that the relationship with the partner can be important in this respect. The magnitude of these effects is clinically significant, as the attributable load of emotional/behavioral problems due to antenatal stress and/or anxiety is approximately 15%. Animal models suggest that activity of the stress-responsive hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and its hormonal end-product cortisol are involved in these effects in both mother and offspring. The fetal environment can be altered if stress in the mother changes her hormonal profile, and in humans, there is a strong correlation between maternal and fetal cortisol levels. However, many problems remain in understanding the mechanisms involved in this interaction. For example, maternal cortisol responses to stress decline over the course of pregnancy, and earlier in pregnancy, the link between maternal and fetal cortisol is less robust. It is possible that the effects of maternal anxiety and stress on the developing fetus and child are moderated by other factors such as a maternal diet (e.g., protein load). It is suggested that extra vigilance or anxiety, readily distracted attention, or a hyper-responsive HPA axis may have been adaptive in a stressful environment during evolution, but exists today at the cost of vulnerability to neurodevelopmental disorders. [source]

Psychosocial outcomes at 15 years of children with a preschool history of speech-language impairment

THE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 8 2006
Margaret J. Snowling
Background:, Evidence suggests there is a heightened risk of psychiatric disorder in children with speech-language impairments. However, not all forms of language impairment are strongly associated with psychosocial difficulty, and some psychiatric disorders (e.g., attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)) are more prevalent than others in language-impaired populations. The present study assessed the psychosocial adjustment in adolescence of young people with history of speech-language impairment, and investigated specific relationships between language deficits and psychiatric disorders. Methods:, Seventy-one young people (aged 15,16 years) with a preschool history of speech-language impairment were assessed using a psychiatric interview (K-SADS) supplemented by questionnaires probing social encounters and parental reports of behaviour and attention. Their psycho-social adjustment was compared with that of a cross-sectional control group of age-matched controls. Results:, Overall the rate of psychiatric disorder was low in the clinical sample and children whose language delay had resolved by 5.5 years had a good outcome. For those whose language difficulties persisted through the school years, there was a raised incidence of attention and social difficulties. These difficulties were partially independent and associated with different language profiles. The group with attention problems showed a profile of specific expressive language difficulties; the group with social difficulties had receptive and expressive language difficulties; and the group with both attention and social difficulties was of low IQ with global language difficulties. Conclusions:, Amongst children with speech-language delays at 5.5 years, those with more severe and persistent language difficulties and low nonverbal IQ are at higher risk of psychiatric morbidity in adolescence. [source]

Screening for language delay in the United Arab Emirates

On the clinical relevance of early deficits in critical linguistic functions

ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 12 2005
Francisco Lacerda
Abstract The clinical significance of patterns of deficits in semantic and phonological representations observed by Miniscalco et al. is discussed in light of an ecological approach to language development. Conclusion: Deficits in semantic representations reflect problems in capturing the core linguistic referential function and should be taken as serious early warning signals for language delay. [source]

Detecting language problems: accuracy of five language screening instruments in preschool children

DEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE & CHILD NEUROLOGY, Issue 2 2007
H M E Van Agt MA
To identify a simple and effective screening instrument for language delays in 3-year-old children the reliability, validity, and accuracy of five screening instruments were examined. A postal questionnaire sent to parents of 11423 children included the Dutch version of the General Language Screen (GLS), the Van Wiechen (VW) items, the Language Screening Instrument for 3- to 4-year-olds, consisting of a parent form (LSI-PF) and a child test (LSI-CT), and parents' own judgement of their child's language development on a visual analogue scale (VAS). The response rate was 78% or 8877 children. Reliability (internal consistency) was found to be acceptable (,=0.67,0.72) for all instruments. Significant correlations between the screening instruments (r=0.29,0.55, p<0.01) indicated good concurrent validity. Accuracy was estimated by the sensitivity, specificity, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves against two reference tests based on parent report and specialists' judgement. If the test would classify approximately 5% of the population as screen-positive, the mean sensitivity was 50%; assigning between 20% and 30% of the population as screen-positive, the mean sensitivity was 77%. The sensitivity was lowest for the LSI-CT (range 43,62%), whereas short instruments like the LSI-PF, VW, and the one-item VAS exhibited high levels of sensitivity (range 50,86%). The area under the ROC curves, ranged from 0.75 to 0.87. Apparently, short and simple parent report instruments like the LSI-PF and the one-item VAS perform remarkably well in detecting language delays in preschool children. [source]

Co-ocurrence of developmental delays in a screening study of 4-year-old Finnish children

DEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE & CHILD NEUROLOGY, Issue 7 2004
Riitta Valtonen
The aim of this population study was to examine the severity and prevalence of co-occurring developmental delays in 4-year-old children, the rate of overlapping problems, and sex differences. A sample of 434 children (196 males, 238 females; mean age 4 years 3 months, SD 1 month) were administered the,Lene'test: a comprehensive neuro-developmental screening test. Results suggest that co-occurrence of attention-behavioural, motor-perceptual, and language delays occurring in school-aged children could already be detected at the age of 4 years. Isolated delays were usually mild, but co-occurring difficulties were mostly moderate or severe. Overlap between developmental delays depended on the severity of the problems. It emerged that males had more severe and more often co-occurring problems than females. Co-occurrence of developmental delays as a risk factor at the early stage of development is discussed. [source]

Are social competence difficulties caused by performance or acquisition deficits?

PSYCHOLOGY IN THE SCHOOLS, Issue 4 2007
The importance of self-regulatory mechanisms
We conducted three studies which examined the performance vs. skill acquisition model of social skills deficits. In Study 1, baseline social behaviors for a random sample of 12 boys with comorbid emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD), learning disabilities (LD), language delays, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) revealed that prosocial behaviors as well as inappropriate behaviors exist comorbidly in behavioral repertoires, supporting a performance rather than acquisition model of social competence difficulties. In Study 2, an ABAC design was used to examine the efficacy of a self-management intervention with noncontingent (B) and contingent (C) reinforcement for three elementary aged boys with EBD. Generalization was demonstrated in natural settings for the contingent reinforcement phase only, but was not observed over time. Study 3 replicated Study 2's procedures using an ABAC multiple baseline across participants design with a sample of adolescents with varying degrees of mental retardation. Two of the three participants responded favorably to the self-monitoring training and showed marked improvements in prosocial play skills during recess; for the third participant, no behavioral changes were observed. Results from all three studies are discussed from a social learning theory perspective. The efficacy of the data collecting procedure and implications of the results are discussed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 44: 351,372, 2007. [source]

Language and Theory of Mind: A Study of Deaf Children

CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2007
Brenda Schick
Theory-of-mind (ToM) abilities were studied in 176 deaf children aged 3 years 11 months to 8 years 3 months who use either American Sign Language (ASL) or oral English, with hearing parents or deaf parents. A battery of tasks tapping understanding of false belief and knowledge state and language skills, ASL or English, was given to each child. There was a significant delay on ToM tasks in deaf children of hearing parents, who typically demonstrate language delays, regardless of whether they used spoken English or ASL. In contrast, deaf children from deaf families performed identically to same-aged hearing controls (N=42). Both vocabulary and understanding syntactic complements were significant independent predictors of success on verbal and low-verbal ToM tasks. [source]