Linguistic and metalinguistic characteristics of Persian-speaking children with autistic spectrum disorders: A systematic review.

Studies of ASD children have mainly focused on pragmatics, but research showed they have problems in other language dimensions. The present systematic review aims to analyze the literature related to linguistic and metalinguistic studies to determine linguistic characteristics and their correlation with reading and writing. After reviewing 43 articles founded, the studies were divided into four main categories: descriptive, comparative, linguistic, and finally nonlinguistic interventional studies. 42% of studies are descriptive, 14% were comparative, and 5% were about the effect of linguistic and metalinguistic training on reading and writing. Studies on the effect of other training on linguistic and metalinguistic skills were about 39% of the studies. They have deficiencies in different linguistic and metalinguistic skills, especially grammar. There were no studies investigating the relationship between linguistic and metalinguistic abilities. The relationship between language and reading skills has been neglected and only one study has examined the correlation between phonological awareness and reading skills. Thus, there is a serious gap in metalinguistic studies. However, it is necessary to study these relationships due to the change in the reading education system from a phonological to a lexical path in schools. The effect of nonlinguistic interventions has been studied more than linguistic ones.

Meta-Representational Skills in Bullying Roles: The Influence of Definitional Competence and Empathy.

This study investigated the influence of meta-representational aspects on bullying. Meta-representation was operationalized in terms of the metalinguistic skill to produce conventional definitions, reflecting culturally shared representations and of the meta-level capacity to represent others' mental states underlying empathic disposition. One hundred and seventeen children, aged between 8;5 and 10;11 years, completed a definitional task and self-report questionnaires on bullying roles and empathic disposition. Descriptive, correlational, and regression analyses were performed. Results confirmed that hostile roles are negatively related to definitional competence and to empathic disposition. Lack of definitional competence was the main predictor (accounting for about 16% of variance), followed by empathy (explaining a further 6% of variance) of Primary School children's disposition to assume aggressive behaviors. These findings suggest that a lack of general meta-representational abilities may hinder the development of abstract and other-centered perspective taking, and compromise (compromising) social adjustment. This implies the need to work, particularly in school, on enhancing meta-representational and metalinguistic skills, such as the ability to recognize mental states and verbally make explicit cultural-semantic word meaning representations.

Parâmetros psicométricos da prova de consciência morfológica derivacional / Psychometric parameters of derivational morphological awareness / Parámetros psicométricos de las pruebas de conciencia morfológica derivacional

A aprendizagem da escrita requer múltiplas habilidades linguístico-cognitivas, entre elas a consciência fonológica e a morfológica. Dada a escassez de instrumentos para avaliar as habilidades morfológicas, o estudo objetivou elaborar e analisar os parâmetros psicométricos de uma prova de consciência morfológica derivacional. Participaram 111 estudantes do 4.º ano do Ensino Fundamental, respondendo provas de consciência morfológica, consciência fonológica e vocabulário. Para a prova de consciência morfológica, foram encontrados índices de fidedignidade adequados em relação à consistência interna (coeficientes alfa de 0,79) e à estabilidade temporal (correlações teste-reteste de 0,81). A evidência de validade foi verificada com bases em variáveis externas, uma vez que foram encontradas correlações moderadas e significativas da prova de consciência morfológica com provas de consciência fonológica e vocabulário. Sugerem-se novos estudos, com participantes diversificados, incluindo comparações com outras variáveis potencialmente relevantes, o que fornecerá outras evidências de validade e precisão da prova de consciência morfológica apresentada. (AU)

Learning how to write requires multiple linguistic-cognitive skills, including phonological and morphological awareness. Given the lack of instruments to assess morphological skills, the aim of this study was to develop and analyze the psychometric parameters of a derivational morphological awareness test. Participants included a total of 111 students attending the 4th grade of elementary school, taking tests of morphological and phonological awareness and vocabulary. Adequate internal consistency reliability coefficients (alpha coefficient equal to 0.79) and temporal stability (test-retest correlation equal to 0.81) were found for the Morphological Awareness test. There is evidence of validity based on external variables, since moderate and significant correlations were found for measures of morphological and phonological awareness and vocabulary. New studies addressing diverse participants, including comparisons with other potentially relevant variables, are suggested to obtain validity and accuracy of the morphological awareness tests presented. (AU)

El aprendizaje de la escritura requiere múltiples habilidades linguísticas-cognitivas, entre ellas la conciencia fonológica y morfológica. Dada la escasez de instrumentos para evaluar las habilidades morfológicas, este estudio trató de elaborar y analizar los parámetros psicométricos de una prueba de conciencia morfológica derivacional. Participaron 111 estudiantes de 4º año de Enseñanza Primaria, respondiendo pruebas de conciencia morfológica, conciencia fonológica y vocabulario. En la prueba de conciencia morfológica se encontraron índices fidedignos adecuados con relación a la consistencia interna (coeficientes Alfa de 0,79) y estabilidad temporal (correlaciones test - retest de 0,81). La evidencia de validez fue verificada con base en variables externas, una vez que fueron encontradas correlaciones moderadas y significativas de la prueba de conciencia morfológica con pruebas de conciencia fonológica y vocabulario. Se recomiendan nuevos estudios, con participantes diversificados, incluyendo comparaciones con otras variables potencialmente relevantes, lo cual proporcionará nuevas evidencias de validez y precisión de la prueba de conciencia morfológica presentada. (AU)

Advantage in Character Recognition Among Chinese Preschool Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This study examined Chinese character recognition and its cognitive and linguistic correlates in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Forty-seven children with ASD and 51 IQ-matched typically developing (TD) children were tested on Chinese character recognition, rapid automatized naming, inhibitory control, digit span, IQ, vocabulary, phonological awareness, morphological awareness, and listening comprehension. Chinese children with ASD showed strong character recognition skills. Unlike TD children's character recognition, which was correlated with all the measured cognitive and linguistic skills, character recognition of children with ASD was only significantly correlated with rapid automatized naming, inhibitory control, and phonological awareness. Our findings suggest that phonological awareness and rapid automatized naming may serve as important predictors for possible advantage in emergent literacy acquisition in Chinese children with ASD.

Habilidades metalinguísticas e funções executivas em crianças com dificuldades de aprendizagem: uma metanálise / Metalinguistic skills and executive functions in children with learning difficulties: a meta-analysis

Diante da problemática relacionada às dificuldades de aprendizagem, a literatura aponta para duas competências de fundamental importância, as funções executivas e as habilidades metalinguísticas. Desse modo, a partir de uma revisão sistemática da literatura com metanálise, objetivamos identificar quais destas competências se sobressaem no contexto das dificuldades de aprendizagem. Sendo assim, foi realizada uma busca por estudos nas bases de dados PEPSIC, SCIELO, CAPES e BVS-PSI entre os anos de 2003 a 2015. A busca resultou na identificação de 146 estudos, tendo sido incluídas, na análise, 24 pesquisas nacionais publicadas em português que abordavam as habilidades metalinguísticas e as funções executivas em crianças com dificuldades de aprendizagem. Empreenderam-se análises estatísticas descritivas e correlacionais a partir do Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Os resultados revelaram que falhas nas funções executivas e habilidades metalinguísticas resultam em dificuldades no processo de aprendizagem de crianças e que dentro da temática habilidades metalinguísticas um componente se sobressai em relação à aprendizagem, sendo este a consciência fonológica. Na literatura não existe um consenso teórico acerca de qual elemento da tríade das funções executivas se sobressai, no entanto, partindo dessa revisão sistemática, o controle inibitório se destacou em relação às outras habilidades executivas. Conclui-se que, utilizando metanálise dos estudos, alcança-se um maior aprofundamento e objetividade acerca da temática.

Regarding the problem related to learning difficulties, there are two elements of fundamental importance to be studied and evaluated, the Executive Functions and the Metalinguistic Skills. Thus, from a systematic review of the literature with meta-analysis, we aimed to identify which metalinguistic abilities and executive functions stand out in the context of learning difficulties. A search for studies in the databases PEPSIC, SCIELO, CAPES and BVS-PSI between the years 2003 and 2015 was carried out. The search resulted in the identification of 146 studies, and has been included in the analysis 24 studies published in Brazil, using the Portuguese language, which dealt with metalinguistic abilities and Executive functions in children with learning difficulties. Descriptive and correlational statistical analyzes were performed from the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results revealed that failures in executive functions and metalinguistic skills result in difficulties in the children's learning process, and that within the theme metalinguistic skills a component stands in relation to learning, which is phonological awareness. In the literature there is no theoretical consensus as to which element of the triad of executive functions excels, however, from this systematic review, the inhibitory control excelled in relation to other executive abilities. It is concluded that using meta-analysis in this type of studies, one can reach a greater depth and objectivity in many subjects.

Habilidades Iniciais de Alfabetização em Português: Pesquisa Transcultural em Portugal e no Brasil / Early Literacy Skills in Portuguese: a Crosscultural Research in Portugal and Brazil / Habilidades de Alfabetización Temprana en Portugués: Investigación Multicultural en Portugal y Brasil

O principal objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os efeitos de um programa de treino de escrita inventada na aprendizagem de habilidades iniciais de alfabetização em crianças pré-escolares falantes de língua portuguesa. Participaram 79 crianças de educação infantil em Portugal e no Brasil. Constituíram-se quatro grupos (um grupo experimental e um grupo controle em cada país) equivalentes no conhecimento do alfabeto, inteligência não verbal e consciência fonológica (silábica e fonêmica). Foi realizado um pré/pós-teste de escrita e leitura. No período intermédio, os grupos experimentais participaram de atividades de escrita inventada e os grupos controle na leitura de livros infantis. No pós-teste, os resultados dos grupos experimentais foram superiores aos dos grupos controle nas tarefas de escrita e leitura. Além disso, os resultados foram equivalentes nos dois países, o que sugere que as atividades de escrita inventada promovem habilidades de alfabetização de pré-escolares falantes de duas variantes do português: europeu e brasileiro.(AU)

The main goal of this study was to assess the effects of an invented spelling training programme in the early stages of literacy of preschool Portuguese-speaking children. It encompassed 79 children from Portugal and Brazil. There were four equivalente groups (one experimental group and one control group in each country) and various control measures: knowledge of the alphabet, non-verbal intelligence and phonological awareness (syllabic and phonemic). A reading and spelling pre/post-test was carried out. During the intermediate period the experimental groups participated in invented spelling activities, and the control groups read children's books. The results of the post-test have shown that the experimental groups reached higher levels in both reading and spelling as compared to the control groups. This evolution pattern was found in both countries, thus suggesting that invented spelling activities promote early literacy skills of preschool children speaking two Portuguese variants: European and Brazilian.(AU)

El principal objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar los efectos de un programa de entrenamiento de escritura inventada, en el aprendizaje de habilidades iniciales de alfabetización, en niños preescolares que hablan lengua portuguesa. Participaron 79 niños de educación infantil en Portugal y Brasil. Se constituyeron cuatro grupos (un grupo experimental y un grupo control en cada país) equivalentes en conocimiento de alfabeto, inteligencia no verbal y conciencia fonológica (silábica y fonémica). Fue realizado un pre/post-test de escritura y lectura. En el período intermedio, los grupos experimentales participaron en actividades de escritura inventada y los grupos de control en la lectura de libros infantiles. En el post-test, los grupos experimentales tuvieron resultados superiores a los grupos de control, en lo que se refiere a tareas de escritura y lectura. Además, los resultados fueron equivalentes en los dos países, lo que sugiere que las actividades de escritura inventada promueven habilidades de alfabetizació de preescolares que hablan las dos variantes de portugués: europeo y brasileño.(AU)

Habilidades linguísticas: a relação entre a consciência fonológica e a escrita / Language skills: the relationship between phonological awareness and writing / Habilidades lingüísticas: relación entre conciencia fonológica y escritura

O presente estudo objetivou, principalmente, investigar a associação entre a consciência fonológica e a escrita em escolares do ensino fundamental e, adicionalmente, comparar os níveis de consciência fonológica entre os anos escolares, o sexo e regiões de proveniência dos alunos. Participaram 317 crianças, com idades entre sete e 12 anos, matriculadas no 3º, 4º e 5º anos de escolas em diferentes regiões do Brasil, que responderam ao Roteiro de Avaliação da Consciência Fonológica (RACF) e à Escala de Avaliação da Escrita (EAVE). Os dados mostraram a existência de correlação positiva e significativa entre ambas, assim como revelaram a existência de diferenças, tanto entre os anos escolares como entre as regiões. Os resultados são congruentes com os de outros estudos na área e apontam para a importância de que novas investigações sobre o tema sejam realizadas, visando à consolidação do conhecimento sobre o papel das habilidades linguísticas. (AU)

This study objective investigate the association between phonological awareness and writing in primary students and additionally compare the phonological awareness levels among school years and regions of origin of the participants. Participated 317 children, aged between 7 and 12 years, enrolled in the 3rd, 4th and 5th years of schools from different regions of Brazil, who responded to Roadmap of Phonological Consciousness Evaluation (RACF) and Writing Assessment Scale (EAVE). The data showed the existence of positive and significant correlation between both of, and revealed the existence of differences among school years and between regions. The results are congruent with those of other studies in the area and point out the importance of further research into the subject, to consolidate the knowledge about the role of language skills. (AU)

El principal objetivo de este estudio fue investigar la relación entre la conciencia fonológica y la escritura de alumnos de primaria y, además, comparar los niveles de conciencia fonológica entre los años escolares y regiones de origen de los participantes. Participaron 317 niños, de entre 7 y 12 años, matriculados en el tercero, cuarto y quinto años de escuelas en diferentes regiones de Brasil, que respondieron al Guion de Evaluación de la Conciencia Fonológica (RACF) y la Escala de Evaluación de la Escrita (EAVE). Los datos mostraron la existencia de una correlación positiva y significativa entre ambos y revelaron la existencia de diferencias entre los años escolares y entre las regiones. Los resultados son congruentes con los de otros estudios en el área y señalan la importancia de que nuevas investigaciones sobre el tema se realicen para consolidar el conocimiento sobre el papel de las habilidades lingüísticas. (AU)

Subtipos neuropsicológicos en dos grupos de niños mexicanos: con trastorno específico del aprendizaje o con buen desempeño académico / Neuropsychological subtypes in two groups of mexican children: with specific learning disability or good academic performance

En el presente trabajo se compararon dos grupos de niños mexicanos en edades comprendidas entre los 8 a 10 años, el primer grupo con trastorno específico en el aprendizaje (TEA), tanto en la precisión de la lectura como en el cálculo, y el otro con buen desempeño académico (BDA), por medio de Escala Wechsler de Inteligencia para Niños, en su cuarta versión (WISC-IV) y la batería de Evaluación Neuropsicológica Infantil (ENI), (subpruebas de Habilidades Académicas, Memoria, Atención y Habilidades Metalingüísticas), ambos instrumentos normados en población mexicana. Se encontraron diferencias significativas (p≤ 0.05) entre los niños BDA y TEA, mediante la U de Mann Whitney, en todas las subpruebas evaluadas a excepción del Índice Velocidad de Procesamiento (WISC), Conteo, Codificación/Evocación y Atención Auditiva, además de Atención visual (ENI). Mediante el Análisis de Componentes Principales se identificaron 5 subgrupos: 2 en los niños con BDA y 3 en los TEA. Las diferencias significativas (p≤ 0.05)entre las variables cognitivas y académicas fueron determinadas mediante la prueba de Kruskal-Wallis. Fue posible observar que los subgrupos TEA obtuvieron puntajes más bajos que los subgrupos BDA tanto en habilidades académicas como en otras variables cognitivas,siendo el Índice de Memoria de Trabajo en la escala Wechsler y las Habilidades Metalingüísticas de la ENI las que mejor diferenciaron a los subgrupos TEA de los BDA.Conclusión: La aplicación de instrumentos normados en la población bajo estudio resulta de gran utilidad para identificar subtipos neuropsicológicos tantoen niños con BDA como con TEA.

In this work two groups of Mexican children aged between 8 to 10 years old were compared, the first group with specific learningdisorder (SLD),in both reading accuracy as in the calculation, and the other compared to good performance academic (GPA) by Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, in its fourth version (WISC-IV) and battery Child Neuropsychological Assessment (ENI), (subtests Academic Skills, Memory, Attention and Metalinguistic Skills), both instruments normed in Mexican population. Significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) were found among SLD and GPA children, by Mann Whitney U Test, they were found in all subtests evaluated except Processing Speed Rate (WISC), Counting, Coding / Evocation and Auditory Attention, also Visual Attention (ENI). By the Principal Component Analysis were identified five subgroups: 2 children with GPA and 3 in the SLD. Significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) between cognitive and academic variables were determined by the Kruskal-Wallis Test. It was possible to observe that the TEA subgroups scored lower than the BDA subgroups in academic abilities as well as in other cognitive variables, with the Working Memory Index on the Wechsler scale as the subtests that evaluate the ENI Metalinguistic Skills the variables that give the best discrimination between the TEA and the BDA subgroups.Conclusion: The application of normed instruments in the population under study is useful to identify neuropsychological subtypes in children with GPA as SLD.

Caracterización del proceso lecto-escrito y su relación con el desempeño escolar en estudiantes de Bogotá / Reading and writing characterization and its relation with the academic performance in students from Bogotá

Un número de investigaciones han estudiado la relación entre la lecto-escritura y el desempeño de los estudiantes. Este artículo describe las características del proceso lecto-escrito y analiza la correlación entre este proceso y el desempeño escolar. En este estudio la muestra fue de 327 estudiantes de los grados quinto y sexto quienes fueron evaluados a través de diferentes tareas. En este estudio descriptivo se aplicaron pruebas de comprensión de lectura y de producción de textos. El análisis de la información mostró un desempeño más alto en los estudiantes de grado sexto en comprensión de lectura y en las conciencias fonológica, morfológica y sintáctica. El análisis identificó una correlación entre el desempeño en matemáticas y las habilidades psicolin-güísticas, además una correlación entre el desempeño en ciencias sociales y habilidades metalin-güísticas, ciencias naturales y habilidades metalingüísticas y artes y habilidades metacognitivas. Los hallazgos brindan luces sobre la importancia de la lecto-escritura en el desempeño escolar y como las diferentes habilidades facilitan el desarrollo de la lecto-escritura. En este sentido, es importante plantear nuevas investigaciones centradas en la promoción de habilidades metalin-güísticas, metacognitivas y psicolingüísticas para el desempeño escolar de los estudiantes.

A number of researches have studied the relationship between reading and writing skills and the students school performance. This paper describes the characteristics of reading and writing skills and analyzes the correlation between this process and the academic performance. For this study a total of 327 students from fifth and sixth grade were evaluated through different tasks. In this descriptive study the sample was assessed through reading comprehension and writing production tests. Data analyses showed higher performances in sixth grade students in reading comprehension, and in phonological, morphological and syntactic awareness. The analysis iden-tified correlation between Mathematics performance and Psycholinguistic skills; as well as be-tween Social Science performance and metalinguistic skills, Natural Science performance and metalinguistic skills and Arts performance and metacognitive skills. The findings highlight the importance of reading and writing skills for student's academic performance and how the diffe-rent skills facilitate literacy's development. In this sense, it is important to plan new researches focused on promoting metalinguistic, metacognitive and psycholinguistic skills in the student's academic performance

Linguagem oral na escola de educação infantil: desenvolvendo habilidades metanlinguísticas / Oral language in preschool: metalinguístical skills development

O presente trabalho visa oferecer subsídios para um debate sobre as habilidades metalingüísticas trabalhadas pelas professoras da classe imediatamente anterior à 1ª série do Ensino Fundamental e como essas habilidades metalingüísticas podem favorecer a automatização da linguagem padrão, facilitando a alfabetização. Para tanto foram entrevistadas três professoras, utilizando um questionário semi-estruturado, e observadas as atividades realizadas na sala de aula. Observou-se que as atividades metalingüísticas foram pouco trabalhadas.(AU)

This paper is to offer subsidies for a debate on metalinguistic skills worked by the teachers of the grade immediately previous to the lst year of basic school and how these skills can help the automatization of the standard language, making easier the process of learning how to read and write. Following these guidelines, three teachers were interviewed through open questionnaires and observed during their activities in the classroom. The authors observed that the metalinguistic resources were poorly used.(AU)

Linguagem oral na escola de educação infantil: desenvolvendo habilidades metanlinguísticas / Oral language in preschool: metalinguístical skills development

O presente trabalho visa oferecer subsídios para um debate sobre as habilidades metalingüísticas trabalhadas pelas professoras da classe imediatamente anterior à 1ª série do Ensino Fundamental e como essas habilidades metalingüísticas podem favorecer a automatização da linguagem padrão, facilitando a alfabetização. Para tanto foram entrevistadas três professoras, utilizando um questionário semi-estruturado, e observadas as atividades realizadas na sala de aula. Observou-se que as atividades metalingüísticas foram pouco trabalhadas.

This paper is to offer subsidies for a debate on metalinguistic skills worked by the teachers of the grade immediately previous to the lst year of basic school and how these skills can help the automatization of the standard language, making easier the process of learning how to read and write. Following these guidelines, three teachers were interviewed through open questionnaires and observed during their activities in the classroom. The authors observed that the metalinguistic resources were poorly used.