Assessment of reading precursors in Spanish-speaking children

This study’s purpose was to analyse basic reading processes in different age groups of Spanish-speaking children using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and regression analysis. Two hundred forty-five children (aged 4 years and 9 months, to 9 years and 7 months; 120 boys, 125 girls), native Spanish-speakers, were selected from schools in Madrid. All participants were in either their last year of preschool or the first three years of elementary school, depending on their age. Nine classic reading tasks were created and administered to measure three reading skills: word recognition, phonological awareness, and reading comprehension. The results of the CFA show that data fit to proposed model with a general reading factor based on these three reading skills χ2(27) = 29.03, p = .36, RMSEA = .02, 90% CIs [.0, .05], CFI = 1.0. The word recognition skills were the best at describing reading performance in preschool children (R2 = .51 for word identification task); phonological awareness, especially rhyme identification task, discriminated well until second grade (R2 = .60); and finally, reading comprehension, basically phrase completion task, were the best measure of reading performance in third grade (R2 = .45) (AU)

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Lexical and phonological processing in visual word recognition by stuttering children: evidence from Spanish

A number of studies have pointed out that stuttering-like disfluencies could be the result of failures in central and linguistic processing. The goal of the present paper is to analyze if stuttering implies deficits in the lexical and phonological processing in visual word recognition. This study compares the performance of 28 children with and without stuttering in a standard lexical decision task in a transparent orthography: Spanish. Word frequency and syllable frequency were manipulated in the experimental words. Stutterers were found to be considerably slower (in their correct responses) and produced more errors than the non- stutterers (χ(1) = 36.63, p < .001, η2 = .60). There was also a facilitation effect of syllable frequency, restricted to low frequency words and only in the stutterers group (t1(10) = 3.67, p < .005; t2(36) = 3.10, p < .001). These outcomes appear to suggest that the decoding process of stutterers exhibits a deficit in the interface between the phonological-syllabic level and the word level (AU)

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Auditory implicit semantic priming in Spanish-speaking children with and without specific language impairment

We analyzed whether Spanish-speaking children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) showed deficits in lexical-semantic processing/organization, and whether these lexical measures correlated with standardized measures of language abilities. Fourteen children with Typical Language Development (TLD) and 16 age-matched children with SLI (8;0-9;11 years) participated. In a Lexical Decision (LD) task with implicit semantic priming, children judged whether a given speech pair contained two words (semantically related/unrelated) or a word-pseudoword. Children received a comprehensive language and reading test battery. Children with TLD exhibited significant semantic priming; they were faster for semantically related word pairs than for unrelated (p < .001) and than for word-pseudoword pairs (p < .0002). The group with SLI did not exhibit significant semantic priming, despite showing more variability. Children with SLI made significantly slower LDs [F(1, 26) = 4.61, p < .05, partial η2 = .15] and more errors [F(1, 26) = 4.16, p < .05, partial η2 = .13] than children with TLD. Mean response time across all LD conditions and the receptive vocabulary (PPVT-III) were significantly negativity correlated for children with SLI (r = -.71, p = .004). Children with SLI, especially those with the poorest language scores, showed a semantic-lexical deficit and a weakness in lexical-semantic association networks. Their performance on the LD task was significantly slower and poorer than for children with TLD. Increasing a child’s vocabulary may benefit lexical access (AU)

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Development patterns of executive functions in children

Executive Functions (EF) exercise control over an individual’s conduct and thinking through a set of functionally independent processes, among which are cognitive flexibility (reactive and spontaneous), working memory and planning. The development patterns of these components appear to have stages of acceleration and deceleration during childhood. Studies analyzing their development in Spanish-speaking children were not found in our area. Therefore, this study will analyze the development patterns of the cited executive functions with the objective of establishing relationships and comparisons, and identifying the stages of acceleration and stagnation for each component. The study’s sample consists of 274 schoolchildren between the ages of 6 and 8 (119 in first grade, 61 in second grade and 94 in third grade). Participants were evaluated using the following instruments from the Neuropsychological Assessment of Children test battery (known by the acronym ENI in Spanish): Verbal Fluency (semantic and phonemic); Cognitive Flexibility; Mexican Pyramid; and Backward Digit Span. Three different development patterns were detected, as well as different interactions between the executive components. Additionally, three empirical types were established based on the patterns and relationships between components (AU)

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Processing of spanish preterite regular and irregular verbs: the role of neighborhood density

Research into lexical processes shows that frequency and phonological similarity (neighborhood density) affect word processing and retrieval. Previous studies on inflectional morphology have examined the influence of frequency of occurrence in speech production on the inflectional verb paradigm in English. Limited work has been done to examine the influence of phonological similarity in languages with a more complex morphological system than English. The present study examined the influence of neighborhood density on the processing of Spanish Preterite regular and irregular verbs as produced by thirty native speakers of Spanish. The results of a naming task showed that regular verbs were processed faster and more accurately than irregular ones. Similar to what has been observed in English, a facilitative effect of neighborhood density for -ir verbs was observed in both regular and irregular verbs, such that -ir verbs with dense neighborhoods were produced faster and more accurately than -ir verbs with sparse neighborhoods. However, no neighborhood density effects were observed for -ar verbs (regular and irregular) in reaction times and accuracy rates. Thus, the activation of a specific -ir verb was facilitated by similar sounding verbs regardless of being regular and irregular. Implications for models of morphology language processing are discussed (AU)

De acuerdo a investigación llevada a cabo en torno a procesos léxicos, la frecuencia y la similitud fonológica (vecindario de densidad) afectan al acceso y procesamiento de palabras. Estudios previos sobre morfología flexiva han examinado la influencia de la frecuencia de aparición en actos de producción de habla en el paradigma verbal flexivo del inglés. No existen muchos estudios que examinen la influencia de la similitud fonológica en lenguas con un sistema morfológico más complejo que el que presenta el inglés. En este estudio se ha examinado la influencia de la densidad de vecindario en el procesamiento de verbos regulares e irregulares del español en formas de pretérito por parte de treinta nativo hablantes del español. Los resultados en una tarea de naming mostraron que los verbos regulares se procesaron más rápida y correctamente que los irregulares. Al igual que se ha observado en el inglés, se ha encontrado un efecto facilitador de densidad de vecindario en el caso de los verbos -ir, tanto en sus formas regulares como irregulares, de tal forma que los verbos -ir pertenecientes a un vecindario denso se produjeron más rápida y correctamente que los verbos- ir en vecindarios ermitaños. No obstante, no se han observado efectos de vecindario léxico en los verbos -ar (regulares e irregulares) en cuanto a tiempos de reacción e indices de precisión. Así pues, verbos similares en pronunciación facilitaron la activación de un verbo -ir específico independientemente si el verbo era regular o irregular. Se plantean implicaciones en los modelos de procesamiento morfológico (AU)

A nonverbal phoneme deletion task administered in a dynamic assessment format.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the project was to design a nonverbal dynamic assessment of phoneme deletion that may prove useful with individuals who demonstrate complex communication needs (CCN) and are unable to communicate using natural speech or who present with moderate-severe speech impairments. METHOD: A nonverbal dynamic assessment of phoneme deletion with a systematic prompting and scoring system was developed and compared to the same measure administered using a traditional "static" format. Both versions were administered to 64 typically developing children ranging in age from 6 to 8;5. The dynamic phoneme deletion task was designed so that no verbal response was required. Children were asked to point to pictures representing each stimulus item. The same stimulus items were administered to children in a traditional static format, without the use of pictures. For example, in the dynamic assessment task, children were asked to point to 1 of 4 pictures (e.g., ice) to indicate their response when asked to delete "m" from "mice." In the static format, children were asked to "say" the real word left over after deleting "m" from "mice." Correlations between phoneme deletion tasks and word-level reading tasks were calculated. RESULTS: Internal reliability for the nonverbal dynamic phoneme deletion task was α=.88 for the total sample. Correlations between the dynamic and static formats were high (r=.84) as were correlations between the deletion tasks and the measure of word-level reading (dynamic; r=.54, static; r=.53). CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary findings suggest that the nonverbal dynamic phoneme deletion task holds promise for use with children for whom speech output is compromised. Implications for use with children who use AAC or who have significant speech impairments and recommendations for future research are discussed. LEARNING OUTCOMES: Readers will learn about a nonverbal dynamic assessment of phoneme deletion that may prove useful for measuring phoneme awareness for children who are unable to communicate using natural speech or who present with moderate-severe speech impairments. Readers will learn about the importance of accurate measurement of phoneme awareness for children with complex communication needs. Readers will also learn about how to develop and utilize reliable and valid measures of phoneme awareness for this population of children with communication impairments.

Neuropsychological profile of pre-schoolers with metaphonological difficulties: results from a non-clinical sample.

BACKGROUND: The level of language development reached in pre-school age is considered the most reliable predictor of reading acquisition. In normally developing children, learning to read is strongly related to early language skills, and in particular to phonological processing abilities. In dyslexic children, reading abilities seem to show a correlation with phonological awareness. METHODS: A group of 65 children (aged 5-6 years) were recruited and submitted to an in-depth neuropsychological assessment [i.e. metaphonological skills, intelligence, verbal short-term memory (VSTM) and other aspects of receptive and expressive language]. We were able to identify 14 children with significant metaphonological difficulties (MD): 11 children with exclusively MD, and the other three children with specific language impairment. This study compares the neuropsychological profile obtained from children with MD with that of a peer group without any language impairment (N). RESULTS: The performances of the MD were within the normal ability range in almost all the administered tests but significantly lower compared with those of their peers without language impairment (N) in some items of the intelligence scale (Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence) and in the tests of VSTM and of receptive/expressive language. Nevertheless, there were not statistically significant differences between MD and N in output phonology. CONCLUSIONS: In pre-school age, in a group of non-clinical children, with a range of abilities, those with MD appear to be at the lower end of the normal range in many other verbal skills. These children could be considered at-risk for possible subsequent difficulties learning to read and thus need to be identified and to warrant prompt treatment.

Phonological therapy within a psycholinguistic framework: promoting change in a child with persisting speech difficulties.

BACKGROUND: Single case studies are a valuable means of providing information about the outcomes of speech and language intervention. Many previous studies have used phonological analysis as a theoretical basis, while others have used psycholinguistic models. The present study combines these approaches to assessment, intervention and evaluation of outcomes. AIMS: The aim of the research was to determine if intensive psycholinguistically based intervention could result in (a) specific and (b) generalized improvements in the speech production of a child with severe and persisting phonological difficulties. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: A single subject research design was used with pre- and post-intervention assessment carried out. Assessment took place at two levels: the macro level focused on global change in the child's speech processing system using psycholinguistic speech profiling and phonological analyses; the micro assessment focused on specific, treated (and matched control) stimuli. There were three phases of intervention with a total of 30 hours of therapy. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Micro evaluation showed significant changes in Katy's single word and connected speech production--as well as in other areas such as spelling and auditory discrimination of closely related real word pairs. Macro evaluation revealed significant improvement in speech severity indices (PCC, PPC), and gains in her ability to discriminate between closely related real word pairs. These changes were maintained at follow-up seven months after intervention had ceased. CONCLUSIONS: Specific and intensive intervention brought about significant improvements in this child's speech, spelling and auditory discrimination at the micro level, and in speech and auditory discrimination at a macro level. The macro level assessments reveal persisting core deficits requiring further focused intervention before changes can be observed more widely. When carefully defined and evaluated, speech and language intervention can have positive outcomes for children with severe and persisting speech difficulties.