English-speaking Children Research Articles

How well do schoolchildren and adolescents know the form and meaning of different derivational suffixes? Evidence from a cross-sectional study

Abstract As children advance through school, derived words become increasingly common in their reading materials. Previous studies have shown that children’s knowledge of derivational morphology develops relatively slowly, but there is more to learn about this development. This study examined differences in knowledge of the form and meaning of suffixes across grade levels (Grades 3, 5, and 8) and different types of derivational suffixes (adjectives and nominals). We assessed 309 English-speaking children on word reading and receptive vocabulary tests and two tasks designed to assess the form (orthographic knowledge) and meaning (semantic knowledge) of 28 derivational suffixes (14 adjectives and 14 nominals). Overall, our findings showed a significant improvement in identifying and understanding derivational suffixes from Grade 3 to Grade 5 and a smaller, but still significant, improvement from Grade 5 to Grade 8. Our findings regarding suffix types were mixed. While written forms of adjectives were identified more accurately than nominals across all grades, this advantage did not extend to the students’ understanding of the meaning of the suffixes. These results highlight the distinction between the identification of suffixes and the understanding of their meaning. We discuss our results in relation to suffix frequency in children’s reading materials.

The moderating role of gender and acculturative status in the socialization of cultural values in U.S. Mexican families.

Familismo and respeto are traditional Latine values often taught to U.S. Latine children by their caregivers. Deference to authority figures and restraint from defiance to such figures are also taught. Despite the central role of these as markers of Latine ethnic identity and their relevance to children's health and well-being, little is known on how these traditional cultural values are socialized and whether differences exist in these values between English-speaking and Spanish-speaking U.S. Latine mothers and between boys and girls. We examined expressions of familismo, respeto, deference, and defiance in conversations of low-income, U.S. Mexican mothers and their children as a function of mothers' acculturative status and children's gender. One hundred thirty-eight video-recorded U.S. Mexican mother-child conversations (65 girls; age: M = 10.5 years, SD = 0.53) were transcribed and coded to obtain indices of respeto, familismo, deference, and defiance. There were 70 Spanish-speaking mothers and 68 English-speaking mothers (age: M = 34.9 years, SD = 5.8) from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation project. Spanish-speaking children were more deferent than English-speaking children. English-speaking children were more defiant. There were no group differences, however, in familism and respect. The findings advance a more nuanced conceptual framework of cultural values socialization that is sensitive to acculturative status in U.S. Latine populations and can inform the development of effective intervention efforts (e.g., parenting education programs) aimed at supporting enculturative practices that can enhance U.S. Latine children's health and well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The Effects of Phonological Complexity on Word Production in French-Speaking Children.

Word complexity indices, such as the Index of Phonetic Complexity (IPC) and the Word Complexity Measure (WCM), code a word in terms of featural and structural properties that pose difficulty in phonological development. Studies have investigated the influence of complexity indices on vocabulary development; however, few have examined their influence on consonant accuracy. Furthermore, these indices were developed for English-speaking children and have not been widely applied to other languages. This study investigates whether a word's phonological complexity influences how accurately it is produced in French-speaking children. Four databases consisting of the productions of children (n = 74), aged 1;11 to 4;9, were analyzed. Words were coded in terms of the IPC, WCM, and parameters that add complexity during phonological development. Using mixed-effects logistic regression, we examined whether phonological complexity as determined by the IPC, WCM, or by alternative indices better accounts for the influence of complexity on production. We also investigated whether the accuracy of a target sound/structure was influenced by a word's complexity. Results indicated that complexity based on the IPC or WCM significantly influenced consonant accuracy; however, indices tapping fewer features provided superior model fit. At younger ages, the presence of fricatives/liquids and, at all ages, the presence of alveopalatal fricatives, codas, and clusters significantly influenced accuracy. Findings were inconclusive as to whether whole word complexity influenced the accuracy of a target sound/structure. Results suggest that current complexity indices provide only approximate indications of how featural and structural properties of words influence production.

Investigating Dyslexia through Diffusion Tensor Imaging across Ages: A Systematic Review

Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental disorder that presents a deficit in accuracy and/or fluency while reading or spelling that is not expected given the level of cognitive functioning. Research indicates brain structural changes mainly in the left hemisphere, comprising arcuate fasciculus (AF) and corona radiata (CR). The purpose of this systematic review is to better understand the possible methods for analyzing Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) data while accounting for the characteristics of dyslexia in the last decade of the literature. Among 124 articles screened from PubMed and Scopus, 49 met inclusion criteria, focusing on dyslexia without neurological or psychiatric comorbidities. Article selection involved paired evaluation, with a third reviewer resolving discrepancies. The selected articles were analyzed using two topics: (1) a demographic and cognitive assessment of the sample and (2) DTI acquisition and analysis. Predominantly, studies centered on English-speaking children with reading difficulties, with preserved non-verbal intelligence, attention, and memory, and deficits in reading tests, rapid automatic naming, and phonological awareness. Structural differences were found mainly in the left AF in all ages and in the bilateral superior longitudinal fasciculus for readers-children and adults. A better understanding of structural brain changes of dyslexia and neuroadaptations can be a guide for future interventions.

It's All in the Interaction: Early Acquired Words Are Both Frequent and Highly Imageable.

Prior studies have found that children are more likely to learn words that are frequent in the input and highly imageable. Many theories of word learning, however, predict that these variables should interact, particularly early in development: frequency of a form is of little use if you cannot infer its meaning, and a concrete word cannot be acquired if you never hear it. The present study explores this interaction, how it changes over time and its relationship to syntactic category effects in children acquiring American English. We analyzed 1461 monolingual English-speaking children aged 1;4-2;6 from the MB-CDI norming study (Fenson et al., 1994). Word frequency was estimated from the CHILDES database, and imageability was measured using adult ratings. There was a strong over-additive interaction between frequency and imageability, such that children were more likely to learn a word if it was both highly imageable and very frequent. This interaction was larger in younger children than in older children. There were reliable differences between syntactic categories independent of frequency and imageability, which did not interact with age. These findings are consistent with theories in which children's early words are acquired by mapping frequent word forms onto concrete, perceptually available referents, such that highly frequent items are only acquired if they are also imageable, and vice versa.

Parent implementation of a treatment for late talkers based on cross-situational statistical learning principles: Treatment fidelity and acceptability

Purpose Early intervention based on principles of cross-situational statistical learning (CSSL) for late-talking children has shown promise. This study explored whether parents could be trained to deliver this intervention protocol with fidelity and if they found the intervention to be acceptable. Method Mothers of four English-speaking children aged 18–30 months who scored <10th centile for expressive vocabulary were recruited to an 8-week group training program. Parents were taught principles of CSSL and asked to perform 16 home treatment sessions (30 minutes each) in total, providing auditory bombardment of target words in full sentences at high dose number and syntactic variability, using a range of physical exemplars. Home diaries and two videotaped sessions measured treatment fidelity. Pre- and post-treatment questionnaires measured acceptability. Result One parent discontinued the study after the second group training session. Three parents completed 15/16 group training sessions and reported completing 87% of home sessions. Two parents demonstrated implementing the intervention as per the target dose number by the first fidelity session (Weeks 2/3), and the third parent was very close to meeting target dose number by the second fidelity session (Weeks 7/8). Conclusion Parents can be trained to deliver an intervention based on cross-situational statistical learning principles.

Motivations for Primary School Students in EFL Countries to Participate During In-Person English Sessions

Motivations for primary school students to participate in English classes are important for educators in areas that consider English as a foreign language (EFL). Although there is a lot of research discussing how to motivate non-native English-speaking children to participate in sessions, there is little study making an effort to find out what motivates primary school students in EFL regions to engage in their English classes despite their relevance. However, there is still a lack of specific studies, so this is a systematic review of previous studies about motivations for those students to participate during online and in-person sessions because of the limitations of previous literature. By reviewing previous research, this paper finds that both external and internal motivations have an influence on the engagement of EFL primary school students during in-person English sessions. For intrinsic motivations, reward plays an important role in motivating EFL primary school students to learn English. However, students can be influenced by different kinds of motivations at the same time.

Type of bilingualism, task domain, and attention demands impact children's cognitive performance.

The present study investigated the relation between continuous measures of two qualitatively different types of bilingual experience and outcome measures that varied in domain (verbal or nonverbal) and processing demands (degree of conflict). Participants were 195 English-speaking children, 7 years old, who were enrolled in French immersion programs. Children were assessed for their degree of "home bilingualism," reflecting language use patterns at home, and "school bilingualism," reflecting progress in learning French. None of the children spoke French at home. Participants completed verbal fluency, n-back, and global-local tasks, with conditions within tasks varying in degree of attentional processing required. Type of bilingual experience affected verbal and nonverbal tasks differently. Home bilingualism was positively associated with performance on attentionally demanding conditions of the n-back and global-local tasks, the two nonverbal tasks, whereas school bilingualism was positively associated with performance on English verbal fluency, the linguistic task. In both cases, results were modulated by the degree of bilingual experience. These results underline the importance of specifying the type and degree of bilingual experience and the details of the outcome tasks to understand the impact of bilingualism on children's development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

English Prosodic Focus Marking by Cantonese Trilingual Children With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The current study investigated English prosodic focus marking by autistic and typically developing (TD) Cantonese trilingual children, and examined the potential differences in this regard compared to native English-speaking children. Forty-eight participants were recruited with 16 speakers for each of the three groups (Cantonese-speaking autistic [CASD], Cantonese-speaking TD [CTD], and English-speaking TD [ETD] children), and prompt questions were designed to elicit desired focus type (i.e., broad, narrow, and contrastive focus). Mean duration, mean fundamental frequency (F0), F0 range, mean intensity, and F0 curves were used as the acoustic correlates for linear mixed-effects model fitting and functional data analyses in relation to groups and focus conditions (i.e., broad, narrow, and contrastive pre-, on-, and post-focus). The CTD group had post-focus compression (PFC) patterns via reducing mean duration, narrowing F0 range, and lowering mean F0, F0 curve, and mean intensity for words under both narrow and contrastive post-focus conditions, while the CASD group only had shortened mean duration and lowered F0 curves. However, neither the CTD group nor CASD group showed much of on-focus expansion (OFE) patterns. The ETD group marked OFE by increasing mean duration, mean F0, mean intensity, and higher F0 curve for words under on-focus conditions. The CTD group utilized more acoustic cues than the CASD group when it comes to PFC. The ETD group differed from the CASD and CTD groups in the use of OFE. Furthermore, both the CASD and CTD groups showed positive first language transfer in the use of duration and intensity and, potentially, successful acquisition in the use of F0 for prosodic focus marking. Meanwhile, the differences in the use of OFE between the Cantonese-speaking and English-speaking groups, not PFC, might indicate that Cantonese-speaking children acquire PFC prior to OFE.

Quantifying events or entities?—A corpus-based study of universal quantifiers in early child English and child-directed speech

The acquisition of quantifiers is a central topic in cognitive science. The present study investigated the emergence, frequency, and non-target-like production of the universal quantifiers all, every, and each in child English from a linguistic perspective, based on the data from longitudinal naturalistic observation of 10 English-speaking children and their caregivers. We found that the use of these quantifiers as adverbs or in adverbials generally appeared earlier, and was more frequent, than their use as (pre)determiners in early child English. We also found that input frequency exerts a great influence on some aspects of the acquisition of universal quantifiers, for example, the frequency of the predeterminer all, but there are still some patterns that cannot be explained by mere input frequency, such as children’s initial preference for using universal quantifiers in A(dverbial)-quantification and their non-target forms. Their initial overreliance on A-quantification may be explained by event quantification being cognitively less demanding than entity quantification, and their non-target productions likely result from their developing grammatical systems. We argue that the acquisition of universal quantifiers involves multiple factors, such as cognitive complexity, children’s developing grammatical systems, and input frequency, interacting with each other.

Manifestation of speech disfluencies in preschool Cantonese-English speaking bilingual children

ABSTRACT Stuttering is characterised by disruptions in speech fluency that normally emerges between the ages of 2 to 5 when children start to formulate sentences. Current stuttering identification in children is largely based on speech disfluency criteria (>3% stuttering-like disfluencies, SLDs) developed for monolingual English-speaking children. Research in a Western language context shows that application of the criteria for monolingual to bilingual children may result in false positive diagnosis of stuttering. The applicability of these criteria to children speaking languages typologically distinct from English remains unclear. This preliminary study focused on bilingual Cantonese-English-speaking children, aiming to explore the manifestations of the speech disfluencies in Cantonese (a syllable-timed language) and English (a stress-timed language) while accounting for language dominance/proficiency and speaking task. Nineteen typically fluent Cantonese-English bilingual preschoolers were recruited for this study and their speech samples were collected across different speaking tasks (i.e. conversation and narration), and languages (i.e. Cantonese and English). The types and frequency of speech disfluencies were compared across both languages and the speaking tasks. The results showed that between 21–68% of children showed higher than 3% SLDs across different languages and speaking tasks. Linear mixed-effect analysis revealed that the prevalence of SLDs is higher in English (less dominant language) than Cantonese (more dominant language), and the prevalence is also higher in narration than conversation. These findings suggest the need for tailored stuttering identification criteria for bilingual children speaking diverse languages and emphasise the importance of considering language dominance/proficiency and speaking task when assessing stuttering in bilingual populations.

The effects of speaker and exemplar variability in children's cross-situational word learning.

Cross-situational word learning (XSWL) - children's ability to learn words by tracking co-occurrence statistics of words and their referents over time - has been identified as a fundamental mechanism underlying lexical learning. However, it is unknown whether children can acquire new words when faced with variable input in XSWL paradigms, such as varying object exemplars and variable speakers. In the present study, we examine the separate and combined effects of exemplar and speaker variability on XSWL in typically developing English-speaking monolingual children. Results revealed that variability in speakers and exemplars did not facilitate or hinder XSWL performance. However, input that varied in both speakers and exemplars simultaneously did hinder children's word learning. Results from this work suggest that XSWL mechanisms may support categorization and generalization beyond word-object associations, but that accommodating multiple forms of variable input may incur costs. Overall, this research provides new theoretical insights into how fundamental mechanisms of word learning scale to more complex and naturalistic forms of input.

Prosodic skills in Spanish-speaking adolescents and young adults with Down syndrome.

Down syndrome (DS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder of genetic origin with a cognitive-behavioural profile that distinguishes it from other syndromes. Within this profile, language difficulties are particularly marked, having been more studied in childhood than in adulthood. More generally, there is a paucity of research on the prosodic skills of individuals with DS, despite the relevance of this linguistic component for effective communication. This study aimed to analyse, for the first time, the prosodic profile of Spanish-speaking teenagers and young adults with DS. We hypothesized that participants with DS would show significantly lower skills for the perception and production of prosodic functions and forms when compared to peers with intellectual disability (ID) of unknown origin. We also hypothesized that teenagers and young adults with DS would have better prosody perception than prosody production. The final sample included in the study comprised 28 Spanish-speaking teenagers and young adults with DS and 29 teenagers and young adults with other ID matched on chronological age and nonverbal cognition. Their prosodic skills were tested by means of the Profiling Elements of Prosody for Speech and Communication battery. This battery allows for the separate evaluation of the comprehension and expression of the communicative functions of prosody and the discrimination and production of the forms that carry out such functions. In the prosody function tasks, which are the most adaptive tasks for the communicative process, we found, as expected, significantly lower scores on the turn-end, chunking, and focus tasks in the group with DS. However, no significant between-group differences were found for the affect tasks. Participants with DS also had significantly lower scores on the prosodic form tasks than participants with other ID. The results of the comparison between prosodic perception and production skills showed that a generalization about a better profile in comprehension versus production is not possible and that there is a dependence on the demands of the prosodic task undertaken. The findings contribute to the ongoing development of the language profile of teenagers and young adults with DS and imply the need to design prosodic intervention programs based on their specific profile. What is already known on the subject Prosody is a fundamental element of language, and its mastery affects the effectiveness of communication. However, research on prosody in Down syndrome (DS) that offers a holistic view from a psycholinguistic approach is still scarce. To date, studies focused on providing a detailed profile of prosodic skills in individuals with DS have been mainly conducted with a few English-speaking children. These studies have shown that the comprehension and production of prosody is severely impaired, especially when considering affect and focus production, as well as the perception and production of prosodic forms. During childhood, greater efficacy is found in prosody comprehension than in prosody expression. What this study adds This is the first study analysing the prosodic profile of a large group of Spanish-speaking teenagers and young adults with DS. Poorer performance in the perception and production of both prosodic functions and forms was observed in participants with DS compared to participants with intellectual disability of unknown origin matched on chronological age and nonverbal cognition. Unlike what has been previously found in children, teenagers and young adults with DS performed at the same level as the control group on the understanding and expression of affect through prosodic cues. Results also showed that a generalization about a better prosody profile in comprehension versus production is not possible. What are the clinical implications of this work? This study provides new data on the prosodic skills of Spanish-speaking teenagers and young adults with DS. Given the impact of prosody on effective communication and the pattern of difficulties found in this study, speech and language therapists working with individuals with DS should consider including prosodic skills in interventions not only in childhood but also in adolescence and adulthood. Therefore, the prosodic profile of strengths and weaknesses in individuals with DS found in this research has direct implications for clinical practice.

Executive functions-based reading training engages the cingulo-opercular and dorsal attention networks.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a computerized executive functions (EFs)-based reading intervention on neural circuits supporting EFs and visual attention. Seed-to-voxel functional connectivity analysis was conducted focusing on large-scale attention system brain networks, during an fMRI reading fluency task. Participants were 8- to 12-year-old English-speaking children with dyslexia (n = 43) and typical readers (n = 36) trained on an EFs-based reading training (n = 40) versus math training (n = 39). Training duration was 8 weeks. After the EFs-based reading intervention, children with dyslexia improved their scores in reading rate and visual attention (compared to math intervention). Neurobiologically, children with dyslexia displayed an increase in functional connectivity strength after the intervention between the cingulo-opercular network and occipital and precentral regions. Noteworthy, the functional connectivity indices between these brain regions showed a positive correlation with speed of processing and visual attention scores in both pretest and posttest. The results suggest that reading improvement following an EFs-based reading intervention involves neuroplastic connectivity changes in brain areas related to EFs and primary visual processing in children with dyslexia. Our results highlight the need for training underlying cognitive abilities supporting reading, such as EFs and visual attention, in order to enhance reading abilities in dyslexia.

Minimal gains for minimal pairs: Difficulty in learning similar-sounding words continues into preschool

A critical indicator of spoken language knowledge is the ability to discern the finest possible distinctions that exist between words in a language—minimal pairs, for example, the distinction between the novel words beesh and peesh. Infants differentiate similar-sounding novel labels like “bih” and “dih” by 17 months of age or earlier in the context of word learning. Adult word learners readily distinguish similar-sounding words. What is unclear is the shape of learning between infancy and adulthood: Is there a nonlinear increase early in development, or is there protracted improvement as experience with spoken language amasses? Three experiments tested monolingual English-speaking children aged 3 to 6 years and young adults. Children underperformed when learning minimal-pair words compared with adults (Experiment 1), compared with learning dissimilar words even when speech materials were optimized for young children (Experiment 2), and when the number of word instances during learning was quadrupled (Experiment 3). Nonetheless, the youngest group readily recognized familiar minimal pairs (Experiment 3). Results are consistent with a lengthy trajectory for detailed sound pattern learning in one’s native language(s), although other interpretations are possible. Suggestions for research on developmental trajectories across various age ranges are made.

40 Metamemory performance of children with ADHD in comparison to typically developing children.

Objective:Metamemory is an aspect of metacognition that is one's knowledge of memory and understanding of their own memory performance (Kreutzer et al., 1975). Executive function skills are foundational skills required for the development of metamemory in early school-age children (Lockl &amp; Schneider, 2007; Lecce et al., 2015). Previous studies have suggested children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may have weaker study and organizational strategies, suggesting weaker metamemory skills (O'Neill &amp; Douglas, 1991; Voelker et al., 1989). The current study aimed to examine the metamemory knowledge of typically developing (TD) children and children with ADHD on a novel declarative metamemory questionnaire. We hypothesized that the ADHD group would have worse metamemory performance than the TD group and that executive functioning skills would be significantly associated with metamemory for all groups.Participants and Methods:The current study recruited a total of 93 English-speaking children between the ages of 6 to 12 years old, including 70 typically developing (TD) children (M age=9.1+1.92; females 49%), and 23 children with diagnoses of ADHD (M age=9.56+1.27; females 57%). Fifty-seven percent of the ADHD group reported daily use of stimulant medication, but no participants took medication on the day of testing. The participant groups did not significantly differ regarding age or sex. Participants completed the Measure of Metamemory (MoM-10) which included 10 multiple choice questions (i.e., Accuracy) and asked participants to explain their multiple-choice answer (i.e., Explanation). This provided three scores: Accuracy (max 10 points), Explanation (max 20 points), and Total (max 30 points). Additionally, participants' parents completed the 12-item Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, 2nd Edition (BRIEF-2) Screening form, evaluating the child's executive functioning, which provided a percentile based on age and sex.Results:Within the ADHD group, BRIEF-2 percentiles and MoM-10 scores did not differ between those who were medicated and those who were not. As previous literature has shown, the TD and ADHD groups significantly differed on the BRIEF-2 screening score percentiles (t(91)=-5.78, p&lt;0.001; TD M=52.89+26.1; ADHD M=85.26+13.82). The TD and ADHD groups did not significantly differ on either the MoM-10 Accuracy (p=0.13; TD M=7.22+1.84; ADHD M=7.87+1.32), the Explanation (p=0.08; TD M=9.34+3.80; ADHD M=10.57+2.92), or Total (p=0.13). There was a trend towards a significant correlation between the Explanation scores and BRIEF-2 for TD participants (r=-0.23, p=0.06), but there was no significant correlation between Explanation, Accuracy, or Total scores and the BRIEF-2 for the ADHD group.Conclusions:Our results tentatively suggest a possible association between metamemory and parent reported executive functioning for TD children, supporting the expected association between the development of executive functioning and the development of metamemory. However, there was no association between metamemory and executive functioning for children with ADHD, likely due to the restricted range of executive functioning scores for this group (i.e., M=85.25+13.82; Range 55-99). Additionally, metamemory did not significantly differ between diagnostic groups. Children with ADHD may have comparable metamemory knowledge to TD children as a result of executive functioning instruction and support they have received. Rather, there may be group differences in the application of metamemory judgement and strategies.

Cultural relevance of fine motor domain of the ASQ in Guatemala.

Previous research suggests that the Ages and Stages Questionnaire-3rd ed. (ASQ) fine motor domain (FMD) may not be culturally relevant for developmental screening in a rural Guatemalan community, as the FMD accounts for 40% of all abnormal screenings after a needs assessment in this community. We hypothesize this is due to a lack of exposure to objects assessed in the questionnaire, such as blocks or light switches. The FMD scores of rural Guatemalan children (n=56) participating in a child development program were compared with Spanish- and English-speaking Latinx-American children attending a US primary care clinic and screened at yearly well-child checks. Groups were matched for age gender, and socioeconomic status. Item-level analyses explored differences across the three groups. In the Guatemalan sample, the FMD abnormal score rates were 16%, 62%, and zero in the 12-, 24-, and 36-month-old children, respectively. Abnormal scores for the Guatemalan sample on the 24-month ASQ-3 significantly differed (p=.01) when compared to the Latinx-American groups. The 24-month questionnaire has more questions about objects than the 12- and 36-month questionnaires, which may explain the higher rates of abnormal scores. Developmental screening with ASQ-3 may not adequately capture the skills of children in similar communities.

Using "Real-World Data" to Study Cleft Lip/Palate Care: An Exploration of Speech Outcomes from a Multi-Center US Learning Health Network.

To assess the ability of a cleft-specific multi-site learning health network registry to describe variations in cleft outcomes by cleft phenotypes, ages, and treatment centers. Observed variations were assessed for coherence with prior study findings. Cross-sectional analysis of prospectively collected data from 2019-2022. Six cleft treatment centers collected data systematically during routine clinic appointments according to a standardized protocol. 714 English-speaking children and adolescents with non-syndromic cleft lip/palate. Routine multidisciplinary care and systematic outcomes measurement by cleft teams. Speech outcomes included articulatory accuracy measured by Percent Consonants Correct (PCC), velopharyngeal function measured by Velopharyngeal Competence (VPC) Rating Scale (VPC-R), intelligibility measured by caregiver-reported Intelligibility in Context Scale (ICS), and two CLEFT-Q™ surveys, in which patients rate their own speech function and level of speech distress. 12year-olds exhibited high median PCC scores (91-100%), high frequency of velopharyngeal competency (62.50-100%), and high median Speech Function (80-91) relative to younger peers parsed by phenotype. Patients with bilateral cleft lip, alveolus, and palate reported low PCC scores (51-91%) relative to peers at some ages and low frequency of velopharyngeal competency (26.67%) at 5 years. ICS scores ranged from 3.93-5.0 for all ages and phenotypes. Speech Function and Speech Distress were similar across phenotypes. This exploration of speech outcomes demonstrates the current ability of the cleft-specific registry to support cleft research efforts as a source of "real-world" data. Further work is focused on developing robust methodology for hypothesis-driven research and causal inference.

Children’s Reading of Sublexical Units in Years Three to Five: A Combined Analysis of Eye-Movements and Voice Recording

ABSTRACT Purpose Children progress from making grapheme–phoneme connections to making grapho-syllabic connections before whole-word connections during reading development (Ehri, 2005a). More is known about the development of grapheme–phoneme connections than is known about grapho-syllabic connections. Therefore, we explored the trajectory of syllable use in English developing readers during oral reading. Method Fifty-one English-speaking children (mean age: 8.9 years, 55% females, 88% monolinguals) in year groups three, four, and five read aloud sentences with an embedded target word, while their eye movements and voices were recorded. The targets contained six letters and were either one or two syllables. Result Children in grade five had shorter gaze duration, shorter articulation duration, and larger spatial eye-voice span (EVS) than children in grade four. Children in grades three and four did not significantly differ on these measures. A syllable number effect was found for gaze duration but not for articulation duration and spatial EVS. Interestingly, one-syllable words took longer to process compared to two-syllable words, suggesting that more syllables may not always signify greater processing difficulty. Conclusion Overall, children are sensitive to sublexical reading units; however, due to sample and stimuli limitations, these findings should be interpreted with caution and further research conducted.

Word-level reading skills of Brazilian children with developmental language disorder

ABSTRACT Children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) show a wide range of impairments, including poor pre-reading skills and decoding difficulties due to phonological deficits and such difficulties have significant repercussions on the acquisition of written language. However, evidence about reading processes and development is mainly available for English-speaking children with DLD, limiting our understanding of this process in a cross-linguistic manner. The orthographic characteristics of languages significantly influence the learning process of written code. Unlike English, Brazilian Portuguese has a transparent decoding system and its orthography presents a set of consistent, univocal grapheme-phoneme relations. The present study investigated whether the challenges reported in decoding for children with DLD in opaque languages hold for children with DLD who are speakers of Brazilian Portuguese and whether the length and type of stimuli influence the decoding skills of children with DLD differently than when compared to children with typical language development (TLD). Sixteen children with DLD between seven and ten years of age who are monolingual speakers of Brazilian Portuguese and 64 controls with TLD matched by gender, age, and socioeconomic status, with the children with DLD in a 4:1 ratio; participated in the study. All children performed a computerized task where they were asked to decode a linguistically balanced list of words and nonwords designed according to Brazilian Portuguese decoding rules. The present study provides substantial evidence that children with DLD who are speakers of Brazilian Portuguese have deficits in the acquisition of decoding and that the decoding profile of children with DLD is subject to multiple influences, not only with relation to the length and type of stimuli but also characteristics of the languages these children are being literate in, highlighting the multifactorial nature involved in the development of decoding.