The informant matters: Differences in bullying victim categorization rates assessed with self- and peer-reports in children with developmental language disorder and reading difficulties.

BACKGROUND: Children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and Reading Difficulties (RD) can show more peer relation problems depending on the informant. AIMS: (1) To explore bullying victims' categorization, evaluated by self- and peer-reports, in children with DLD and RD; and (2) to assess agreement rates between informants. METHOD AND PROCEDURES: Victimization was assessed using a self-report (EBIP-Q) and a peer-report sociogram (CESC) in a sample of 83 participants (9-12 years; 10.5 ± 1.1 years), comprising of DLD (n = 19), RD (n = 32), and Control (n = 32) groups. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: We found a higher frequency of the rejected sociometric profile in the DLD and RD groups, a higher peer-reported victimization in the DLD group, and more severe self-reported victimization in the DLD and RD groups. Odds of being classified as victimized were higher for self-report except in the DLD group. Informants' agreement was high using the most restrictive EBIP-Q criterion (7 points) for both the Control and the RD groups, being non-significant for the DLD group regardless of the criteria used. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: We found a higher victimization risk in children with language difficulties, although self-assessment seems to under-detect children with DLD according to the agreement rates, pointing out the need to combine assessments and informants. WHAT DOES THIS PAPER ADD?: Several studies have shown that children with DLD or RD obtain higher scores of victimization and score lower on several scales of social skills with continuous data. Although continuous analyses are usual in research, professional decisions are usually based on cut-off criteria more than how high or low a score is in contrast to another group. This is one of the first works that analyses victimization following the cut-off criteria of self and peer assessments that professionals used in the school settings in children with DLD and RD. Our results will raise awareness among school professionals based on the evidence about the high risk of victimization, especially in children with DLD, and the implications of selecting between several measures of victimization, in this group of children. We think that our results would help to better detect and prevent bullying in schools for children with DLD.

Donna Jackson-Maldonado. A life dedicated to joining theory and practice in language development research / Donna Jackson-Maldonado. Una vida dedicada a unir teoría y práctica en la investigación del desarrollo del lenguaje

Precedents and objectives: Dr Donna Jackson-Maldonado, researcher and professor at the Centro de Estudios Lingüísticos y Literarios of the Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro in Mexico, left us on November 30, 2021. In this article, we review her main scientific contributions related to the three fundamental axes on which she worked: language acquisition, language disorders and language assessment. Methods and results: Dr Jackson-Maldonado's studies on language acquisition included groups of premature babies, late talkers, and typical development children in bilingual and diverse socioeconomic conditions. Moreover, she studied atypical language development in children with hearing loss, children with developmental language disorders and children with Down syndrome and other syndromes. Finally, regarding language assessment, it should be noted that she led the Mexican Spanish version of the Communicative Development Inventories (CDI) that was used as a model for later adaptations in other Romance languages. Discussion and conclusion: Dr Jackson-Maldonado's methodological approach combined rigour with a creative and innovative scientific spirit, yet she integrated theory and clinical practice from its very beginning. She left us an immense research and personal legacy that we want to honour in this paper.

Antecedentes y objetivos: La Dra. Donna Jackson-Maldonado, investigadora y profesora del Centro de Estudios Lingüísticos y Literarios de la Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro en México, nos dejó el 30 de noviembre de 2021. En este artículo repasamos sus principales aportaciones científicas relacionadas con los tres ejes fundamentales sobre los que trabajó: la adquisición del lenguaje, los trastornos del lenguaje y la evaluación del lenguaje. Método y resultados: Las investigaciones de la Dra. Jackson sobre la adquisición del lenguaje incluyeron grupos de bebés prematuros, hablantes tardíos y niños de desarrollo típico en condiciones socioeconómicas bilingües y diversas. Además, estudió el desarrollo atípico del lenguaje en niños con pérdida auditiva, con trastornos del desarrollo del lenguaje y con síndrome de Down, así como otros síndromes. Finalmente, en cuanto a la evaluación lingüística, cabe destacar que lideró la versión en español mexicano de los Inventarios de Desarrollo Comunicativo (CDI) que sirvió de modelo para posteriores adaptaciones en otras lenguas romances. Discusión y conclusiones: El enfoque metodológico de la Dra. Jackson combinó el rigor con un espíritu científico creativo e innovador, además, integró la teoría y la práctica clínica desde sus inicios. Nos dejó un inmenso legado personal e investigador que queremos honrar en este trabajo.(AU)

Meanness trumps language: Lack of foreign language effect in early bilinguals' moral choices.

Moral decision-making is influenced by various factors, including personality and language. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated the Foreign-Language effect (FLe) in early, highly proficient, Catalan-Spanish bilinguals and examined the role of several personality dimensions in their responses to moral dilemmas. We obtained a multilevel data structure with 766 valid trials from 52 Catalan-dominant undergraduate students who read and responded anonymously to a computerized task with 16 standardized moral dilemmas, half in Catalan and half in Spanish. Results of a multilevel multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that consistent with previous research, participants gave more utilitarian responses to impersonal than personal dilemmas. The language of the dilemma had no effect on the response (dichotomous: utilitarian vs. deontological), decision time, or affective ratings, contradicting the hypothesis of shallower emotional processing of the information in the second language. Interestingly, cruelty features of psychopathy were significantly associated with an enhanced proportion of utilitarian decisions irrespective of the language or the nature of the dilemmas. Furthermore, cruelty features interacted with participants' assessment of dilemma aspects like vividness and verisimilitude. Overall, our findings suggest that early bilinguals immersed in a dual-language context using close Romance languages do not show the FLe and that personality traits like cruelty can modulate moral decisions regardless of language or dilemma type.

Language acquisition in a post-pandemic context: the impact of measures against COVID-19 on early language development.

Language acquisition is influenced by the quality and quantity of input that language learners receive. In particular, early language development has been said to rely on the acoustic speech stream, as well as on language-related visual information, such as the cues provided by the mouth of interlocutors. Furthermore, children's expressive language skills are also influenced by the variability of interlocutors that provided the input. The COVID-19 pandemic has offered an unprecedented opportunity to explore the way these input factors affect language development. On the one hand, the pervasive use of masks diminishes the quality of speech, while it also reduces visual cues to language. On the other hand, lockdowns and restrictions regarding social gatherings have considerably limited the amount of interlocutor variability in children's input. The present study aims at analyzing the effects of the pandemic measures against COVID-19 on early language development. To this end, 41 children born in 2019 and 2020 were compared with 41 children born before 2012 using the Catalan adaptation of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (MB-CDIs). Results do not show significant differences in vocabulary between pre- and post-Covid children, although there is a tendency for children with lower vocabulary levels to be in the post-Covid group. Furthermore, a relationship was found between interlocutor variability and participants' vocabulary, indicating that those participants with fewer opportunities for socio-communicative diversity showed lower expressive vocabulary scores. These results reinforce other recent findings regarding input factors and their impact on early language learning.

Trait anxiety slows speed of processing but does not affect specific components of executive control.

The present work aimed to establish the influence of self-reported trait anxiety on computerized and self-reported measures of executive control, and speed of processing in young adults using latent variable modeling. One hundred and six participants completed the State-trait anxiety questionnaire (STAI-t), the Attentional Control Scale (ACS), and a set of computerized tasks of executive control, tapping into the updating, inhibition, and shifting components. Higher scores in the latent variable of trait anxiety were negatively associated with the self-reported latent variable of attentional control. Notably, self-reported and performance-based indicators of executive control showed no associations at the latent level. Contrary to our hypotheses, higher trait anxiety did not affect any performance-based executive component but was associated with an increase in response times. We show that self-reported trait anxiety is related to a lower self-perceived sense of attentional control and does not affect executive functioning in non-clinical samples. In turn, trait anxiety is mainly associated with a slowed speed of processing. In conclusion, the tendency to experience a negative mood is related with cognitive processing by reducing its speed even in the absence of threatening stimuli.

Introduction to Language Development in Children: Description to Detect and Prevent Language Difficulties.

The present Special Issue focuses on studies of language acquisition in children [...].

Retrospective bullying trajectories in adults with self-reported oral language difficulties.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has consistently evidenced that children with speech and language difficulties suffer more bullying victimisation during middle school years, whereas other educative stages remain less explored. Moreover, there are divergent results in previous evidence about the types of victimisation (physical, verbal, relational) youths may experience. AIMS: To examine the retrospective developmental trajectories of bullying victimisation in adults with and without self-reported oral language difficulties across seven educational stages (preschool to university). Special attention was given to the prevalence and types of victimisation. METHODS & PROCEDURES: A total of 336 participants (ages between 18 and 65, M = 30.3) from a sample of 2259 participants that fully answered an online survey were classified as having experienced oral language difficulties (LD) not associated with a biomedical condition. A comparable control group (n = 336; ages between 18 and 72, M = 30.0) was randomly selected for statistical between-groups contrasts. Responses to the California Bullying Victimization Scale-Retrospective (CBVS-R) were analysed by generalised estimating equations (GEE) including language groups, types of bullying, and educational stages as explanatory variables. Specific language group comparisons in terms of percentages were conducted using chi-square tests. OUTCOMES & RESULTS: GEE results suggested that experiencing LD was associated with an overall increase in the likelihood of bullying victimisation, Wald's χ2 (1) = 8.41, p < 0.005 for the main effect of the LD group, along almost all educational stages, Wald's χ2 (6) = 3.13, p = 0.69 for the LD group × educational stage interaction. Finally, a higher proportion of participants in the LD group reported having suffered teasing behaviours at the second cycle of elementary, the first cycle of secondary, and baccalaureate. They also reported with a higher proportion being physically hurt at preschool and having received sexual comments at the second cycle of elementary, Wald's χ2 (93) = 259.87, p < 0.001 for the LD group × educational stage × type of bullying interaction. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: People with oral language difficulties experience more bullying victimisation behaviours than their typically developing peers. Heightened bullying prevalence in children with language difficulties seems to emerge as early as 6-9 years old and persists along the rest of schooling. Not all victimisation forms seem to show differential increased rates in people with speech/language difficulties, evidencing important implications for bullying assessment. Results highlight the need to provide particular support to individuals with language difficulties against bullying during the entire schooling.

Associations Between Self, Peer, and Teacher Reports of Victimization and Social Skills in School in Children With Language Disorders.

Previous studies have shown that teachers and parents of children with language disorders report them to have higher victimization scores, a heightened risk of low-quality friendships and social difficulties, and may be more vulnerable to peer rejection than control peers. However, there are few studies of bullying in children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and reading difficulties (RD), and none has considered the mutual relationships between teacher reports, the perceptions of classmates, and children's self-reports. We analyzed the experiences of bullying and peer relationships in primary school students with DLD and RD as compared to their age-matched peers using teacher reports, peer reports, and self-reports on victimization. Additionally, we explored how these three perspectives are associated. Results indicated lower levels of peer-rated prosocial skills in DLD and RD students compared to their peers, as well as higher levels of victimization as assessed by peers for students with DLD. In the same line, the teachers' ratings showed that students with DLD presented poorer social skills, less adaptability, and more withdrawal in social interaction. Contrastingly, self-reports informed of similar rates of interpersonal relationships, social stress, and peer victimization between the three groups. Consequently, we found significant correlations between measures of peer reports and teacher reports that contrasted with the lack of correlations between self and other agents' reports. These findings stress the importance of using self-reports, peer reports, and teacher reports at the same time to detect bullying situations that might go unnoticed.

Long-Term Profiles of Bullying Victims and Aggressors: A Retrospective Study.

Bullying is a widespread and worrying phenomenon, related to many different personal, behavioral, and social variables which can modulate it and its outcomes, also in the long term. These relationships are usually studied in children and adolescents, but less often in adults who have suffered or perpetrated bullying in the past. The present work explored the long-term characteristics of bullying victims and aggressors using a retrospective design. A sample of 138 adults of different ages completed an on-line protocol that included measures of bullying and victimization, substance use, sensitivity to reward and punishment, social skills, antisocial behavior, emotional regulation strategies, depression, anxiety, stress, self-esteem, and risk of suicide. The sample was divided into three groups (victims, aggressors, and controls) based on their responses to bullying-related questions. A set of Multiple Analyses of Variance with group as a fixed factor was carried out for each dependent variable. Victims and aggressors did not significantly differ in their self-reported substance consumption. Victims showed higher global depression, anxiety and stress in the past than aggressors (M = 34.66, SD = 11.74; aggressors: M = 19.70, SD = 16.53), higher emotional lack of control (M = 23.97, SD = 10.62; controls: M = 17.11, SD = 7.95) and rejection (M = 21.72, SD = 7.24; controls: M = 16.33, SD = 5.67), lower self-esteem (M = 27.72, SD = 6.70; controls: M = 31.60, SD = 6.60), and a larger frequency of suicidal thoughts (in the past) than controls. Aggressors showed higher sensitivity to reward (M = 12.03, SD = 3.66; controls: M = 8.42, SD = 3.92), larger communicational and relational skills (M = 22.10, SD = 7.20; controls: M = 17.96, SD = 7.16), and lower emotional sensitivity (M = 14.80, SD = 4.10; controls: M = 16.76, SD = 2.21). Accordingly, the logistic regression analysis identified sensitivity to reward and low psychological adjustment as the main predictors of the aggressor and victim profiles, respectively. The present results are discussed considering the extant literature on bullying and may help to improve prevention programs for this relevant social scourge.

California Bullying Victimization Scale-Retrospective (CBVS-R): Validation of the Spanish Adaptation.

BACKGROUND: Bullying in childhood and adolescence is a worldwide problem. There is a general lack of validated retrospective measures of bullying, especially in Spanish-speaking populations. The present study aimed to adapt the retrospective version of the California Bullying Victimization Scale (CBVS-R) to Spanish and examine its psychometric properties. METHOD: The CBVS-R was translated and adapted into Spanish, and school victimization was evaluated in a sample of 1,855 Spanish adults (69.3% women). Factor structure, test-retest reliability, and predictive validity were explored. The types of victimization by educational level and the total victimization score for each participant were analyzed. RESULTS: Factor analysis showed a one-factor structure. Values of internal consistency (α = .80) and test-retest reliability ( r = .87, k = .73) were satisfactory. Victimization was associated with self-reports of mental health. Victimization patterns peaked around adolescence, the most frequent victimizing behavior was being teased or called names. CONCLUSIONS: Results support the usefulness and suitability of the Spanish adaptation of the CBVS-R as a retrospective self-report measure of bullying victimization in adults.

Sociodemographic and Pre-Linguistic Factors in Early Vocabulary Acquisition.

Here, we studied the beginnings of language development, jointly assessing two groups of precursors, sociodemographic and pre-linguistic, that have previously been studied separately. Thus, the general objective of this study was to explore which factors best explained the acquisition of initial expressive vocabulary. The sample consisted of 504 participants from Catalan-speaking homes with ages ranging between 10 and 18 months. The data were obtained through the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (MCB-CDIs). Vocabulary development shows a lexical spurt at 17 months. Regression analyses show that pre-linguistic factors have more explanatory power of than sociodemographic ones. Within the sociodemographic variables, age, birth order and birth weight explain part of the vocabulary variance. With respect to pre-linguistic variables, imitation, late gestures and phrase comprehension are predictors of the initial vocabulary acquisition. Specifically, imitation and late gestures were the pre-linguistic behaviours that made it possible to distinguish between children with higher and lower levels of vocabulary. We discussed these findings in relation to their relevance for language acquisition and for the early assessment of linguistic competence.

California Bullying Victimization Scale-Retrospective (CBVS-R): Validation of the Spanish Adaptation / California Bullying Victimization Scale-Retrospective (CBVS-R): Validación de la Adaptación Española

Background: Bullying in childhood and adolescence is a worldwide problem. There is a general lack of validated retrospective measures of bullying, especially in Spanish-speaking populations. The present study aimed to adapt the retrospective version of the California Bullying Victimization Scale (CBVS-R) to Spanish and examine its psychometric properties. Method: The CBVS-R was translated and adapted into Spanish, and school victimization was evaluated in a sample of 1,855 Spanish adults (69.3% women). Factor structure, test-retest reliability, and predictive validity were explored. The types of victimization by educational level and the total victimization score for each participant were analyzed. Results: Factor analysis showed a one-factor structure. Values of internal consistency (α = .80) and test-retest reliability (r = .87, κ = .73) were satisfactory. Victimization was associated with self-reports of mental health. Victimization patterns peaked around adolescence, themost frequent victimizing behavior was being teased or called names. Conclusions: Results support the usefulness and suitability of the Spanish adaptation of the CBVS-R as a retrospective self-report measure of bullying victimization in adults. (AU)

Antecedentes: el acoso escolar o bullying es un problema generalizado en la infancia y la adolescencia a nivel mundial. Existen pocas medidas retrospectivas de bullying validadas, especialmente en población de habla hispana. El objetivo del presente estudio fue adaptar al español la versión retrospectiva de la California Bullying Victimization Scale (CBVS-R) y examinar sus propiedades psicométricas. Método: se tradujo y adaptó al español la CBVS-R y se evaluó la victimización escolar en una muestra de 1.855 adultos españoles (69,3% mujeres). Se exploró la estructura factorial, la fi abilidad test-retest y su validez predictiva. Se analizaron los tipos de victimización por niveleducativo y la puntuación total de victimización para cada participante. Resultados: el análisis factorial mostró una estructura unifactorial.Los valores de consistencia interna (α = .80) y fiabilidad test-retest (r = .87, κ = .73) fueron satisfactorios. La victimización estuvo asociada con medidas autoinformadas de salud mental. Los patrones de victimización mostraron su valor más elevado en torno a la adolescencia, siendo la conducta más frecuente ser objeto de burla o insultos. Conclusiones: los resultados respaldan la utilidad y conveniencia de la adaptación española del CBVS-R como autoinforme retrospectivo de victimización por acoso escolar en adultos. (AU)

Impact of the Use of Media Devices within the Family Context on the Language of Preteens.

Several studies have found a negative impact of media use on the language of children under 5 years. This impact seems to be related to the linguistic input of their parents. However, less is known about the influence of media on language in preteens. This study aims to analyze the relationship between the use of media, the quantity of parental language input, and the linguistic level of preteens. We assessed the language level of 60 bilingual Spanish-Catalan preteens aged 11-12 years with four subtests of the Spanish version of the standardized clinical evaluation of language fundaments (CELF-5-Spanish) as well as media use at home through a multiple-choice questionnaire. Results showed lower language scores in preteens who had access to more media devices, who used them more frequently, and who talked less with their parents. Language scores were also significantly lower in preteens who used media devices to communicate compared to those who used it as a school aid or to learn new things. These results are not influenced by socioeconomic level, sex, chronological age, or family language. The present results highlight the negative impact of media use on the language level of older children, which is also related to the amount of linguistic input received from their parents.

Competencias profesionales para el trabajo con población multilingüe y multicultural en España: creencias, prácticas y necesidades de los/las logopedas / Professional competencies for working with multilingual and multicultural populations in Spain: speech-language therapists' beliefs, practices and needs

ANTECEDENTES Y OBJETIVOS: El aumento del número de personas que precisan intervención logopédica bilingüe y multilingüe justifica que las actuales prácticas logopédicas sean revisadas. Los/as logopedas son éticamente responsables de proporcionar la mejor intervención posible, basada en la evidencia, a las familias con las que trabajan. Existe, por tanto, una clara demanda de logopedas competentes para atender a población de origen lingüístico y culturalmente diverso. El objetivo de este trabajo es documentar las creencias, necesidades y prácticas desarrolladas en España y profundizar en las competencias lingüísticas, culturales y profesionales desde la perspectiva de los/as logopedas. MÉTODO: A partir de trabajos previos en otros países, se diseña un cuestionario adaptado a la cultura y lengua española para estudiar la situación de la intervención logopédica multilingüe y multicultural. La muestra está conformada por 208 logopedas de todas las comunidades autónomas que trabajan con población diversa. RESULTADOS: El 84% de los encuestados/as declara hablar más de una lengua, pero solo el 56% se considera bilingüe. El 77% ha trabajado con personas multilingües. El 86% declara no haber recibido formación inicial con este enfoque. El 92% declara carecer de recursos para la evaluación logopédica en diferentes lenguas. Sin embargo, aparecen diferencias significativas en las prácticas y las creencias cuando se compara a los profesionales que se consideran bilingües con los monolingües. CONCLUSIONES: Este trabajo presenta resultados similares a estudios previos y sería un primer paso para el diseño de prácticas, políticas y recursos que mejoren las competencias profesionales y las prácticas

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The increase in the number of people who require bilingual and multilingual speech-language intervention justifies reviewing the current practices of Speech-Language Therapists (SLTs), who are ethically responsible for providing the best possible evidence-based intervention to the families with whom they work. There is, therefore, a clear need to competently serve populations with linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds. The goal of this work was to document the beliefs, needs and practices of SLTs in Spain, as well as to obtain a deeper understanding of linguistic, cultural and professional competencies from the perspective of SLTs. METHOD: Based on previous work in other countries, a questionnaire was designed to study multilingual and multicultural speech-language intervention in Spain. The sample consisted of 208 SLTs working with a diverse population across regions of Spain. RESULTS: Eighty-four percent of the survey respondents reported that they speak more than one language, but only 56% considered themselves bilingual; 77% reported having faced the challenge of working with multilingual people; 86% reported that they had not received training focused on this diversity and 92% reported that they lacked resources for conducting bilingual speech and language evaluations. Nevertheless, there were significant differences in the beliefs and practices when bilingual and monolingual SLTs were compared. CONCLUSIONS: This work, with results similar to those of previous studies, provides a first step for designing methods, policies and resources to improve professional competencies and multilingual practices. Several challenges for SLTs facing this new social reality are discussed

Prácticas en logopedia infantil en entornos bilingües y multilingües. Recomendaciones basadas en la evidencia / Speech & Language therapy practices with children growing up in bilingual and multilingual environments. Evidence-based recommendations

Algunos niños y niñas que crecen en entornos con oportunidades de comunicación en varias lenguas pueden necesitar en algún momento de su desarrollo apoyo de profesionales de la logopedia/fonoaudiología. El Comité de Expertos en Multilingüismo y Multiculturalidad de la Asociación Española de Logopedia, Foniatría y Fonoaudiología, e Iberoamericana de Fonoaudiología ha consensuado una propuesta de recomendaciones basadas en la evidencia para las prácticas en logopedia con el fin de facilitar que los/as niños/as puedan ejercer el derecho a su identidad cultural y a emplear su propio idioma. Se parte de una concepción dinámica del bi/multilingüismo centrado en la persona y su entorno, considerando un enfoque transcultural, transdisciplinar y funcional, dirigido a fomentar las oportunidades de aprendizaje. Considerando los resultados de investigaciones actuales sobre el desarrollo lingüístico-comunicativo de los/las niños/as bi/multilingües con y sin trastornos del lenguaje, habla y comunicación, se plantean herramientas para el desarrollo de la evaluación y la intervención logopédica/fonoaudiológica desde una perspectiva lingüístico-funcional. Así, se incluyen propuestas para realizar la entrevista e instrumentos para la evaluación directa y/o indirecta. Todo ello mediante la valoración del entorno bilingüe y la evaluación translingüística y funcional, en estrecha colaboración con las familias, las escuelas y otros profesionales de apoyo, como intérpretes. Finalmente se plantea la necesidad de formación continua en competencias profesionales, como las de gestión emocional para el trabajo con personas en entornos de origen lingüístico y cultural diverso

Some children who grow up in environments in which there is the opportunity to learn more than one language may, at some point in their development, need the support of speech and language professionals. The present paper by the Expert Committee on Multilingualism and Multiculturalism of the Spanish and Ibero-American Association of Speech and Language Therapy (AELFA-IF) provides evidence-based recommendations for speech and language therapy practices that facilitate children's ability to exercise their right to their cultural identity and the use of their language(s) (United Nations, 1989). These recommendations are based on a dynamic conceptualization of bilingualism/multilingualism that is centred on the person and his or her environment, and use a cross-cultural, transdisciplinary and functional approach to providing learning opportunities for speech and language professionals. Based on the results of research on the linguistic-communicative development of bilingual/multilingual children with and without speech/language and communication disorders, tools for developing speech/language assessment methods and intervention from a functional-linguistic perspective are proposed. These include suggestions for conducting interviews and using direct and indirect evaluation instruments to assess the bilingual environment, as well as the use of cross-linguistic and functional evaluation methods, in close collaboration with families, schools and other support professionals, such as interpreters. Finally, the paper outlines the need for continuous training in professional competencies, such as interpersonal skills, needed for working with people from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds

Behavioral, Emotional and School Adjustment in Adolescents with and without Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) Is Related to Family Involvement.

Developmental language disorder (DLD) refers to a language delay in the absence of other underlying causes. Individuals with DLD can also present other problems related to behavioral, scholarly, and emotional aspects of their daily lives because of their language difficulties. Moreover, these difficulties could be influenced by family and socioeconomic characteristics. Twenty-eight bilingual adolescents with and without DLD in typical schools were followed from childhood to adolescence. At age five, language and cognitive variables were assessed. In addition, language, behavior, emotional and school adjustment, and socioeconomic and family aspects were evaluated at age 12. Results reveal that adolescents with DLD show poorer school adjustment and less adaptive skills when evaluated by their tutors, and a larger index of emotional problems when self-assessed. Moreover, family involvement, but not socioeconomic status (SES), emerged as a protective factor since it was related to behavioral, emotional, and school adjustment, a result that was further confirmed by structural equation modeling. Therefore, a more global approach involving individuals, schools and families is needed to provide adolescents with DLD adequate support. It is important to stimulate their social skills and emotional adjustment so they can cope with social difficulties more easily, especially at school.

Speech profiles of Spanish-Catalan children with developmental language disorder.

Children with developmental language disorders (DLD) are especially characterised by morphosyntactic difficulties. Nevertheless, previous studies have also shown that children with DLD have phonological difficulties. This paper aims to describe the productive and perceptive phonological speech profile of Spanish-Catalan children with DLD at the age of six in order to characterise the underlying nature of their difficulties. Fourteen Spanish-Catalan six-year-old children with DLD and 14 control children without language difficulties who attended the same class were assessed with the screening and discrimination tasks of the A-RE-HA: Análisis del Retraso del Habla (Speech Delay Analysis - Catalan and Spanish version). We analysed the production of words, syllables and phonemes, phoneme discrimination and phonological simplification processes used by these children. The results showed that children with DLD have a lower percentile in correct word structures, syllabic structures and phonemes, and have more difficulty discriminating phonemes. Detailed analyses revealed more difficulties with the most complex word and syllabic templates, and with almost all phonemes. Furthermore, children with DLD applied more phonological simplification processes than the control group. An individual analysis showed that only ten of the children with DLD also had a speech delay (percentile < 25), while four had scores in line with their age. These results show that most of the six-year-old children with DLD maintain speech difficulties, which are mainly phonological and not (or not only) articulatory. Therefore, individual differences with respect to speech delay in DLD must be taken into consideration to better detect these children.

Academic Outcomes in Bilingual Children With Developmental Language Disorder: A Longitudinal Study.

Previous studies have shown that most English-speaking children with language difficulties show academic difficulties during their schooling. The present study aimed to describe the academic achievement of children speaking Spanish and Catalan with developmental language disorder (DLD) during their primary education and to predict their academic outcomes using several processing skills assessed at the beginning of their schooling. To this end, we followed 28 children during their schooling (6-12 years of age). Participants were divided into two groups, one with DLD (n = 14) and a control group (n = 14) paired by age, gender, socio-economic status (SES), family language (L1), and classroom. All participants were assessed through different processing skills with the Spanish version of the NEPSY at the beginning of their schooling (age 6): attention (visual attention, auditory attention, and response set), phonological awareness, verbal short-term memory (sentence repetition, and narrative memory), access to language (semantic verbal fluency and rapid naming), and language comprehension (comprehension of verbal commands). At the end of primary education, schools reported the official academic marks at the 1st cycle (6-8 years), 2nd cycle (8-10 years) and 3rd cycle (10-12 years). Direct scores of the processing skills and academic results were used for statistical analyses. Results showed that children with DLD had more frequent grade retention, and their academic marks were significantly lower than those of their peers in all the cycles and for all academic subjects with a high language dependency (all except physical education and mathematics). Those subjects with lower language dependence did not show significant differences (physical education and mathematics). Rapid naming accounted for most of the variance of academic outcomes, followed by phonological awareness, and language comprehension when both groups were taken together. Only rapid naming accounted for academic results in the DLD group and phonological awareness did so for the control group. In sum, children with DLD experienced more academic difficulties during their primary education. Those children (with and without DLD) who experienced difficulties not only with rapid naming but also with phonological awareness and oral language comprehension at the beginning of their schooling showed a higher probability of academic failure.

Uso del índice digital D2:D4 como indicador biológico del trastorno específico del lenguaje / Use of the 2 D: 4 D digit ratio as a biological marker of specific language disorders

INTRODUCCIÓN: Encontrar marcadores biológicos del trastorno específico del lenguaje facilitaría su detección e intervención precoz. En este sentido, el índice digital D2:D4 es considerado un indicador indirecto de la exposición prenatal a la testosterona, y estudios previos lo han relacionado con la competencia lingüística y la conducta agresiva, por lo que podría ser un candidato a marcador biológico. El objetivo es comparar el valor de este índice digital en niños con trastorno específico del lenguaje (TEL) frente a sujetos con desarrollo típico del lenguaje, estableciendo en qué medida correlacionan los valores del índice biológico con la conducta (lingüística, cognitiva, social...) de dichos sujetos. Sujetos y métodos: Se comparó el índice D2:D4, el lenguaje, la cognición y la conducta social en un grupo de niños con TEL (n = 15) con un grupo de niños sin dificultades del lenguaje (n = 16) de la misma la misma edad (entre 5-8 años), sexo (masculino) y nivel sociocultural. RESULTADOS: Los niños con TEL mostraron valores significativamente más altos en el índice D2:D4 de la mano derecha, y una correlación negativa entre el índice D2:D4 de la mano derecha y la competencia lingüística. Aunque los niños con TEL mostraron peores habilidades adaptativas y conductas internalizantes, aunque no mayor agresividad, estas medidas no se correlacionaron con el índice D2:D4, y sí con los valores de lenguaje y de cognición. CONCLUSIONES: Un valor más alto del índice biológico D2:D4 (menor exposición intrauterina a la testosterona) parece estar asociado con las dificultades del lenguaje de los niños con TEL, pero no con sus dificultades conductuales. Las dificultades conductuales de estos niños parecen ser consecuencia de sus dificultades lingüísticas y de su nivel de cognición

INTRODUCTION: The finding of biological markers of specific language impairment would facilitate their detection and early intervention. In this sense, the 2 D:4 D finger ratio is considered an indirect indicator of prenatal exposure to testosterone. Previous studies have related it to linguistic competence and aggressive behaviour, and could be a candidate for a biological marker of language impairment. The aim was to compare the value of the 2 D:4 D ratio in children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) with those of children with typical language development, as well as to establish to what extent this biological index correlates with the behaviour (linguistic, cognitive, social,...) in both groups. Subjects and methods: 2 D:4 D ratio, language, cognition and social behaviour were compared in a group of children with SLI (n = 15), with a group of children without language difficulties (n = 16) of the same age (between 5-8 years), gender (male), and socio-cultural level. RESULTS: Children with SLI showed significantly higher values of 2 D:4 D ratio of the right hand, and a negative correlation between this ratio and their linguistic competence. Although the children with SLI showed impaired adaptive abilities, but not more aggressive behaviour, these measurements did not correlate with the 2 D:4 D index. Nevertheless, social behaviour correlated with language and cognition competence. CONCLUSIONS: A higher value of the biological 2 D:4 D ration (lower intrauterine exposure to testosterone) seems to be associated with language difficulties in boys with SLI, but not with their behavioural difficulties. Their behavioural difficulties seem to be a consequence of their linguistic difficulties and their level of cognition