Lexical skills and gesture use: A comparison between expressive and receptive/expressive late talkers.

BACKGROUND: Studies on late talkers (LTs) highlighted their heterogeneity and the relevance of describing different communicative profiles. AIMS: To examine lexical skills and gesture use in expressive (E-LTs) vs. receptive-expressive (R/E-LTs) LTs through a structured task. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Forty-six 30-month-old screened LTs were distinguished into E-LTs (n= 35) and R/E-LTs (n= 11) according to their receptive skills. Lexical skills and gesture use were assessed with a Picture Naming Game by coding answer accuracy (correct, incorrect, no response), modality of expression (spoken, spoken-gestural, gestural), type of gestures (deictic, representational), and spoken-gestural answers' semantic relationship (complementary, equivalent, supplementary). OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: R/E-LTs showed lower scores than E-LTs for noun and predicate comprehension with fewer correct answers, and production with fewer correct and incorrect answers, and more no responses. R/E-LTs also exhibited lower scores in spoken answers, representational gestures, and equivalent spoken-gestural answers for noun production and in all spoken and gestural answers for predicate production. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Findings highlighted more impaired receptive and expressive lexical skills and lower gesture use in R/E-LTs compared to E-LTs, underlying the relevance of assessing both lexical and gestural skills through a structured task, besides parental questionnaires and developmental scales, to describe LTs' communicative profiles.

Investigating Facilitators and Barriers for Active Breaks among Secondary School Students: Formative Evaluation of Teachers and Students.

Physical activity in the form of "active breaks" can be combined with academic instruction in primary school. However, few studies have examined the feasibility of conducting active breaks in secondary school. To address this gap, we conducted focus groups (FGs) regarding the implementation of an active breaks (ABs) protocol with 20 teachers and 10 secondary school students. Barriers/facilitators toward the implementation of ABs were classified using grounded theory inductive methods framed by the socio-ecological model. Individual-level factors were instrumental for both teachers and students. Teachers highlighted personal fears and concerns regarding using ABs, while students reported fears related to peer behaviour during the activity. Both teachers and students agreed that ABs can improve cognitive skills and time-on-task behaviour. Teachers articulated concerns related to student behaviour during ABs including possible social exclusion and injury. Students felt that ABs might affect classroom management and interfere with maintaining students' academic focus. Teachers underscored that ABs required social support from the administration and colleagues. Students felt that ABs could support teachers' instructional focus and provide them with an energy respite. Collectively, the FGs suggested that environmental limitations could hinder the implementation of ABs. Involving teacher and student feedback during the codesign phase can rationally inform the design of school-based ABs.

Retrasos lingüísticos y cognitivos en niños prematuros extremos a los 2 años: ¿retrasos generales o específicos? / Linguistic and cognitive delays in very preterm infants at 2 years: general or specific delays?

Este estudio determinó si los niños prematuros extremos sin lesión cerebral manifiesta mostraban unas habilidades lingüísticas menores y una tasa de riesgo mayor a los 2 años en comparación con los niños nacidos a término y los valores normativos. También pretendía identificar si el riesgo de retraso léxico estaba asociado con la ausencia de combinación de palabras y deficiencia cognitiva y qué factores de riesgo biológicos y sociales se asociaban a ellos. Se examinó a 150 niños prematuros y 44 niños nacidos a término, sin lesión cerebral manifiesta; se proporcionó a sus padres el formulario italiano del MB-CDI a fin de evaluar la producción léxica y gramatical. Se evaluó el desarrollo cognitivo de los prematuros mediante las escalas de Griffiths. Los niños prematuros mostraron unas habilidades menores en el léxico (producción de palabras, aparición de producción descontextualizada) y la gramática (uso de morfología ligada a verbos) y una mayor tasa de riesgo de retraso léxico y/o ausencia de combinación de palabras que los niños nacidos a término. Concretamente, el 18 % de los niños prematuros mostraron un retraso generalizado en las competencias lingüísticas y cognitivas; el 16 %, un retraso específico en el lenguaje, y el 4 %, una deficiencia cognitiva específica. Resultaron ser factores de predicción significativos la displasia broncopulmonar y el sexo masculino para el riesgo de retraso léxico, el sexo masculino para la ausencia de combinación de palabras y la displasia broncopulmonar para la deficiencia cognitiva. Los niños prematuros extremos muestran un factor de riesgo mayor para el retraso lingüístico a los 2 años, lo que señala que en algunos niños esta parece ser la expresión de una deficiencia cognitiva general, mientras que en otros, es específica para el lenguaje. Los factores de riesgo asociados con el nacimiento pretérmino deberían tenerse también en cuenta para una identificación precoz del riesgo de retraso lingüístico y cognitivo (AU)

This study determined whether very preterm infants, without frank cerebral damage, exhibited lower linguistic abilities and a higher rate of risk at 2 years as compared to full-term infants and normative values. It also aimed to identify whether risk of lexical delay was associated with absence of word combination and cognitive impairment and which biological and social risk factors were associated with them. One hundred fifty preterms and 44 full terms, without frank cerebral damage, were examined by administering to their parents the Italian form of the MB-CDI in order to assess lexical and grammar production. Preterms' cognitive development was evaluated through the Griffiths Scales. Preterms exhibited lower abilities in lexicon (word production, emergence of decontextualized production) and grammar (use of bounded morphology in verbs) and a higher rate of risk for lexical delay and/or absence of word combination than full terms. In detail, 18 % of preterms showed generalized delay in linguistic and cognitive competencies, 16 % a specific delay in language, and 4 % a specific cognitive impairment. Significant predictors were broncho-pulmonary dysplasia and male gender for risk of lexical delay, male gender for absence of word combination, and broncho-pulmonary dysplasia for cognitive impairment. Very preterm infants exhibit a higher risk for linguistic delay at 2 years, suggesting that in some infants this appears the expression of a general cognitive impairment, while in others it is specific for language. Risk factors associated to preterm birth should also be considered for an early identification of risk for linguistic and cognitive delay (AU)