Acoustic-Lexical Characteristics of Child-Directed Speech Between 7 and 24 Months and Their Impact on Toddlers' Phonological Processing.

Speech-language input from adult caregivers is a strong predictor of children's developmental outcomes. But the properties of this child-directed speech are not static over the first months or years of a child's life. This study assesses a large cohort of children and caregivers ( = 84) at 7, 10, 18, and 24 months to document (1) how a battery of phonetic, phonological, and lexical characteristics of child-directed speech changes in the first 2 years of life and (2) how input at these different stages predicts toddlers' phonological processing and vocabulary size at 2 years.

Early Phonological Predictors of Toddler Language Outcomes.

Purpose: Several studies have explored relationships between children's early phonological development and later language performance. This literature has included a more recent focus on the potential for early phonological profiles to predict later language outcomes.

Methods: The present study longitudinally examined the nature of phonetic inventories and syllable structure patterns of 48 typically developing children at 7, 11, and 18 months, and related them to expressive language outcomes at 2 years of age.

Heart and ____ or Give and ____? An Exploration of Variables That Influence Binomial Completion for Individuals With and Without Aphasia.

Purpose: The goal of this research was to institute an evidence base behind commonly used elicitation materials known as binomials (e.g., "day and night") that are commonly used for persons with aphasia (PWAs).

Error Consistency in Acquired Apraxia of Speech With Aphasia: Effects of the Analysis Unit.

Purpose: Diagnostic recommendations for acquired apraxia of speech (AOS) have been contradictory concerning whether speech sound errors are consistent or variable. Studies have reported divergent findings that, on face value, could argue either for or against error consistency as a diagnostic criterion. The purpose of this study was to explain discrepancies in error consistency results based on the unit of analysis (segment, syllable, or word) to help determine which diagnostic recommendation is most appropriate.

An exploration of the role of executive functions in preschoolers' phonological development.

There is limited yet compelling evidence that domain-general processes may contribute to speech sound change. This study explored whether executive functions contribute to the achievement of adult-like speech production. Children who are 4 to 5 years old, 42 with high-average speech production skills, 11 with low-average and nine with speech sound disorder (SSD), participated in a battery of executive function and speech production tasks.

Cognitive Factors and Residual Speech Errors: Basic Science, Translational Research, and Some Clinical Frameworks.

This article explores the theoretical and empirical relationships between cognitive factors and residual speech errors (RSEs). Definitions of relevant cognitive domains are provided, as well as examples of formal and informal tasks that may be appropriate in assessment. Although studies to date have been limited in number and scope, basic research suggests that cognitive flexibility, short- and long-term memory, and self-monitoring may be areas of weakness in this population.

Non-word repetition in 2-year-olds: Replication of an adapted paradigm and a useful methodological extension.

Accurate non-word repetition (NWR) has been largely attributed to phonological memory, although the task involves other processes including speech production, which may confound results in toddlers with developing speech production abilities. This study is based on Hoff, Core and Bridges' adapted NWR task, which includes a real-word repetition (RWR) condition. We tested 86 typically developing 2-year-olds and found relationships between NWR and both receptive and expressive vocabulary using a novel measure that controls for speech production by comparing contextually matched targets in RWR.

Rate and phonological variation in preschool children: effects of modeling and directed influence.

Purpose: To explore the effect of modeling and explicit elicitation of slow and accurately produced speech in typically developing preschool children. Optional phonological reductions (e.g.