Predictive Measures in Child Language Development: The Role of Familial History and Early Expressive Vocabulary.

Purpose: Prediction of developmental language disorder in children under 3 years of age is challenging. Among early risk factors, research has focused on having a positive familial history (FH+) for language or literacy problems and on late language emergence, that is, late-talker (LT) status. The interaction between these two risk factors and their cumulative effect is still debated.

Predicting Response to Neuropsychological Intervention in Developmental Dyslexia: A Retrospective Study.

Identifying the patients who are likely to be non-responders to a certain treatment may allow clinicians to provide alternative strategies and avoid frustration and unrealistic expectations for the patients and their families. A retrospective study on 145 children treated with visual hemisphere-specific stimulation examined the specific profiles (reading, writing, metaphonology, memory, callosal functions) of non-responders, and identified predictors of response to intervention (reading, reading and writing) through linear regression models. The effects of additional variables such as rapid automatized naming (RAN) and Visual Search were investigated in a subsample of 48 participants.

Remote treatment of developmental dyslexia: how ADHD comorbidity, clinical history and treatment repetition may affect its efficacy.

Introduction: Tachidino is a web-based platform for remote treatment of reading and spelling disorders. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the possible impact of different clinical conditions on the efficacy of treatment. The focus was on possible ADHD comorbidity-related effects on the outcomes of the Tachidino treatment, and the impact of previous treatments, such as speech and language therapy or the repetition of the same Tachidino program.

The challenge of remote treatment in neuropsychological intervention for reading and spelling in dyslexia: A prospective observational cohort study.

Telemedicine approaches have proved to be valuable solutions for the delivery of treatment for many health-related issues, and crucial during the pandemics. Nonetheless, the efficacy of such Web-based practices in developmental dyslexia needs to be thoroughly evaluated. To this aim, the effects of a multi-componential program for neuropsychological intervention in dyslexia delivered as an outpatient program were compared with those obtained with a remotely delivered, Web-based treatment, based on the same methodological principles and delivered with the same duration and intensity.

Intergenerational longitudinal associations between parental reading/musical traits, infants' auditory processing, and later phonological awareness skills.

The intergenerational transmission of language/reading skills has been demonstrated by evidence reporting that parental literacy abilities contribute to the prediction of their offspring's language and reading skills. According to the "Intergenerational Multiple Deficit Model," literacy abilities of both parents are viewed as indicators of offspring's liability for literacy difficulties, since parents provide offspring with genetic and environmental endowment. Recently, studies focusing on the heritability of musical traits reached similar conclusions.

Evaluating the role of word-related parameters in the discriminative power of a novel nonword repetition task for bilingual children.

In bi- and monolingual children, nonword repetition tasks (NWRTs) differentiate typically developing (TD) children from children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) or children with a risk of DLD. Previous research has highlighted the importance of considering language specificity in nonword (NW) construction especially for bilingual children. A novel NWRT has been designed for the screening of DLD risk in the bilingual Italian-German preschool population, creating lists of language-specific (for the two target languages) and language-non-specific NWs.

Long-Lasting Effects of Changes in Daily Routine during the Pandemic-Related Lockdown on Preschoolers' Language and Emotional-Behavioral Development: A Moderation Analysis.

The quantity and quality of environmental stimuli and contexts are crucial for children's development. Following the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), restrictive measures have been implemented, constraining children's social lives and changing their daily routines. To date, there is a lack of research assessing the long-lasting impacts that these changes have had on children's language and emotional-behavioral development.

Revisiting Multifactor Models of Dyslexia: Do They Fit Empirical Data and What Are Their Implications for Intervention?

Developmental dyslexia can be viewed as the result of the effects of single deficits or multiple deficits. This study presents a test of the applicability of a multifactor-interactive model (MFi-M) with a preliminary set of five variables corresponding to different neuropsychological functions involved in the reading process. The model has been tested on a sample of 55 school-age children with developmental dyslexia.

Associations between Dietary Intake, Blood Levels of Omega-3 and Omega-6 Fatty Acids and Reading Abilities in Children.

Lower levels of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have been described in individuals with reading difficulties, but the degree and the nature of such deficiencies as well as the role of nutrition are a matter of debate. The aim of the present study was to investigate the associations between PUFA blood levels, nutritional status, and reading/writing/phonological awareness performances in 42 school-age children with varying levels of reading ability. Significant correlations were found between PUFA levels (specific omega-6/omega-3 ratios), the ratio of omega-6-derived calories to the total amount of calories and reading scores.

A Nonword Repetition Task Discriminates Typically Developing Italian-German Bilingual Children From Bilingual Children With Developmental Language Disorder: The Role of Language-Specific and Language-Non-specific Nonwords.

In bi- and monolingual children, nonword repetition tasks (NWRTs) differentiate between typically developing (TD) and children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). Language specificity is a crucial factor in nonword construction especially for multilingual children. While language-specific nonwords seem less artificial than non-specific nonwords, the application of language-specific phonemes may be less suitable for bilingual children who are exposed to the target language less than monolingual peers.

Direct and Indirect Effects of Blood Levels of Omega-3 and Omega-6 Fatty Acids on Reading and Writing (Dis)Abilities.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether there are associations between polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) blood levels, reading/writing performance and performance in neuropsychological tasks. Moderate to strong correlations were found between PUFA levels (specific omega-6/omega-3 ratios) and reading/writing abilities, and the former and neuropsychological test scores. Mediation models analyzing the direct and indirect effects of PUFA on reading and writing scores showed that the effects of fatty acids on learning measures appear to be direct rather than mediated by the investigated visual and auditory neuropsychological mechanisms.

Remote Neuropsychological Intervention for Developmental Dyslexia with the Tachidino Platform: No Reduction in Effectiveness for Older Nor for More Severely Impaired Children.

Tachidino is a web-platform for remote treatment of reading and writing disorders. A total of 91 children with developmental dyslexia and/or dysorthographia participated in the present study and received Tachidino treatment. The purpose of the study was to compare results obtained after four weeks treatment and a six-month follow-up in older versus younger children and in more versus less severely impaired children (separately subdividing them according to reading speed, reading accuracy, and writing accuracy).

Towards Consensus on Good Practices for the Use of New Technologies for Intervention and Support in Developmental Dyslexia: A Delphi Study Conducted among Italian Specialized Professionals.

The use of new technologies for intervention in developmental dyslexia is steadily growing. In order to better understand the needs, the expectations, and the attitudes of Italian expert health professionals concerning such technologies, a national survey was conducted applying the Delphi methodology. Ad-hoc questionnaires were sent out to a group of eighteen experts over three successive rounds, and anonymously collected responses were aggregated and shared with the group after each round, aiming to reach a consensus on the proposed response.

Detection without further processing or processing without automatic detection? Differential ERP responses to lexical-semantic processing in toddlers at high clinical risk for autism and language disorder.

Delays in early expressive vocabulary can reflect a specific delay in language acquisition or more general impairments in social communication. The neural mechanisms underlying the (dis)ability to establish the first lexical-semantic representations remain relatively unknown. Here, we investigate the electrophysiological underpinnings of these mechanisms during the critical phase of lexical acquisition in two groups of 19-month-old toddlers at risk for neurodevelopmental disorders, i.

Developmental Language Disorder: Early Predictors, Age for the Diagnosis, and Diagnostic Tools. A Scoping Review.

Background: Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is frequent in childhood and may have long-term sequelae. By employing an evidence-based approach, this scoping review aims at identifying (a) early predictors of DLD; (b) the optimal age range for the use of screening and diagnostic tools; (c) effective diagnostic tools in preschool children.

Methods: We considered systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and primary observational studies with control groups on predictive, sensitivity and specificity values of screening and diagnostic tools and psycholinguistic measures for the assessment of DLD in preschool children.

The Effectiveness of Interventions for Developmental Dyslexia: Rhythmic Reading Training Compared With Hemisphere-Specific Stimulation and Action Video Games.

Developmental dyslexia is a very common learning disorder causing an impairment in reading ability. Although the core deficit underlying dyslexia is still under debate, significant agreement is reached in the literature that dyslexia is related to a specific deficit in the phonological representation of speech sounds. Many studies also reported an association between reading skills and music.

The processing of rhythmic structures in music and prosody by children with developmental dyslexia and developmental language disorder.

Rhythm perception seems to be crucial to language development. Many studies have shown that children with developmental dyslexia and developmental language disorder have difficulties in processing rhythmic structures. In this study, we investigated the relationships between prosody and musical processing in Italian children with typical and atypical development.

Improving the "real life" management of schizophrenia spectrum disorders by LAI antipsychotics: A one-year mirror-image retrospective study in community mental health services.

Schizophrenia poses a significant economic burden on the healthcare system as well as it has a significant impact on society at large. Reasons for such a high economic burden of schizophrenia include the frequent relapses and hospitalizations occurring in this disorder. We analyze the effectiveness of long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) compared to oral medications, in terms of "clinical process management" in a sample of patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorder treated in community mental health centers.

Developmental Differences in the Relationship Between Visual Attention Span and Chinese Reading Fluency.

It has been suggested that there is a close relationship between visual attention span (VAS) and fluent reading. This relation may be modulated by participants' age, and exhibits various patterns in different reading modes (i.e.

Tell Me a Story: Socio-Emotional Functioning, Well-Being and Problematic Smartphone Use in Adolescents With Specific Learning Disabilities.

Although Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) are described as specific difficulties in one or more academic areas, often socio-emotional problems are also reported to be related to well-being and school engagement. Moreover, recent evidence shows that emotional problems and reduced social support predict problematic use of new technologies, such as a smartphone, that can, in turn, increase these problems. In this study, we aimed to investigate socio-emotional functioning and its relation to well-being, school engagement, and problematic smartphone use.

ORCA.IT: A New Web-Based Tool for Assessing Online Reading, Search and Comprehension Abilities in Students Reveals Effects of Gender, School Type and Reading Ability.

ORCA.IT, a new online test of online research and comprehension was developed for the Italian population. A group of 183 students attending various types of upper secondary schools in Northern Italy were tested with the new tool and underwent further cognitive and neuropsychological assessment.

Pitch as the Main Determiner of Italian Lexical Stress Perception Across the Lifespan: Evidence From Typical Development and Dyslexia.

The study deals with the issue of lexical stress perception in both a developmental (comparing children and adults with typical development) and a clinical perspective (comparing typically developing children and children with dyslexia). The three parameters characterizing the acoustic profiles of words and non-words in a certain language are duration, pitch and intensity of its syllables. Based on (sparse) previous literature on Italian and other European languages, it was expected that syllable duration would be the parameter predominantly determining the perception of stress position.

Specific conditions for a selective deficit in memory for order in children with dyslexia.

Short-term memory (STM) models distinguish between item and order memorization. The present study aims to explore how item and order STM are affected by the nature of the stimuli, the sequential versus simultaneous mode of presentation, the visual versus auditory presentation modality, the possibility of verbal recoding. A total of 20 children with dyslexia were matched one-by-one with 20 typically reading children on sex, age (8-14 years), and grade.

Giok the Alien: An AR-Based Integrated System for the Empowerment of Problem-Solving, Pragmatic, and Social Skills in Pre-School Children.

The use of technology for educational purposes is a consolidated reality, and many new tools are constantly being devised and offered for use with both normally developing children and children with special needs. Nonetheless, a detailed analysis of the processes being stimulated and of the goals being pursued is often lacking or absent. In this work we describe the design, development and preliminary testing of an integrated system which combines the use of smart devices, a physical cube, augmented reality (AR) technology, a smart TV, and a software application especially designed to stimulate cognitive and social functions in pre-school children.