Responding to Joint Attention and Language Development

2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 715-719 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine E. F. Delgado ◽  
Peter Mundy ◽  
Mary Crowson ◽  
Jessica Markus ◽  
Marygrace Yale ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Field ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Joint Attention ◽  
Developmental Delays ◽  
Target Location ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Attention Regulation ◽  
Developmental Progression ◽  
Unique Predictor

This study examined the importance of target location (within vs. outside the visual field) on the relation between responding to joint attention and subsequent language development in 47 normally developing infants. The results supported a developmental progression in the infants' ability to locate targets from within to outside the visual field. In addition, individual differences in 15-month-old infants' ability to correctly locate targets outside the visual field was a unique predictor of expressive language at 24 months. Infants' ability to locate targets outside the visual field may demonstrate increasing capacities for attention regulation, representational thinking, and social cognition that may facilitate language learning. The implications of this study are discussed with regard to the usefulness of measures of responding to joint attention for identifying early language and developmental delays.

scholarly journals A Pilot Quantitative Evaluation of Early Life Language Development in Fragile X Syndrome

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debra Reisinger ◽  
Rebecca Shaffer ◽  
Ernest Pedapati ◽  
Kelli Dominick ◽  
Craig Erickson
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Fragile X Syndrome ◽  
Fragile X ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Infants And Toddlers ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Early Language Development ◽  
Automated Vocal Analysis ◽  
Analysis System

Language delay and communication deficits are a core characteristic of the fragile X syndrome (FXS) phenotype. To date, the literature examining early language development in FXS is limited potentially due to barriers in language assessment in very young children. The present study is one of the first to examine early language development through vocal production and the language learning environment in infants and toddlers with FXS utilizing an automated vocal analysis system. Child vocalizations, conversational turns, and adult word counts in the home environment were collected and analyzed in a group of nine infants and toddlers with FXS and compared to a typically developing (TD) normative sample. Results suggest infants and toddlers with FXS are exhibiting deficits in their early language skills when compared to their chronological expectations. Despite this, when accounting for overall developmental level, their early language skills appear to be on track. Additionally, FXS caregivers utilize less vocalizations around infants and toddlers with FXS; however, additional research is needed to understand the true gap between FXS caregivers and TD caregivers. These findings provide preliminary information about the early language learning environment and support for the feasibility of utilizing an automated vocal analysis system within the FXS population that could ease data collection and further our understanding of the emergence of language development.

scholarly journals How arbitrary is language?

2014 ◽  
Vol 369 (1651) ◽  
pp. 20130299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Padraic Monaghan ◽  
Richard C. Shillcock ◽  
Morten H. Christiansen ◽  
Simon Kirby
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Vocabulary Development ◽  
Corpus Analysis ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Early Language Development ◽  
The Relationship

It is a long established convention that the relationship between sounds and meanings of words is essentially arbitrary—typically the sound of a word gives no hint of its meaning. However, there are numerous reported instances of systematic sound–meaning mappings in language, and this systematicity has been claimed to be important for early language development. In a large-scale corpus analysis of English, we show that sound–meaning mappings are more systematic than would be expected by chance. Furthermore, this systematicity is more pronounced for words involved in the early stages of language acquisition and reduces in later vocabulary development. We propose that the vocabulary is structured to enable systematicity in early language learning to promote language acquisition, while also incorporating arbitrariness for later language in order to facilitate communicative expressivity and efficiency.

scholarly journals Initiation and response of joint attention bids in autism spectrum disorder children depend on the visibility of the target

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 239694152095097
Author(s):  
Federica Cilia ◽  
Claire Touchet ◽  
Luc Vandromme ◽  
Barbara Le Driant
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Visual Field ◽  
Joint Attention ◽  
Communication Disorders ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Field Of Vision ◽  
Developmental Progression ◽  
Response To Joint Attention

Background and aims Response to joint attention (RJA) and initiation of joint attention (IJA) are impaired in pre-schoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Children’s response to joint attention may depend on the presence of the target in the child's field of vision or on the type of deictic index (head and eye orientation, pointing and verbalisations) used by the adult to initiate joint attention. Methods This study deals with 50 ASD children aged from 2 years 8 months to 11 years 7 months, with a communicative level comparable to children under 31 months of age, according to the French version of the Early Social Communication Scales (ECSP, by its French acronym). We compared the aforementioned ASD children with 50 typically developing (TD) children, aged 9 to 30 months who had no communication disorders according to the ECSP. During the ECSP test, we analysed joint attention behaviours on three posters present or absent from the children's visual field. Results We did not observe any difference in the number of IJAs between groups, but ASD children were less responsive than TD children were. Our results showed a developmental progression in the responses of children with ASD if several deictic cues were used by an adult simultaneously (looking and pointing, or looking and verbalising to indicate a target), whether the referent was present or absent from the child’s visual field. In addition, we observed developmental progression when the referent was behind the child and the adult only used their gaze to refer to it. Conclusion Thus, we argue that the type of cues used affects ASD children’s response behaviours during joint attention towards a referent that may be present or absent from their visual field. Implications: Regarding the social and the sensory difficulties of children with ASD, many therapeutic approaches focus their intervention methods on non-verbal communication skills and joint attention. This fundamental research makes it possible to identify the most appropriate type of deictic index for children with ASD with developmental delay, depending on the presence or absence of the referent in the child's visual field.

Modeling Social Learning of Language and Skills

2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 289-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Vogt ◽  
Evert Haasdijk
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Social Learning ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Joint Attention ◽  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Mutual Exclusivity ◽  
Rule Based ◽  
The Social

We present a model of social learning of both language and skills, while assuming—insofar as possible—strict autonomy, virtual embodiment, and situatedness. This model is built by integrating various previous models of language development and social learning, and it is this integration that, under the mentioned assumptions, provides novel challenges. The aim of the article is to investigate what sociocognitive mechanisms agents should have in order to be able to transmit language from one generation to the next so that it can be used as a medium to transmit internalized rules that represent skill knowledge. We have performed experiments where this knowledge solves the familiar poisonous-food problem. Simulations reveal under what conditions, regarding population structure, agents can successfully solve this problem. In addition to issues relating to perspective taking and mutual exclusivity, we show that agents need to coordinate interactions so that they can establish joint attention in order to form a scaffold for language learning, which in turn forms a scaffold for the learning of rule-based skills. Based on these findings, we conclude by hypothesizing that social learning at one level forms a scaffold for the social learning at another, higher level, thus contributing to the accumulation of cultural knowledge.

scholarly journals Toward a model of multiple paths to language learning: Response to commentaries

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 1351-1362
Author(s):  
LARA J. PIERCE ◽  
FRED GENESEE ◽  
AUDREY DELCENSERIE ◽  
GARY MORGAN
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Developmental Process ◽  
Sensitive Period ◽  
Language Outcomes ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Phonological Representations ◽  
Multiple Paths ◽  
Early Effects

Language learning, while seemingly effortless for young learners, is a complex process involving many interacting pieces, both within the child and in their language-learning environments, which can result in unique language learning trajectories and outcomes. How does the brain adjust to or accommodate the myriad variations that occur during this developmental process. How does it adapt and change over time? In our review, we proposed that the timing, quantity, and quality of children's early language experiences, particularly during an early sensitive period for the acquisition of phonology, shape the establishment of neural phonological representations that are used to establish and support phonological working memory (PWM). The efficiency of the PWM system in turn, we argued, influences the acquisition and processing of more complex aspects of language. In brief, we proposed that experience modulates later language outcomes through its early effects on PWM. We supported this claim by reviewing research from several unique groups of language learners who experience delayed exposure to language (children with cochlear implants [CI] or internationally adopted [IA] children, and children with either impoverished [signing deaf children with hearing parents)] or enriched [bilingual] early language experiences). By comparing PWM and language outcomes in these groups, we sought to highlight general patterns in language development that emerge based on variation in early language exposure. Moving forward, we also proposed that the language acquisition patterns in these groups, and others, can be used to understand how variability in early language input might affect the neural systems supporting language development and how this might affect language learning itself.

Co-Speech Gesture Input as a Support for Language Learning in Children With and Without Early Language Delay

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Capone Singleton ◽  
Jessica Saks
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Language Delay ◽  
Language Therapy ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Early Language Delay ◽  
Language Environment ◽  
Gesture Input

The current paper provides empirical support for adults using co-speech gesturing with children with and without early language delay. The discussion starts broad by showing that co-speech gestures are already in the child's language environment. We then show that encouraging co-speech gesturing by adults promotes language development and use in children. The discussion is then narrowed to the review of the finer aspects of word learning which sets the stage for how iconic gestures can be utilized in language therapy. Finally, we show that pairing iconic gestures with word models promotes word learning.

Does the Talkable programme improve caregiver knowledge and confidence in assisting their child’s language learning? A pilot study

2021 ◽  
pp. 183693912097906
Author(s):  
Karen Nitsche ◽  
Suze Leitão ◽  
Richard Parsons
Keyword(s):  
Primary Prevention ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Mobile Application ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Preliminary Evaluation ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Early Language Development ◽  
Prevention Programmes

This paper reports a preliminary evaluation of the [Talkable] 10-week language learning programme. This training programme aims to help caregivers provide a rich language learning environment in a child’s first 3 years of life through the provision of evidence-based information and practical strategies to promote language development delivered primarily via mobile application. Participants in the study completed pre- and post-programme surveys on a range of questions relating to their knowledge and confidence in assisting their child’s language learning. Results indicated significant improvements in participant’s self-reported levels of knowledge about early language development and ways to assist their child’s language learning, while level of concern about their child’s language development remained fairly constant. These findings provide preliminary support for the use of [Talkable] in primary prevention, and direction for future development of the programme. Findings also add to the currently limited evidence-base for providing early language primary prevention programmes via mobile application.

Vocal Communications of a Developmentally Delayed Child

1987 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-130
Author(s):  
Mary Ann Romski ◽  
Sharon Ellis Joyner ◽  
Rose A. Sevcik
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Developmental Delays ◽  
Developmentally Delayed ◽  
Language Impaired ◽  
Diary Data ◽  
Word Acquisition ◽  
Diary Studies ◽  
Usage Patterns ◽  
Vocal Communications ◽  
Impaired Children

Studies of first-word acquisition in typical language-learning children frequently take the form of diary studies. Comparable diary data from language-impaired children with developmental delays, however, are not currently available. This report describes the spontaneous vocalizations of a child with a developmental delay for 14 months, from the time he was age 6:5 to age 7:7. From a corpus of 285 utterances, 47 phonetic forms were identified and categorized. Analysis focused on semantic, communicative, and phonological usage patterns.

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