Language Development (language + development)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Kinds of Language Development

  • early language development


  • Selected Abstracts


    Epilepsy and Language Development: The Continuous Spike-Waves during Slow Sleep Syndrome

    EPILEPSIA, Issue 6 2007
    Séverine Debiais
    Summary:,Background: Continuous spike-waves during slow sleep syndrome (CSWSS) is a rare epileptic syndrome occurring in children, which is characterized by the association of epilepsy, neuropsychological disorders, and abnormal paroxysmal electroencephalographic (EEG) discharges activated by sleep. Language can be affected but, to date, language disorders and their long-term outcome have been documented only rarely. Purposes: Description of language impairment in patients with the CSWSS. Methods: We performed a detailed language testing in 10 right-handed children and adolescents with the CSWSS. Their pragmatic performance was compared to that of a control population of 36 children aged 6,10 years. Results: Patients with CSWSS had lower scores in tests measuring their lexical, morphosyntactic, and pragmatic skills compared to controls. Comprehension remains unaffected. In addition, language impairment was found to be just as severe in patients in remission as those still in an active phase. Conclusions: We found severe language impairments in lexical and syntactic skills. The language profile is different from that observed in the Landau,Kleffner syndrome. Moreover patients in remission and those in an active phase of the CSWSS have the same language impairment profiles. This confirms the poor long-term neuropsychological prognosis. Our results raise points about the relationship between epileptic activity and language development. This pilot study underscores the need to assess language, and especially pragmatic skills, and to study long-term outcome in such childhood epileptic syndromes. [source]


    Introduction: Second Language Development as a Dynamic Process

    MODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 2 2008
    KEES DE BOT
    In this contribution, some of the basic characteristics of complex adaptive systems, collectively labeled Dynamic Systems Theory (DST), are discussed. Such systems are self-organizing, dependent on initial conditions, sometimes chaotic, and they show emergent properties. The focus in DST is on development over time. Language is seen as a dynamic system, and language development, both acquisition and attrition, as a dynamic process. A number of examples of possible applications of DST in the field of applied linguistics are mentioned. After a short presentation of each of the individual articles, some possible lines of research are discussed. [source]


    Heritage Language Development: Focus on East Asian Immigrants Edited by KONDO,BROWN, KIMI

    MODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 1 2008
    SCOTT McGINNIS
    No abstract is available for this article. [source]


    Sociocultural Theory and the Genesis of Second Language Development by LANTOLF, JAMES P., & STEVEN L. THORNE

    MODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 4 2007
    MARÍA C. M. DE GUERRERO
    No abstract is available for this article. [source]


    Cognitive and Language Development in Children

    CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 4 2005
    Valerie Muter
    No abstract is available for this article. [source]


    Language development and fragile X syndrome: Profiles, syndrome-specificity, and within-syndrome differences

    DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES RESEARCH REVIEW, Issue 1 2007
    Leonard Abbeduto
    Abstract Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the leading inherited cause of mental retardation. In this article, we review what is known about the language and related problems of individuals with FXS. In doing so, we focus on the syndrome-specific features of the language phenotype and on the organismic (i.e., genetic and individual neurocognitive and behavioral) and environmental factors associated with within-syndrome variation in the phenotype. We also briefly review those aspects of the behavioral phenotype of FXS that are relevant for understanding syndrome-specific features of, and within-syndrome variability in, language. The review includes summaries of research on the prelinguistic foundations for language development and on each of the major components of language (i.e., vocabulary, morphosyntax, and pragmatics). Throughout the review, we point out implications of existing research for intervention as well as directions for future research. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. MRDD Research Reviews 2007;13:36,46. [source]


    Factors affecting vocabulary acquisition at age 2 in children born between 23 and 28 weeks' gestation

    DEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE & CHILD NEUROLOGY, Issue 8 2007
    Louise Marston MSc
    Language development is often slower in preterm children compared with their term peers. We investigated factors associated with vocabulary acquisition at 2 years in a cohort of children born at 28 weeks' gestation or less. For children entered into the United Kingdom Oscillation Study, language development was evaluated by using the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories score, completed by parents as part of a developmental questionnaire. The effect of demographic, neonatal, socioeconomic factors, growth, and disability were investigated using multifactorial random effects modelling. Questionnaires were returned by 288 participants (148 males, 140 females). The mean number of words vocalized was 42 (SD 29). Multifactorial analysis showed only four factors were significantly associated with vocabulary acquisition. These were: (1) level of disability (mean words: no disability, 45; other disability, 38; severe disability, 30 [severe disability is defined as at least one extreme response in one of the following clinical domains: neuromotor, vision, hearing, communication, or other physical disabilities]; 95% confidence interval [CI] for the difference between no and severe disability 7- 23); (2) sex (39 males, 44 females; 95% CI 0.4-11); (3) length of hospital stay (lower quartile, 47; upper quartile, 38; 95% CI -12 to -4); and (4) weight SD score at 12 months (lower quartile, 39; upper quartile, 44; 95% CI 1,9). There was no significant association between gestational age and vocabulary after multifactorial analysis. There was no significant effect of any socioeconomic factor on vocabulary acquisition. We conclude that clinical factors, particularly indicators of severe morbidity, dominate the correlates of vocabulary acquisition at age 2 in children born very preterm. [source]


    Language development of pre-school children born to teenage mothers

    INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2001
    Louise J. Keown
    Abstract An Erratum has been published for this article in Infant and Child Development 10(4) 2001, 241. This paper compares the language development of pre-school children born to teenage (n=22) and comparison mothers (n=20) and examines the extent to which differences in language development can be explained by social background, child and parenting factors. Mothers and children were assessed at home using a range of measures, including a structured interview, the language scales of the Child Development Inventory, the HOME Inventory, and videotaped mother-child interaction. Results showed that children of teenage mothers perform significantly poorer than children of comparison mothers on measures of expressive language and language comprehension. Subsequent analyses showed that these differences are largely explained by differences in the parenting behaviour of teenage and comparison mothers. Specifically, maternal verbal stimulation and intrusiveness accounted for the relationship between teenage motherhood and children's poorer language comprehension, while maternal intrusiveness and involvement with the child account for the relationship between teenage motherhood and children's poorer expressive language development. These findings highlight the importance of early mother,child interaction for children's language development. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Infertility, infertility treatment and psychomotor development: the Danish National Birth Cohort

    PAEDIATRIC & PERINATAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, Issue 2 2009
    Jin Liang Zhu
    Summary Babies born of infertile couples, regardless of treatment, have a higher risk of preterm birth and low birthweight, conditions associated with delayed development. We examined developmental milestones in singletons as a function of parental infertility [time to pregnancy (TTP) > 12 months] and infertility treatment. From the Danish National Birth Cohort (1997,2003), we identified 37 897 singletons born of fertile couples (TTP , 12 months), 4351 born of infertile couples conceiving naturally (TTP > 12 months), and 3309 born after infertility treatment. When the children were about 18 months old, mothers reported 12 developmental milestones by responding to structured questions. We defined a failure to achieve the assessed milestone or the minimal numbers of milestones in a summary (motor, or cognitive/language skills) as delay. Naturally conceived children born of infertile couples had a pattern of psychomotor development similar to that of children born of fertile couples, but increasing TTP correlated with a modest delay. When the analysis was restricted to infertile couples (treated and untreated), children born after treatment showed a slight delay in cognitive/language development (odds ratio 1.24, [95% confidence interval 1.01, 1.53]) for not meeting at least three out of six cognitive/language milestones); children born after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) had the highest estimated relative risk of delay for most milestones, especially motor milestones. These results suggest that a long TTP may be associated with a modest developmental delay. Infertility treatment, especially ICSI, may be associated with a slight delay for some of these early milestones. [source]


    Congenital polymicrogyria including the perisylvian region in early childhood

    CONGENITAL ANOMALIES, Issue 1 2010
    Tomoyuki Takano
    ABSTRACT Six pediatric cases including four infants with congenital polymicrogyria including the perisylvian region are presented herein. Their clinical features were analyzed and compared with patients suffering from congenital bilateral perisylvian syndrome (CBPS). Two specific abnormalities were diagnosed as accompanying disorders in two cases, namely Kabuki syndrome and Peters' anomaly. In the other four cases, the pathogenetic etiology was not elucidated. Subtle symptoms, such as choking and drooling became detectable in one case each, and expressive language development was delayed in two patients. A developmental delay became apparent in five cases during the follow-up period, and epilepsy was observed in one patient with onset at 12 years of age. Our results indicate that the presence of perisylvian polymicrogyria may not always result in the development of oropharyngoglossal dysfunction or dysarthria, although most patients tend to gradually show the onset of developmental disorders. To support cognitive and psychosocial development, an early integrated approach, including not only conventional speech and language therapy, but also various communication methods is essential for patients with congenital polymicrogyria including the perisylvian region. [source]


    Language and communication development in down syndrome

    DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES RESEARCH REVIEW, Issue 1 2007
    Joanne E. Roberts
    Abstract Although there is considerable variability, most individuals with Down syndrome have mental retardation and speech and language deficits, particularly in language production and syntax and poor speech intelligibility. This article describes research findings in the language and communication development of individuals with Down syndrome, first briefly describing the physical and cognitive phenotype of Down syndrome, and two communication related domains,hearing and oral motor skills. Next, we describe language development in Down syndrome, focusing on communication behaviors in the prelinguistic period, then the development of language in children and adolescents, and finally language development in adults and the aging period. We describe language development in individuals with Down syndrome across four domains: phonology, semantics, syntax, and pragmatics. Wethen suggest strategies for intervention and directions for research relating to individuals with Down syndrome. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. MRDD Research Reviews 2007;13:26,35. [source]


    Language development and fragile X syndrome: Profiles, syndrome-specificity, and within-syndrome differences

    DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES RESEARCH REVIEW, Issue 1 2007
    Leonard Abbeduto
    Abstract Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the leading inherited cause of mental retardation. In this article, we review what is known about the language and related problems of individuals with FXS. In doing so, we focus on the syndrome-specific features of the language phenotype and on the organismic (i.e., genetic and individual neurocognitive and behavioral) and environmental factors associated with within-syndrome variation in the phenotype. We also briefly review those aspects of the behavioral phenotype of FXS that are relevant for understanding syndrome-specific features of, and within-syndrome variability in, language. The review includes summaries of research on the prelinguistic foundations for language development and on each of the major components of language (i.e., vocabulary, morphosyntax, and pragmatics). Throughout the review, we point out implications of existing research for intervention as well as directions for future research. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. MRDD Research Reviews 2007;13:36,46. [source]


    Theoretical influences on research on language development and intervention in individuals with mental retardation

    DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES RESEARCH REVIEW, Issue 3 2004
    Leonard Abbeduto
    Abstract In this article, we consider the theoretical debates and frameworks that have shaped research on language development and intervention in persons with mental retardation over the past four decades. Our starting point is the nativist theory, which has been espoused most forcefully by Chomsky. We also consider more recent alternatives to the nativist approach, including the social-interactionist and emergentist approaches, which have been developed largely within the field of child language research. We also consider the implications for language development and intervention of the genetic syndrome-based approach to behavioral research advocated by Dykens and others. We briefly review the impact and status of the debates spurred by the nativist approach in research on the course of language development in individuals with mental retardation. In addition, we characterize some of the achievements in language intervention that have been made possible by the debates spurred by nativism and the various alternatives to it. The evidence we consider provides support for all three alternatives to the nativist approach. Moreover, successful interventions appear to embody elements of several of these approaches as well as other theoretical approaches (e.g., behaviorism). We conclude that language intervention must be theoretically eclectic in its approach, with different strategies appropriate for teaching different features of language, at different points in development, and for children displaying different characteristics or learning histories. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. MRDD Research Reviews 2004;10:184,192. [source]


    The role of epilepsy in early language development in a child with a congenital lesion in the right hemisphere

    DEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE & CHILD NEUROLOGY, Issue 11 2008
    C Mayor-Dubois MA
    Early epilepsy is known to worsen the developmental prognosis of young children with a congenital focal brain lesion, but its direct role is often very difficult to delineate from the other variables. This requires prolonged periods of follow-up with simultaneous serial electrophysiological and developmental assessments which are rarely obtained. We studied a male infant with a right prenatal infarct in the territory of the right middle cerebral artery resulting in a left spastic hemiparesis, and an epileptic disorder (infantile spasms with transient right hemihypsarrhythmia and focal seizures) from the age of 7 months until the age of 4 years. Pregnancy and delivery were normal. A dissociated delay of early language acquisition affecting mainly comprehension without any autistic features was documented. This delay was much more severe than usually expected in children with early focal lesions, and its evolution, with catch-up to normal, was correlated with the active phase of the epilepsy. We postulate that the epilepsy specifically amplified a pattern of delayed language emergence, mainly affecting lexical comprehension, reported in children with early right hemisphere damage. [source]


    Factors affecting vocabulary acquisition at age 2 in children born between 23 and 28 weeks' gestation

    DEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE & CHILD NEUROLOGY, Issue 8 2007
    Louise Marston MSc
    Language development is often slower in preterm children compared with their term peers. We investigated factors associated with vocabulary acquisition at 2 years in a cohort of children born at 28 weeks' gestation or less. For children entered into the United Kingdom Oscillation Study, language development was evaluated by using the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories score, completed by parents as part of a developmental questionnaire. The effect of demographic, neonatal, socioeconomic factors, growth, and disability were investigated using multifactorial random effects modelling. Questionnaires were returned by 288 participants (148 males, 140 females). The mean number of words vocalized was 42 (SD 29). Multifactorial analysis showed only four factors were significantly associated with vocabulary acquisition. These were: (1) level of disability (mean words: no disability, 45; other disability, 38; severe disability, 30 [severe disability is defined as at least one extreme response in one of the following clinical domains: neuromotor, vision, hearing, communication, or other physical disabilities]; 95% confidence interval [CI] for the difference between no and severe disability 7- 23); (2) sex (39 males, 44 females; 95% CI 0.4-11); (3) length of hospital stay (lower quartile, 47; upper quartile, 38; 95% CI -12 to -4); and (4) weight SD score at 12 months (lower quartile, 39; upper quartile, 44; 95% CI 1,9). There was no significant association between gestational age and vocabulary after multifactorial analysis. There was no significant effect of any socioeconomic factor on vocabulary acquisition. We conclude that clinical factors, particularly indicators of severe morbidity, dominate the correlates of vocabulary acquisition at age 2 in children born very preterm. [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]


    Biased to learn language

    DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE, Issue 6 2007
    Núria Sebastián-Gallés
    Some recent publications that explore the foundations of early language development are reviewed in this article. The review adopts the pivotal idea that infants' advancements are helped by the existence of different types of biases. The infant's discovery of the phonological properties of the language of the environment, as well as their learning of words, is assisted by different types of processing biases, ranging from perceptual to social factors. [source]


    An association between mothers' speech clarity and infants' speech discrimination skills

    DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE, Issue 3 2003
    Huei-Mei Liu
    The quality of speech directed towards infants may play an important role in infants' language development. However, few studies have examined the link between the two. We examined the correlation between maternal speech clarity and infant speech perception performance in two groups of Mandarin-speaking mother,infant pairs. Maternal speech clarity was assessed using the degree of expansion of the vowel space, a measure previously shown to reflect the intelligibility of words and sentences. Speech discrimination in the infants (6,8 and 10,12-month-olds) was measured using a head-turn task. The results show that mothers' vowel space area is significantly correlated with infants' speech discrimination performance. Socioeconomic data from both parents show that the result cannot be attributed to parental socioeconomic factors. This study is correlational and therefore a causal relationship cannot be firmly established. However, the results are consistent with the view that maternal speech clarity directly affects infants' early language learning. [source]


    From language to reading and dyslexia,

    DYSLEXIA, Issue 1 2001
    Margaret J. Snowling
    Abstract This paper reviews evidence in support of the phonological deficit hypothesis of dyslexia. Findings from two experimental studies suggest that the phonological deficits of dyslexic children and adults cannot be explained in terms of impairments in low-level auditory mechanisms, but reflect higher-level language weaknesses. A study of individual differences in the pattern of reading skills in dyslexic children rejects the notion of ,sub-types'. Instead, the findings suggest that the variation seen in reading processes can be accounted for by differences in the severity of individual children's phonological deficits, modified by compensatory factors including visual memory, perceptual speed and print exposure. Children at genetic risk who go on to be dyslexic come to the task of reading with poorly specified phonological representations in the context of a more general delay in oral language development. Their prognosis (and that of their unaffected siblings) depends upon the balance of strengths and difficulties they show, with better language skills being a protective factor. Taken together, these findings suggest that current challenges to the phonological deficit theory can be met. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Epilepsy and Language Development: The Continuous Spike-Waves during Slow Sleep Syndrome

    EPILEPSIA, Issue 6 2007
    Séverine Debiais
    Summary:,Background: Continuous spike-waves during slow sleep syndrome (CSWSS) is a rare epileptic syndrome occurring in children, which is characterized by the association of epilepsy, neuropsychological disorders, and abnormal paroxysmal electroencephalographic (EEG) discharges activated by sleep. Language can be affected but, to date, language disorders and their long-term outcome have been documented only rarely. Purposes: Description of language impairment in patients with the CSWSS. Methods: We performed a detailed language testing in 10 right-handed children and adolescents with the CSWSS. Their pragmatic performance was compared to that of a control population of 36 children aged 6,10 years. Results: Patients with CSWSS had lower scores in tests measuring their lexical, morphosyntactic, and pragmatic skills compared to controls. Comprehension remains unaffected. In addition, language impairment was found to be just as severe in patients in remission as those still in an active phase. Conclusions: We found severe language impairments in lexical and syntactic skills. The language profile is different from that observed in the Landau,Kleffner syndrome. Moreover patients in remission and those in an active phase of the CSWSS have the same language impairment profiles. This confirms the poor long-term neuropsychological prognosis. Our results raise points about the relationship between epileptic activity and language development. This pilot study underscores the need to assess language, and especially pragmatic skills, and to study long-term outcome in such childhood epileptic syndromes. [source]


    Cultures and Comparisons: Strategies for Learners

    FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 3 2005
    Sandra J. Savignon
    Abstract: This article suggests a set of strategies for developing the sociocultural competence of language learners. These strategies extend the notion of coping strategies, or strategic competence (Savignon, 1972, 1983, 1997), to include the intercultural dimension articulated in current goals for U.S. world language education. Adopting the integrative, communicative perspective of language development reflected in the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century (National Standards, 1999), this article offers classroom strategies for teaching and learning with particular reference to the goal areas of "cultures" and "comparisons." This proposal is grounded in a theory of language inseparable from culture,one that views ability in both a first language (L1) and subsequent languages as the result of socialization and the language classroom as a site of exploration in the development of communicative competence. Suggestions for classroom implementation of strategy training are supported by classroom research (Savignon & Sysoyev, 2002). [source]


    Rhythm in Mother-Infant Interactions

    INFANCY, Issue 2 2003
    Deborah F. Deckner
    Rhythmic behavior and the association of vocal rhythmic behavior with language development were studied in a sample of 30 mother-infant dyads. Dyads were observed in 2 contexts (1 involved sharing pictures and the other sharing musical toys) when infants were 18 and 24 months of age. Vocal rhythmic behavior was seen in both contexts, and in both contexts mothers matched their infant's vocal rhythmic behavior at greater than chance rates. Greater matching tended to be associated with higher language scores whereas, counter to prediction, higher rates of maternal vocal rhythmic behavior tended to be associated with lower language scores. At 24 months of age, mother-daughter dyads showed more matching than mother-son dyads. These results suggest that differences in maternal production of vocal rhythmic behavior may foster different language learning strategies. [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]


    Wobbles, humps and sudden jumps: a case study of continuity, discontinuity and variability in early language development

    INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 1 2007
    Marijn van Dijk
    Abstract Current individual-based, process-oriented approaches (dynamic systems theory and the microgenetic perspective) have led to an increase of variability-centred studies in the literature. The aim of this article is to propose a technique that incorporates variability in the analysis of the shape of developmental change. This approach is illustrated by the analysis of time serial language data, in particular data on the development of preposition use, collected from four participants. Visual inspection suggests that the development of prepositions-in-contexts shows a characteristic pattern of two phases, corresponding with a discontinuity. Three criteria for testing such discontinuous phase-wise change in individual data are presented and applied to the data. These are: (1) the sub-pattern criterion, (2) the peak criterion and (3) the membership criterion. The analyses rely on bootstrap and resampling procedures based on various null hypotheses. The results show that there are some indications of discontinuity in all participants, although clear inter-individual differences have been found, depending on the criteria used. In the discussion we will address several fundamental issues concerning (dis)continuity and variability in individual-based, process-oriented data sets. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Maternal speech style with prelinguistic twin infants

    INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2003
    Sue Butler
    Abstract The mother,infant communicative speech of a group of mothers of 4-month-old first-born twin infants was compared to the speech of a group of mothers of first-born singleton infants. Maternal groups were matched on age, education level, mother,infant attachment status and infant gender, and maternal depression was assessed as a control variable. Maternal speech was coded for focus, content, complexity and syntax of mothers' utterances. The findings of earlier studies with toddler age twins, that maternal speech style was more directive and less infant-focused, were replicated in this prelinguistic period of infancy. Compared to mothers of singletons, mothers of twins used less infant-focused speech, were less responsive to their infants' cues, and attributed less agency to their infants. Mothers of twins also used fewer questions and requests but did not differ from mothers of singletons in their use of negatives and imperatives. These early differences in the language learning environments of twin and singleton infants may be due to the reduced opportunities that mothers of twins have to establish dyadic communicative routines with their infants and to familiarize themselves with their infants as interactive partners, and may have implications for the early language development of twins. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Language development of pre-school children born to teenage mothers

    INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2001
    Louise J. Keown
    Abstract An Erratum has been published for this article in Infant and Child Development 10(4) 2001, 241. This paper compares the language development of pre-school children born to teenage (n=22) and comparison mothers (n=20) and examines the extent to which differences in language development can be explained by social background, child and parenting factors. Mothers and children were assessed at home using a range of measures, including a structured interview, the language scales of the Child Development Inventory, the HOME Inventory, and videotaped mother-child interaction. Results showed that children of teenage mothers perform significantly poorer than children of comparison mothers on measures of expressive language and language comprehension. Subsequent analyses showed that these differences are largely explained by differences in the parenting behaviour of teenage and comparison mothers. Specifically, maternal verbal stimulation and intrusiveness accounted for the relationship between teenage motherhood and children's poorer language comprehension, while maternal intrusiveness and involvement with the child account for the relationship between teenage motherhood and children's poorer expressive language development. These findings highlight the importance of early mother,child interaction for children's language development. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    The nurse,family partnership: An evidence-based preventive intervention

    INFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 1 2006
    David L. Olds
    Pregnancy and the early years of the child's life offer an opportune time to prevent a host of adverse maternal, child, and family outcomes that are important in their own right, but that also reflect biological, behavioral, and social substrates in the child and family that affect family formation and future life trajectories. This article summarizes a 27-year program of research that has attempted to improve early maternal and child health and future life options with prenatal and infancy home visiting by nurses. The program is designed for low-income mothers who have had no previous live births. The home-visiting nurses have three major goals: to improve the outcomes of pregnancy by helping women improve their prenatal health, to improve the child's health and development by helping parents provide more sensitive and competent care of the child, and to improve parental life course by helping parents plan future pregnancies, complete their education, and find work. The program has been tested in three separate large-scale, randomized controlled trials with different populations living in different contexts. Results from these trials indicate that the program has been successful in achieving two of its most important goals: (a) the improvement of parental care of the child as reflected in fewer injuries and ingestions that may be associated with child abuse and neglect and better infant emotional and language development; and (b) the improvement of maternal life course, reflected in fewer subsequent pregnancies, greater work-force participation, and reduced dependence on public assistance and food stamps. The impact on pregnancy outcomes is equivocal. In the first trial, the program also produced long-term effects on the number of arrests, convictions, emergent substance use, and promiscuous sexual activity of 15-year-old children whose nurse-visited mothers were low-income and unmarried when they registered in the study during pregnancy. In general, the impact of the program was greater on those segments of the population at greater risk for the particular outcome domain under examination. Since 1996, the program has been offered for public investment outside of research contexts. Careful attention has been given to ensuring that organizational and community contexts are favorable for development of the program, to providing excellent training and guidance to the nurses in their use of the program's visit-by-visit guidelines, to monitoring the functioning of the program with a comprehensive clinical information system, and to improving the performance of the programs over time with continuous improvement strategies. [source]


    Oral health-related quality of life in children: Part I. How well do children know themselves?

    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DENTAL HYGIENE, Issue 2 2008
    A systematic review
    Abstract:, Objective:, Paediatric oral disorders are likely to have a negative effect on the quality of life. Until recently, children's oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) was measured using parents as informants. Instruments have now been developed, which have demonstrated that with appropriate questionnaire techniques, valid and reliable information can be obtained from children. The aim of this study was to make a systematic review of the existing literature about child perceptions of OHRQoL and their validation. Methods:, A computerized search was conducted using Medline, ISI, Lilacs and Scielo for children's perception of OHRQoL. The inclusion criteria were: the articles should contain well-validated instruments and provide child perceptions of OHRQoL. Results:, From 89 records found, 13 fulfilled the criteria. All studies included in the critical appraisal of the project suggested good construct validity of overall child perceptions of OHRQoL. However, children's understanding of oral health and well-being are also affected by variables (age, age-related experiences, gender, race, education, culture, experiences related to oral conditions, opportunities for treatment, childhood period of changes, back-translating questionnaire, children self-perceived treatment need). Conclusions:, The structure of children's self-concept and health cognition is age-dependent as a result of their continuous cognitive, emotional, social and language development. By using appropriate questionnaire techniques, valid and reliable information can be obtained from children concerning their OHRQoL. [source]


    Development of Executive Control and Language Processing

    LINGUISTICS & LANGUAGE COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2009
    Reiko Mazuka
    Research in executive function development has shown that children have poor control of inhibition functions, including the inhibition of prepotent responses, control of attention, and flexibility at rule-shifting. To date, links between the development of executive function and children's language development have not been investigated explicitly. Yet, recent studies on children's sentence processing report that children tend to perseverate during sentence processing. We argue that such perseveration may be due to immature executive function. [source]


    Introduction: Second Language Development as a Dynamic Process

    MODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 2 2008
    KEES DE BOT
    In this contribution, some of the basic characteristics of complex adaptive systems, collectively labeled Dynamic Systems Theory (DST), are discussed. Such systems are self-organizing, dependent on initial conditions, sometimes chaotic, and they show emergent properties. The focus in DST is on development over time. Language is seen as a dynamic system, and language development, both acquisition and attrition, as a dynamic process. A number of examples of possible applications of DST in the field of applied linguistics are mentioned. After a short presentation of each of the individual articles, some possible lines of research are discussed. [source]