Language difficulties: Assessment and action

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (2) ◽  
pp. 20-21
Author(s):  
Nicky Parrott
Keyword(s):  
Language Skills ◽  
Language Difficulties

Given the importance of language skills, the assessment of difficulties early on is vital. SENCO Nicky Parrott discusses her schools' approach to spotting problems and some of their interventions to improve outcomes

Dynamic Assessment of Learners of a Spoken Language

2021 ◽  
pp. 87-99
Author(s):  
Natalie Hasson
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Dynamic Assessment ◽  
First Language ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Test Taker ◽  
Learning Potential ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Assessment Of Learning ◽  
Language Difficulties

Dynamic assessment (DA), or the assessment of learning potential, is becoming recognized as an alternative method that has wide application within the assessment of language. In moving away from comparison to normative data, the assessment enables a wider range of children to be assessed, including all of those for whom the norms do not apply, such as children with autistic spectrum conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), hearing loss, and bi- or multilingual children. In addition to differentiating language difficulties due to lack of experience with the target language from developmental language disorders (DLD), the DA procedure contributes a considerable amount of qualitative information about the learning skills of the test-taker. This chapter reviews the multiple models and methods of DA and the work that has been done to develop tools to assess language skills in first language learners.

scholarly journals Stage 2 Registered Report: There is no appreciable relationship between strength of hand preference and language ability in 6- to 7-year-old children

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
Verena E. Pritchard ◽  
Stephanie A. Malone ◽  
Kelly Burgoyne ◽  
Michelle Heron-Delaney ◽  
Dorothy V.M. Bishop ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Skills ◽  
Morphological Awareness ◽  
Hand Preference ◽  
Language Ability ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Motor Tasks ◽  
Standardized Measures ◽  
Left Handed ◽  
Language Difficulties ◽  
Stage 1

Background: Weak or inconsistent hand preference has been postulated to be a risk factor for developmental language delay. Following on from our Registered Stage 1 report this study assessed the extent to which variations in language skills are associated with the strength of hand preference. Methods: Data are drawn from a large sample (N = 569) of 6- to 7-year-old children unselected for ability, assessed at two time points, 6 months apart. Hand preference was assessed using the Quantitative Hand Preference (QHP) task and five uni-manual motor tasks. Language skills (expressive and receptive vocabulary, receptive grammar, and morphological awareness) were assessed with standardized measures. Results: We found QHP scores did not distinguish children with weaker language skills from those with stronger language skills and the correlation between QHP scores and language ability was negligible in this study. Hand preference on the QHP task was significantly stronger among right-handed than left-handed children and left-handed children were typically inconsistent in the hand used across different tasks.  Conclusions: The findings presented here fail to provide any support for the theory that weak cerebral lateralisation (as assessed here by the QHP task) places children at risk of language difficulties. Stage 1 report: https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15077.1

scholarly journals Speech and Language Characteristics in Kabuki Syndrome

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Parul Malik ◽  
Anuradha Sharma ◽  
Sachin Sakhuja ◽  
Sanjay Munjal ◽  
Naresh Panda
Keyword(s):  
Language Production ◽  
Motor Coordination ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Receptive Language ◽  
Kabuki Syndrome ◽  
Oral Motor ◽  
Normal Limits ◽  
Language Difficulties ◽  
Language Characteristics

The aim of this study was to delineate the language difficulties in Kabuki Syndrome. At presentation, the child with Kabuki Syndrome had waddling gait, dolicocephaly, and frontal bossing. On administering an Indian standardized test (Linguistic Profile Test), different aspects of spontaneous language production were analysed. Receptive language skills were within normal limits, but expressive language skills showed deficits in semantic and syntactic areas. Articulation errors appeared mainly due to poor oral-motor coordination and hypotonia. A dull flat pattern of speech was characteristic to the child.

Preschool Speech Intelligibility and 8-Year Literacy: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (10) ◽  
pp. 3380-3391
Author(s):  
Fufen Jin ◽  
Synnve Schjølberg ◽  
Patricia Eadie ◽  
Ragnhild Bang Nes ◽  
Espen Røysamb
Keyword(s):  
Family History ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Maternal Education ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Reading Difficulties ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Child Gender ◽  
Language Difficulties ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The aims of this study were (a) to examine the relationship between speech intelligibility at the age of 5 years and literacy skills at the age of 8 years, (b) to explore the possible mediating or moderating role of broader language skills at 5 years in the relationship of interest, and (c) to assess whether the potential risk factors (child gender; maternal education levels; and family history of speech, language, reading, and writing difficulties) influence the relationship between speech intelligibility and literacy in terms of moderated mediation effects. Method We used mother-reported questionnaire data on 16,184 children participating in the population-based, prospective Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study as well as conducted linear regression analyses using the PROCESS macro in SPSS. In addition, logistic regression was conducted to make predictions about risk. Results The association between speech intelligibility at 5 years and literacy skills at 8 years was statistically significant (β = .168, p < .001). Children with speech problems at 5 years had a risk ratio of 2.38 (95% CI [2.10, 2.70]) and an odds ratio of 2.74 (95% CI [2.35, 3.19]), as compared to children without such problems. Broader language skills at 5 years partially mediated the relationship between speech intelligibility at 5 years and literacy at 8 years, and the effect of language skills appeared to be moderated by child gender, a family history of language difficulties, a family history of reading difficulties, and maternal education. Conclusions Severity of speech problems indexed by parent-reported speech intelligibility in preschool predicted school-age literacy problems. Broader language skills are a crucial mediating mechanism through which these problems are linked, and the mediated relationship is amplified by female gender, low maternal education, family history of language difficulties, and family history of reading difficulties. The findings call for increased use of a multiple-risk model when planning early interventions in children with unclear speech.

scholarly journals A Prosodically Controlled Word and Nonword Repetition Task for 2- to 4-Year-Olds

2004 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 223-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penny Roy ◽  
Shula Chiat
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Change ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Nonword Repetition ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Prosodic Structure ◽  
School Age ◽  
Very Young Children ◽  
Language Difficulties ◽  
Repetition Task

An association has been found between nonword repetition and language skills in school-age children with both typical and atypical language development (C. Dollaghan & T. F. Campbell, 1998; S. Ellis Weismer et al., 2000; S. E. Gathercole & A. D. Baddeley, 1990; J. W. Montgomery, 2002). This raises the possibility that younger children's repetition performance may be predictive of later language deficits. In order to investigate this possibility, it is important to establish that elicited repetition with very young children is both feasible and informative. To this end, a repetition task was designed and carried out with 66 children between 2 and 4 years of age. The task consisted of 18 words and 18 matched nonwords that were systematically manipulated for length and prosodic structure. In addition, an assessment of receptive vocabulary was administered. The repetition task elicited high levels of response. Total scores as well as word and nonword scores were sensitive to age. Lexical status and item length affected performance regardless of age: Words were repeated more accurately than nonwords, and 1-syllable items were repeated more accurately than 2-syllable items, which were in turn repeated more accurately than 3-syllable items. The effect of prosodic structure was also significant. Whole syllable errors were almost exclusive to unstressed syllables, with those preceding stress being most vulnerable. Performance on the repetition task was significantly correlated with performance on the receptive vocabulary test. This repetition task effectively elicited responses from most of the 2- to 4-year-old participants, tapped developmental change in their repetition skills, and revealed patterns in their performance; and thus it has the potential to identify deficits in very early repetition skills that may be indicative of wider language difficulties.

scholarly journals Stage 1 Registered Report: The relationship between handedness and language ability in children

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Verena E. Pritchard ◽  
Stephanie A. Malone ◽  
Kelly Burgoyne ◽  
Michelle Heron-Delaney ◽  
Dorothy V.M. Bishop ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factor ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Hand Preference ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Motor Tasks ◽  
Standardized Measures ◽  
Language Difficulties ◽  
Preference Task ◽  
Stage 1 ◽  
The Relationship

Weak or inconsistent hand preference may be a risk factor for developmental language delay.  This study will test the extent to which variations in language skills are associated with the strength of hand preference. Data are drawn from a large sample (n = 569) of 6- to 7-year-old children unselected for ability, assessed at two time points, 6 months apart. Hand preference is assessed using the Quantitative Hand Preference task (QHP) and five uni-manual motor tasks. Language skills (expressive and receptive vocabulary, receptive grammar, and morphological awareness) are assessed with standardized measures. If weak cerebral lateralisation (as assessed by the QHP task) is a risk factor for language difficulties, it should be possible to detect such effects in the large representative sample of children examined here.

The Relationship between Language Skills and Outcomes of the PATHS Curriculum

2008 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 62-77
Author(s):  
Luisa Rossi ◽  
Janet Fletcher ◽  
Robin Harvey
Keyword(s):  
Social Skills ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Language Ability ◽  
Significant Trend ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Language Difficulties ◽  
Language Measures ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractPrevious research has established a relationship between children's language development and their behaviour. The aim of the present study was to determine whether children's language ability influenced the degree to which their behaviour changed following participation in the PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies) curriculum. Participants were 86 pre-primary children who attended two mainstream schools in regional Western Australia. Analyses of pre- and post-intervention behaviour and language measures found PATHS to be effective for improving the behaviour and social skills of children with language difficulties. Changes in children with better language skills showed a positive but non-significant trend. Although a relationship was found between children's general language skills and their behaviour at pre-intervention, changes observed in behaviour were not accompanied by changes in language skills at post-intervention.

scholarly journals Phenomenology of Rhythm: The Role of Rhythm in Written Language

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Casper Feilberg ◽  
John Maul
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Language ◽  
Developmental Psychology ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Secondary School Student ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Language Difficulties ◽  
Holistic Interpretation

Based on existential-phenomenological perspectives from Merleau-Ponty and Løgstrup, we examine the significance of rhythm for written language skills. Rhythm is both omnipresent and a difficult phenomenon to explore. Methodologically, the article presents phenomenological descriptions and exemplifications, not least a case study of a secondary school student with written language difficulties. Our intention is to illuminate connections between rhythmic perspectives in movement, speech, working memory and language as prerequisites for the acquisition of written language skills. We conclude that rhythm is an essential aspect of our bodily being, and based on the work of Merleau-Ponty, we are able to bring to light relationships between body, rhythm, and written language skills in ways that would not be possible from a natural scientific point of view. Inspired by Merleau-Ponty's analytical approach and the hermeneutic phenomenology of Ricoeur, we will combine an understanding perspective with both human scientific and natural scientific explanations, into a holistic interpretation. The article thus draws empirically on qualitative descriptions of rhythmic phenomena, and theoretically on perspectives from philosophy of language, developmental psychology and neuropsychology, but they are all interpreted in the light of existential-phenomenological ontology.

scholarly journals Associations Between Language Difficulties, Peer Victimization, and Bully Perpetration From 3 Through 8 Years of Age: Results From a Population-Based Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Elise Øksendal ◽  
Ragnhild Eek Brandlistuen ◽  
Dieter Wolke ◽  
Siri Saugestad Helland ◽  
Arne Holte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Peer Victimization ◽  
Latent Variables ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
School Age ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Language Difficulties ◽  
Study Participants

Background and Purpose Schoolchildren with language difficulties experience more peer victimization compared to their typically developing (TD) peers. Whether these children also bully their peers (bully perpetration) more than TD children is unclear. Furthermore, little is known about peer victimization and bully perpetration among preschool children with language difficulties and how it may be related to different paths of language difficulties. This study aimed to investigate associations between language difficulties, peer victimization, and bully perpetration from preschool to school age as well as the risk of peer victimization and bully perpetration for children with different developmental paths of language difficulties and mild language difficulties compared to TD children. Method The sample was drawn from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study. Participants with completed questionnaires at 3, 5, and 8 years of age ( n = 22,628) were included. Paths between latent variables of language skills at 3, 5, and 8 years of age, peer victimization at 5 and 8 years of age, and bully perpetration at 8 years of age were examined with structural equation modeling. Logistic regression was used to investigate peer victimization and bully perpetration for predefined paths of language difficulties. Results Poor language skills at 3 and 5 years of age were associated with peer victimization at 5 years of age. Poor language skills at 5 and 8 years of age were associated with peer victimization and bully perpetration at 8 years of age. The association between poor language skills at 5 years of age and bully perpetration at 8 years of age was stronger for girls. Persistent paths of language difficulties at 3, 5, and 8 years of age showed the highest risk of peer victimization and bully perpetration. Conclusions Language difficulties are associated with peer victimization and bully perpetration. The risk of peer victimization and bully perpetration differs according to different developmental paths of language difficulties from preschool to school age.

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