scholarly journals The Native Speaker in Italian-Dialects Bilingualism: Insights From the Acquisition of Vicentino by Preschool Children

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuela Sanfelici ◽  
Maja Roch
Keyword(s):  
Preschool Children ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
Standard Language ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Local Dialect ◽  
Italian Dialects

This paper investigates the bilingualism originating from the native competence of a standard language (Italian) and a vernacular non-standardized local dialect (henceforth, bilectalism). We report results on the comprehension and production of narrative stories by 44 3- to 5-year-old typically developing children exposed to both Italian and Vicentino from birth. Our findings show that all children produced and comprehended Italian. As for the dialect, children can comprehend Vicentino, despite not producing any dialectal element. The study further revealed an implicational scale in dialectal competence: if a child exhibits some productions with dialectal syntax, s/he also produces dialects at the phonological, morphological, and lexical levels. These findings are in line with the dialectological studies on adult speakers: dialectal competence should be arranged along a fine-grained continuum and the dialectal speaker should be considered as a multi-factorial notion. Our study extends this observation to children’s dialectal acquisition.

A Coding System for Describing Conversational Breakdowns in Preschool Children

2000 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 300-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristine M. Yont ◽  
Lynne E. Hewitt ◽  
Adele W. Miccio
Keyword(s):  
Preschool Children ◽  
Interobserver Reliability ◽  
Clinical Analysis ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Coding System ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Communication Ability ◽  
Data Source ◽  
Rich Data

Analysis of children’s breakdowns offers a rich data source, potentially revealing patterns of weakness in children’s communication ability. The purpose of the present study was to present a fine-grained instrument, the Breakdown Coding System (BCS; Yont, 1998), for measuring conversational breakdowns in preschoolers. The BCS was applied to language samples collected from five typically developing children (ages 3;11–4;2 years) during naturalistic interactions with familiar caregivers. Results indicated that the BCS was a useful tool for describing children’s breakdowns. Further support for the BCS was seen in the high interobserver reliability for identifying (kappa = .8834) and describing (kappa = .9170) breakdowns and in its usefulness for profiling individual patterns of breakdown types across children. This study is an important first step in developing a valid and useful measure for clinical analysis of breakdowns in young children’s conversational samples.

Verbal Regulation of Grip Force in Preschoolers

2009 ◽  
Vol 108 (2) ◽  
pp. 540-548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koichi Haishi ◽  
Ayumi Komatsu ◽  
Hideyuki Okuzumi ◽  
Mitsuru Kokubun ◽  
Yoshio Kitajima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Preschool Children ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Grip Force ◽  
Developmental Process ◽  
Healthy Adults ◽  
Developmental Changes ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
Preschool Period ◽  
Semantic Aspect

The purpose of this study was to clarify the developmental processes in verbal regulation by preschool children. Participants were 152 typically developing children (74 boys, 78 girls) between 4 and 6 years of age ( M = 5.3, SD =.8), and 30 healthy adults (15 men, 15 women) between 19 and 26 years of age ( M = 20.8, SD = 1.4). In Exp. 1, the task was to regulate grip force based on quantitative instruction which implies using a scale for regulation. Participants were required to produce a half-grip force of the maximum (Task 1). In Exp. 2, the task was grip-force regulation based on nonquantitative instruction. The participants were asked to respond with a slightly weaker grip force than the maximum (Task 2) and then a further weaker grip force (Task 3) than that used on Task 2. The regulation rates produced the extent of regulation and suggest regulation by quantitative instruction may develop earlier than by nonquantitative instruction. Also, precise grip-force regulation based on the semantic aspect of instruction may be difficult for young children. The developmental changes in the rate of performance especially observed in children of 4 to 6 years indicate that the tendency to use too much grip force disappears during this preschool period. In addition, too little grip force in regulation may reflect the developmental process toward fine grasping movements.

scholarly journals JOINT ATTENTION AND THE MENTAL MODEL OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN WITH ATYPICAL DEVELOPMENT

2020 ◽  
pp. 96-123
Author(s):  
Yana K. Smirnova
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Preschool Children ◽  
Joint Attention ◽  
Mental Model ◽  
Social Characteristics ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Speech Impairment ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
Primary Defect ◽  
Atypical Development

Relevance. The article discusses the relationship between the development of joint (shared) attention of a child with an adult, and the social and cognitive development of the child. Based on previous studies of typically developing children that demonstrate their participation and responsiveness to fundamental social characteristics, it is significant to identify manifestations of atypical joint attention when a child does not register which object (event) or which aspects of this object (event) are the focus of an interlocutor’s attention. The question of which aspects of joint attention are related to the normative development of the child makes this relevant for comparing groups with different forms of atypical development. For the study, the main indicator of understanding the intentions of the other in the direction of view was used, as one of the aspects of joint attention. Objective. To compare the development of social cognition and joint attention among typically developing children and children with various forms of atypical development in order to identify the correlation between the theory of mind and cognitive lesion. Methods. In a sample of preschool children with typical development and of those with mental retardation, hearing impairment, speech impairment, or visual impairment (N = 90), the following methods were used to evaluate the children’s understanding of the intentions, desires, and interests of others by their behavioral manifestations: “Test for Erroneous Opinion”, “Sally-Ann”; the “What does Charlie want?” task, and others. The task was also used to assess the child’s ability to use the direction of a character’s gaze in a picture to determine the person’s intentions. Results. We identified the “primary psychological” characteristics of the atypical development of the child, which prioritize violations of social communication. Several variations of the violation of joint attention were singled out by determining a person’s intentions by the direction of their gaze. It was shown that determining intentions by the direction of gaze is associated with the normative age formation of the child. Symptoms of deficiency in this skill vary depending on the specifics of the child’s atypical development. Conclusions. Secondary deviations in the development of social cognition are specific to a particular primary defect. The limited inflow of information in the event of a violation of the analyzer creates unusual conditions in the children’s accumulation of the experience of social interaction that is necessary to form a mental model.

Fast mapping by bilingual preschool children

2008 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 495-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
PUI FONG KAN ◽  
KATHRYN KOHNERT
Keyword(s):  
Preschool Children ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Home Language ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Fast Mapping ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
Word Forms ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
L2 Vocabulary ◽  
L1 And L2

ABSTRACTPrevious studies show that young monolingual children's ability to ‘fast map’ new word forms is closely associated with both their age and existing vocabulary knowledge. In this study we investigate potential relationships between age, fast mapping skills and existing vocabulary knowledge in both languages of developing bilingual preschool children. Participants were twenty-six typically developing children, ages 3 ; 0 to 5 ; 3. All children learned Hmong as their primary home language (L1) and English as a second language (L2). Fast mapping and vocabulary knowledge tasks were administered in L1 and L2. For vocabulary knowledge, scores were comparable in L1 and L2; for fast mapping, scores were somewhat greater in L1 than L2. In contrast to previous findings with monolingual children, fast mapping performance was not related to age or existing vocabulary knowledge in either Hmong or English. There were, however, significant positive and negative cross-language correlations between L1 fast mapping and L2 vocabulary.

Exploratory behaviour and adaptation to novelty in preschool children with autism – a preliminary report

2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafał Kawa ◽  
Ewa Pisula
Keyword(s):  
Preschool Children ◽  
Preliminary Report ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Study Groups ◽  
Exploratory Activity ◽  
Complex Object ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
Experimental Room ◽  
Similarities And Differences

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to compare exploratory behaviours in children with autism and typically developing preschool children and the course of their adaptation to novelty. A series of five repeated trials was conducted, during which children were allowed to freely explore the experimental room. The results revealed differences between study groups in the overall rate of exploratory activity, which was lower in children with autism. Patterns of time characteristics of exploratory activity showed both similarities and differences between the groups. In both groups, the rate of simple exploratory behaviours (i.e. looking at an object, touching the object, manipulating one object) decreased with time, while the levels of diversive exploration (i.e. touching the wall or floor) increased. Children with autism engaged in less complex object manipulation than their peers. Similarly, their adaptation and habituation to a novel environment proceeded in a different way in the low stimulation zone than in the high stimulation zone. In the low and medium stimulation zones, the rate of exploration decreased with time, while in the high stimulation zone it remained relatively constant. In typically developing children, habituation occurred in all stimulation zones. These results suggest the presence of some differences between the patterns of adaptation to novelty in the two groups, which emerge in a stimulation-rich environment. Due to the limitations of the study, in particular the small number of subjects, the present paper should be treated as a preliminary report.

scholarly journals Executive Functions and Developmental Profiles in Preschool Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haris Memisevic ◽  
Arnela Pasalic
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Preschool Children ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Developmental Profiles ◽  
Developmental Domains

Abstract Executive functions (EF) play a crucial role in overall human functioning. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often have EF deficits. The goal of this study was to examine EF and developmental domains in preschool children with ASD. The sample for this study comprised 32 children (27 boys, mean age 65.3 months, SD- 4.0 months) with ASD. The control group consisted of 32 typically developing children (16 boys, mean age 64.3 months, SD- 5.1 months). EF were assessed with Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function and developmental domains were assessed with the Developmental Assessment of Young Children. The results of this study indicated that children with ASD do not have uneven EF and developmental profiles, although the EF and developmental domains scores were more heterogeneous than in typically developing children. Children with ASD had substantially lower EF and developmental scores than typically developing children. Implications of these results are discussed.

Age Norms for Auditory-Perceptual Neurophonetic Parameters: A Prerequisite for the Assessment of Childhood Dysarthria

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 1071-1082
Author(s):  
Theresa Schölderle ◽  
Elisabet Haas ◽  
Wolfram Ziegler
Keyword(s):  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Voice Quality ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
Age Norms ◽  
Elementary School Age ◽  
Speech Characteristics ◽  
Substantial Progress ◽  
Computer Based

Purpose The aim of this study was to collect auditory-perceptual data on established symptom categories of dysarthria from typically developing children between 3 and 9 years of age, for the purpose of creating age norms for dysarthria assessment. Method One hundred forty-four typically developing children (3;0–9;11 [years;months], 72 girls and 72 boys) participated. We used a computer-based game specifically designed for this study to elicit sentence repetitions and spontaneous speech samples. Speech recordings were analyzed using the auditory-perceptual criteria of the Bogenhausen Dysarthria Scales, a standardized German assessment tool for dysarthria in adults. The Bogenhausen Dysarthria Scales (scales and features) cover clinically relevant dimensions of speech and allow for an evaluation of well-established symptom categories of dysarthria. Results The typically developing children exhibited a number of speech characteristics overlapping with established symptom categories of dysarthria (e.g., breathy voice, frequent inspirations, reduced articulatory precision, decreased articulation rate). Substantial progress was observed between 3 and 9 years of age, but with different developmental trajectories across different dimensions. In several areas (e.g., respiration, voice quality), 9-year-olds still presented with salient developmental speech characteristics, while in other dimensions (e.g., prosodic modulation), features typically associated with dysarthria occurred only exceptionally, even in the 3-year-olds. Conclusions The acquisition of speech motor functions is a prolonged process not yet completed with 9 years. Various developmental influences (e.g., anatomic–physiological changes) shape children's speech specifically. Our findings are a first step toward establishing auditory-perceptual norms for dysarthria in children of kindergarten and elementary school age. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12133380

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