Semantic processing in children with cochlear implants: Evidence from event-related potentials.

: Existing research has shown that children with significant hearing loss who use cochlear implants (CIs) perform worse than their hearing peers on behavioral measures of spoken language. The present study sought to examine how children with CIs process lexical-semantic incongruence, as indexed by electrophysiological evidence of the N400 effect. : Twelve children with CIs, aged between 6 and 9 years, participated in a spoken word-picture matching task while event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded.

The impact of auditory white noise on semantic priming.

It has been proposed that white noise can improve cognitive performance for some individuals, particularly those with lower attention, and that this effect may be mediated by dopaminergic circuitry. Given existing evidence that semantic priming is modulated by dopamine, this study investigated whether white noise can facilitate semantic priming. Seventy-eight adults completed an auditory semantic priming task with and without white noise, at either a short or long inter-stimulus interval (ISI).

Late talkers and later language outcomes: Predicting the different language trajectories.

Purpose: The aim of the current study was to investigate the risk factors present at 2 years for children who showed language difficulties that persisted from 2 to 10 years and difficulties that emerged later, at 10 years.

Method: Participants (n = 783) were drawn from the Raine Study in Western Australia. Patterns of change from 2 to 10 years were identified based on child performance on the Language Development Survey and the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, respectively.

A Relationship Between Early Language Skills and Adult Autistic-Like Traits: Evidence from a Longitudinal Population-Based Study.

The current study examined the relationship between early language ability and autistic-like traits in adulthood, utilising data from 644 participants from a longitudinal study of the general population. Language performance at 2 years was measured with the Language Development Survey (LDS), and at 20 years the participants completed the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Vocabulary size at 2 years was negatively associated with Total AQ score, as well as scores on the Communication, and Social Skills subscales.

Change in receptive vocabulary from childhood to adulthood: associated mental health, education and employment outcomes.

Background: Population-based studies have found that early language delays are associated with poorer long-term outcomes in adolescence and adulthood. Few studies have explored the influence of change in language ability over time on adult outcomes.

Aim: To examine the educational, vocational and mental health outcomes for adults accounting for different vocabulary developmental profiles over a 16-year period.

Predicting receptive vocabulary change from childhood to adulthood: A birth cohort study.

This study examined the parental and early childhood risk factors of different receptive vocabulary developmental profiles from childhood to adulthood. The sample (n=1914), comprised of monolingual English speaking participants, from the Mater University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy (MUSP). Receptive vocabulary was measured using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R) at the 5 and 21-year follow ups.

Parent-implemented home therapy programmes for speech and language: a systematic review.

Background: Parent-delivered home programmes are frequently used to remediate speech and language difficulties in young children. However, the evidence base for this service delivery model is limited.

Aims: The aim of this systematic review is to investigate the effectiveness of parent-implemented home programmes in facilitating the development of children's speech and language skills, and to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and feasibility of this service delivery method.

Long-term Communication Outcomes for Children Receiving Cochlear Implants Younger Than 12 Months: A Multicenter Study.

Objective: Examine the influence of age at implant on speech perception, language, and speech production outcomes in a large unselected paediatric cohort.

Study Design: This study pools available assessment data (collected prospectively and entered into respective databases from 1990 to 2014) from three Australian centers.

Patients: Children (n = 403) with congenital bilateral severe to profound hearing loss who received cochlear implants under 6 years of age (excluding those with acquired onset of profound hearing loss after 12 mo, those with progressive hearing loss and those with mild/moderate/severe additional cognitive delay/disability).