Dynamic Assessment Language Tasks and the Prediction of Performance on Year-End Language Skills in Preschool Dual Language Learners.

Purpose Early identification is a key element for accessing appropriate services for preschool children with language impairment. However, there is a high risk of misidentifying typically developing dual language learners as having language impairment if inappropriate tools designed for monolingual children are used. In this study of children with bilingual exposure, we explored performance on brief dynamic assessment (DA) language tasks using graduated prompting because this approach has potential applications for screening. We asked if children's performance on DA language tasks earlier in the year was related to their performance on a year-end language achievement measure. Method Twenty 4-year-old children from Spanish-speaking homes attending Head Start preschools in the southwestern United States completed three DA graduated prompting language tasks 3-6 months prior to the Head Start preschools' year-end achievement testing. The DA tasks, Novel Adjective Learning, Similarities in Function, and Prediction, were administered in Spanish, but correct responses in English or Spanish were accepted. The year-end achievement measure, the Learning Accomplishment Profile-Third Edition (LAP3), was administered by the children's Head Start teachers, who also credited correct responses in either language. Results Children's performance on two of the three DA language tasks was significantly and positively related to year-end LAP3 language scores, and there was a moderate and significant relationship for one of the DA tasks, even when controlling for age and initial LAP3 scores. Conclusions Although the relationship of performance on DA with year-end performance varies across tasks, the findings indicate potential for using a graduated prompting approach to language screening with young dual language learners. Further research is needed to select the best tasks for administration in a graduated prompting framework and determine accuracy of identification of language impairment.

Response to dynamic language tasks among typically developing Latino preschool children with bilingual experience.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether typically developing preschool children with bilingual experience show evidence of learning within brief dynamic assessment language tasks administered in a graduated prompting framework. Dynamic assessment has shown promise for accurate identification of language impairment in bilingual children, and a graduated prompting approach may be well-suited to screening for language impairment. METHOD: Three dynamic language tasks with graduated prompting were presented to 32 typically developing 4-year-olds in the language to which the child had the most exposure (16 Spanish, 16 English). The tasks were a novel word learning task, a semantic task, and a phonological awareness task. RESULTS: Children's performance was significantly higher on the last 2 items compared with the first 2 items for the semantic and the novel word learning tasks among children who required a prompt on the 1st item. There was no significant difference between the 1st and last items on the phonological awareness task. CONCLUSIONS: Within-task improvements in children's performance for some tasks administered within a brief, graduated prompting framework were observed. Thus, children's responses to graduated prompting may be an indicator of modifiability, depending on the task type and level of difficulty.

Febrile seizures.

Febrile seizures are the most common form of childhood seizures, affecting 2% to 5% of children. They are considered benign and self-limiting; however, a febrile seizure is a terrifying event for most parents, and is one of the most common causes of trips to the emergency room. A febrile seizure is "an event in infancy or childhood, usually occurring between 3 months and 5 years of age, associated with fever but without evidence of intracranial infection or defined cause." This definition excludes seizures with fever in children who have had a prior afebrile seizure. In 2011, The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published a clinical practice guideline defining a febrile seizure as "a seizure accompanied by fever (temperature ≥ 100.4°F or 38°C by any method), without central nervous system infection, that occurs in infants and children 6 through 60 months of age." Febrile seizures are further classified as simple or complex. This article reviews the evaluation, management, and prognosis of simple and complex seizures, including febrile status epilepticus.