Co-occurring Language Impairments Research Articles

The relationship between gamma-band neural oscillations and language skills in youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their first-degree relatives

BackgroundMost children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have co-occurring language impairments and some of these autism-specific language difficulties are also present in their non-autistic first-degree relatives. One of the possible neural mechanisms associated with variability in language functioning is alterations in cortical gamma-band oscillations, hypothesized to be related to neural excitation and inhibition balance.MethodsWe used a high-density 128-channel electroencephalography (EEG) to register brain response to speech stimuli in a large sex-balanced sample of participants: 125 youth with ASD, 121 typically developing (TD) youth, and 40 unaffected siblings (US) of youth with ASD. Language skills were assessed with Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals.ResultsFirst, during speech processing, we identified significantly elevated gamma power in ASD participants compared to TD controls. Second, across all youth, higher gamma power was associated with lower language skills. Finally, the US group demonstrated an intermediate profile in both language and gamma power, with nonverbal IQ mediating the relationship between gamma power and language skills.LimitationsWe only focused on one of the possible neural contributors to variability in language functioning. Also, the US group consisted of a smaller number of participants in comparison to the ASD or TD groups. Finally, due to the timing issue in EEG system we have provided only non-phase-locked analysis.ConclusionsAutistic youth showed elevated gamma power, suggesting higher excitation in the brain in response to speech stimuli and elevated gamma power was related to lower language skills. The US group showed an intermediate pattern of gamma activity, suggesting that the broader autism phenotype extends to neural profiles.

Dual tasking in individuals with post-stroke aphasia: a scoping review protocol.

The purpose of this scoping review is to identify the main theoretical frameworks being used to explain dual-task performance deficits in people with post-stroke aphasia, identify the domains of function being measured and the assessments being used, highlight current interventions to improve dual-task performance, and identify the gaps in the current body of literature on dual tasking and aphasia. Post-stroke aphasia can lead to challenges across all activities of daily living. However, little is known about how a stroke and co-occurring language impairment may affect the allocation of cognitive resources, particularly in dual-task conditions. This vital information will allow researchers and clinicians to develop more effective interventions to combat the effects of the infarct. To be considered in the review, articles must (i) be written in English, (ii) include individuals at least 6 months post stroke, (iii) include adults with aphasia (with data presented separately from other populations), and (iv) include measures of dual-task performance. This review will be conducted in line with the JBI methodology for scoping reviews. A search of Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts, PsycINFO, Communication Mass Media Complete, PubMed, CINAHL Plus, ScienceDirect, and the Cochrane Library will be undertaken to identify publications on the topic. Results will be restricted to sources that meet the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Data will be extracted from included papers by up to 3 independent reviewers using a data extraction tool developed by the reviewers. The results will be presented as a narrative summary, accompanied by charted results as appropriate. DOI:10.17605/OSF.IO/2YX76.

Motor abilities of children with childhood apraxia of speech

Previous studies on fine and gross motor skills of children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) have reported inconclusive results. In this study, we investigate the motor abilities of children with CAS by focusing on three distinct motor factors: control during movement, fine motor skills/handwriting, and general coordination. Participants included 25 children with CAS and 20 age-matched typically developing (TD) children between the ages of 5 and 7 years. Motor abilities were evaluated using a parent questionnaire - the Croatian version of The Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ-HR). Compared to age-matched TD children, those with CAS showed significantly poorer overall motor ability based on the DCDQ-HR, as well as on all three motor factors: control during movement, fine motor skills/handwriting, and general coordination. Even though their results were worse than TD children, they were still within the range that indicates normal motor abilities. Among the three motor factors considered, children with CAS exhibited significant problems with fine motor skills/handwriting. Children with CAS may not be categorised as children with motor deficits, but they exhibit poor overall motor abilities, especially fine motor skills, compared to TD children. This study supports the premise that co-occurring language impairment is an important variable to consider when discussing motor abilities in CAS.

7.2 Co-occurring Language Impairment in ASD as Prototype for Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Implications for Assessment and Practice

Language impairment is a frequent feature of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDs). Overlaps in symptom presentation between the core features and aspects of language impairment, as observed in ASD, can complicate assessment and treatment planning. This presentation will provide a framework that: 1) describes the range of language deficits co-occurring in ASD and other NDs and their distinction from symptoms of social communication (pragmatic) disorder; 2) discusses the developmental course of these deficits; and 3) reviews strategies for assessment and intervention, including considerations related to intellectual disability.

Predicting Treatment Outcomes in Rapid Syllable Transition Treatment: An Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis.

The purpose of this study is to identify predictors of treatment outcomes in Rapid Syllable Transition Treatment (ReST) for childhood apraxia of speech through an individual participant data meta-analysis. A systematic literature search identified nine ReST studies for inclusion. Individual participant data were obtained, and studies were coded for methodological design, baseline participant characteristics, service delivery factors, and treatment outcomes. Bivariate analyses were conducted to identify potential predictor variables. Multiple linear regressions were then performed to identify predictors of treatment outcomes. Data for 36 participants from seven studies were included in the statistical analyses. In multivariate modeling, better performance on treated pseudowords posttreatment was predicted by higher baseline expressive language and Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation scores, lower speech inconsistency and percentage of vowels correct, and higher pretreatment accuracy on pseudoword targets. Better performance on untreated real words posttreatment was predicted by higher pretreatment accuracy on real words. Gains in performance and retention of gains were not significantly predicted by any individual variable or combination of variables. Baseline speech and expressive language skills and accuracy on pseudowords and real words were significant predictors of absolute posttreatment performance. Regardless of baseline characteristics, all children were statistically as likely to achieve gains during ReST and retain these gains for up to 4 weeks posttreatment. Large-scale prospective research is required to further examine the effects of dose frequency and co-occurring language impairments on treatment outcomes and the complex co-effects of percentage of vowels correct with other potential predictors. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.19611714.

Poor Speech Perception Is Not a Core Deficit of Childhood Apraxia of Speech: Preliminary Findings.

Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is hypothesized to arise from deficits in speech motor planning and programming, but the influence of abnormal speech perception in CAS on these processes is debated. This study examined speech perception abilities among children with CAS with and without language impairment compared to those with language impairment, speech delay, and typically developing peers. Speech perception was measured by discrimination of synthesized speech syllable continua that varied in frequency (/dɑ/-/ɡɑ/). Groups were classified by performance on speech and language assessments and compared on syllable discrimination thresholds. Within-group variability was also evaluated. Children with CAS without language impairment did not significantly differ in syllable discrimination compared to typically developing peers. In contrast, those with CAS and language impairment showed significantly poorer syllable discrimination abilities compared to children with CAS only and typically developing peers. Children with speech delay and language impairment also showed significantly poorer discrimination abilities, with appreciable within-group variability. These findings suggest that speech perception deficits are not a core feature of CAS but rather occur with co-occurring language impairment in a subset of children with CAS. This study establishes the significance of accounting for language ability in children with CAS. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5848056.

Speech Sound Disorder and Co-Occurring Language Impairment

Speech Sound Disorder and Co-Occurring Language Impairment

Rapid Linguistic Ambiguity Resolution in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Eye Tracking Evidence for the Limits of Weak Central Coherence.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have often been reported to have difficulty integrating information into its broader context, which has motivated the Weak Central Coherence theory of ASD. In the linguistic domain, evidence for this difficulty comes from reports of impaired use of linguistic context to resolve ambiguous words. However, recent work has suggested that impaired use of linguistic context may not be characteristic of ASD, and is instead better explained by co-occurring language impairments. Here, we provide a strong test of these claims, using the visual world eye tracking paradigm to examine the online mechanisms by which children with autism resolve linguistic ambiguity. To address concerns about both language impairments and compensatory strategies, we used a sample whose verbal skills were strong and whose average age (7; 6) was lower than previous work on lexical ambiguity resolution in ASD. Participants (40 with autism and 40 controls) heard sentences with ambiguous words in contexts that either strongly supported one reading or were consistent with both (John fed/saw the bat). We measured activation of the unintended meaning through implicit semantic priming of an associate (looks to a depicted baseball glove). Contrary to the predictions of weak central coherence, children with ASD, like controls, quickly used context to resolve ambiguity, selecting appropriate meanings within a second. We discuss how these results constrain the generality of weak central coherence.

Speech abilities in preschool children with speech sound disorder with and without co-occurring language impairment.

The authors compared preschool children with co-occurring speech sound disorder (SSD) and language impairment (LI) to children with SSD only in their numbers and types of speech sound errors. In this post hoc quasi-experimental study, independent samples t tests were used to compare the groups in the standard score from different tests of articulation/phonology, percent consonants correct, and the number of omission, substitution, distortion, typical, and atypical error patterns used in the production of different wordlists that had similar levels of phonetic and structural complexity. In comparison with children with SSD only, children with SSD and LI used similar numbers but different types of errors, including more omission patterns ( p < .001, d = 1.55) and fewer distortion patterns ( p = .022, d = 1.03). There were no significant differences in substitution, typical, and atypical error pattern use. Frequent omission error pattern use may reflect a more compromised linguistic system characterized by absent phonological representations for target sounds (see Shriberg et al., 2005). Research is required to examine the diagnostic potential of early frequent omission error pattern use in predicting later diagnoses of co-occurring SSD and LI and/or reading problems.

Review of Language impairment and psychopathology in infants, children, and adolescents.

NANCY J. COHEN Language Impairment and Psychopathology in Infants, Children, and Adolescents Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2001, 230 pages (ISBN 0-7619-2025-0, us$32.95, Softcover) Reviewed by JEREMY I. CARPENDALE and ARLENE R.YOUNG Approximately half of the children referred to mental health clinics for social-emotional problems have, on testing, been shown to have co-occurring language impairment. Conversely, about the same percentage of children originally seen for difficulties with language are later diagnosed with social-emotional problems. It is this overlap that Nancy Cohen explores in this concise and immensely readable book. In the first two chapters, essential terminology and features of normal and disordered speech and language development and child psychopathology are provided. Once this essential groundwork is established, Cohen goes on to review a diverse array of potential contributors to the overlap between language impairment and psychopathology across development. Cohen outlines, for example, how difficulties in interacting with others and understanding social interaction can delay language development by restricting relevant experience. Conversely, communication problems and difficulties in understanding others can lead to improvised social interaction, which in turn could result in abnormal social emotional development. The direction of these relations is controversial and is likely to be bidirectional. This book does the field a great service in integrating an impressive range of research and theory. Cohen draws extensively on developmental research and theory and draws out the connections with psychopathology. In doing so, she provides a good example of developmental psychopathology, that is, work in the intersection of developmental psychology and psychopathology. In particular, Cohen takes a developmental perspective in charting the changing relations between language and social competence, and describing possible transactional cycles between language and social understanding. The subtle and clearly complex interplay between language and various aspects of development is a recurrent theme throughout the book. In one section, for example, research is described showing that deaf children with hearing parents are delayed in their development of social understanding. Cohen notes, however, that this is not the case for deaf children with deaf parents, who are skilled in sign language. Thus, it appears that the delay is the result of a lack of access to complex language. This example illustrates the importance of access to complex talk about the social world in children's development of social understanding. In adolescence, language may be important for presenting arguments to hold one's ground and negotiate. If adolescents are not competent in using language, they may either withdraw from social interaction or resort to negative behaviours. Also in adolescence the use of figurative speech, metaphor, irony, and sarcasm increases, and if adolescents cannot understand their peers they are likely to be rejected. The final two chapters of the book attempt to draw the reviewed research findings into the clinical arena by focusing on approaches to assessment and treatment. Cohen advocates extending the standardized assessment model to include multiple domains of development, including pragmatics and theory of mind. Similarly, after summarizing major approaches to intervention, the treatment chapter points to the need to develop treatments specifically geared for children with co-occurring language and socialemotional difficulties. Now that we have praised this book and encouraged researchers and clinicians to read it, we wish briefly to consider the question of why we need a book like this. What led us to this situation in which we need to have it pointed out that language and social understanding are intimately interrelated? Once Cohen has pointed this out it seems immediately obvious. …