Profiles of word-finding difficulties in school-aged children.

Current understanding of word-finding (WF) difficulties in children and their underlying language processing deficit is poor. Authors have proposed that different underlying deficits may result in different profiles. The current study aimed to better understand WF difficulties by identifying difficult tasks for children with WF difficulties and by focusing on semantic vs.

Word-finding behaviours in narration for typically developing French speakers of school age.

Background: Research in word-finding difficulties is sparse, especially in languages other than English. As a result, the factors associated with the frequency of word-finding behaviours are poorly understood, particularly in discourse.

Aims: This exploratory study is the first to collect data relative to the expected frequency of word-finding behaviours in narration for French speakers aged 7-12 years old with typical development; and (2) to identify the factors associated with the frequency of word-finding behaviours in narration.

Stability of language difficulties among a clinical sample of preschoolers.

Background: Some data call into question the persistence of developmental language disorders (DLDs) identified during the preschool period. For this reason, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) often reassess children. However, it is unclear if the instability of the profiles documented in community sample studies is present in children referred to specialized clinics.

Expressive and receptive performance with graphic symbol sentences by individuals who use aided communication.

This study explored performance on expressive and receptive graphic symbol tasks and spoken comprehension by individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) as well as the relationship of performance with participants' skills and characteristics. Participants were 19 children and youth (aged 5- to 18-years-old) who used aided communication. Four experimental tasks were administered, with either speech or symbols as input (stimuli) and symbols or choice from an array of pictures as output (response).

Neurodevelopmental Outcome of Children with Congenital Heart Disease: A Cohort Study from Infancy to Preschool Age.

Objective: To characterize the neuropsychological outcome of children with congenital heart disease (CHD) at age 5 years; the stability of cognitive and language abilities across childhood; and to identify early neurodevelopmental markers of neuropsychological outcomes in these children.

Study Design: Five-year-old children (n = 55) with complex CHD were assessed using standardized and comprehensive neuropsychological measures. Stability of language and cognitive performance was assessed by comparing standardized scores between ages 1, 2, and 5 years old.

The development of phonological memory and language: A multiple groups approach.

Pierce et al. (2017) have proposed that variations in the timing, quality and quantity of language input during the earliest stages of development are related to variations in the development of phonological working memory and, in turn, to later language learning outcomes. To examine this hypothesis, three groups of children who are at-risk for language learning were examined: children with cochlear implants (CI), children with developmental language disorder (DLD), and internationally-adopted (IA) children, Comparison groups of typically-developing monolingual (MON) children and second language (L2) learners were also included.

Expressive and receptive use of speech and graphic symbols by typically developing children: What skills contribute to performance on structured sentence-level tasks?

Purpose: To explore expressive and receptive use of speech and graphic symbols and relationships with linguistic and cognitive skills in children with typical development.

Method: Participants were 82 children with typical development (4 to 9 years). Measures of memory, visual analysis skills, and receptive language were used, along with five experimental tasks with speech or symbols as input (stimulus) or output (response), using single clause and compound clause stimuli.

Language development in children with congenital heart disease aged 12-24 months.

This longitudinal study aims to describe the trajectory of language development in children with CHD aged 12-24 months assessed through an early monitoring and individualized intervention program. We also sought to determine whether early language performances, at 12 months of age, predict 24-month language abilities. We conducted developmental assessments of 49 children with CHD using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Developmental, third edition (Bayley-III) at 12 and 24 months, and the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (MBCDI) at 12, 18 and 24 months.

Prior History of Feeding-Swallowing Difficulties in Children With Language Impairment.

Purpose: This study updated and extended our previous investigation (Malas et al., 2015) of feeding-swallowing difficulties and concerns (FSCs) in children with language impairments (LI) by using more stringent inclusion criteria and targeting children earlier in the care delivery pathway.

Method: Retrospective analyses were performed on the clinical files of 29 children (average age: 60 months, SD = 9.

A multi-site review of policies affecting opportunities for children with developmental disabilities to become bilingual.

This review of special education and language-in-education policies at six sites in four countries (Canada, United States, United Kingdom, and Netherlands) aimed to determine the opportunities for bilingualism provided at school for children with developmental disabilities (DD). While research has demonstrated that children with DD are capable of learning more than one language (see Kay Raining Bird, Genesee, & Verhoeven, this issue), it was not clear whether recent policies reflect these findings. The review, conducted using the same protocol across sites, showed that special education policies rarely addressed second language learning explicitly.

Comprehension of Inferences in a Narrative in 3- to 6-Year-Old Children.

Purpose: This study aimed to describe the development of inferential abilities of children age 3 to 6 years in a narrative using a dialogic reading task on an iPad.

Method: Participants were 121 typically developing children, divided into 3 groups according to age range (3-4 years old, 4-5 years old, 5-6 years old). Total score of inferential comprehension, subscores by causal inference type targeting elements of the story grammar, and quality of response were examined across groups.

Pulling it all together: The road to lasting bilingualism for children with developmental disabilities.

Children with DD must and do become bilingual, but the research reported in this special issue raises questions about equitable access to bilingual opportunities and provision of appropriate supports to ensure optimal bilingual growth in these children. The purpose of the present article was to apply the findings from our international collaboration to inform policy and practice on bilingualism in children with developmental disabilities (DD). To do this, we first overview the research presented in detail in other articles of this special issue: a narrative literature review, a review of site policies and practices related to special education and language education, a qualitative analysis of key informant interviews, and a quantitative analysis of surveys of practitioners.

Life habits of school-aged children with specific language impairment as perceived by their parents and by school professionals.

Purpose: Describe social participation of a group of children with specific language impairment.

Method: 26 parents of children with specific language impairment (SLI) aged from 5 to 13 years and 11 school professionals participated in the study. Data collection was performed with the adapted version for children aged from 5 to 13 years old of the Assessment of Life Habits (Fougeyrollas et al.

Inferential comprehension of 3-6 year olds within the context of story grammar: a scoping review.

Background: The ability to make inferences plays a crucial role in reading comprehension and the educational success of school-aged children. However, it starts to unfold much earlier than school entry and literacy. Given that it is likely to be targeted in speech language therapy, it would be useful for clinicians to have access to information about a developmental sequence of inferential comprehension.

Feeding-swallowing difficulties in children later diagnosed with language impairment.

Aim: The aim of this retrospective study was to assess the relationship between feeding-swallowing difficulties (FSDs) and later language impairments in children.

Method: Retrospective analyses were carried out using the clinical files of 82 children with language impairments from a large urban rehabilitation center. Two subgroups of these children were established: children with motor impairments, referred to as the language impairment with motor impairment ('LI+MI') subgroup (n=23, mean age 4y 6mo, SD 8.

An investigation of developmental changes in interpretation and construction of graphic AAC symbol sequences through systematic combination of input and output modalities.

While research on spoken language has a long tradition of studying and contrasting language production and comprehension, the study of graphic symbol communication has focused more on production than comprehension. As a result, the relationships between the ability to construct and to interpret graphic symbol sequences are not well understood. This study explored the use of graphic symbol sequences in children without disabilities aged 3;0 to 6;11 (years; months) (n=111).

Syntactic bootstrapping in children with Down syndrome: the impact of bilingualism.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to add to our knowledge of bilingual learning in children with Down syndrome (DS) using a syntactic bootstrapping task.

Method: Four groups of children and youth matched on non-verbal mental age participated. There were 14 bilingual participants with DS (DS-B, mean age 12;5), 12 monolingual participants with DS (DS-M, mean age 10;10), 9 bilingual typically developing children (TD-B; mean age 4;1) and 11 monolingual typically developing children (TD-M; mean age 4;1).

Intervention for improving comprehension in 4-6 year old children with specific language impairment: practicing inferencing is a good thing.

Few studies report on therapy to improve language comprehension in children with specific language impairment (SLI). We address this gap by measuring the effect of a systematic intervention to improve inferential comprehension using dialogic reading tasks in conjunction with pre-determined questions and cues. Sixteen children with a diagnosis of SLI aged 4-6 participated in 10 weekly treatment sessions carried out by their regular therapists.

Performance of children with typical development when reading and interpreting graphic-symbol sequences.

In order to understand a sequence of graphic symbols as sentences, one must not only recognize the meaning of individual symbols but also integrate their meaning together. In this study children without disabilities were asked to perform two tasks that presented sequences of graphics as stimuli but that differed in the need to treat the symbols as a sentence (i.e.

Strategies in construction and interpretation of graphic-symbol sequences by individuals who use AAC systems.

Given the frequent use of graphic symbols in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems, some individuals who use AAC may have greater familiarity with constructing graphic-symbol sequences than do speaking individuals without disabilities. Whether this increased familiarity has an impact on the interpretation of such sequences or on the relationship between construction and interpretation is fundamental to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying communication using graphic symbols. In this study, individuals who use graphic-symbol AAC systems were asked to construct and interpret graphic-symbol sequences representing the same target content (simple and complex propositions).

Sensitivity and specificity of French language and processing measures for the identification of primary language impairment at age 5.

Purpose: Research on the diagnostic accuracy of different language measures has focused primarily on English. This study examined the sensitivity and specificity of a range of measures of language knowledge and language processing for the identification of primary language impairment (PLI) in French-speaking children. Because of the lack of well-documented language measures in French, it is difficult to accurately identify affected children, and thus research in this area is impeded.

The acquisition of consonants in Québécois French: a cross-sectional study of pre-school aged children.

This study provides a systematic description of French consonant acquisition in a large cohort of pre-school aged children: 156 children aged 20-53 months participated in a picture-naming task. Five analyses were conducted to study consonant acquisition: (1) consonant inventory, (2) consonant accuracy, (3) consonant acquisition, (4) a comparison of consonant inventory to consonant acquisition, and (5) a comparison to English cross-sectional data. Results revealed that more consonants emerge at an earlier age in word initial position, followed by medial position, and then word final position.

The role of word order in the interpretation of canonical and non-canonical graphic symbol utterances: A developmental study.

Graphic symbols are often used to represent words in Augmentative and Alternative Communication systems. Previous findings suggest that different processes operate when using graphic symbols and when using speech. This study assessed the ability of native speakers of French with no communication disorders from four age groups to interpret graphic-symbol sequences of varying length and canonicity.

Preschool-aged children have difficulty constructing and interpreting simple utterances composed of graphic symbols.

Children who require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems while they are in the process of acquiring language face unique challenges because they use graphic symbols for communication. In contrast to the situation of typically developing children, they use different modalities for comprehension (auditory) and expression (visual). This study explored the ability of three- and four-year-old children without disabilities to perform tasks involving sequences of graphic symbols.

[Language development: breaking the code].

This paper reviews the major achievements of the preschool years regarding language acquisition. Although most children appear to master their native language with little apparent effort, learning a language is a complex task. It requires the ability to extract clues from environmental stimuli and to discover how those stimuli convey meanings and are modified according to the meaning conveyed.