Children's Accuracy Research Articles

The effect of contingent imitation intervention on children with autism spectrum disorder and co-occurring intellectual disabilities

BackgroundImitation plays a crucial role in the development of social communication, and it is a skill that is often missing in children with autism spectrum disorder and co-occurring intellectual disabilities. Contingent imitation (CI) results in increased social eye gaze, an imitation cue for children with ASD. A series of studies on Reciprocal Imitation Training (RIT) intervention that included CI has demonstrated an increase in imitation frequency. However, little is known about CI intervention’s effects on motor, object, and vocal imitation accuracy in children with ASD-ID. MethodThe participants in this study were six 4-year-old children with ASD-ID. A single case experimental design with multiple probes across target behaviors was used to identify CI intervention's efficacy on the motor, object, and vocal imitation. Moreover, pre-and post-assessment analysis evaluated socially engaged imitation and imitation turn-taking. ResultsMost motor, object, and vocal imitation accuracy increased through the CI intervention. However, individual adaptations such as prompting for looking behaviors and motor responses were required to increase specific target behaviors. Moreover, all children increased socially engaged imitation and imitation turn-taking through CI intervention and CI + prompting intervention. ConclusionsCI intervention is an efficacious intervention method for increasing the accuracy of imitation in children with ASD-ID. Furthermore, CI + prompting intervention is effective when CI intervention alone does not improve imitation accuracy. CI + prompting interventions using a decision tree tailored for each child could identify the intervention strategies for improving imitation accuracy during play activities and increase the understanding of ASD-ID children's imitation accuracy difficulties.

Cross-examination may be more detrimental to repeated-event children than single-event children

ABSTRACT Cross-examination is detrimental to the consistency and accuracy of children’s reports and a re-direct interview may rehabilitate accuracy. We compared the effects of cross-examination on reports provided by single-event and repeated-event children. Children participated in one or five magic shows. One week later they were interviewed in a supportive manner (Interview 1). Next, a different interviewer cross-examined half the children or asked the other children all questions again (Interview 2). Finally, the initial interviewer re-directed the children by re-asking questions in a supportive manner (Interview 3). When defined narrowly (the instance children were asked to describe), cross-examination was more detrimental to single-event children and the re-direct interview rehabilitated correct responses for all children. When defined broadly (experienced details), cross-examination was more detrimental to repeated-event children and the re-direct did not rehabilitate correct responses for repeated-event children. Therefore when performance was off the floor, cross-examination was more detrimental to repeated-event children. The changes that repeated-event children make under cross-examination are explained by cognitive factors and social influences Ost et al., [2016]. Recall, verbatim memory and remembered narratives. In G. Oxburgh (Ed.), Communication in investigative and legal contexts: Integrated approaches from forensic psychology, linguistics and law enforcement (pp. 39–54). Wiley Blackwell).

Effects of Morphological Awareness Training on Reading Accuracy in Children with Dyslexia and its Transfer Effect on Phonological Awareness

Abstract We examined the effects of a morphological awareness (MA) training program on the enhancement of word and pseudo-word reading and phonological awareness in Arabic-speaking children with dyslexia. We compared two groups of children with dyslexia from Grade 3, an experimental group (n = 12; mean age = 112.4 months) with a control group (n = 13; mean age = 111.61 months). The training program focused on morphological analysis, derivational morphology and inflexional morphology. Results revealed that the experimental group outperformed controls on all post-training measures for MA, reading words and pseudo-words as well as phonological awareness. Also, the post-training measures were better achieved in the experimental group than pre-training ones, which confirm the efficacy of the morphological training program. We discuss these findings in light of the relationship between morphological awareness and word reading and phonological awareness, and the Arabic orthographic features as a morphological based language.

Did I visit the polar bear before the giraffe? Examining memory for temporal order and the temporal distance effect in early to middle childhood

SummaryMemory for the temporal order of past events is a critical capacity; however, relatively little is known about its development and the processes that support it in early to middle childhood. The aim of this study was to examine children's memory for the temporal order of real‐world events. Four–five‐year‐old (n = 36), 6–7‐year‐old (n = 45) and 8–10‐year‐old (n = 46) children participated in a week‐long camp at a local zoo, which involved engaging activities and visits to animals each day. On the last day of camp, we tested children's memory for the order of pairs of animals visited. The elapsed time (lag) between event pairs was manipulated to test whether children's accuracy would show the temporal distance effect and give us insights into the processes supporting temporal memory. We found that 8–10‐year‐olds, but not younger groups, showed the temporal distance effect. Implications for our understanding of the cognitive processes supporting temporal memory development are discussed.

Out of sight out of mind? Experimenter presence in an online experiment with children during Covid-19

The initial plan for my MSc research – which explores if metacognitive measures can predict accuracy in children – was to recruit child participants in schools. However, Covid-19 meant that I needed to pivot to online testing. Children (aged four to eight) completed a memory task while I guided and recorded the session via Zoom. Here, I reflect on my experiences and consider empirical evidence about experimenter effects in virtual studies. Specifically, should the experimenter have their camera turned on or off? Research suggests there are advantages and disadvantages for both methods, presenting a novel challenge for conducting virtual studies with children.

Concurrent Validity of ActiGraph GT3X+ and Axivity AX3 Accelerometers for Estimating Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior

Introduction: Accelerometers are commonly used to assess time-use behaviors related to physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep; however, as new accelerometer technologies emerge, it is important to ensure consistency with previous devices. This study aimed to evaluate the concurrent validity of the commonly used accelerometer, ActiGraph GT3X+, and the relatively new Axivity AX3 (fastened to the lower back) for detecting physical activity intensity and body postures when using direct observation as the criterion measure. Methods: A total of 41 children (aged 6–16 years) and 33 adults (aged 28–59 years) wore both monitors concurrently while performing 10 prescribed activities under laboratory conditions. The GT3X+ data were categorized into different physical activity intensity and posture categories using intensity-based cut points and ActiGraph proprietary inclinometer algorithms, respectively. The AX3 data were first converted to ActiGraph counts before being categorized into different physical activity intensity categories, while activity recognition models were used to detect the target postures. Sensitivity, specificity, and the balanced accuracy for intensity and posture category classification were calculated for each accelerometer. Differences in balanced accuracy between the devices and between children and adults were also calculated. Results: Both accelerometers obtained 74–96% balanced accuracy, with the AX3 performing slightly better (∼4% higher, p < .01) for detecting postures and physical activity intensity. Error in both devices was greatest when contrasting sitting/standing, sedentary/light intensity, and moderate/light intensity. Conclusion: In comparison with the GT3X+ accelerometer, AX3 was able to detect various postures and activity intensities with slightly higher balanced accuracy in children and adults.

Clinical experience and categorical perception of children's speech

Accurate and detailed records of children's speech are a critical component of competent service delivery in speech-language pathology/speech and language therapy (SLP/SLT). Previous research has shown that during speech-sound acquisition, children gradually learn to produce sounds in adult-like manners. Continuous rating scales are a way to track this gradual learning. To examine whether clinical experience affects the ability and willingness to rate children's speech production using continuous rating scales. An online survey was administered to 81 US-based SLPs/SLTs, binned into more- and less-experienced groups, and 20 non-SLPs/SLTs. The survey included a speech-sound rating task in which participants rated the production of place of articulation in children's productions of word-initial /θ/, /s/, /ʃ/, /d/, /ɡ/, /t/ and /k/ on a nine-point equally appearing interval scale. We examined the extent to which these were accurate (i.e., the extent to which they matched laboratory measures of production characteristics) and the extent to which the ratings were gradual (i.e., they used the entire rating scales, rather than just the endpoints). There were no consistent differences between non-SLPs/SLTs, less-experienced SLPs/SLTs and more-experienced SLPs/SLTs in a measure of the accuracy of responses. More consistent differences were found in the extent to which listeners used the endpoints of the scale: greater experience was associated with greater use of the endpoint values. More-experienced SLPs/SLTs are less likely to use the entire range of continuous rating scales to rate children's speech accuracy than less-experienced SLPs/SLTs or clinically untrained listeners. Implications for service delivery are discussed. What this paper adds What is already known on the subject Children's productions of individual sounds, like /k/, become gradually more adult-like over the course of development. For a child who has a [t] for /k/ error, this gradual development means that children's productions become progressively less like /t/ and more like /k/ over development. Phonetic transcription does not capture this gradual development. In contrast, studies have shown that continuous ratings of children's speech (such as rating productions on a scale anchored by the text "the 't' sound" at one end and "the 'k' sound" at the other end) can capture this gradual development. What this paper adds to existing knowledge To determine continuous ratings are clinically feasible, we must first determine whether clinical experience affects people's use of continuous rating scales to rate children's speech. We conducted an on-line speech perception experiment in which 81 speech-language pathologists/speech and language therapists (SLPs/SLTs) and 20 non-SLPs/SLTs rated 60 productions by children on continuous rating scales. The 60 stimuli included many sounds that had been independently verified to be intermediate productions (i.e., a target /k/ that was neither completely /k/-like nor completely /t/-like). Non-SLPs/SLTs and less-experienced SLPs/SLTs rated those intermediate sounds with intermediate ratings (i.e., somewhere on the midpoint of a continuous scale). In contrast, more-experienced SLPs/SLTs were more likely to rate those sounds as instances of endpoints (i.e., as either /k/ or /t/). What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? This finding suggests that clinical experience is paradoxically associated with a reduced tendency to use the entire range of responses on continuous rating scales. This finding suggests that we must better understand the cause of this reduced tendency, so that clinicians at all levels can use continuous rating scales equally effectively.

Completeness and representativeness of body mass index in children's electronic general practice records: Linked cross-sectional study in an ethnically-diverse urban population in the United Kingdom.

To assess completeness and accuracy of children's body mass index (BMI) recorded in general practice electronic health records (GP-EHRs). We linked National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) records from 29 839 5-year-olds and 26 660 11-year-olds attending state schools in inner London to GP-EHRs (95% linked; 49.1% girls). We estimated adjusted odds (aOR) of at least one GP-BMI record by sex, ethnic background, area-level deprivation, weight-status and long-term conditions. We examined within-child BMI differences and compared obesity prevalence from these sources. 10.5% (2964/28330) and 26.0% (6598/25365) of 5- and 11-year-olds respectively had at least one GP-BMI record. Underweight (aOR;95% CI:1.71;1.34,2.19), obesity (1.45;1.27,1.65), South Asian background (1.55;1.38,1.74), presence of a long-term condition (8.15;7.31,9.10), and residence in deprived areas (Wald statistic 38.73; P-value<0.0001) were independently associated with at least one GP-BMI record. NCMP-BMI and GP-BMI differed by +0.45(95% Limits of Agreement -1.60,+2.51) and + 0.16(-2.86,+3.18) in 5- and 11-year-olds, respectively. The prevalence of obesity based on GP-BMI was 18.2%(16.1,20.5) and 35.9%(33.9,38.0) in 5- and 11-year-olds respectively, compared to 12.9%(12.5,13.3) and 26.9%(26.4,27.4) based on NCMP-BMI. Child BMI is not comprehensively recorded in urban general practice. Linkage to school measurement records is feasible and enables assessment of health outcomes of obesity.

A Prospective Evaluation of Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra for Childhood Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Uganda

Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra (Xpert Ultra) has improved the sensitivity to detect pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in adults. However, there have been limited prospective evaluations of its diagnostic accuracy in children. We enrolled children undergoing assessment for pulmonary TB in Kampala, Uganda, over a 12-month period. Children received a complete TB evaluation and were classified as Confirmed, Unconfirmed, or Unlikely TB. We calculated the sensitivity and specificity of Xpert Ultra among children with Confirmed vs Unlikely TB. We also determined the diagnostic accuracy with clinical, microbiological, and extended microbiological reference standards (MRSs). Of the 213 children included, 23 (10.8%) had Confirmed TB, 88 (41.3%) had Unconfirmed TB, and 102 (47.9%) had Unlikely TB. The median age was 3.9 years, 13% were HIV-positive, and 61.5% were underweight. Xpert Ultra sensitivity was 69.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 47.1-86.8) among children with Confirmed TB and decreased to 23.4% (95% CI: 15.9-32.4) with the clinical reference standard. Specificity was 100% (95% CI: 96.4-100) among children with Unlikely TB and decreased to 94.7% (95% CI: 90.5-97.4) with a MRS. Sensitivity was 52.9% (95% CI: 35.1-70.2) and specificity 95.5% (95% CI: 91.4-98.1) with the extended MRS. Of the 26 positive Xpert Ultra results, 6 (23.1%) were "Trace-positive," with most (5/6) occurring in children with Unconfirmed TB. Xpert Ultra is a useful tool for diagnosing pulmonary TB in children, but there remains a need for more sensitive tests to detect culture-negative TB.

Accuracy of serum procalcitonin, C-reactive protein and soluble CD14 subtype levels in diagnosis of sepsis in children

Background/Aim. Despite the widespread use of procalcitonin, C-reactive protein (CRP), and soluble CD14 subtype (sCD14-ST), their diagnostic accuracy in children with sepsis is not yet clear. The aim of the study was to establish and compare the diagnostic accuracy of procalcitonin, CRP, and sCD14-ST in children admitted to the hospital under suspicion of having sepsis. Methods. The study was designed as a retrospective cross-sectional study on children admitted to the Pediatrics Clinic in Kragujevac, Serbia, under suspicion of sepsis, during a 6-month period. Diagnostic accuracy was tested by the construction of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and their comparison in terms of area under the curve (AUC). Results. Procalcitonin had the largest AUC [0.75; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.63?0.88], followed by CRP (0.68; 95% CI 0.54?0.81) and sCD14-ST (0.65; 95% CI 0.52 ? 0.79). Differences between the areas under the ROC curves were not significant (CRP vs. procalcitonin z = 1.054, p = 0.291; CRP vs. sCD14-ST z = 0.238, p = 0.812; procalcitonin vs. sCD14-ST z = 1.089, p = 0.286). Conclusion. Our study showed relatively low sensitivity and moderate specificity of procalcitonin, C-reactive protein and sCD14-ST in diagnosing sepsis among children, as well as similar diagnostic accuracy of the three biomarkers.

An evidence-based model of adaptive blended learning for health education serving families with a parent or child who has a medical problem

We describe a blended learning model that has been built into an educational platform to provide evidence-based health education and psychological support for families in which one or more members have a medical problem. The platform design evolved from studies of the leading causes of death in the USA, including chronic and acute medical issues as well as injuries typified by pathophysiological and psychological facets difficult for most adults and children to understand. We studied blended learning platforms suitable for providing all members of a family with evidence-based health education. During this process we found that few current web-based models for patient and family education are grounded in both theories of cognition and learning and also theories of health behavioural change. In this paper, we describe our current evidence-based health education platform for families - SIGNAL-PATCH. This platform allows selection of preferred grounded theories but also assesses both parents' and children's prior knowledge and accuracy of such knowledge. The platform we developed also assesses parents' and children's readiness to engage in learning, readiness to shift behaviours in ways that will improve health, and monitors for possible psychological trauma in each family member.

Investigation of the Responses of Children to Animated Film that They View

Children spend an important part of their time watching animated films on different platforms (cinema, television, internet). Box office figures indicate that this is true at the global level. However, it is not known how children react momentarily to the animated films they watch, and how these reactions fit the content of the film viewed. The purpose of this study is to determine the accuracy level of children’ responses to the content of the animated films that they view based on age, gender and different variables. The research was carried out with a mixed-method using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The study group consisted of 210 children between the ages of 3-9. An average of 30 children was included in each age group. In this way, it was aimed to examine the behaviour of the children in each age group while watching animated films, the way the content of the scenes affects the children during viewing, and the change that children undergo as age progresses. First, a film suitable for the research was selected and the film content was analysed on a scene and minute basis. The standard emotions to be given at every minute and scene were determined. Then Toy Story 3 film was shown to the children in the research group. During the viewing session, each child was recorded with a camera and the camera footage and film minutes were matched then. The children's reactions observed on the camera footage caught while they are watching the film were compared to the content of the animated film. In the meantime, the parents of the children in the research group were given a demographic evaluation form developed by the researcher. As a result of the research, age was found to be a determining factor in the accuracy of children's responses during movie viewing sessions. On the other hand, no significant difference was found between the groups based on gender. Other results are also included in the study.

Predictive Value of Serum Interleukins in Children with Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome.

Pro-inflammatory cytokines have been suggested in the pathogenesis of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS), with conflicting results. This study was performed to identify alteration of different serum interleukins (ILs) in children with INS, and their predictive value in response to steroid treatment. Three groups of children (27; steroid-sensitive INS, 21; steroid-resistant INS, and 19 healthy controls) with normal serum C3, negative serologic tests of hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), human immune deficiency virus (HIV), and parasitic infections were included in this study. Serum concentrations of IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-13, and IL-18 were measured, using quantitative colorimetric sandwich ELISA kits. Children with secondary nephrotic syndrome, inflammations, systemic disorders, and chronic kidney disease were excluded. The serum concentration of all ILs; except IL-13 and IL-18; was significantly higher in children with INS, compared with the healthy controls. Serum IL-2 had the highest sensitivity of (95.24%) in patients with INS. All of the serum ILs had acceptable accuracy in children with INS, compared with the control group. The serum concentration of IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 was significantly higher in children with steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS), compared with steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS). All of these ILs had acceptable accuracy for the prediction of steroid response in patients with INS. Our findings suggested the pathogenic role of pro-inflammatory cytokines in children with INS, of which IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 were accurate biomarkers for the prediction of steroid response in these patients.

The effects of drawing on preschoolers' statements about experienced and non‐experienced events

SummaryAlthough drawing is frequently used during investigative interviews, few studies have explored the effectiveness of draw‐and‐talk techniques with very young children. In this article, we examined the effects of drawing on preschoolers' (3–6 years old) reports of self‐experienced and non‐experienced events. In Study I, we interviewed 83 preschoolers about a staged event. We did not observe any significant statement differences between children asked to draw‐and‐talk compared to a verbal‐only condition. In Study II, we interviewed 25 preschoolers about a nonexperienced event. Twenty‐one children initially denied the event. When asked if they could help the interviewer draw a person from the event, 13 (61.9%) children complied with the request and eventually provided several false details. While drawing did not significantly increase the average number of details, exploratory findings indicated that drawing may have helped a subset of children. However, drawing might impair children's accuracy when suggestively interviewed about nonexperienced events.

Abstract 14358: Treadmill Exercise Testing Improves Diagnostic Accuracy in Children With Concealed Congenital Long QT Syndrome

Introduction: Resting electrocardiogram (ECG) identification of long QT syndrome (LQTS) has limitations. Uncertainty exists on how to classify patients with borderline prolonged QT intervals. We tested if exercise testing could help serve as a guide for which children with borderline prolonged QT intervals may be gene positive for LQTS. Methods: Pediatric patients (n=139) were divided into three groups: Controls (n=76), gene positive LQTS with borderline QTc (n=21), and gene negative patients with borderline QTc (n=42). Borderline QTc was defined between 440 to 470 (male) and 440 to 480 (female) msec. ECGs were recorded while supine, sitting, and standing. Patients then underwent treadmill stress testing using the Bruce protocol followed by a 9-minute recovery phase. Statistical analysis was completed to compare the QTc intervals amongst all three of the groups using t-test, ANOVA, and the Youden method to calculate sensitivity and specificity cut points. Results: Supine resting QTc, age, and Schwartz score for the three groups were: 1) Gene positive: 446 ± 23 msec, 12.4 ± 3.4 yo, 3.2 ± 1.8; 2) Gene negative: 445 ± 20 msec, 12.1 ± 2.8 yo, 2.0 ± 1.2; and 3) Control: 400 ± 24 msec, 15.0 ± 3 yo. The three groups could be differentiated by their QTc response at two time points: standing and recovery phase at six minutes. Standing QTc ≥ 460 msec differentiated borderline prolonged QTc patients (Gene positive and Gene negative) from controls with a specificity of 90% for gene positive versus control and 83% for gene negative versus control. A late recovery QTc ≥ 480 msec at minute six distinguished Gene positive from Gene negative patients with a specificity of &gt;97%. Conclusions: Exercise stress testing can be useful to identify Gene positive borderline LQTS from a normal population and Gene negative borderline QTc patients, allowing for increased cost effectiveness by selectively gene testing a higher risk group of patients with borderline QTc intervals and intermediate Schwartz scores.

Word characteristics and speech production accuracy in children with auditory brainstem implants: a longitudinal triple case report

ABSTRACT Auditory brainstem implants (ABI) in children in the first years of life is a recent innovation. Analyses of their speech and language development on the basis of spontaneous language samples are still largely lacking. The aim was to investigate the phonological complexity of the words children with ABI use in their spontaneous speech, and to compare their accuracy with that of children with cochlear implants (CI) and children with normal hearing (NH). Longitudinal recordings of spontaneous speech were collected of three children with ABI. Children with ABI target mainly words of low phonological complexity in their spontaneous speech, just as children with NH and children with CI do. The complexity of the words they attempt increases over time, but this development is less outspoken in comparison to children with CI and NH at the same hearing ages. The accuracy of the ABI children’s word productions is situated in the lower ranges of the 95% confidence intervals of the NH and the CI groups, and – depending on the specific measure – even fall below the 95% border. The ABI intervention appears to be beneficial in the three cases studied, although their development is slow compared to children with CI and NH.

Production Before Comprehension in the Emergence of Transitive Constructions in Dutch Child Language.

Although 2-year-old English- or Dutch-speaking children tend to use correct subject-object word order in their own utterances, they appear to make a substantial number of word order errors in their comprehension of other people’s utterances. This pattern of adult-like production but poor comprehension is challenging for linguistic theory. While most approaches to language acquisition explain this pattern from extra-linguistic factors such as task demands, the constraint-based approach Optimality Theory predicts this asymmetry between production and comprehension to arise as a result of the linguistic competition between constraints on word order and animacy. This study tests this prediction by investigating how children’s comprehension and production of word order in transitive constructions develop, and to what degree their comprehension and production are influenced by animacy. Two- and three-year-old Dutch speaking children (n = 32) and adult controls (n = 41) were tested on their comprehension and production of simple transitive sentences, in which the animacy of the grammatical subject and object were manipulated. Comprehension was tested in a picture selection task and a preferential looking task, and production was tested in a parallel sentence elicitation task. Children’s comprehension of transitive sentences in the picture selection task was found to be less accurate than their production of the same sentences in the sentence elicitation task. Their eye gaze in the minimally demanding preferential looking task did not reveal a more advanced understanding of these sentences. In comprehension, children’s response accuracy, and to a lesser extent their eye gaze, was influenced by the animacy of subject and object, providing evidence that their poor comprehension is due to the competition between word order and animacy, as predicted by the constraint-based approach. In contrast, animacy may have a facilitating effect on children’s production of transitive sentences. These findings suggest that the mature form and meaning of a transitive construction are not acquired together. Rather, the form-meaning pairings of transitive constructions seem to arise gradually as the by-product of acquiring the constraint ranking of the grammar. This leads to the gradual alignment of forms and meanings in child language and hence to the emergence of linguistic constructions.

Treadmill exercise testing improves diagnostic accuracy in children with concealed congenital long QT syndrome

Resting electrocardiogram (ECG) identification of long QT syndrome (LQTS) has limitations. Uncertainty exists on how to classify patients with borderline prolonged QT intervals. We tested if exercise testing could help serve to guide which children with borderline prolonged QT intervals may be gene positive for LQTS. Pediatric patients (n=139) were divided into three groups: Controls (n=76), gene positive LQTS with borderline QTc (n=21), and gene negative patients with borderline QTc (n=42). Borderline QTc was defined between 440-470 (male) and 440-480 (female) ms. ECGs were recorded supine, sitting, and standing. Patients then underwent treadmill stress testing with Bruce protocol followed by a 9-minute recovery phase. Supine resting QTc, age, and Schwartz score for the three groups were: (a) gene positive: 446 ± 23 ms, 12.4 ± 3.4 years old, 3.2 ± 1.8; (b) gene negative: 445 ± 20 ms, 12.1 ± 2 years old, 2.0 ± 1.2; and (c) control: 400 ± 24 ms, 15.0 ± 3 years old. The three groups could be differentiated by their QTc response at two time points: standing and recovery phase at 6 minutes. Standing QTc ≥460 ms differentiated borderline prolonged QTc patients (gene positive and gene negative) from controls. Late recovery QTc ≥480 ms distinguished gene positive from gene negative patients. Exercise stress testing can be useful to identify children who are gene positive borderline LQTS from a normal population and gene negative borderline QTc children, allowing for selective gene testing in a higher risk group of patients with borderline QTc intervals and intermediate Schwartz scores.

Predicting children's word recognition accuracy from accent distance metrics

Compared to adults, children show lower word identification accuracy under both environmental- and source-related listening challenges (e.g., speech in noise or unfamiliar accents). Early school-aged children have difficulty understanding both unfamiliar native and nonnative accents. Although adults typically have difficulty only when unfamiliar accents are mixed with noise, children show word identification decrements for some unfamiliar accents under quiet conditions. Furthermore, children's word recognition accuracy varies widely across accents in both quiet and noise-added conditions. The developmental differences appear to stem partially from children's less robust use of semantic/syntactic contextual cues; less well understood is the role of specific accent characteristics leading to reduced word identification. We are currently assessing the relation between a number of accent distance metrics and children's word recognition accuracy. These metrics, which quantify the distance from the home dialect, include segmental (i.e., Levenshtein distances), holistic signal (i.e., dynamic time warping), holistic perceptual (i.e., listener rankings from the native dialect standard), and suprasegmental (e.g., articulation rate, speech rhythmic metrics) measures. This work may provide insight into what aspects of the signal cause children more difficulty than adults when mapping unfamiliar pronunciations onto their lexical representations. Work supported by the National Science Foundation, Grant No. 1941691.]

Reading Risk in Children With Speech Sound Disorder: Prevalence, Persistence, and Predictors.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which school-age children with speech sound disorder (SSD) exhibit concomitant reading difficulties and examine the extent to which phonological processing and speech production abilities are associated with increased likelihood of reading risks. Method Data were obtained from 120 kindergarten, first-grade, and second-grade children who were in receipt of school-based speech therapy services. Children were categorized as being "at risk" for reading difficulties if standardized scores on a word decoding measure were 1 SD or more from the mean. The selected predictors of reading risk included children's rapid automatized naming ability, phonological awareness (PA), and accuracy of speech sound production. Results Descriptive results indicated that just over 25% of children receiving school-based speech therapy for an SSD exhibited concomitant deficits in word decoding and that those exhibiting risk at the beginning of the school year were likely to continue to be at risk at the end of the school year. Results from a hierarchical logistic regression suggested that, after accounting for children's age, general language abilities, and socioeconomic status, both PA and speech sound production abilities were significantly associated with the likelihood of being classified as at risk. Conclusions School-age children with SSD are at increased risk for reading difficulties that are likely to persist throughout an academic year. The severity of phonological deficits, reflected by PA and speech output, may be important indicators of subsequent reading problems.