The feasibility of using a train-the-trainer model for vocabulary intervention for Spanish-exposed late talkers: A single-subject experimental design

Late talkers (LTs) are a group of children who exhibit delays in language development without a known cause. Although a hallmark of LTs is a reduced expressive vocabulary, little is known about LTs' processing of semantic relations among words in their emerging vocabularies. This study uses an eye-tracking task to compare 2-year-old LTs' and typical talkers' (TTs') sensitivity to semantic relationships among early acquired words. U.S. monolingual English-speaking LTs (n = 21) and TTs (n = 24) completed a looking-while-listening task in which they viewed two images on a screen (e.g., a shirt and a pizza), while they heard words that referred to one of the images (e.g., Look! Shirt!; target-present condition) or a semantically related item (e.g., Look! Hat!; target-absent condition). Children's eye movements (i.e., looks to the target) were monitored to assess their sensitivity to these semantic relationships. Both LTs and TTs looked longer at the semantically related image than the unrelated image on target-absent trials, demonstrating sensitivity to the taxonomic relationships used in the experiment. There was no significant group difference between LTs and TTs. Both groups also looked more to the target in the target-present condition than in the target-absent condition. These results reveal that, despite possessing smaller expressive vocabularies, LTs have encoded semantic relationships in their receptive vocabularies and activate these during real-time language comprehension. This study furthers our understanding of LTs' emerging linguistic systems and language processing skills. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.23303987.

Children acquire language naturally, but there is variation in language acquisition patterns. Indeed, different internal and external variables play a role in acquiring language. However, there are open research questions about the contribution of different variables to language development. Moreover, with societal changes and due to the pandemic situation, there has been a growing interest in testing digitalization related to indirect language acquisition assessment. In this study, a web-based assessment survey was developed to (1) describe the relation between expressive vocabulary, Socio-Conversational Skills (SCS), gender, parental education, executive functions (EFs), and pretend play; (2) determine whether the survey can detect differences between late talkers (LTs) and children with typical language development; (3) identify children with “overall high” and “overall low” communicative-language scores to test the validity of expressive vocabulary as a main indicator to detect LTs. The parents of 108 Italian children (51 males) aged 24–36 months participated in the study. The results showed that expressive vocabulary correlates with measures of SCS (assertiveness and responsiveness) and is reliable in identifying LTs (d = 2.73). Furthermore, SCS and EFs contribute to better characterizing the developmental profile of children aged 24–36 months.

A few studies have investigated the practise patterns of Malaysian speech-language pathologists (SLPs) when working with children with speech and language problems whose language intervention is necessary. However, these studies did not provide in-depth information about the SLPs' experiences as the studies were conducted quantitatively. Moreover, none of the studies focus on late-talkers (LTs), in which intervention for them can vary along a continuum from a wait/watch-and-see approach to direct intervention. Thus, this study aimed to explore SLPs’ experiences in managing LTs in Malaysia. Twelve SLPs participated in individual, semi-structured phone interviews. They were asked about their experiences in managing LTs. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and a content analysis was performed. Two themes were identified; a) practises of SLPs and b) challenges faced by SLPs in managing LT cases. The practises of SLPs included conducting assessments, developing intervention plans, providing intervention, sharing information, giving homework, providing support, and managing appointments. The challenges faced were related to parents, other individuals close to LTs, LTs themselves, and resources. Although the SLPs’ practises aligned with the international standard of speech-language pathology service delivery, there is room for improvement, especially in collaborating with parents, as one-to-one direct interventions for LTs might not be suitable due to the challenges related to resources. In addition, a few suggestions related to centred-based care and trusted social media pages can be provided to parents to assist them outside therapy sessions besides initiating the development of awareness programs and information resources for parents and other caregivers. Keywords: Late talkers, language intervention, Malaysian speech-language pathologist, practise, challenges

Links between children's language comprehension and expressive vocabulary and their personality traits: A longitudinal investigation

Review question/objective The quantitative objective of this review is to determine the best available evidence on the relationship between parents' responsiveness to children's prelinguistic and early communication and their subsequent communication development. More specifically, the questions are: 1. What are the attributes of parental responsiveness? That is: To delimit the attributes of parents’ verbal and behavioural responsiveness and directiveness that influences children's preverbal and early communicative development. 2. Do some attributes of parent responsiveness have more consequence to children’s early communication development than others? 3. Is the amount or frequency of parent responsiveness important? That is: Do varying levels of parent responsiveness impact differently on children’s communication development? 4. Are there parental factors (e.g. education level) within the well population that predict or influence responsiveness quality and quantity? If so, what are they? The textual objective is to identify the current social context within Australia, regarding the topic of parental responsiveness and children’s communication development. More specifically, the questions are: 1. Does current government policy on child development reflect the research evidence identified in the quantitative component of this systematic review? 2. What is society’s current awareness and standing (perception) on this topic, as identified through policy, expert and public opinion? 3. Are there preventative universal or selective health promotion measures in place relating to the review question? 4. If the answer to question 3 is ‘yes’, then what are they? Inclusion criteria Types of participants The quantitative component of this review will consider studies that include parents as the primary independent variable and children as the secondary, dependent variable. The textual component of this review will consider discourse and opinion reported or published by government agencies, experts, the public and media, about the systematic review question, that is of direct relevance or interest to Australia. Types of intervention(s) The quantitative component of the review will consider any studies that evaluate parent verbal and behavioural responsiveness and directiveness to their children's preverbal and or early linguistic communication. Studies may investigate parent responsiveness and or directiveness in the context of a home or clinical/education environment. TRUNCATED AT 350 WORDS

Purpose This study examined the effect of Vocabulary Acquisition and Usage for Late Talkers (VAULT) treatment on toddlers' expressive vocabulary and phonology. Parent acceptability of VAULT treatment was also considered. Method We used a nonconcurrent multiple baseline single case experimental design with three late talking toddlers aged 21-25 months. The treatment was delivered twice weekly in 30-min sessions for 8 weeks by a rotating team of four speech-language pathologists. Toddlers heard three of their 10 strategically selected target words a minimum of 64 times in play activities each session. Expressive vocabulary and phonology was assessed pre-post, with parent interviews conducted posttreatment. Results All toddlers increased production of target words and expressive vocabulary. Ambient expressive vocabulary size increased by an average of 16 words per week (range of 73-169 words learned over the treatment period). On a 20-item, single-word speech assessment, the toddlers' phonetic inventories increased on average from three to seven consonants, and five to eight vowels. Two toddlers used protowords pretreatment, which were replaced by recognizable attempts at words posttreatment. Parents reported the treatment was acceptable for the child and their family with future consideration of parent-based delivery of the treatment in the home. Conclusions The results of this treatment provide further evidence of a model of intervention informed by the principles of implicit learning, and the interconnectedness of phonological and lexical learning. Investigation is required to establish the efficacy and feasibility of VAULT in clinical contexts. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14714733.

Purpose: This study examined the effect of Vocabulary Acquisition and Usage for Late Talkers (VAULT) treatment on toddlers’ expressive vocabulary and phonology. Parent acceptability of VAULT treatment was also considered.Method: We used a nonconcurrent multiple baseline single case experimental design with three late talking toddlers aged 21–25 months. The treatment was delivered twice weekly in 30-min sessions for 8 weeks by a rotating team of four speech-language pathologists. Toddlers heard three of their 10 strategically selected target words a minimum of 64 times in play activities each session. Expressive vocabulary and phonology was assessed pre–post, with parent interviews conducted posttreatment.Results: All toddlers increased production of target words and expressive vocabulary. Ambient expressive vocabulary size increased by an average of 16 words per week (range of 73–169 words learned over the treatment period). On a 20-item, single-word speech assessment, the toddlers’ phonetic inventories increased on average from three to seven consonants, and five to eight vowels. Two toddlers used protowords pretreatment, which were replaced by recognizable attempts at words posttreatment. Parents reported the treatment was acceptable for the child and their family with future consideration of parent-based delivery of the treatment in the home.Conclusions: The results of this treatment provide further evidence of a model of intervention informed by the principles of implicit learning, and the interconnectedness of phonological and lexical learning. Investigation is required to establish the efficacy and feasibility of VAULT in clinical contexts.Supplemental Material S1. General child and family questionnaire. Supplemental Material S2. Interview schedule: Immediately after intervention. Munro, N. Baker, E., Masso, S., Carson, L., Lee, T., Wong, A. M.-Y., & Stokes, S. F. (2021). Vocabulary Acquisition and Usage for Late Talkers treatment: Effect on expressive vocabulary and phonology. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_JSLHR-20-00680

Purpose The aims of this study were (a) to assess the efficacy of the Vocabulary Acquisition and Usage for Late Talkers (VAULT) treatment and (b) to compare treatment outcomes for expressive vocabulary acquisition in late talkers in 2 conditions: 3 target words/90 doses per word per session versus 6 target words/45 doses per word per session. Method We ran the treatment protocol for 16 sessions with 24 primarily monolingual English-speaking late talkers. We calculated a d score for each child, compared treatment to control effect sizes, and assessed the number of words per week children acquired outside treatment. We compared treatment effect sizes of children in the condition of 3 target words/90 doses per word to those in the condition of 6 target words/45 doses per word. We used Bayesian repeated-measures analysis of variance and Bayesian t tests to answer our condition-level questions. Results With an average treatment effect size of almost 1.0, VAULT was effective relative to the no-treatment condition. There were no differences between the different dose conditions. Discussion The VAULT protocol was an efficacious treatment that has the potential to increase the spoken vocabulary of late-talking toddlers and provides clinicians some flexibility in terms of number of words targeted and dose number, keeping in mind the interconnectedness of treatment parameters. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.11593323.

Symbols are a hallmark of human communication, and a key question is how children’s emerging language skills relate to their ability to comprehend symbols. In particular, receptive and expressive vocabulary may have related, but distinct, roles across early development. In a longitudinal study of late talking (LT) and typically developing (TD) children, we differentiated the extent to which expressive and receptive language skills predicted symbolic understanding as reflected in picture comprehension and how language skills inter-related with social skills. LT and TD children were tested on a picture comprehension task that manipulated the availability of verbal labels at 2.0–2.4 years and 3.5–3.9 years of age. Although all children improved in accuracy over time as expected, TD children exhibited an advantage over LT children, despite both groups using verbal labels to inform their mapping of picture–object relationships. Receptive and expressive vocabulary also differed in their contribution at different ages; receptive vocabulary predicted performance at ∼2.0 years of age, and expressive vocabulary predicted performance at ∼3.5 years of age. Task performance at 3.5 years was predicted by earlier receptive vocabulary, but this effect was largely mediated by concurrent expressive vocabulary. Social ability across the whole sample at ∼2.0 years also predicted and mediated the effect of receptive vocabulary on concurrent task performance. These findings suggest that LT children may have delays in developing picture comprehension over time and also that social ability and language skills may differentially relate to symbolic understanding at key moments across development.

The increasing number of students with German as a second language (GL2) poses a great challenge for schools. Previous studies showed that especially young learners with a migration background are lagging behind in the acquisition of second language (L2) literacy. Experiencing problem behaviors (PB) in addition, might pose even greater challenges. Adequate vocabulary, including knowledge of additional vocabulary facts, is essential for appropriate L2 proficiency, and therefore, it is a crucial aspect of support that should be focused on. Thus, the aim of the study was to support vocabulary acquisition in students with GL2 regarding two aspects: (1) the acquisition of expressive and receptive vocabulary, and (2) the incidental acquisition of additional information regarding the vocabulary that are not explicitly focused on during intervention. To this end, the effectiveness of a multi-component method consisting of storytelling and flashcards, as well as motivational reinforcers, was examined using multiple baseline design. The intervention was carried out with nine primary school students with GL2 in three small groups three times a week for four weeks. The results indicated that the multi-component storytelling intervention was effective in increasing students’ receptive and expressive vocabulary, as well as additional vocabulary facts in just one month. The article concludes with a critical discussion of the findings and generally provides pedagogical implications for schools on how to adequately support students with GL2 in their vocabulary acquisition.

Purpose: This tutorial describes single-subject experimental design (SSED) as it pertains to clinical education and supervision in the communication sciences and disorders professions. Similarities between everyday clinical practice, supervision, and SSED are highlighted, essential elements of SSED are described, five types of SSED are detailed, example research topics in supervision are proposed, and additional resources for further study are suggested. Conclusions: SSED is a feasible research method for busy professionals and provides promise for honing and developing evidence-based practices related to clinical education and supervision. Clinical educators and supervisors are encouraged to consider conducting SSED as part of their interactions with students, supervisees, and mentees in order to contribute to and strengthen understanding of effective clinical education and supervisory practices in speech-language pathology.

Reading outcomes of children with delayed early vocabulary: A follow-up from age 2–16

Reviewed by: Fonologia na perspectiva dos Modelos de Exemplares: Para além do dualismo natureza/cultura na ciência linguística ed. by Christina Abreu Gomes Ana Paula Huback Gomes, Christina Abreu, editora. Fonologia na perspectiva dos Modelos de Exemplares: Para além do dualismo natureza/cultura na ciência linguística. Contexto, 2020. Pp. 191. ISBN 978-85-520-0183-6. Fonologia na perspectiva dos Modelos de Exemplares: Para além do dualismo natureza/cultura na ciência linguística offers a collection of insightful articles on Usage-Based Models of linguistic representation applied to Brazilian Portuguese (BP). Exemplar Models, which have become more popular since the last quarter of the twentieth century, are able to integrate aspects of both nature and nurture, in the sense that linguistic structure emerges from the interaction between general innate cognitive skills, along with the individual's experience. This book is suitable especially to readers studying General Linguistics, Language Acquisition, and Speech Pathology. Since Spanish and Portuguese are so similar, this book could also be of interest to Spanish linguists. This book can be eye-opening and provoking as it drifts away from Generative Models which are still prevalent in the BP Linguistics scenario. The first two chapters provide the theoretical basis for Exemplar Models. The first one, Fonologia na perspectiva dos Modelos de Exemplares (Cristófaro-Silva and Gomes), states that, in Usage-Based Models, as opposed to more traditional approaches, phonetic details such as the speaker's gender, age, dialect, and such can be stored along with linguistic information. Additionally, exemplars are updated according to their usage, and not just along generations. Frequency effects are also considered to be relevant to strengthen or weaken mental representations. In the second article, Aquisição fonológica na perspectiva dos Modelos de Exemplares, by analyzing language perception and production in the first year of children's life, Gomes and Nery gather evidence to claim that children are born with cognitive skills that allow them to experience and capture information present in the language input to which they are exposed. Linguistic knowledge is thus better understood as the interaction between innate capabilities and language experience. A second set of articles is devoted to language acquisition and speech pathology according to Exemplar Models. The article Conhecimento fonológico em crianças com dislexia reports results of experiments conducted with both dyslexic children and a control group. After performing tests on memory, vocabulary, frequency effects, and using statistical tests, Esteves concludes that dyslexic children do not show any changes in access or representation of discrete information. The only test in which they score differently from the control group is in accessing words in the lexicon. The article Conhecimento fonológico em situação de lesão cerebral adquirida: a acurácia de repetição de pseudopalavras em afásicos discusses the responses of aphasic patients compared to a control group in the task of repeating nonsense words. The goal is to analyze the extent to [End Page 635] which phonological knowledge is compromised in aphasic individuals. Senna concludes that aphasic patients do have a tendency to replace lexical items, but their ability to make abstractions over patterns in the lexicon is preserved. The difficulties in repeating words are caused by issues with lexical access, without compromising the phonological organization of the mental lexicon. In Aquisição fonológica em crianças falantes tardios: Estudo de caso, a case study is presented to explore the topic of delays in language acquisition, or the case of "late talkers." Silva analyzes a child in this category and applies tests of word repetition and naming. The results show that this child, compared to others with average language acquisition, had smaller vocabulary, fewer complex syllables, and more omissions of segments. Silva concludes that children with delays in language acquisition also have delays that may affect their abstraction over phonological patterns, which slows down their language acquisition, as they have difficulties inferring phonological patterns available in the lexicon. In Medidas de avaliação do desenvolvimento do conhecimento fonológico, Nery compares two different approaches to testing the production of nonsense words spoken by children. The method proposed by Esteves (2013) takes into account...

Late language emergence is a risk indicator for developmental language disorder. Parent-implemented early language intervention programmes (parent programmes) have been shown to have positive effects on children's receptive and expressive language skills. However, long-term effectiveness has rarely been studied. Additionally, little is known about which strategies parents learn to use after participating in parent programmes and whether this affects their child's language development. To evaluate medium- and long-term effectiveness (1 and 2 years after inclusion) of a low-dosage parent programme in a sample of late talkers (LTs) with an expressive language delay. Specifically, we investigated which strategies the parents learned to use in interaction with their child and which strategies were associated with child language growth over time. This quasi-experimental study with a longitudinal design included 24-month-old LTs. After the pre-test, parents of children in the intervention group received a parent programme (n = 30), while parents of children in the comparison group received care as usual (n = 30). Children's language development was assessed using standardized language tests at pre-test and two follow-up tests at 36 and 48 months of age. Change in parental communicative behaviour was measured by a parent-child interaction observation measure, at pre-test and follow-up at 36 months of age. At 36 months old, children in the parent programme group showed a significantly higher growth in expressive vocabulary than children in the comparison group. However, differences between the groups were not seen in the long-term, at the 48-month follow-up. In contrast to parents in the comparison group, parents in the parent programme group changed their communicative behaviour positively in two domains: Interaction and Pressure on the child. However, no changes in the domains of Language Stimulation and Responsiveness were observed. Children's growth in expressive vocabulary and expressive syntax was associated with a decrease in the domain of Pressure. At 4 years of age, the majority of children in both groups achieved expressive vocabulary scores within the normal range. However, the mean score for expressive syntax in both groups remained below that of their peers, and 29% of the children still had expressive language scores below the mean range. Ongoing monitoring of LTs' language development is necessary in order to make decisions regarding the timing and nature of intervention.

Objectives: The present study focused on examining the continuity and directionality of language skills in late talkers (LTs) and identifying factors which might contribute to language outcomes at the age of 3 years. Methods: Subjects were 23 Cypriot-Greek-speaking toddlers classified as LTs and 24 age-matched typically developing peers (TDs). Participants were assessed at 28, 32 and 36 months, using various linguistic measures such as size of receptive and expressive vocabulary, mean length of utterance (MLU) of words and number of consonants produced. Data on otitis media familial history were also analyzed. Results: The ANOVA results indicated parallel developmental profiles between the two groups, with a language lag characterizing LTs. Concurrent correlations between measures showed that poor phonetic inventories in the LT group at 28 months predicted poor MLU at the ages of 32 and 36 months. Significant cross-lagged correlations supported the finding that poor phonetic inventories at 28 months served as a good predictor for MLU and expressive vocabulary at the age of 32 and for MLU at 36 months. Conclusions: The results highlight the negative effect of early language delay on language skills up to the age of 3 years and lend support to the current literature regarding the universal linguistic picture of early and persistent language delay. Based on the current results, poor phonetic inventories at the age of intake might serve as a predictive factor for language outcomes at the age of 36 months. Finally, the findings are discussed in view of the need for further research with a focus on more language-sensitive tools in testing later language outcomes.