Young Children's Ability Research Articles

A cross-sectional study of inhibitory control in young children with autism spectrum disorder

ABSTRACT Inhibitory control (IC) ability in early childhood is associated with positive socioemotional, academic, and behavioural outcomes later in life. However, inhibitory control in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is not well understood. We conducted a large, cross-sectional study comparing IC ability of young children with ASD and typical development (TD). We also sought to understand how individual differences, such as child age, sex, and verbal ability, are related to IC performance. Participants included 183 preschool-aged children with ASD (n = 63) and TD (n = 120) from a larger study on self-regulation. Children with ASD performed similarly to their peers with TD on a Stroop-like inhibition task. Age and sex differences in IC performance were observed across both developmental groups. These findings have important implications for early intervention and early childhood education.

Differential Associations of Apolipoprotein E ε4 Genotype With Attentional Abilities Across the Life Span of Individuals With Down Syndrome

Risk of Alzheimer disease (AD) is particularly high for individuals with Down syndrome (DS). The ε4 allele of the apolipoprotein E gene (APOE ε4) is associated with an additional risk for AD. In typical development, there is evidence that the APOE ε4 genotype is associated with an early cognitive advantage. Here we investigate associations of APOE ε4 with attention across the life span of individuals with DS. To investigate associations between APOE ε4 and attentional abilities in young children and in adults with DS. In this cross-sectional study, data were collected from 80 young children with DS (8-62 months of age) and 240 adults with DS (16-71 years of age) during the period from 2013 to 2018 at a research center to examine the association between APOE status (ε4 carrier vs ε4 noncarrier) and attentional abilities. APOE status (ε4 carrier vs ε4 noncarrier). For the children, attentional ability was assessed using an eye-tracking paradigm, the gap-overlap task; the size of the gap effect was the primary outcome. For the adults, attentional ability was assessed using the CANTAB simple reaction time task; the standard deviation of response time latencies was the primary outcome. Cross-sectional developmental trajectories were constructed linking attentional ability with age in ε4 carriers and ε4 noncarriers for children and adults separately. The child sample comprised 23 ε4 carriers and 57 ε4 noncarriers. The adult sample comprised 61 ε4 carriers and 179 ε4 noncarriers. For the children, a significant difference between trajectory intercepts (ηp2 = 0.14) indicated that ε4 carriers (B = 100.24 [95% CI, 18.52-181.96]) exhibited an attentional advantage over ε4 noncarriers (B = 314.78 [95% CI, 252.17-377.39]). There was an interaction between APOE status and age (ηp2 = 0.10); while the gap effect decreased with age for ε4 noncarriers (B = -4.58 [95% CI, -6.67 to -2.48]), reflecting the development of the attention system, there was no change across age in ε4 carriers (B = 0.77 [95% CI, -1.57 to 3.12]). For the adults, there was no main effect of ε4 carrier status, but there was an interaction between APOE status and age (B = 0.02 [95% CI, 0.004-0.07]), so that ε4 carriers had poorer attentional ability than ε4 noncarriers at older ages. APOE ε4 is associated with an attentional advantage early in development and a disadvantage later in life for individuals with DS, similar to the pattern reported in typical development. Understanding the differential role of APOE across the life span is an important step toward future interventions.

Interrater Reliability for a Two-Interval, Observer-Based Procedure for Measuring Hearing in Young Children.

Purpose To overcome methodology limitations for studying auditory development in young children, we have recently developed an observer-based procedure that uses a conditioned, play-based, motor response (see Bonino & Leibold, 2017). The purpose of this article was to examine interrater reliability for the method. Method Video recordings of test sessions of 2- to 4-year-old children (n = 17) were examined. Detection of a 1000-Hz warble tone was measured with the Play Observer-Based, Two-Interval (PlayO2I) method in each of two conditions: for a fixed intensity level (30 dB SPL) or for a variable intensity level signal (0-30 dB SPL). All test sessions were scored independently by three observers (one real-time, two offline). Observer consensus was evaluated with Fleiss' kappa statistic. To determine if summary data were similar across the observers of each test session, the proportion of correct trials (fixed-level condition) or threshold (variable-level condition) were computed. Results The strength of observer consensus was classified as "almost perfect" and "substantial" for the fixed-level and variable-level conditions, respectively. Follow-up analysis of the variable-level data indicated that differences in observer consensus were seen based on the signal level, the type of response behavior provided by the child, and the confidence level of the real-time observer. Resulting summary data were similar across the three observers of each test session: no significant differences for estimates of the proportion of correct trials or threshold. Conclusions Results from this study confirm strong interrater reliability for the method. The PlayO2I method is a powerful tool for measuring detection and discrimination abilities in young children. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12978197.

Metacognition and mindreading in young children: A cross-cultural study.

Prior studies document cross cultural variation in the developmental onset of mindreading. In particular, Japanese children are reported to pass a standard false belief task later than children from Western countries. By contrast, we know little about cross-cultural variation in young children's metacognitive abilities. Moreover, one prominent theoretical discussion in developmental psychology focuses on the relation between metacognition and mindreading. Here we investigated the relation between mindreading and metacognition (both implicit and explicit) by testing 4-year-old Japanese and German children. We found no difference in metacognition between the two cultural groups. By contrast, Japanese children showed lower performance than German children replicating cultural differences in mindreading. Finally, metacognition and mindreading were not related in either group. We discuss the findings in light of the existing theoretical accounts of the relation between metacognition and mindreading.

Relationship Between the Performance of Self-Care and Visual Perception Among Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typical Developing Children.

Studies investigating the performance of self-care and visual perception in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are limited. The relationship between self-care performance and visual perception ability in young children with ASD is not yet clearly understood. Here, self-care performance was evaluated by the caregivers and therapists of children with ASD. The differences in self-care performance and visual perception ability were investigated in 66 children with ASD and 66 typically developing (TD) children between the ages of 48-83 months. The relationships between self-care and visual perception were tested in both two groups. The Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS) and the Chinese version of the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI-C) were used to assess the children's self-care performance. The Test of Visual Perceptual Skills-Third Edition (TVPS-3) and the Developmental Test of Visual Perception-Third Edition (DTVP-3) were used to evaluate visual perception ability. Young children with ASD obtained significantly lower scores for self-care performance (AMPS and PEDI-C) and visual perception ability (TVPS-3 and DTVP) compared with TD children. Additionally, positive correlations were found between self-care performance and visual perception ability in young children with ASD. The results provide a valuable contribution to our understanding about self-care and visual perception performance of young children with ASD. The findings of this research highlight the need for pediatric practitioners to include self-care and visual-motor integration evaluations for young children with ASD. LAY SUMMARY: Young children with ASD obtained significantly lower scores for self-care performance and visual perception ability compared with TD children. Positive correlations were found between self-care performance and visual perception ability in young children with ASD. The results provide a valuable contribution to our understanding about self-care and visual perception performance of young children with ASD.

Creating trauma narratives for young children

Treating young children who have experienced trauma can be a daunting task, specifically when considering the wide range of developing abilities in young children. Preschool post‐traumatic stress disorder treatment (PPT) (see Scheeringa et al., 2012) is a trauma treatment that utilizes the same principles as trauma‐focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF‐CBT) (see Cohen et al., 2006) but is modified to be developmentally appropriate for children ages 3–6 years who have at least some memory of the trauma and are being supported by a nonoffending caregiver.

Promoting Adapted Physical Activity Regardless of Language Ability in Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

ABSTRACT Purpose: There is a relationship between motor and language skills in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), but little work addresses the ramifications of this relationship for professionals who teach motor skills to this population. Within a motor skills intervention, this study probed the importance of language skills for motor intervention. We examined the relationship between motor and language skills at baseline, and then the relationship between baseline language skills and motor improvements resulting from the intervention. Method: Twenty children aged 4–6 years with ASD participated. Eleven children received 20 hr per week of motor intervention for 8 weeks. Nine children did not receive motor intervention. Language skills (Mullen Scales of Early Learning) and motor skills (Test of Gross Motor Development – 2) were assessed at baseline and post-intervention. Spearman correlations tested the associations between baseline language and baseline motor skills. This analysis was repeated in the intervention sample to test the association between baseline language level and response to intervention (motor skill changes from baseline to post-intervention). Results: Prior to intervention, locomotor skills are positively correlated (p < .001) with both receptive (rs = 0.827) and expressive (rs = 0.722) language skills. Similarly, object-control skills are positively correlated (rs < .001) with receptive (rs = 0.779) and expressive (rs = 0.729) language skills. However, those baseline language skills do not relate to motor change in the experimental group. Conclusion: These results suggest that motor programs may improve motor skills in children with ASD when language is supported, regardless of pre-program language ability.

Are differences between social classes reduced by non-symbolic numerical tasks? Evidence from the ELFE cohort.

Young children's mathematics abilities may be divided between symbolic and non-symbolic skills. Lower performance of SES disadvantaged versus advantaged children has already been established in symbolic math. This study aimed to verify the effect of children's SES category on non-symbolic mathematical (numerical) performance. The main sample comprises 4,955 children from the French longitudinal study, ELFE, tested when they were in the nursery school (4- to 5-year-olds). The distinction between symbolic and non-symbolic math skills based on the specific math assessment items used in the present study was verified on a larger sample. The SES-related difference in non-symbolic math skills was then examined in the ELFE sample only. The children's performance in non-symbolic maths is significantly and almost as strongly correlated with their family's income and their mother's level of education as their performances in symbolic maths. Linear regression mixed-effects modelling shows that the score in non-symbolic maths (out of 100) of children from families with below median income is 3.8 points lower than that of their peers from families with above median income. Children from disadvantaged SES backgrounds perform significantly lower than those from advantaged backgrounds in non-symbolic maths. Even if non-symbolic math skills retain an educational interest, they should not reduce the importance of symbolic math skills in young children.

Young Children's Ability to Describe Intermediate Clothing Placement.

Children's ability to adequately describe clothing placement is essential to evaluating their allegations of sexual abuse. Intermediate clothing placement (partially removed clothing) may be difficult for young children to describe, requiring more detailed explanations to indicate the location of clothing (e.g., the clothes were pulled down to the knees). The current study investigated 172 3- to 6-year-olds' descriptions of clothing placement when responding to commonly used questions (yes/no, forced-choice, open-choice, where), as well as children's on-off response tendencies when describing intermediate placement (i.e., labeling the clothing as fully on or off). Results revealed that where questions were superior in eliciting intermediate descriptions, even for the youngest children. Children sometimes exhibited tendencies to describe intermediate placements as "on" or "off," which varied by question-type and clothing placement. The implications of the findings for interviewing young children about sexual abuse are discussed.

The Effects of Audie Music Activities using Song of Rhythm and Melody on Playfulness and Music Expression Ability of Young Children

The Effects of Audie Music Activities using Song of Rhythm and Melody on Playfulness and Music Expression Ability of Young Children

The Effects of physical game activity using a tool on young children's creative art expression ability and self-regulation

The Effects of physical game activity using a tool on young children's creative art expression ability and self-regulation

A Parental mHealth Resource Targeting Emergent Literacy: An Experimental Study

Emergent literacy abilities of young children are strong predictors of future academic success, however, biological and environmental risks can impact their progress. Parental interventions that promote home-based stimulation of preschoolers can enhance literacy development and ensure school readiness. mHealth technology may be a viable approach to offer parents increased access to emergent literacy resources. The effect of a parental mHealth resource targeting emergent literacy abilities was investigated. Eighty-two parent-preschooler (four- to five-year-old) dyads were randomly assigned to a control or experimental group based on age and gender. The parents of preschoolers in the experimental group received the mHealth application resource for 17 weeks. At post-test, no significant between-group differences were identified. Both groups showed significant within-group differences at post-test. Only eight of the parents in the experimental group (n = 42) used the mHealth application more than 50% of the active days. Most of the feedback received from parents regarding the application was positive. Parents may require more support when implementing mHealth emergent literacy resources.

Exploratory analysis of a developmentally progressive modified ride-on car intervention for young children with Down syndrome

Background Children with Down syndrome (DS) may have limited opportunities to engage in self-directed mobility and play due to motor delays. A recent modified ride-on car innovation is the sit-to-stand (STS) model, which incorporates functional standing and walking training with the experience of powered mobility. Aims This study aimed to: (1) describe total dosage and daily usage of three modified ride-on car modes (seated, standing, and power-push) by young children with DS; (2) examine the ability of young children with DS to independently activate the modified ride-on car in seated and standing modes; (3) describe the age of onset of selected motor milestones of the sample in comparison to DS norms. Materials and Methods Eight young children with DS (8.6 ± 2.0 months) used three modes of the modified ride-on car over a 9-month intervention. Results All eight children independently activated the modified ride-on car in seated and standing modes. Most motor milestones were achieved earlier in this sample than expected for DS norms, including the onset of independent walking. Conclusions and Implications The developmentally progressive nature of the intervention and high dosage may have been instrumental in encouraging the onset of independent activation and earlier motor milestones. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Young children with Down syndrome were able to achieve independent activation in seated and standing modified ride-on cars. Developmentally progressive modified ride-on car interventions may facilitate motor skill development, but future work utilizing a randomized control group is needed to examine the potential motor developmental benefits of the STS model and power-push mode. The developmentally progressive nature of the intervention may have been instrumental in encouraging the onset of independent switch activation in both seated and standing modes, as well as the high dosage and adherence rates compared to previous studies.

The Effect of Picture-book Reading in Group and at Home on Cognitive Abilities in Young Children

The Effect of Picture-book Reading in Group and at Home on Cognitive Abilities in Young Children

Communicative abilities in young children with a significant cognitive and motor developmental delay.

Children with a significant cognitive and motor developmental delay are pre-symbolic communicators. The primary aim of this study was to reveal the variability within the communicative functioning of this group of children in terms of communication level, the reasons to communicate and behavioural expressions. Twenty-six children between 14 and 58months with a significant cognitive and motor developmental delay were recruited. The Communication Matrix of Rowland (2011, Communication Disorders Quarterly, 32, 190) was used to integrate different sources of information on the children's communicative functioning. These children primarily communicated at the level of pre-intentional and intentional behaviour, aimed at refusing, obtaining and, to a lesser extent, social purposes. To develop or adapt early intervention strategies, and to monitor progress in communicative development, an even more nuanced view on these children's communicative utterances in terms of frequency, duration, idiosyncrasy and context relatedness is needed.

Age at Onset of Declarative Gestures and 24-Month Expressive Vocabulary Predict Later Language and Intellectual Abilities in Young Children With Williams Syndrome.

Background: One of the most consistent findings in the early language acquisition literature regarding children in the general population is that the onset of declarative pointing gestures precedes the onset of expressive referential language. Furthermore, frequency of early use of declarative gestures is a stronger predictor of later lexical development than early vocabulary size. These findings suggest that early declarative gestures may play a critical facilitative role in later language development. To evaluate the universality of these findings, we tested children with Williams syndrome (WS), a genetic disorder associated with both language and communicative gesture delay.Method: Participants were 47 children with classic-length WS deletions. Age of onset of declarative show and point were determined by parental report on the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (CDI): Words and Gestures. Expressive vocabulary size at onset of these gestures, first referential expressive word, 24 months, and 48 months and grammatical complexity at 48 months were determined by parental report on the CDI: Words and Sentences. Receptive and expressive vocabulary and overall intellectual ability at 48 months were measured using standardized assessments.Results: In contrast to previous findings for children in the general population, most children with WS began to produce referential language several months before they produced declarative point. A series of multiple regressions indicated that both age at onset of declarative point and expressive vocabulary size at 24 months made significant independent contributions to individual differences in lexical, grammatical, and overall intellectual ability at 48 months. Similarly to the findings for typically developing children and children with other developmental disabilities, individual differences in the declarative gesture measure accounted for considerably more variance in 48-month lexical ability than early expressive vocabulary size.Discussion: The transition from prelinguistic communication to initial referential language does not depend on the onset of the ability to use declarative point. Nevertheless, the length of time that a child has been producing declarative point was a better predictor than early expressive vocabulary of later lexical abilities. Thus, despite the earlier divergence in their path to language development from the typical one, the path for children with WS re-converges with that for typically developing children and children with other developmental disabilities.

Using a Concept Map With RECALL to Increase the Comprehension of Science Texts for Children With Autism

Learning science is important for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as knowledge of science allows students to understand their natural world, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is increasingly emphasized in schools. Reading to learn science is, therefore, a vital skill in today’s schools for all students. Using a single-case reversal design, this study evaluated the effectiveness of Reading to Engage Children with Autism in Language and Literacy (RECALL; a shared reading intervention) combined with a concept map on the ability of young children with ASD to answer comprehension questions from science text. Two 5-year-old boys with ASD participated in this study. Results indicated that RECALL combined with a concept map was effective in increasing participants’ correct responding to comprehension questions from science text. Implications for intervention and research are discussed.

An Analysis of the relationship Between Young Children's Emotional ability, Optimism, Musical ability and Basic language learning ability.

An Analysis of the relationship Between Young Children's Emotional ability, Optimism, Musical ability and Basic language learning ability.

Visual and Spatial Working Memory Abilities Predict Early Math Skills: A Longitudinal Study

This study aimed to explore the influence of the visuospatial active working memory subcomponents on early math skills in young children, followed longitudinally along the first 2 years of primary school. We administered tests investigating visual active working memory (jigsaw puzzle), spatial active working memory (backward Corsi), and math tasks to 43 children at the beginning of first grade (T1), at the end of first grade (T2), and at the end of second grade (T3). Math tasks were selected according to the children’s age and their levels of formal education: the “Battery for the evaluation of numerical intelligence from 4 to 6 years of age” (BIN 4–6) at T1 to test early numerical competence and the “Test for the evaluation of calculating and problem-solving abilities” (AC-MT 6–11) to test math skills at T2 and T3. Three regression models, in which the predictors were identified through a backward selection based on the use of the Bayesian information criterion (BIC) index, were performed to study the relationship between visual and spatial working memory and math ability at the three points in time. The results show that spatial working memory influences early numerical performance at T1, while early numerical performance is the unique predictor of math performance at T2. At the end of the second grade, the regression model reveals a relationship between math performance and both visual and spatial working memory and the attenuation of the importance of domain-specific predictors. The study depicts the different implications of visual and spatial working memory predictors over the children’s development periods and brings additional evidence to the debate on the relationship between visuospatial working memory and math ability in young children.

Young children combine sensory cues with learned information in a statistically efficient manner: But task complexity matters.

Human adults are adept at mitigating the influence of sensory uncertainty on task performance by integrating sensory cues with learned prior information, in a Bayes-optimal fashion. Previous research has shown that young children and infants are sensitive to environmental regularities, and that the ability to learn and use such regularities is involved in the development of several cognitive abilities. However, it has also been reported that children younger than 8 do not combine simultaneously available sensory cues in a Bayes-optimal fashion. Thus, it remains unclear whether, and by what age, children can combine sensory cues with learned regularities in an adult manner. Here, we examine the performance of 6- to 7-year-old children when tasked with localizing a 'hidden' target by combining uncertain sensory information with prior information learned over repeated exposure to the task. We demonstrate that 6- to 7-year-olds learn task-relevant statistics at a rate on par with adults, and like adults, are capable of integrating learned regularities with sensory information in a statistically efficient manner. We also show that variables such as task complexity can influence young children's behavior to a greater extent than that of adults, leading their behavior to look sub-optimal. Our findings have important implications for how we should interpret failures in young children's ability to carry out sophisticated computations. These 'failures' need not be attributed to deficits in the fundamental computational capacity available to children early in development, but rather to ancillary immaturities in general cognitive abilities that mask the operation of these computations in specific situations.