Expressive Language Development Research Articles

A meta-analysis of the relationship between speech and language development in children with nonsyndromic cleft palate with or without cleft lip.

Children with nonsyndromic cleft palate with or without cleft lip are at risk of speech production and language delays. In typical development, a strong relationship exists between speech and expressive language development. However, the understanding of this relationship in children with nonsyndromic cleft palate with or without cleft lip is incomplete. The objective of this study was to determine the average correlation between consonant inventory and two expressive language skills in children with NSCP ± L. The study used a random effects meta-analyses design. Articles were included by searching PubMed, APA PsycINFO, and ERIC. Correlations between consonant inventory and (1) expressive vocabulary and (2) mean length of utterance. Based on eight studies representing 187 children with nonsyndromic cleft palate with or without cleft lip, consonant inventory was positively correlated with expressive vocabulary size (k = 8, z = 0.74, SE = .16, p < .001, [0.424, 1.052]). Using data from four studies, representing 83 children with nonsyndromic cleft palate with or without cleft lip, consonant inventory had a positive nonsignificant correlation with mean length of utterance (k = 4, z = 0.513, SE = 0.293, p = .081, [-0.063, 1.088]). Results support a connection between consonant inventory and expressive vocabulary size in children with nonsyndromic cleft palate with or without cleft lip across four languages. Small consonant inventories are often associated with expressive language delays.

Follow-up of expressive language and general development at 12, 18 and 36 months for children with no canonical babbling at 10 months

ABSTRACT Little is known about the developmental trajectories in children who do not use canonical babbling (CB) at 10 months. The aim was to examine how speech, language, cognitive and motor abilities developed in children without CB. For 15 children identified as not having CB, consonant production, expressive vocabulary and general development were assessed at 12, 18 and 36 months from audio–video recordings. Twelve (79%) children still lacked CB at 12 months. At 18 months, six (40%) had parent-reported expressive vocabulary results below the 10th percentile, and two (14%) did not use dental/alveolar stops. The percentage of consonants correct for the group was at the level of peers at 36 months (89%, SD 0.17), but the group had fewer established target consonants than age norms. Most children had a small expressive vocabulary in comparison with Swedish age norms for younger children as well as with age-matched norms for other Nordic languages. The general development (Bayley-III) for three children (21%) who did not use speech was 1–2 SD below the average range in at least one domain (cognitive, language or motor), but the results for the whole group were within the average range. In conclusion, the heterogeneity in early consonant development in the study group resembles that of children in clinical groups with known risk for speech and language difficulties and the expressive vocabulary resembles that of children with delayed expressive vocabulary. For about one-fifth of the children, the absence of canonical babbling at age 10 months could be seen as an early sign of a more comprehensive developmental disability.

The Development of Expressive Language of Autism Spectrum Disorder Students from Their Teachers' Perspective

Improving communication specially through expressive language is the main goal that students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) need to acquire. Students with ASD can face difficulties when communicating with others because they have poor expressive language. They could not even form a full sentence without being trained. This study aimed to investigate the development of expressive language of ASD students from their teachers’ perspective. The researcher used mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative). The tools were a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. The participants in this research were 30 male and female teachers from Yanbu and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The results showed that the expressive language of ASD students was very poor before joining speech therapy sessions. Using methods like group playing and modelling had a positive effect on developing ASD student’s expressive language.

A Case Report on Infant Aural Rehabilitation Using Korean Auditory, Language, and Cognitive Rehabilitation for Infants

The purpose of this paper is to report the effectiveness and significance of aural rehabilitation using the Korean Auditory, language, and cognitive Rehabilitation for Infants (KARI) program. The KARI program was administered to an infant diagnosed with hearing loss at 9 months of age. A total of 45 KARI sessions were conducted for 13 months. Four developmental areas, auditory, language and social communication, overall and vocal and articulatory were evaluated at 10, 15, and 18 months of age for initial, progress, and final tests. After aural rehabilitation with KARI, in the area of auditory development, the infant showed normal range. In the area of language and social communication, the infant exhibited normal receptive language and non-verbal communication skills but showed significant delays in speech due to the diagnosed submucous cleft palate. In the area of overall developmental screening, Korean Developmental Screening Test for Infants &amp; Children scores were at peer level in cognition and social skills. However, gross motor, fine motor, language, and self-help skills were in the range of needing further testing. In the areas of vocalization and articulation, vocalization showed normal range, but articulation development showed delayed development. Although development of expressive language and articulation was delayed due to submucous cleft palate, the overall results showed good progression with KARI in other areas. Therefore, it is hoped that the KARI would be used to promote aural rehabilitation for the infants with hearing impaired.

Measures to Organize Steam Education Activities for Children with Autism in Vietnam

This study assessed the expressive language development of M.T, a 5-6-year-old child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), following a STEAM educational intervention conducted in April 2023. Using a structured plan aimed at enhancing expressive language, the project involved activities like “Making Scented Jars” and “Making a Bird's Nest.” M. showed marked improvements, scoring 36 points in the post-intervention assessment, a 10-point increase from the baseline, placing him in the "Fair" category (Level 3). Key progress areas included the ability to present using visual aids and answer open-ended "Why?" questions. Initially unable to present and displaying negative reactions, M. gradually understood presentation structures and organized content more logically. He began to use simple negative sentences and sequence words effectively in storytelling. Additional gains were observed in daily use of names, actions, qualities, and polite expressions, indicating broader communicative improvement. Feedback from teachers and parents highlighted increased attention, interest, and confidence in STEAM activities. M.'s ability to engage in storytelling and role-playing significantly enhanced his classroom participation and reduced the need for external support. These findings underscore the potential of tailored STEAM activities to foster language development in children with ASD.

Analysis of the Role of Facial Expression in Media Presence in the Development of Social, Emotional, and Expressive Language Skills in Children Aged 3-4 Years

This study aims to analyze the role of facial expression media in developing social-emotional and expressive language skills in children aged 3-4 years. A qualitative descriptive method was used, with data collected through observations and interviews at several kindergartens. The results indicate that media such as hand puppets, picture books, and digital applications displaying facial expressions significantly contribute to the enhancement of emotion recognition and expression, as well as the development of children's expressive language. This research recommends the integration of facial expression media into early childhood education curricula to support their holistic development.

Expressive language variation, growth and predictors in Mandarin-exposed young children with autism spectrum disorder

Utilizing the Putonghua Communicative Development Inventory-Toddler Form, this longitudinal study assessed expressive language development (including lexicon, grammar, and decontextualized language) twice over a year’s span in two subgroups (high verbal, low verbal) of 77 2–6-year-old Mandarin-exposed children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Both subgroups showed the steeper increase of structural language (lexicon and grammar) vs. the flatter growth of decontextualized language. Moreover, children’s initial language skills (but not autism severity or language environment) predicted language outcomes one year later in both groups. The use of decontextualized language also predicted structural language development in the low verbal group. These findings confirmed the uneven expressive language growth across multiple language domains in subgroups of children with ASD and underscored the contribution of early language skills to their expressive language development. Moreover, the slow growth and significant predictivity of decontextualized language warrant targeted intervention in promoting children with ASD’s talk beyond the ‘here-and-now’ situation in communication.

Toward culturally-appropriate communication assessment for Indigenous Australian children with autism

We sought to determine if the Hearing and Talking Scale (HATS)—a tool developed to assess the communication, speech, and language development of Indigenous Australian children—might be applicable to Indigenous Australian children with autism. A HATS assessment was completed with four Indigenous Australian children. The children were aged 3–5 years and had been diagnosed with autism. The results were compared to scores from the Receptive-Expressive Emergent Language Scale (REEL-4), which is a standardised, norm-referenced assessment of expressive and receptive language development. The children’s early childhood teachers served as informants. Both the HATS and REEL-4 identified varying degrees of communication impairment suggesting that their combined use may represent a culturally appropriate and feasible communication assessment strategy. Future research into the reliability and validity of the HATS for assessing the communicative functioning of young Indigenous Australian children with autism or other types of developmental disabilities or delay is warranted.

White matter development and language abilities during infancy in autism spectrum disorder.

White matter (WM) fiber tract differences are present in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and could be important markers of behavior. One of the earliest phenotypic differences in ASD are language atypicalities. Although language has been linked to WM in typical development, no work has evaluated this association in early ASD. Participants came from the Infant Brain Imaging Study and included 321 infant siblings of children with ASD at high likelihood (HL) for developing ASD; 70 HL infants were later diagnosed with ASD (HL-ASD), and 251 HL infants were not diagnosed with ASD (HL-Neg). A control sample of 140 low likelihood infants not diagnosed with ASD (LL-Neg) were also included. Infants contributed expressive language, receptive language, and diffusion tensor imaging data at 6-, 12-, and 24 months. Mixed effects regression models were conducted to evaluate associations between WM and language trajectories. Trajectories of microstructural changes in the right arcuate fasciculus were associated with expressive language development. HL-ASD infants demonstrated a different developmental pattern compared to the HL-Neg and LL-Neg groups, wherein the HL-ASD group exhibited a positive association between WM fractional anisotropy and language whereas HL-Neg and LL-Neg groups showed weak or no association. No other fiber tracts demonstrated significant associations with language. In conclusion, results indicated arcuate fasciculus WM is linked to language in early toddlerhood for autistic toddlers, with the strongest associations emerging around 24 months. To our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate associations between language and WM development during the pre-symptomatic period in ASD.

Pengembangan Kemampuan Bahasa Ekspresif Anak Melalui Membaca Nyaring Buku Berbasis Nilai Agama dan Moral di TKIT Permata Bunda Merauke

The development of expressive language needs to be developed so that children can express their opinions and thoughts to other people. Children's expressive language development can be developed through the reading aloud method. This research aims to examine the development of children's expressive language skills through reading aloud at TKIT Permata Bunda. The research method used is descriptive qualitative. The subjects of this research were group A children aged 4-5 years and two teachers. Data collection techniques include interviews, documentation and direct observation. The results of the research show that developing children's expressive language skills can be done through the activity of reading aloud books based on religious and moral values. The implementation stage includes planning by selecting books according to the child's development level and containing religious and moral values. The next stage is implementation in the form of introducing the book, reading the story book aloud with the right intonation, holding a discussion and asking stimulating questions and motivating the child to retell the story. Next, the teacher carries out an assessment to determine the achievement of expressive language development.

Early Postoperative Benefits in Receptive and Expressive Language Development After Cochlear Implantation Under 9 Months of Age in Comparison to Implantation at Later Ages.

The recent expansion of eligibility for cochlear implantation (CI) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to include infants as young as 9 months has reignited debates concerning the clinically appropriate cut-off age for pediatric CI. Our study compared the early postoperative trajectories of receptive and expressive language development in children who received CI before 9 months of age with those who received it between 9 and 12 months. This study involved a unique pediatric cohort with documented etiology, where the timing of CI was based on objective criteria and efforts were made to minimize the influence of parental socioeconomic status. A retrospective review of 98 pediatric implantees recruited at a tertiary referral center was conducted. The timing of CI was based on auditory and language criteria focused on the extent of delay corresponding to the bottom 1st percentile of language development among age-matched controls, with patients categorized into very early (CI at <9 months), early (CI at 9-12 months) and delayed (CI at 12-18 months) CI groups. Postoperative receptive/expressive language development was assessed using the Sequenced Language Scale for Infants receptive and expressive standardized scores and percentiles. Only the very early CI group showed significant improvements in receptive language starting at 3 months post-CI, aligning with normal-hearing peers by 9 months and maintaining this level until age 2 years. During this period (<2 years), all improvements were more pronounced in receptive language than in expressive language. CI before 9 months of age significantly improved receptive language development compared to later CI, with improvements sustained at least up to the age of 2. This study supports the consideration of earlier CI, beyond pediatric Food and Drug Administration labeling criteria (>9 months), in children with profound deafness who have a clear deafness etiology and language development delays (<1st percentile).

Upaya Guru Menstimulasi Perkembangan Bahasa Ekspresif Anak Usia Dini di TK Rumah Balita Pintar Kecamatan Tanjung Bintang Kabupaten Lampung Selatan

Language development is the most important aspect of development. This aspect of development must be achieved from an early age. One of them is the development of expressive language. To achieve optimal expressive language development, all potential can be stimulated by the teacher. This study aims to describe the efforts of teachers in stimulating the development of expressive language in early childhood at the Smart Toddler House Kindergarten, Tanjung Bintang District. This research is a research using descriptive qualitative approach method. Sources of research data obtained from primary data and secondary data. The researcher obtained primary data from the results of interviews with class B teachers at the Smart Toddler House Kindergarten and observations of teachers and children regarding the development of children's expressive language. Secondary data obtained from the results of documentation in the form of photos. The data obtained is then collected, reduced, described, tested for the validity of the data and concluded.The results of the study indicated that the efforts of the teacher at the Smart Toddler House Kindergarten, Tanjung Bintang District, had developed the expressive language skills of grade B early childhood through the storytelling method using finger puppet media which was carried out optimally.

Varying Syntax to Enhance Verb-Focused Intervention for 30-Month-Olds With Language Delay: A Concurrent Multiple Baseline Design.

The purpose of this study is to determine if 2.5-year-olds with language delay would learn verbs (spill) when presented with varying syntactic structure ("The woman is spilling the milk"/"The milk is spilling"; milk = patient or theme) in a therapeutic context. Children with language delay have proportionally small inventories of verbs, which limits expressive language development. Children who have typical language development learn verbs more robustly when presented with alternating arguments than with a single argument structure. Three toddlers with expressive language delay (29-30 months of age) participated in a verb-focused treatment study using a concurrent multiple baseline design. Participants were shown action videos accompanied by sentences with varied argument structure for each target verb. To assess learning pre- and posttreatment, participants were asked to demonstrate actions corresponding to each verb. Visual inspection and tau analyses reveal significant posttreatment gains of target verbs taught with varying argument structures. Our results indicate that learning verbs with high variability of argument roles may facilitate a strong link between lexical representations of verbs and their syntactic structures. Using argument structure variability to teach verbs as an intervention strategy has great potential and should be tested further in larger group studies.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF RECEPTIVE AND EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE INDICATORS IN PRIMARY SCHOOLCHILDREN WITH SEPTAL CONGENITAL HEART DEFECTS

Highlights In recent years, congenital heart defects (CHD) have remained the most prevalent diseases in young children. Opinions on the health of children who have undergone cardiac surgery vary: for example, there are data in the literature indicating that speech disorders following cardiac surgery are present in 56% of cases, whereas cognitive disorders are present in 21% of cases. Aim. To study the level of development of receptive and expressive language in primary schoolchildren with septal congenital heart defects before surgical correction. Methods. The prospective study of children (n = 90) with septal congenital heart defects (atrium septal defect, n = 75; ventricle septal defect n = 15) before surgical correction was conducted at the Scientific Research Institute of Complex Issues of Cardiovascular Diseases (Kemerovo). The anamnesis, clinical symptoms, hemodynamics and the level of speech development (receptive and expressive language) were studied.Results. In children with septal heart defects, speech disorders were noted in 82% of cases: 56% of children had common speech disorders, 26% had delayed speech development. Expressive language skills of these children can be often characterized by delayed development, which manifests in the form of articulation disorder, difficulties with grammar syntax and morphology, and pronunciation disorders. There were no statistically significant differences between the level of expressive language and the type of CHD (p = 0.125).Conclusion. Even in the absence of intracardiac hemodynamic disorders in children with septal CHD, detected neurodevelopmental delays at the preoperative period necessitates the implementation of the interdisciplinary approach in the management of children with such pathology.

How Good is Your Memory Game Relates to Children's Expressive Language Development

How Good is Your Memory Game Relates to Children's Expressive Language Development

A different perspective into clinical symptoms in CPT I deficiency

Carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPT I) deficiency is an autosomal recessive disorder causing long-chain fatty acid oxidation defect, characterized by metabolic decompensation episodes accompanied by hypoketotic hypoglycemia, hepatomegaly, seizures, renal tubular acidosis, and hyperammonemia. The aim of this study was to investigate the neurological symptoms in CPT I deficiency and different outcomes with respect to predisposing factors for sequela and to draw attention to the neurological impairment that may develop during the course of the disease. The retrospective study reviewed clinical characteristics of 14 patients. Mean follow-up period was 10.3 ± 4.7 (range: 8 months-18.6 years; median: 10 years) years. Three patients were diagnosed with newborn screening. In the symptomatic group (n = 12) most common presenting symptoms were psychomotor retardation (n = 6), seizures (n = 5), encephalopathy (n = 5), dystonia (n = 1), Reye-like syndrome (n = 5), muscle weakness (n = 3), and autism (n = 1). Neurologic findings detected in the follow-up period included speech disorder (n = 9), abnormal cranial MRI findings (n = 5), neuropathy (n = 1), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (n = 1). Speech disorders collectively included delayed expressive language development, speech articulation disorder, speech delay, stuttering, and specific speech difficulties. After starting treatment for CPT I deficiency, speech disorders improved in 3 patients. Our findings confirmed that the clinical manifestations of CPT I deficiency is wider than previously thought, causing specific neurologic dysfunction, mainly speech disorders at a large scale, that were unexpected in a fatty acid oxidation disorder. We suggest that early diagnosis and treatment is the key factor to prevent neurologic sequelae while an extensive neurological evaluation is essential in patients with CPT I deficiency both at the time of diagnosis and during the follow-up period.

Applying a Developmental Model to Preliterate Aided Language Learning.

Childhood spoken language interventions and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) interventions share a common purpose: maximizing communication and language outcomes. To ensure that interventions for children who require AAC also address expressive language acquisition, this clinical focus article focuses on how to apply a developmental model of language acquisition to guide AAC decision making for preliterate aided communicators, with a particular focus on vocabulary selection. A brief review of early expressive language development is presented, along with arguments for why relying on a developmental model to guide AAC decision making is so critical. A series of detailed examples of how to apply a developmental model to various AAC vocabulary selection approaches are provided, including analyses of how well each approach aligns with pragmatic, semantic, grammatical, and narrative development. No single AAC approach for preliterate AAC language learners adequately addresses both immediate and longer-term expressive language needs; every approach has both strengths and weaknesses. Clinical decision making requires an analysis of each approach to ensure that AAC service delivery teams clearly understand the inevitable linguistic gaps, with plans put into place to fill in those gaps with different approaches. Future efforts to improve preliterate AAC service provision should use a developmental model of language as a starting point, in combination with input from families, educators, and clinicians to ensure the feasibility of the chosen approaches.

Piloting building early sentences therapy for pre-school children with low language abilities: An examination of efficacy and the role of sign as an active ingredient.

Early intervention is recommended for pre-school children with low language. However, few robustly evaluated language interventions for young children exist. Furthermore, in many interventions the theoretical underpinnings are underspecified and the 'active ingredients' of the interventions not tested. This paper presents a quasi-experimental study to test the efficacy and examine the active ingredients of Building Early Sentences Therapy (BEST): an intervention based on usage-based theory designed to support young children to understand and produce two-, three- and four-clause element sentences. BEST manipulates the input children hear to support them to harness the cognitive mechanisms hypothesized in usage-based theories to promote the development of abstract linguistic representations. One such input manipulation is the use of signing alongside verbal input signalling both content and morphology of target sentences. To examine whether (1) BEST is more efficacious than treatment as usual (TAU); and (2) signing of content and morphology is an active ingredient of the intervention. A quasi-experimental study recruited children aged 3;5-4;5 years from 13 schools. Schools were assigned to receive either BEST with sign, BEST without sign or TAU. The TAU group received their usual classroom provision. Across arms schools were matched with respect to classroom oral language environment and indices of deprivation. Participants were 48 children (28 boys) with expressive and/or receptive language abilities ≤ 16th centile measured using the New Reynell Developmental Language Scales (NRDLS). Outcomes gathered by researchers blind to treatment arm were NRDLS production and comprehension standard scores and measures of production of targeted sentence structures. Primary outcomes indicate that BEST with sign was significantly more efficacious than TAU with respect to NRDLS production standard score, but not comprehension. The advantage for production was maintained at follow-up. BEST without sign was significantly more efficacious than TAU on measures of targeted vocabulary, sentence structure and morphology. The results from this quasi-experimental study provide evidence for the efficacy of a usage-based intervention on expressive language outcomes for preschool children with low language abilities. There is also evidence to support the inclusion of sign as an active ingredient, and so efforts to train interventionists in its use are worthwhile. Patterns of findings across outcomes suggest signing of content and morphology may support the development of abstract linguistic representations and accelerate language learning. Given these positive results and the scale of this study, a fully powered randomized controlled trial is warranted. What is already known on the subject Robust language skills are crucial for positive social, emotional, academic and economic outcomes across the lifespan. There is a paucity of robustly evaluated interventions for preschool children with language difficulties. The development of such interventions is crucial for ameliorating language difficulties and promoting positive educational and psychosocial outcomes. What this study adds to the existing knowledge This paper evaluates BEST, a novel usage-based language intervention targeting children with language difficulties in the early years. Findings indicate that a usage-based intervention is efficacious for treating language difficulties. In particular, BEST benefited expressive language development, bringing benefits to both treated and untreated language structures and improving standard scores. The role of sign as an active ingredient is also supported. Further evaluation is warranted. What are the practical and clinical implications of this work? Findings suggest that BEST may be effective for targeting children who have been identified as having language difficulties. In particular, expressive language may be improved when the intervention is delivered as it was originally manualized, including a signing system to represent content and grammatical morphology. More broadly, these findings also provide preliminary evidence that the use of a signing system does not hinder oral language development in children with language difficulties and may conversely support their expressive language. Future research exploring the role and underpinning mechanisms of sign in language intervention is warranted.

어머니의 상호작용행동이 영아의 상호작용행동과 언어발달에 미치는 영향

Objectives This study examined the relationship between infants' language development, infants' interactive be-haviors, and mothers' interactive behaviors, and analyzed the effects of mothers' interactive behaviors on infants' interactive behaviors and infants' expressive and receptive language development.&#x0D; Methods To this end, a survey was conducted among the mothers of 170 infants under the age of 48 months who were enrolled in a daycare center in Gyeonggi-do. The collected data were calculated using the SPSS Statistics 21 program to calculate frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, skewness, kurtosis and tolerance be-tween items. Pearson's right rate correlation analysis was performed to analyze the correlation between each vari-able, and hierarchical regression analysis was performed to analyze the effect between each variable.&#x0D; Results First, as a result of analyzing the correlation between infants' language development and infants' and mothers' interactive behaviors, infants' interactive behaviors were both statically correlated with their mothers' in-teractive behaviors, and infants' language development was statically correlated with both infants' interactive be-haviors and mothers' interactive behaviors. Second, the mother's interactive behavior has been shown to have a static effect on the infant's interactive behavior. Among the sub-factors of mothers' interactive behaviors, re-activity was found to have a static effect on infants' initiative, intentional, and emotional interactions. Efficiency was found to have a static effect on infants' social interactions, and non-directiveness had a static effect on in-fants' social and emotional interactions. Third, it was confirmed that the mother's interactive behavior had a static effect on the development of expressive language and receptive language of infants.&#x0D; Conclusions First, in order to compensate for the limitations of the parent-reported evaluation method of this study, we propose a method of comparative study of parent-reported evaluation and expert direct evaluation. Second, it is necessary to analyze the influence between the sub-factors of each variable and look specifically at the relationship between each factor. Third, among the parental characteristics that affect infants' language devel-opment, there is also a need to conduct research on father-related variables and family environment variables. Fourth, in future research, it will be necessary to analyze the effect of mother's interaction behavior on the detailed developmental areas of infants and provide basic data that can promote infant development.

Risiko Infeksi Plasmodium Falciparum dalam Kehamilan terhadap Perkembangan Bahasa Reseptif dan Ekspresif pada Anak Balita

This study aims to analyze the relationship between Plasmodium Falciparum infection in pregnancy and impaired receptive and expressive language development in children under five. The research method uses an observational analytical design with a case-control approach. The results of the study showed that there was no significant relationship between a history of plasmodium falciparum infection in pregnancy and receptive language disorders in children under five, and there was no meaningful relationship between a history of plasmodium falciparum infection in pregnancy and expressive language disorders in children under five. In conclusion, a history of Plasmodium falciparum infection during pregnancy is not associated with impaired receptive and expressive language development in children under five.&#x0D; &#x0D; Keywords: Expressive, Pregnancy, Language Development, Plasmodium Falciparum, Receptive