Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised Research Articles

Development of receptive vocabulary and verbal intelligence in Japanese children with unilateral hearing loss

ObjectiveIn the past, it was believed that unilateral hearing loss has a minimal impact on the speech and language development in children. However, several studies have suggested that some school-age children with unilateral hearing loss have learning impairments in language. In the present study, we first examined whether preschool-age children with unilateral severe-to-profound hearing loss (UHL) have delays in the development of receptive vocabulary and verbal intelligence. In the follow-up study, we tested the children again after school admission. The objective of the present study was to reveal the development of receptive vocabulary and verbal intelligence from preschool to school years in children with UHL. MethodsFifteen Japanese preschool-age children with UHL and a control group of 20 age-matched Japanese children with bilateral normal hearing (NH), who were examined because articulation disorder was suspected, were enrolled in this study. The development of receptive vocabulary and verbal intelligence was evaluated using the Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PVT-R) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale, respectively. The present retrospective study was approved by the Committee for Medical Ethics of Tokushima University Hospital (#3801). ResultsThe scaled score (SS) of the PVT-R and verbal intelligence quotient (VIQ)/verbal comprehension index (VCI), but not performance intelligence quotient/perceptual reasoning index in children with UHL were significantly lower than those in the control children with NH at preschool-age. The SS of the PVT-R and VIQ/VCI in children with UHL significantly improved after school admission. In the subgroup analysis, the SS of the PVT-R in the lower receptive vocabulary group of children with UHL at preschool-age was significantly increased after school admission, but the SS in the normal and higher receptive vocabulary group of children with UHL at preschool-age were still around the standardized mean of SS after school admission. ConclusionThese findings suggest that the development of receptive vocabulary and verbal intelligence was delayed in preschool-age children with UHL and that most of them caught up to exhibit normal language ability after school admission.

Memory Strategies for Serial Recall in Adults with Intellectual Disabilities

This study was conducted to investigate the memory strategy for serial recall in adults with general intellectual disability (ID) using the picture memory span task. Relations between memory strategies and two aspects of intellectual abilities, i.e., verbal and nonverbal abilities, were investigated. Study participants were 19 adults with general ID (i.e., ID of unknown etiologies). The picture memory span task, which can assess features of memory coding, was administered under four conditions: control, visually similar, phonologically similar, and long-name condition. The picture vocabulary test – revised (PVTR) and Raven color progressive matrices (RCPM) were conducted. Performance on the picture memory span task revealed that participants with ID used visual and verbal strategies for memory coding. Individual differences in verbal ability were interrelated with the degree of verbal strategy use. Results of this study suggest that features of memory coding of adults with ID do not contradict their level of intellectual development.

Long-term Outcomes of Cochlear Implantation in Children With Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection.

To investigate the role of the developmental delay often observed in children with congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection on the improvement of language understanding after cochlear implantation (CI). Retrospective chart review. Sixteen children with severe and/or profound hearing loss due to congenital CMV infection (CMV group) and 107 congenitally deaf children (168 ears) without CMV infection as the cause of deafness (non-CMV group). Mean age at which patients underwent CI was 2.9 years in both groups. The mean follow-up period was 7.8 versus 8.2 years, respectively. The Enjoji Scale of Infant Analytical Development was used to evaluate/compare pre- and postoperative hearing level, word recognition score, speech discrimination score, and language production and perception skills. The Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised was used to assess vocabulary understanding skill. Correlation between the final vocabulary understanding skill assessment and several factors was also examined. Improvement in hearing thresholds (mean: 106.0 dB) was greater after the first CI, (27-45 dB; mean: 33.8 dB) compared with hearing aid (48-74 dB; mean: 63.1 dB). Similarly, language perception and production were better in the CMV group. However, in the long term, differences between good and poor cases became prominent, especially in children with motor or cognitive delay and brain abnormalities who performed poorly in the CMV group. Long-term language perception and production after CI were overall satisfactory in congenital CMV-deafened children. CI was effective, particularly in the absence of CMV-induced disorders. However, this effectiveness was limited in those with motor or cognitive delay.

Theory of Mind and Sensitivity to Teacher and Peer Criticism Among Japanese Children

This study investigated sensitivity to teacher and peer criticism among 89 Japanese 6‐year‐olds and examined the connection between sensitivity to criticism and first‐order and second‐order theory of mind separately. Participants completed a common test battery that included tasks assessing sensitivity to criticism (teacher or peer condition), the Picture Vocabulary Test—Revised, and theory of mind tasks. The results showed that the children with better understanding of second‐order mental states rated their ability negatively after teacher criticism, but they were motivated to keep trying. This phenomenon was found under only the teacher condition, and peer criticism did not significantly affect children's response, irrespective of theory‐of‐mind level. Cognitive and social factors that may have contributed to the children's responses to criticism are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Factors affecting responses of children with autism spectrum disorder to yes/no questions

This study aimed to clarify factors related to difficulties in responding to yes/ no questions (Y/N-Qs) among 52 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), 41 boys and 11 girls aged between 3:5–16:0 years. Participants completed the Tanaka–Binet Intelligence Scale V, the Picture Vocabulary Test: Revised (PVT-R), and the Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Autism Society Japan Rating Scale (PARS). A yes/ no test, developed for this study, included two types of task: a naming true/false task and a request-intention task. For the naming true/false task, clear yes/ no responses accounted for 60% of responses among preschool children and more than 90% of responses among school-aged children in the normal IQ and mildly cognitively-impaired groups. In contrast, clear yes/ no responses accounted for less than 30% of responses in the moderately cognitively-impaired group, and less than 1% in the severely cognitively-impaired group. For the request-intention task, clear yes/ no responses were higher than for naming true/false tasks. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that scores of PARS, estimated mental age, vocabulary age according to the PVT-R, and IQ are associated with clear yes/ no responses. These findings appear to indicate that ability or inability to respond to Y/N-Qs follows a developmental pattern in children with ASD.

Language Development, Interpersonal Communication, and Academic Achievement among Japanese Children as Assessed by the ALADJIN

Japanese-speaking children in a standard sample were subjected to a test battery (ALADJIN: Assessment Package for Language Development in Japanese Hearing-Impaired Children) to evaluate the effect of language development on both interpersonal communication skills and academic achievement. A total of 414 preschool and school-age children without hearing impairment were included in this study. The following tests make up the ALADJIN: the Test of Question-Answer Interaction Development (TQAID), the Japanese Language by Criterion Referenced Test-II (CRT-II) for measuring academic achievement, the Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PVT-R), the Standardized Comprehension Test of Abstract Words (SCTAW), both parts of the Syntactic Processing Test for Aphasia (STA), and the Word Fluency Test (WFT). Means and standard deviations at each academic grade level were calculated, and a multiple regression analysis was performed. A ceiling effect was observed for the TQAID and the STA in children in grade 3 of elementary school, and the scores for the PVT-R, SCTAW, and WFT increased incrementally according to grade level. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the PVT-R, WFT, and STA (production) have predictive power for the results of the TQAID (R = 0.59; R2 = 0.58; p <0.0001), whereas the SCTAW and STA (comprehension) have predictive power for the results of the CRT-II. Both vocabulary and syntax are important in communication development among children. The results of our multiple regression analysis suggest that different language domains may play different roles in the development of interpersonal communication skills and in academic achievement. The development of interpersonal communication skills is largely based on productive vocabulary and syntax abilities, whereas academic achievement is largely based on comprehensive vocabulary and syntax abilities. Children who have difficulties in either area should be evaluated with detailed language assessment tools such as the ALADJIN in an effort to aid in the selection of appropriate intervention.

Language Ability in the Intermediate-Scoring Group of Hearing-Impaired Children

Language development is a key issue in hearing-impaired children. However, interpersonal differences complicate our understanding of the situation. The bimodal or trimodal distribution of language scores in our other reports in this publication imply the presence of fundamental differences among these groups. The characteristic aspects of each group were profiled according to language data. We divided 268 children with prelingual severe to profound hearing impairment into 3 groups according to their trimodal distribution observed on histogram-based analysis of their responses to the Test of Question-Answer Interaction Development. Test results in several language domains, including productive and comprehensive vocabulary, productive and comprehensive syntax, and academic achievement, were profiled and compared among these 3 groups. Significant differences were observed in the results of the Word Fluency Test, the Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised, and the Syntax Test of Aphasia among the 3 groups. No significant difference was observed between groups who were lower-scoring and intermediate-scoring on the academic achievement tests referred to as Criterion Referenced Test-II and the Standardized Comprehension Test for Abstract Words. Only the higher-scoring group showed excellent results. The demographic factors were not significantly different among the 3 groups. Relatively poor academic achievement despite fair language production was the dominant feature of the intermediate-scoring group. This profile might correlate with academic failure in school.