Non-signing children's assessment of telicity in sign language.

Adults with no knowledge of sign languages can perceive distinctive markers that signal event boundedness (telicity), suggesting that telicity is a cognitively natural semantic feature that can be marked iconically (Strickland et al., 2015). This study asks if non-signing children (5-year-olds) can also link telicity to iconic markers in sign. Experiment 1 attempted three close replications of Strickland et al. (2015) and found only limited success. However, Experiment 2 showed that children can both perceive the relevant visual feature and can succeed at linking the visual property to telicity semantics when allowed to filter their answer through their own linguistic choices. Children's performance demonstrates the cognitive naturalness and early availability of the semantics of telicity, supporting the idea that telicity helps guide the language acquisition process.

Social inequalities in early childhood language development during the COVID-19 pandemic: a descriptive study with data from three consecutive school entry surveys in Germany.

BACKGROUND: Social health inequalities are still of great public health importance in modern societies. The COVID-19 pandemic may have affected social inequalities in people's health due to containment measures. As these measures particularly affected children, they might have been particularly vulnerable to increased social inequalities. The aim of the study was to describe health inequalities during the pandemic based on language delay (LD) in children in order to inform public health interventions for a population at risk of long-term health and education inequalities. METHODS: Data of 5-7 year old children from three consecutive school entry surveys in the German federal state of Brandenburg were used, including data compulsorily collected before the pandemic (2018/2019: n = 19,299), at the beginning of the pandemic (2019/2020: n = 19,916) and during the pandemic (2020/2021: n = 19,698). Bivariate and multivariate binary regression analyses [OR, 95% CI] cross-sectionally examined the relationship between the prevalence of LD [yes/no] and social inequalities, operationalized by family socioeconomic position [SEP low/middle/high], migration background [native-German language/non-native German language] and length of kindergarten attendance [< 4 years/ ≥ 4 years]. Factors contributing to inequality in LD were examined by socioeconomic stratification. RESULTS: Cross-sectionally, LD prevalence has decreased overall (2018/2019: 21.1%, 2019/2020: 19.2%, 2020/2021: 18.8%), and among children from both high SEP and native German-speaking families. As LD prevalence increased among children from families with low SEP and remained stable among non-native German speakers, social inequalities in LD prevalence increased slightly during the pandemic i) by low SEP (2018/2019: OR = 4.41, 3.93-4.94; 2020/2021: OR = 5.12, 4.54-5.77) and ii) by non-German native language (2018/2019: OR = 2.22, 1.86-2.66; 2020/2021: OR = 2.54, 2.19-2.95). During the pandemic, both migration background and kindergarten attendance determined LD prevalence in the high and middle SEP strata. However, the measured factors did not contribute to LD prevalence in children from families with low SEP. CONCLUSION: Social inequalities in LD increased due to opposing trends in prevalence comparing low and high SEP families. To promote health equity across the life course, early childhood should be of interest for tailored public health actions (e.g. through targeted interventions for kindergarten groups). Further analytical studies should investigate determinants (e.g., parental investment).

The Acquisition of Black Language by Spanish-Speaking Preschoolers: A Community-Based Sociolinguistic Approach to Language Assessment.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this case series was to demonstrate a community-based sociolinguistic approach to language sample analysis (LSA) for the evaluation of Spanish-English bilingual preschoolers acquiring Black language (BL). As part of a comprehensive bilingual speech-language evaluation, we examined sociolinguistic variables in the context of the children's English language samples. Specific emphasis is placed on sociolinguistic information to account for all language(s) and dialect(s) in each child's environment, BL feature patterns, and appropriate scoring procedures for characterizing language use. METHOD: This case series includes four monolingual English-speaking and four bilingual Spanish-English-speaking 4-year-olds in a linguistically diverse preschool program. Play samples were collected from each child and coded for morphosyntactic features across three categories: BL, Spanish-Influenced English, and shared. Measures derived from the language samples include percent grammatical utterances, mean length of utterance in words, and number of different words. The children's language is characterized within a community-based sociolinguistic approach that combines three culturally responsive methods for assessment found in the speech-language pathology literature in addition to a novel sociolinguistic questionnaire. RESULTS: We explain how conducting LSA using a community-based sociolinguistic approach yields diagnostically relevant information that is pertinent to conducting a comprehensive and accurate evaluation of preschoolers in linguistically diverse settings without the use of standardized assessments. CONCLUSION: A community-based sociolinguistic approach to LSA is a useful procedure for mitigating misdiagnosis in preschoolers reared in linguistically diverse environments.

A step toward autonomy in education: probing into the effects of practicing self-assessment, resilience, and creativity in task supported language learning.

Self-assessment (SA) can provide students with opportunities to self-evaluate, or make judgments about their learning process and products of learning. Regarding the importance of SA, this survey pursued to examine the effects of practicing SA on Saudi Arabian EFL learners' resilience, creativity, and autonomy in task supported language learning. To fulfill these objectives, 60 intermediate EFL learners were chosen and separated accidentally into two groups of control and experimental. They were then pre-tested using three related questionnaires of resilience, creativity, and autonomy. Next, the treatment was practiced on the two groups. Eight lessons of Touchstone Book 3 were taught to the experimental group using SAvia applying different tasks. On the other hand, the lessons were trained to the control group without using SA and tasks. The aforementioned questionnaires were re-administered as the post-tests following the completion of all lessons. Independent and paired samples t-test findings displayed that the control and experimental groups performed differently on the three post-tests. In essence, the results showed that the experimental group's resilience, creativity, and autonomy were all improved by the treatment. The research's implications and conclusions were then outlined. The implications of the research can allow students to evaluate their own progress and skill development critically.

Assessment of Language Development in Dual Language Learners: A Case Report.

Propelled by immigration, language diversity is increasing in the United States, and more young children are exposed to two or more languages at home from birth. Known as dual language learners (DLLs), the benefits of this exposure include multilingual and multiliterate outcomes. However, DLLs introduce complexity for the pediatric provider's assessment of language development, identification of potential language delays, and timely referrals. If language delays are not promptly identified and followed with early intervention, they can persist and lead to poor outcomes across multiple domains.

Tele-Assessment of Oral Personal Narratives in Arabic- and Hebrew-Speaking Children Using the Global TALES Protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Tele-assessment (TA) has the potential to enhance access to speech therapy. This preliminary study aimed to investigate the impact of assessment mode (face-to-face [FTF] vs. TA) on the microstructure level and chosen topics of personal narratives produced by Arabic-speaking and Hebrew-speaking school-age children living in Israel. We also investigated whether performance variations, if evident, could be attributed to the children's language/culture. METHODS: Eighty-nine 10-year-old children, 38 Arabic-speaking and 51 Hebrew-speaking, living in Israel, participated in this study. Forty participants were assigned to a TA group (via Zoom) and 49 to a FTF group. All participants were assessed using the Global TALES protocol, generating six personal narratives each. The narratives were analyzed regarding the following microstructural measures: total number of words, total number of utterances (TNU), number of different words, and mean length of utterance in words (MLU-W). Additionally, each narrative was categorized into a topic according to the Global TALES protocol. RESULTS: The analysis revealed no significant main effect of assessment mode on any of the microstructure measures. However, a significant interaction effect between language/culture and assessment mode was found for TNU and MLU-W, with a significant main effect for TNU exclusively in the Arabic narratives, with the Arabic-speaking children producing more utterances through FTF compared to TA. Across language/culture groups, there was a significant effect of assessment mode on the chosen topic. Additionally, there were significantly higher scores in the Hebrew compared to the Arabic narratives in all microstructure measures, and language/culture also influenced the chosen topics. CONCLUSIONS: The results support the feasibility of TA mode for assessing personal narratives in school-aged children, using the Global TALES protocol. However, the results also suggest that TA results may be affected by the language/culture of the narrator. Finally, the findings highlight the potential influence of TA on the chosen topics of personal narratives, perhaps due to a decrease in the quality of communication in TA.

Partnering With Latino/a Caregivers and Community Stakeholders to Understand Priorities and Needs Prior to Implementing an Early Literacy Program.

PURPOSE: Latino/a children disproportionately experience academic vulnerabilities, including in reading. Caregiver-mediated interventions can be leveraged to support the bilingual language development of young Latino/a children to prevent these well-documented disparities in reading. However, in leveraging these programs, it is important to weigh Latino cultural values surrounding education, family connection, and learning alongside the barriers and inequities experienced by Latino families. In response to this need, this study used a community-partnered approach to (a) understand caregivers' needs related to the language and literacy development of their young children and (b) understand perspectives for how best to implement a culturally adapted and culturally responsive caregiver-mediated program. METHOD: A total of 101 caregivers completed a needs assessment of sociodemographic information, child development and needs, and family needs. Subsequently, nonprofit staff and caregivers completed semistructured interviews or focus groups about the development and implementation of a birth-to-5 program supporting early language development. RESULTS: Thirty-five percent of families reported having at least one child with delayed language. Furthermore, 60.3% of respondents reported desiring strategies to support their child's early reading. Deductive content analysis revealed that both staff and caregivers desired a birth-to-5, caregiver-mediated program. Staff described family-level characteristics to consider for an early language program, community strengths, specific inequities faced by Latino families, and suggestions about culturally responsive early language and literacy program content and structure. Caregivers described barriers and inequities that they have faced related to their children's learning and development and how a birth-to-5 program could be responsive to their needs and values. CONCLUSIONS: Staff and caregiver emphasized the resilience of Latino families and their strong values surrounding educational involvement. At the same time, participants also reported barriers and inequities rooted in systemic racism that have prevented families from being involved in certain aspects of the children's education. Together, these results revealed the importance of an early literacy program that is responsive to the structural inequities experienced by families.

Auditory assessment and central auditory processing script for preschool children. / Roteiro de avaliação auditiva e do processamento auditivo central para pré-escolares.

PURPOSE: To develop an assessment script to observe hearing and central auditory processing in preschool children. METHODS: To The script was prepared based on a search in the Scielo databases and in the library of a university in the state of São Paulo using the following keywords: "central auditory processing", "hearing and language", "auditory processing disorders", "auditory processing in preschool children", and "vocabulary assessment", resulting in the selection of fourteen articles and two books. Then, questions related to auditory development and a script for assessing central auditory processing were prepared. RESULTS: The script consists of eight parts, namely: Identification and Anamnesis, Information about Mother and Pregnancy, Complaints, Auditory Development, Language Development, Motor Development, Simplified Auditory Processing Evaluation and Behavioral Audiological Assessment. CONCLUSION: The script is essential, given the lack of screening instruments in the literature for central auditory processing in preschool children that thoroughly investigate the entire process that permeates the auditory and language development of children aged 43 to 47 months.

OBJETIVO: Construir um roteiro de avaliação para observação da audição e do processamento auditivo central em pré-escolares. MÉTODO: Para elaboração do roteiro, primeiramente realizou-se uma busca nas bases de dados Scielo e biblioteca de uma universidade no estado de São Paulo, com as palavras chaves: "processamento auditivo central", "audição e linguagem", "distúrbios do processamento auditivo", "processamento auditivo em pré-escolares", "avaliação do vocabulário", selecionando então quatorze artigos e dois livros. Foram estruturadas perguntas relacionadas ao desenvolvimento auditivo e um roteiro de avaliação do processamento auditivo central. RESULTADOS: O roteiro constitui-se de oito partes, sendo identificação e anamnese, dados maternos e de gestação, queixas, desenvolvimento auditivo, desenvolvimento de linguagem, desenvolvimento motor, Teste auditivo comportamental para avaliação do processamento auditivo central e avaliação audiológica comportamental. CONCLUSÃO: O roteiro é de extrema importância visto que não há na literatura instrumentos de triagem de processamento auditivo em pré-escolares que investigue, de forma minuciosa, todo o processo que permeia o desenvolvimento auditivo e de linguagem de crianças de 43 a 47 meses.

Relationship between enunciative signs of language acquisition and language assessment through the Bayley III scale at 24 months. / Relação entre sinais enunciativos de aquisição da linguagem e a avaliação de linguagem pela escala Bayley III aos 24 meses.

PURPOSE: To analyze the correlation between the results obtained on the SEAL and the Bayley III Scale and compare babies with and without delay in language acquisition at 24 months concerning the performance obtained by them and their mothers on the SEAL from 3 to 24 months. METHODS: The SEAL collection consists of 15-minute footages of 45 babies aged from 3 to 24 months old in interaction with their mothers, who were assessed by two trained speech therapists for the use of the SEAL. At 24 months, the 45 babies were assessed using the Bayley III Scale and the item language was selected to classify them with and without delay. These results were statistically analyzed through a Pearson's correlation test and a Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: In average, eighteen signs of typical development as we obtained, while a mean of 12 delay signs were found. By comparing the presence and absence of signs between the groups with and without delay in language acquisition, eight signs from the baby and one from the mother differed statistically in the sample. The analysis using the SEAL for cases of delay showed that the maternal factor was as important as the infant factor to understand the babies' language functioning. CONCLUSION: There was a significant correlation between the SEAL performance from 3 to 24 months and the language outcome at 24 months assessed by the Bayley III Scale in this sample.

OBJETIVO: Analisar a correlação entre resultados obtidos no Sinais Enunciativos de Aquisição da Linguagem (SEAL) e na Escala Bayley III e comparar bebês com e sem atraso na aquisição da linguagem aos 24 meses no desempenho obtido por ele e sua mãe no SEAL dos 3 aos 24 meses. MÉTODO: A coleta do SEAL constou de filmagens de 45 bebês, realizadas nas faixas etárias de 3 a 24 meses em interação com suas mães, com duração de 15 minutos, que foram avaliados por duas fonoaudiólogas treinadas no uso do SEAL. Aos 24 meses, os 45 bebês foram avaliados pela Escala Bayley III e selecionado o item linguagem para classificá-los com e sem atraso. Sobre tais resultados realizaram-se as análises estatísticas com o teste de correlação de Pearson e o teste exato de Fisher. RESULTADOS: Obtiveram-se as médias de sinais no desenvolvimento típico que foi 18 sinais e, em casos de atraso, a média foi de 12 sinais. Na comparação da relação de presença e ausência dos sinais entre os grupos com e sem atraso na aquisição da linguagem, oito sinais do bebê e um da mãe diferiram estatisticamente na amostra. O fator materno apresentou-se tão importante quanto o infantil na compreensão do funcionamento de linguagem dos bebês na análise realizada com o SEAL nos casos de atraso. CONCLUSÃO: Houve correlação significativa entre o desempenho no SEAL entre 3 e 24 meses e o desfecho de linguagem aos 24 meses avaliado pela Escala Bayley III nesta amostra.

Consistency between parent report and direct assessment of development in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder and other delays: Does sex assigned at birth matter?

The current study examined differences between parent report and diagnostician direct assessment of receptive language, expressive language, and fine motor abilities in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other delays. Additionally, this study examined whether parent-diagnostician consistency varied by child diagnosis and sex assigned at birth (SAB). Initial mixed analysis of variances (ANOVAs) were conducted using data from a sample of 646 toddlers to examine whether parent-diagnostician consistency differed by child diagnosis. Matched samples (using child age, SAB, and nonverbal IQ) were then created within each diagnostic group and mixed ANOVAs were conducted to examine if consistency was similar in matched diagnostic subsamples and whether it differed by SAB. Findings from the full sample mostly replicated previous research that has documented consistency between parent report and direct observation regardless of child diagnosis. However, when examined in matched diagnostic subgroups, more nuanced patterns were observed. Parent report of receptive language was lower in ASD and ASD features subgroups and parent report of fine motor skills was lower than direct observation in the ASD, ASD features, and developmental delay groups. When examining the moderating effect of SAB, only expressive language was impacted for children in the ASD group. Results indicate the importance of considering child demographic characteristics and that child SAB may impact parent report and/or diagnostician perception of expressive language.

Towards a Characterization of Late Talkers: The Developmental Profile of Children with Late Language Emergence through a Web-Based Communicative-Language Assessment.

Children acquire language naturally, but there is variation in language acquisition patterns. Indeed, different internal and external variables play a role in acquiring language. However, there are open research questions about the contribution of different variables to language development. Moreover, with societal changes and due to the pandemic situation, there has been a growing interest in testing digitalization related to indirect language acquisition assessment. In this study, a web-based assessment survey was developed to (1) describe the relation between expressive vocabulary, Socio-Conversational Skills (SCS), gender, parental education, executive functions (EFs), and pretend play; (2) determine whether the survey can detect differences between late talkers (LTs) and children with typical language development; (3) identify children with "overall high" and "overall low" communicative-language scores to test the validity of expressive vocabulary as a main indicator to detect LTs. The parents of 108 Italian children (51 males) aged 24-36 months participated in the study. The results showed that expressive vocabulary correlates with measures of SCS (assertiveness and responsiveness) and is reliable in identifying LTs (d = 2.73). Furthermore, SCS and EFs contribute to better characterizing the developmental profile of children aged 24-36 months.

Assessment fidelity of a language screening instrument for 4-year-olds.

AIM: The aim of the study was to explore the assessment fidelity of Språkfyran, a language screening instrument for four-year-old children. Språkfyran is a mandatory part of the healthcare program within the Swedish Child Health Service (CHS) and is offered to all four-year-olds in the region Scania in Sweden. METHODS: The study was based on structured observations of twenty-four specialist CHS nurses' adherence to the Språkfyran protocol during screening. RESULTS: All the observed nurses deviated from the test protocol. There was a large variation in the number of deviations from the test protocol per nurse, with the highest number of deviations occurring for three specific testing items. Significantly more deviations were made with four-year-old bilingual children as opposed to four-year-old monolingual children. Half of the nurses did not use the test protocol. CONCLUSIONS: There is a clear need to improve the assessment fidelity of Språkfyran. Both the training that the nurses are offered, and the development of the test, are essential in securing the aim of high-quality work within the CHS. Support from experts in child speech-language development and disorders is suggested to be available at the CHS in Sweden.

Effects of socio-economic status on infant native and non-native phoneme discrimination.

Infants undergo fundamental shifts in perception that are reported to be critical for language acquisition. In particular, infants' perception of native and non-native sounds begins to align with the properties of their native sound system. Thus far, empirical evidence for this transition - perceptual narrowing - has drawn from socio-economically and linguistically narrow populations from limited world regions. In this study, infants were sampled across diverse socio-economic strata and linguistic development in Singapore. One hundred and 16 infants were tested on their ability to discriminate both a native phonetic contrast (/ba/ versus /da/) and a non-native Hindi contrast (/ta/ versus /ʈa). Infants ranged in age from 6 to 12 months. Associations between age and discrimination varied by contrast type. Results demonstrated that infants' native sensitivities were positively predicted by family SES, whereas non-native sensitivities were not. Maternal socio-economic factors uniquely predicted native language sensitivity. Findings suggest that infants' sensitivity to native sound contrasts is influenced by their family socio-economic status. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: We investigated effects of socio-economic status on infant speech perception. Infants were tested on native and non-native speech discrimination. Socio-economic status predicted native speech discrimination. Maternal occupation was a key predictor of native speech discrimination.

Promoting early language development in the Arab world and Sustainable Development Goals 3, 4, 10 and 17.

PURPOSE: This commentary describes a multi-national project which addresses gaps in the design and delivery of health and education services in Arabic-speaking countries in relation to early language development, with a focus on Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories. This includes: (1) co-production with early years professionals and NGOs of approaches to support early language development; (2) development and standardisation of tools to identify monolingual and multilingual Arabic-speaking children at risk of poor language development; and (3) examination of language development in refugee communities. RESULT: The importance of inter-professional partnership and the inclusion of families in planning support for oral language development is highlighted. Arabic versions of the Communicative Development Inventory (CDI) Toddler were developed, and data collected from 1074 Egyptian, Jordanian and Palestinian monolingual infants aged 8-30 months. Data from 201 age-matched Palestinian infants in Lebanese refugee camps highlight inequalities resulting from limited maternal educational opportunities. Data from 230 multilingual Lebanese 2-year-olds enable the interpretation of CDI scores as a function of language exposure. CONCLUSION: This work contributes to the promotion of robust language development for all Arabic-speaking children. This commentary focusses on sustainable development goal (SDG) 3, SDG 4, SDG 10 and SDG 17.

Spanish-English bilingual toddlers' vocabulary skills: The role of caregiver language input and warmth.

There is a well-documented link between bilingual language development and the relative amounts of exposure to each language. Less is known about the role of quality indicators of caregiver-child interactions in bilingual homes, including caregiver input diversity, warmth and sensitivity. This longitudinal study examines the relation between caregiver input (lexical diversity, amount), warmth and sensitivity and bilingual toddlers' subsequent vocabulary outcomes. We video-recorded caregiver-child interactions in Spanish-English Latino homes when toddlers (n = 47) were 18 months of age (M = 18.32 months; SD = 1.02 months). At the 24-month follow-up, we measured children's vocabulary as total vocabulary (English, Spanish combined) as well as within language (Spanish, English). Results revealed that Spanish lexical diversity exposure at 18 months from caregivers was positively associated with children's Spanish and total vocabulary scores at 24 months, while English lexical diversity was positively associated with children's English scores; lexical diversity and amount were highly correlated. Additionally, caregivers' warmth was positively associated with children's Spanish, English and total vocabulary scores. Together, these factors accounted for substantial variance (30-40%) in vocabulary outcomes. Notably, caregiver input accounted for more variance in single language outcomes than did caregiver warmth, whereas caregiver warmth uniquely accounted for more variance in total vocabulary scores. Our findings extend prior research findings by suggesting that children's dual language development may depend on their exposure to a diverse set of words, not only amount of language exposure, as well as warm interactions with caregivers. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://youtu.be/q1V_7fz5wog HIGHLIGHTS: Video-recorded observations of caregiver-child interactions revealed warmth and high sensitivity from Latino caregivers. Linguistically-detailed analyses of caregiver input revealed wide variation in the diversity of Spanish and English directed at 18-month-old bilingual toddlers. Bilingual toddlers' vocabulary (single language, total) was positively associated with caregivers' diverse input and warmth, thus extending prior findings on bilinguals' amount of language exposure. Findings suggest that caregivers' lexical diversity explains more variance in bilingual toddlers' single language outcomes, whereas warmth explains more variance in total vocabulary scores.

Does bilingualism come with linguistic costs? A meta-analytic review of the bilingual lexical deficit.

A series of recent studies have shown that the once-assumed cognitive advantage of bilingualism finds little support in the evidence available to date. Surprisingly, however, the view that bilingualism incurs linguistic costs (the so-called lexical deficit) has not yet been subjected to the same degree of scrutiny, despite its centrality for our understanding of the human capacity for language. The current study implemented a comprehensive meta-analysis to address this gap. By analyzing 478 effect sizes from 130 studies on expressive vocabulary, we found that observed lexical deficits could not be attributed to bilingualism: Simultaneous bilinguals (who acquired both languages from birth) did not exhibit any lexical deficit, nor did sequential bilinguals (who acquired one language from birth and a second language after that) when tested in their mother tongue. Instead, systematic evidence for a lexical deficit was found among sequential bilinguals when tested in their second language, and more so for late than for early second language learners. This result suggests that a lexical deficit may be a phenomenon of second language acquisition rather than bilingualism per se.

Short stature and language development in the United Kingdom: a longitudinal analysis of children from the Millennium Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: In low- and middle-income countries, poverty and impaired growth prevent children from meeting their cognitive developmental potential. There are few studies investigating these relationships in high-income settings. METHODS: Participants were 12,536 children born between 2000 and 2002 in the UK and participating in the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS). Short stature was defined as having a height-for-age 2 or more standard deviations below the median (≤ - 2 SDS) at age 3 years. Standardized British Abilities Scales II (BAS II) language measures, used to assess language development at ages 3, 5, 7 and 11 years, were the main outcome assessed. RESULTS: Children with short stature at age 3 years (4.1%) had language development scores that were consistently lower from ages 3 to 11 years (- 0.26 standard deviations (SD) (95% CI - 0.37, - 0.15)). This effect was attenuated but remained significant after adjustment for covariates. Trajectory analysis produced four distinct patterns of language development scores (low-declining, low-improving, average and high). Multinomial logistic regression models showed that children with short stature had a higher risk of being in the low-declining group, relative to the average group (relative risk ratio (RRR) = 2.11 (95% CI 1.51, 2.95)). They were also less likely to be in the high-scoring group (RRR = 0.65 (0.52, 0.82)). Children with short stature at age 3 years who had 'caught up' by age 5 years (height-for-age ≥ 2 SDS) did not have significantly different scores from children with persistent short stature, but had a higher probability of being in the high-performing group than children without catch-up growth (RRR = 1.84 (1.11, 3.07)). CONCLUSIONS: Short stature at age 3 years was associated with lower language development scores at ages 3 to 11 years in UK children. These associations remained significant after adjustment for socioeconomic, child and parental factors.

The impact of a specialist home-visiting intervention on the language outcomes of young mothers and their children: a pragmatic randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Young mothers are more likely to provide a suboptimal early language environment for their children who in turn show impairments in their language development, yet few studies have used observational methods to assess the effectiveness of home-visiting programmes in improving the language outcomes of young mothers and their children. The Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) is a licensed home-visiting intervention developed in the USA and introduced into practice in England. The intervention involves up to 64 structured home visits from early pregnancy until the child's second birthday by specially recruited and trained Family Nurses. We assessed the effectiveness of FNP in improving the language outcomes of first-time teenage mothers and their infants. METHOD: We conducted a pragmatic, non-blinded, randomised controlled trial to test whether the FNP programme improved mothers' and children's language production at 24 months postpartum. Eligible participants were nulliparous, aged 19 years or younger, and were recruited at less than 25 weeks' gestation from community midwifery settings (Country). Pregnant young mothers were randomly assigned to FNP plus usual care (n = 243) or usual care alone (n = 233). At 24 months postpartum, mother-child dyads were observed during a standardised free-play task with their first-born child and features of their language production was coded. Data was analysed using multi-level modelling; linear or poisson/negative binomial regression models were used as appropriate. RESULTS: A small effect of FNP on mothers' productive language was detected, where mothers in the FNP group demonstrated higher mean length of utterances than mothers who received usual care alone, mean difference (adjusted by minimisation variables and by site, linear regression) = 0.10, p < .05, 95% CI (0.004-0.20), d = .18. No differences were detected between groups regarding other characteristics of maternal language or children's language outcomes. CONCLUSION: This observational study conducted within the context of a randomised-controlled trial suggests that the FNP home-visiting programme may have a small, but potentially important impact on young mothers' speech to their toddlers. Exploratory analyses identified family environment, maternal, and child related predictors of the language outcomes of young mothers and their offspring. Trial registration This trial is registered with ISRCTN, number ISRCTN23019866, 20/04/2009.

Perfil das teses da área da linguagem defendidas por fonoaudiólogos brasileiros / Profile of language area theses defended by Brazilian speech language pathologists / Perfil de tesis en el area de lenguaje defendidas por logopedas brasileños

Introdução: Parafortalecer uma profissão é imprescindível a prática vinculada a estudos científicos. Doutorado é o curso de pós-graduação que permite aos profissionais se dedicar a uma pesquisa aprofundada sobre determinado tema com objetivo de solucionar problemas relevantes à sociedade e contribuir com o conhecimento acadêmico e o progresso científico. Objetivo: Caracterizar o perfil dos fonoaudiólogos brasileiros e suas respectivas teses defendidas na área de linguagem entre os anos de 1976 e 2017.Método: Estudo documental retrospectivo do tipo exploratório baseado em análise de banco de dados com informações de diferentes variáveis sobre o perfil do pesquisador e das teses defendidas, a saber: sexo; tempo entre término da graduação e defesa da tese; tipo de instituição em que a tese foi defendida; região geográfica; área de conhecimento estabelecida pelo Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico-CNPq; temáticas de acordo com os Comitês da Sociedade Brasileira de Fonoaudiologia-SBFa e quanto aos objetivos e métodos utilizados. Resultados: Dentre as 396 teses analisadas, a maioria dos doutores é do sexo feminino (94%), defendeu sua tese em até 10 anos após a graduação (35%), em instituições públicas (76%), situadas na região Sudeste (67,7%), em programas da área da Linguística, Letras e Artes (42,5%), com temática em Linguagem oral e escrita na infância e adolescência (57,6%), versando sobre avaliação (60,7%). Conclusão: A maioria das teses foi defendida por doutores do sexo feminino em instituições brasileiras e públicas da região Sudeste, abordando temas de linguagem oral e escrita na infância e na adolescência.

Introduction: In order to strengthen a profession, it is essential to link practice to scientific studies. The Doctoral Degree is the graduate program that allows professionals to dedicate themselves to in-depth research on a given topic in order to solve problems relevant to society and contribute to academic knowledge and scientific progress. Objective: To characterize the profile of Brazilian speech-language pathologists and their respective theses defended in the language area from 1976 to 2017. Method:This is an exploratory retrospective documentary study based on database analysis with information from different variables on the researcher's profile and the theses defended, namely: sex; time between undergraduate studies and thesis defense; type of institution; geographic region; area of knowledge established by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development-CNPq; topics according to the Committees of the Brazilian Society of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology-SBFa and the objectives and procedures used. Results: Most of the professionals with a Doctoral Degree among the 396 theses analyzed are female (94%), defended their thesis within 10 years after the Undergraduate Degree (35%), in public institutions (76%), located in the Southeast region (67.7%), mostly in the area of Linguistics, Literature and Arts (42.5%), focused on oral and written language in childhood and adolescence (57.6%), and addressing assessment (60.7%). Conclusion: Most of the theses were defended by female doctors in Brazilian public institutions in the Southeast region, addressing topics of oral and written language in childhood and adolescence.

Introducción: Para fortalecer una profesión, la práctica ligada a los estudios científicos es fundamental. El doctorado es el curso de posgrado que permite a los profesionales dedicarse a la investigación profunda sobre un tema determinado con el fin de resolver problemas relevantes para la sociedad y contribuir al conocimiento académico y al progreso científico. Objetivo: Caracterizar el perfil de los fonoaudiólogos brasileños y sus respectivas tesis defendidas en el área de lenguaje entre 1976 y 2017. Método: Estudio documental retrospectivo exploratorio basado en el análisis de bases de datos con información de diferentes variables sobre el perfil del investigador y las tesis defendidas, a saber: sexo; tiempo entre graduación y defensa de tesis; tipo de institución en la que se defendió la tesis; región geográfica; área de conocimiento establecida por el Consejo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico-CNPq; temas de acuerdo con los Comités de la Sociedad Brasileña de Patología del Habla-Lenguaje y Audiología-SBFa y los objetivos y métodos utilizados. Resultados: Entre las 396 tesis analizadas, la mayoría de los doctores son mujeres (94%), defendieron su tesis dentro de los 10 años posteriores a la graduación (35%), en instituciones públicas (76%), ubicadas en la región Sudeste (67,7%), en programas del área de Lingüística, Letras y Artes (42,5%), con temática sobre lenguaje oral y escrito en la niñez y la adolescencia (57,6%), que se ocupan de la evaluación (60,7%). Conclusión: La mayoría de las tesis fueron defendidas por doctoras en instituciones públicas y brasileñas de la región Sudeste, abordando temas del lenguaje oral y escrito en la infancia y la adolescencia.

Environmental influences on early language and literacy development: Social policy and educational implications.

A growing body of literature suggests strong associations between environmental factors and young children's early language and literacy development. In the United States, large socio-economic differences are evident in children's skills when they enter Kindergarten, differences that persist through schooling and can be explained by children's early communicative environments. Here, I highlight three themes that characterize the features of children's communicative environments that are found to promote language learning: (1) Talking with children helps more than talking to children, (2) Linguistic input should increase in diversity and complexity during early childhood, and (3) A gradual transition from contextualized to decontextualized conversations is helpful. There are many reasons for the large variability in early communicative environments within and across social class groups. Two primary reasons include parents' knowledge of child development and parenting stress. Social policies that reduce parenting stress and increase parental knowledge have the potential to improve early language environments and lead to better educational outcomes for all children.