Language Development Milestones Research Articles

LAYAR KECIL, MASALAH BESAR: ANALISIS PENGGUNAAN SMARTPHONE DAN PENGARUHNYA TERHADAP KETERLAMBATAN BERBICARA ANAK

This research aims to analyze the relationship between smartphone use and speech delay in children. Over the past decade, the penetration of smartphones has increased significantly, resulting in early and intensive screen exposure among children. This study employs a quantitative method with structured surveys and direct observation of 10 children aged 4-5 years from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Data was collected regarding the daily duration of smartphone use, the type of content accessed, and parent-child interactions while using the device. Preliminary results indicate a significant negative correlation between the duration of smartphone use and the development of speech abilities. Children who spend more time with smartphones tend to show delays in reaching language development milestones compared to those with less exposure. Furthermore, this study identifies that the quality of parent-child interaction during smartphone use, such as joint discussions and verbal interactions, can mitigate and minimize the negative impact of smartphone usage. This research provides vital insights into the impact of digital technology on child development and offers recommendations for parents and early childhood education practitioners. Keywords: smartphone use, speech delay, child development, digital technology, parent-child interaction.

Assessing Language Ability of Adolescent Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders

The main characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) lay on the ability to communicate and interact with others. Meanwhile, communication and interaction are highly related to the ability to understand language and ability to convey information. This qualitative study was conducted to identify the language ability of adolescent students with ASD receptively and expressively. Data were collected at seven junior and senior special high schools through assessments using the instruments of Deteksi Dini Gangguan Kemampuan Berbahasa (DDGKB) and Pemahaman Bahasa Secara Auditori (PBSA). 45 students consisting of 37 boys and 8 girls with their age ranging from 11 to 19 years old were assessed using the instruments. The collected data were then analysed by comparing the data to the language development milestones and indicators of receptive and expressive ability from the Education Ministry. Results show the number of male autistic students is greater than the number of female students. Around 13% or 6 out of 45 teenage autistic students already have receptive and expressive language skills over the mental age of 5 years. Meanwhile, 5. 87% or 39 students still have receptive and expressive abilities under the mental age of 5 years.

Contributions of Screen Use on Early Language and Development Milestones in Argentinean Toddlers from Different Socioeconomic Contexts

The objective of the following research was to describe the use of digital media (i.e., TV, background TV, cell phone, PC, and Tablet), presence of the adults during this activity, and its association with language, motor, and language developmental milestones and SES in the first years of life. Participants were 114 primary caregivers of toddlers between 12 and 36 months (M = 27.48 months, SD = 7.31, female = 58, low SES = 56). Parental reports of infant media use, motor and language development milestones, the Inventory of Skills Development (CDI), and the INDEC Scale (for SES) were used. The results showed that, on average, toddlers engaged for 1 h per day with TV and were passive recipients of background TV for 2 h a day, which was the most used screen. In addition, parents tend to share TV with toddlers. Language positively related with child Tablet use, book use, and TV shared with an adult, and there were negative associations with children’s cell phone and PC use alone and with an adult. For SES, having at least one basic need unsatisfied or less parental educational and occupancy was related with more background TV and use, less time sharing this type of media with toddlers, and less use and quantity of books at home. In general, there were no relations between digital media use and developmental milestones. This indicates that the excessive use of screens could relate to some early language skills, although it is necessary to investigate the context in which they are used.

Matricial support for community health agents on the auditory and language development milestones in early childhood.

to analyze the knowledge of community health agents about hearing and language development milestones in early childhood, in the context of home visits, before and after a team cooperation workshop. action research was developed, with a quantitative and qualitative approach. Significant contribution to the agents' learning, enriching their home visit practices. Team cooperation is an important tool to qualify the performance of community health agents regarding guidelines on hearing and language milestones in early childhood.

Apoio matricial para agentes comunitários de saúde sobre os marcos do desenvolvimento auditivo e de linguagem na primeira infância

ABSTRACT Purpose to analyze the knowledge of community health agents about hearing and language development milestones in early childhood, in the context of home visits, before and after a team cooperation workshop. Methods action research was developed, with a quantitative and qualitative approach. Results Significant contribution to the agents’ learning, enriching their home visit practices. Conclusion Team cooperation is an important tool to qualify the performance of community health agents regarding guidelines on hearing and language milestones in early childhood.

Asociación entre el uso de medios electrónicos, hitos del desarrollo y lenguaje en infantes

The use of electronic media has increased in early childhood. During early childhood, language and motor skills are important for the development of other cognitive skills. Therefore, it becomes essential to study how the use of screens is associated with these important skills in the first years of life. The objective of the following research was to describe the use of electronic media (i. e., TV, cellphone and tablet) and its association with language and developmental milestones in the first years of life. Participants were 253 primary caregivers of infants between 2 to 48 months (M = 30.17 months, SD = 10.82, female = 124). Parental reports of infant media use, motor and language development milestones, the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (CDI) and the Permanent Household Survey (EPH) for sociodemographic variables were used. The results showed that, on average, infants began to use screens during the first year of life at an average of one hour per day with TV as the most used medium and video viewing as the activity they did the most. The number of hours of devices usage was positively associated with lexical density and sentence use. Furthermore, starting device use at a later age was associated with lower scores in language reports and later milestones of motor and language development. No differences were found based on the type of device content and sociodemographic variables. Results indicate that the excessive use of screens could affect some early skills, although it is necessary to investigate the context in which they are used. https://doi.org/10.16888/interd.2022.39.3.9

A General Outline of the Verbal Behavior Developmental Theory

B. F. Skinner’s Verbal Behavior is the foundation for understanding language and communication within Behavior Analysis. The Verbal Behavior Developmental Theory (VBDT) is a growing body of empirical research that builds upon and expands this foundation, incorporating the Naming Theory and the Relational Frame Theory (RFT). VBDT identifies and organizes language development milestones into a trajectory of behavioral cusps and cusps that are new learning capabilities to create a comprehensive understanding of how individuals learn language. Specific instructional histories lead to the acquisition of new conditioned reinforcers, thus new cusps and capabilities emerge. Not only does VBDT identify and describe such milestones, but it also includes specific research-based protocols for inducing cusps and capabilities which could solve learning problems. This paper describes each cusp and capability as they have been identified in the research thus far and summarizes the basic principles and concepts from which they were derived.

Perceptions of Thai Parents Regarding Child Language Development and Parent-Implemented Intervention

This phenomenology study was conducted to explore the parents’ perceptions of the language development of children with language impairment (LI) before and after participation in parent-implemented enhanced milieu teaching (EMT) using the teach-model-coach-review (TMCR) model and the parents’ suggestions for improvement in language development of children with LI. Thirteen parents of children with LI participated in semi-structured interview. A thematic analysis was used to analyze the content. The findings of the study show that before participation in the intervention, parents perceived that requesting and asking someone to do something was important for their children, and they expected that their children would reach language development milestones. Parents also expected that speech therapy was clinician-directed therapy. After an eight-week parent training program, parents felt empowered and learned the EMT language strategies and implemented these strategies in the clinical and home settings. They were satisfied with the language outcomes of their children. In addition, the findings of the study show that parents suggest that parent-child interaction and the home language environment play an important role in their child’s language development.

The Ability of Saudi Parents' To Detect Early Language Delay in Their Children: A Study in Primary Health Care Centers, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

PurposeOur study aims to assess parents’ ability to detect early language delay in their children in association with related demographic and environmental factors to help in predicting its risk.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted at three main primary health care centers at National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Participating parents were asked if they think their children have language delay and if they were able to detect it early. Then, validated age-appropriate screening tools were administered to assess the child’s language development. The parents' answers regarding their child’s language development were then compared to the screening tool assessment results.ParticipantsA total of 250 parents attending a well-baby clinic for their children’s routine vaccinations participated in the study after informed consent was obtained.ResultsLanguage delay was more prominent in the one-year-old age group (26.7%). In addition, children who were not breastfed were significantly more likely to have language delays (P-value 0.014). The parents’ ability to detect language delay varied among the different age groups. Fifty-seven point one percent (57.1%) of children aged two years old and 61.5% of children aged five years old who were found to have language delay were not noticed by their parents (P-value 0.03, 0.02).ConclusionParents showed a lack of ability to detect language delay early. Increasing their awareness of the typical language development milestones and the importance of early intervention is very important to minimize the consequences of late intervention.

Sensitivity and specificity of a low-cost screening protocol for identifying children at risk for language disorders

OBJECTIVES:To compare the diagnostic accuracy of a low-cost screening test for identifying children at risk for language disorders with that of a specific language assessment.METHODS:The study was conducted during a polio vaccination campaign in basic health units in western São Paulo, Brazil. The parents/guardians of 1000 children aged between 0 and 5 years were asked to answer questions of a specific screening test. The instrument consisted of a uniform set of questions about the main milestones in language development (from 0 to 5 years of age) with scaled scores to assess responses. There were no exclusion criteria. After the screening test, the children were referred to a specific language assessment by ABFW, following a determined flow of referrals. The results obtained in the screening were compared to those obtained in the specific language assessment; then, the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and positive and negative predictive values were determined for the screening test. Children who failed the screening test also underwent an audiological evaluation. The statistical significance was set at 5%.RESULTS:The majority of the participants were aged between 4 and 5 years (21.82%) and were male (51.6%). The sensitivity and specificity values were 82.5% and 98.93%, respectively. The area under the curve was 0.907 (0.887–0.925), and the screening test showed 96% accuracy.CONCLUSIONS:The screening test showed high diagnostic efficiency in determining the risk of language disorders in children aged between 0 and 5 years.

Chapter 15 - Typical language development

Acquiring language is a major developmental feat that all typical, healthy children achieve during the first years of their lives. The ease and speed with which they acquire their native language(s) has puzzled parents, scholars, and the general public alike. The last five decades have brought about a spectacular increase in our knowledge of how young infants acquire their mother tongues. Sophisticated behavioral, corpus-based, and brain imaging techniques have been developed to query young learners' journey into language. This chapter summarizes what we currently know of typical language development during the first years of life. It starts out by reviewing the existing theoretical accounts of language development. It then presents the most important empirical findings about speech perception and language acquisition grouped by different subdomains, such as newborns' speech perception abilities, phoneme perception, word learning, and the early acquisition of grammar, focusing mainly on the first 3 years of life, an age by which the major milestones of language development are typically accomplished. Differences between monolingual and multilingual development are also discussed.

Utilizing Comprehensive Preassessment Procedures for Differentiating Language Difference From Language Impairment in English Learners

The growing number of English Learners (ELs) in American schools has led to increasing referrals of these students for special education, including speech-language services. These ELs are frequently overidentified as having a language impairment (LI) due to biased assessment practices that are not legal or grounded in research promoting best practices. This article describes a comprehensive preassessment process that should be used with ELs before formal testing takes place. This process consists of four steps: (a) assess language proficiency in all languages, (b) gather a case history with a focus on language development milestones in the first language, (c) interview multiple individuals in the child’s school setting and ascertain whether or not they agree that the student is manifesting any of the universal indicators of LI, and (d) implement a comprehensive response to intervention (RtI) process to determine the student’s ability to profit from instruction. Use of a comprehensive preassessment process will accomplish two objectives: help reduce the overidentification of ELs as having LI and other special needs and promote academic success for these students.

Oscillatory gamma activity mediates the pathway from socioeconomic status to language acquisition in infancy

BackgroundThe predictable path to child language acquisition is largely constrained by both brain maturation and environmental experience. The synchronized activity of large numbers of neurons gives rise to macroscopic brain oscillations on an electroencephalogram (EEG). It has been found that neural oscillations at rest in the gamma frequency band (25–45 Hz) are associated with development of different cognitive systems, including language. Although the etiology of language is explained by genetically driven brain maturation factors, environment plays a significant role. Specifically, candidate pathways from environment to language development include sociodemographic factors, primarily socioeconomic status (SES) which is likely to exert its effects on language development through other factors, such as parenting style.Despite these assumptions, no studies have so far examined the interrelation between brain maturation factors such as gamma frequency oscillatory activity, environmental factors such as SES, and language acquisition. Aim and methodIn a longitudinal study of 84 Italian typically developing infants, we measured the power of oscillatory gamma activity as mediator between SES and language acquisition. Baseline EEG and information about SES were collected when infants were aged 6 months. Children were followed-up longitudinally to measure expressive vocabulary and Mean Length of Utterance (MLU) at 24 months. ResultsThe mediation model showed that SES is associated with gamma power which, in turn, is associated with expressive language at age 24 months. A higher SES predicted an increase in left central gamma power which, in turn, predicted better language scores. ConclusionsThese results confirm the predictive role of gamma activity oscillatory activity on later language acquisition, suggesting a specific role for these oscillatory mechanisms in language development milestones such as vocabulary development and early word combination. Furthermore, they suggest that SES differences in brain activity may be apparent at early stages of life and affect later language skills. If replicated, our findings could contribute to identifying highest-risk children and may prompt cost-effective preventive/treatment strategies.

De-mystifying sign language acquisition and development in deaf children

Quite often people think that deaf children acquire language differently from their hearing peers. People often wonder whether deaf children go through the same or different language development milestones from their peers. Some people even wonder whether these children develop any language at all because for them sign language is not a formal language after all. It is also not surprising to find even deaf education scholars hesitant about whether deaf children develop sign language in a pre-determined style at all. This paper is intended to demystify these doubts. The paper explores the nature of sign language acquisition and development by comparing with typical oral language processes. Developmental milestones are provided to allay the tension scholars often go through when required to outline, let alone examine stages of language development in deaf children. The conclusion of this paper is that sign language acquisition and development in deaf children is the same as oral language acquisition and development in their hearing peers. This is because sign and not oral language is the native language for the deaf.

Association between language and hearing disorders – risk identification

OBJECTIVE:To identify children at risk for hearing and/or language disorders and to investigate the association between these risks by conducting pre-validated hearing and language screenings.METHODS:The study was conducted during a polio vaccination campaign in August of 2013 in basic health units in western São Paulo. Parents of children between 2 and 5 years of age were asked to complete two screening tools: a hearing questionnaire (regarding hearing development) and a language production and comprehension scale (including the major language development milestones). The screening tools were administered by different researchers. We compared the risk of having language disorders among children at risk for hearing loss versus children not at risk, as well as the attributable risk and odds ratios. Chi-squared tests and logistic regression analyses were used.RESULTS:The study included 479 children with a mean age of three and one-half years, of whom 26.9% were identified as at risk for deficits in language production, 8.6% were at risk for deficits in language comprehension and 14% were at risk for hearing disorders. The children at risk for hearing disorders were twice as likely as those not at risk to exhibit language production and comprehension deficits.CONCLUSION:The results of this study highlight the importance of establishing and adopting low-cost procedures such as screenings to identify children at risk of developing language and/or hearing disorders in early childhood.

Special Issues in Infants’ Speech and Language Development

Infants start learning language when they hear and respond to familiar voices. The process of speech and language development milestones helps to tell whether a child is developing a language as expected. Thus, certain skills such as babbling, saying “mama” or “dada” or putting two words together and gestures to say what it means and understand what others say are identifiable. A child usually needs to master one milestone before reaching the next. Some type of hearing loss can cause speech delay. Children with a speech delay should have their hearing tested. This could be caused by developmental disorders such a autism, which can cause speech delay. This paper examines special issues in infants’ speech and language development Speech and language problems are estimated to occur in about 6 out of 100 children. That means 94 out of 100 children could develop normally. Mild and temporary speech delays can occur. Some children learn new words faster than others do. If the child is not saying any word by 18 months or says fewer than 50 words by 24 months, specialist attention is required. The ages at which children reach milestones vary from child to child. Some children especially girls are advanced in speech and language than boys. A child who is surrounded by speech and language all the time usually learns language faster. The remedy for speech and language defect can be resolved or improved as prescribed by providing strategies for speech and language development. The paper accordingly points the way forward as a guide to all speech and language teachers, parents and caregivers. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n14p11

Language Development and Assessment in the Preschool Period

Most young children make significant progress in learning language during the first 4 years of life. Delays or differences in patterns of language acquisition are sensitive indicators of developmental problems. The dynamic, complex nature of language and the variability in the timing of its acquisition poses a number of challenges for the assessment of young children. This paper summarises the key developmental milestones of language development in the preschool years, providing a backdrop for understanding difficulties with language learning. Children with specific language impairment (SLI) are characterised illustrating the types of language difficulties they exhibit. Genetic evidence for language impairment suggests complex interactions among multiple genes of small effect. There are few consistent neurobiological abnormalities and currently there is no identified neurobiological signature for language difficulties. The assessment of young children's language skills thus focuses on the evaluation of their performances in comparison to typically developing peers. Assessment of language abilities in preschool children should involve an evaluation of both expressive and receptive skills and should include an evaluation of more than one dimension of language. The use of a single measure of a language component, such as vocabulary, is considered inadequate for determining whether preschool children have typical language or language impairment. Available evidence supports the inclusion of measures of phonological short-term memory in the assessment of the language abilities of preschool children. Further study of genetic, neurobiological and early behavioural correlates of language impairments in preschool children is needed.

The benefits of sign language for deaf learners with language challenges

This article argues the importance of allowing deaf children to acquire sign language from an early age. It demonstrates firstly that the critical/sensitive period hypothesis for language acquisition can be applied to specific language aspects of spoken language as well as sign languages (i.e. phonology, grammatical processing and syntax). This makes early diagnosis and early intervention of crucial importance. Moreover, research findings presented in this article demonstrate the advantage that sign language offers in the early years of a deaf child’s life by comparing the language development milestones of deaf learners exposed to sign language from birth to those of late-signers, orally trained deaf learners and hearing learners exposed to spoken language. The controversy over the best medium of instruction for deaf learners is briefly discussed, with emphasis placed on the possible value of bilingual-bicultural programmes to facilitate the development of deaf learners’ literacy skills. Finally, this paper concludes with a discussion of the implications/recommendations of sign language teaching and Deaf education in South Africa.

Speech Perception and Language Acquisition in the First Year of Life

During the first year of life, infants pass important milestones in language development. We review some of the experimental evidence concerning these milestones in the domains of speech perception, phonological development, word learning, morphosyntactic acquisition, and bilingualism, emphasizing their interactions. We discuss them in the context of their biological underpinnings, introducing the most recent advances not only in language development, but also in neighboring areas such as genetics and the comparative research on animal communication systems. We argue for a theory of language acquisition that integrates behavioral, cognitive, neural, and evolutionary considerations and proposes to unify previously opposing theoretical stances, such as statistical learning, rule-based nativist accounts, and perceptual learning theories.

Mean Length of Utterance before words and grammar: Longitudinal trends and developmental implications of infant vocalizations

This study measured longitudinal change in six parameters of infant utterances (i.e. number of sounds, CV syllables, supraglottal consonants, and repetitions per utterance, temporal duration, and seconds per sound), investigated previously unexplored characteristics of repetition (i.e. number of vowel and CV syllable repetitions per utterance) and analyzed change in vocalizations in relation to age and developmental milestones using multilevel models. Infants (N=18) were videotaped bimonthly during naturalistic and semi-structured activities between 0 ; 3 and the onset of word use (M=11.8 months). Results showed that infant utterances changed in predictable ways both in relation to age and in relation to language milestones (i.e. reduplicated babble onset, word comprehension and word production). Looking at change in relation to the milestones of language development led to new views of babbling, the transition from babbling to first words, and processes that may underlie these transitions.