Preverbal Communication Research Articles

Communication and language profiles of children with congenital deafblindness

To be born deaf and blind creates both communicative and language acquisition barriers for a child. Although case studies, research, and practical reports have described the severe communicative delay that children with congenital deafblindness (CDB) often experience, to date, no population studies have given a systematic overview of the characteristics of communication, language use, and language acquisition. This study investigates modes of communication and level of language acquisition among 71 children with CDB using the Rowland Communication Matrix and a questionnaire form. Results show heterogeneity in use of communication mode, vocabulary, and level of language development. Communication was distributed across modalities with 23% using tactile language, 32% oral language, and 39% visual sign language. With regard to the level of language acquisition, 41% used pre-verbal communication, 42% verbal communication (tactile, visual, or oral) but with delay, and 18% verbal communication (tactile, visual, or oral) without any delay. Similar heterogeneity was reflected on vocabulary count and score on the Rowland Communication Matrix. Children with CDB are not a uniform group, and more research is needed in order to map out the diversity found.

In Infants' Hands: Identification of Preverbal Infants at Risk for Primary Language Delay.

Early identification of primary language delay is crucial to implement effective prevention programs. Available screening instruments are based on parents' reports and have only insufficient predictive validity. This study employed observational measures of preverbal infants' gestural communication to test its predictive validity for identifying later language delays. Pointing behavior of fifty-nine 12-month-old infants was analyzed and related to their language skills 1year later. Results confirm predictive validity of preverbal communication for language skills with the hand shape of pointing being superior compared to the underlying motives for pointing (imperative vs. declarative). Twelve-month-olds who pointed only with their open hand but never with their index finger were at risk for primary language delay at 2years of age.

Development of Preverbal Communication Skills Scale for Children with Multiple Disabilities and Visual Impairment

Communication is crucial for any human being and the children with disabilities are no exception. Due to the number and combination of their disabilities and/or conditions, children with multiple disabilities and visual impairment (MDVI) have especially limitations of the ability to communicate the meaningful and functional way with their environment. In order to improve the communication skills of children with MDVI, it is very important to identify unique, individual communication behaviors of these children. Thus, the aim of this study was to develop a valid and reliable developmental assessment tool to evaluate preverbal communication skills of Turkish children with MDVI.Sequential explanatory mixed methods were used in the study. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the mothers of 34 children suffering from MDVI to explore the preverbal communication behaviors of the children based on the daily observances of their mothers’ with a descriptive analysis being performed on the data. From the findings of the interviews and the literature review, Preverbal Communication Skills Scale for Children with Multiple Disabilities and Visual Impairment (PCSS-MDVI) and the scoring guide were developed. During the quantitative phase, 65 mothers of children with MDVI were given this scale in order to determine the validity and reliability of the scale. For the reliability analysis, 34 mothers of typically developing (TD) children age between 1 to 24 months old also were given the scale.The findings of the qualitative phase indicated that children with MDVI were communicating mostly with preverbal behaviors and the analysis on data from the quantitative phase with respect to item analysis, reliability and validity revealed that the scale is valid and reliable. The scale has 17 items and three subscales, which are; regulating behaviors, social interaction and joint attention. The majority of children with MDVI cannot communicate verbally and there is lack of studies and assessment tools for the purpose of effectively evaluate these children’s preverbal communicative behaviors in our country. Based on the analysis, the PCSS-MDVI has been demonstrated good preliminary psychometric properties and it can be used as an instrument to evaluate preverbal communication behaviors of children with MDVI. It is the preliminary study of the development of the scale. Thus, validation of the scale should be repeated with more participants and the data of the video observations of preverbal communication behaviors of children with MDVI should be added to the analysis.

The Influence of Several Aspects of Verbal and Pre-Verbal Communication of the Teacher on the Pupils

As we know the main types of communication are the verbal, nonverbal and pre-verbal ones. According to several scholars the communication between the teacher and the pupils displays the fact that the density, the intensity, the quality, the space used by the both sides during the class exert a considerable influence in the creation of a general positive milieu in the classroom or in the relations between these two parties as well as the smooth continuation of the teaching and education process.The communication at school being an important aspect of the school life serves to the proper development of the learning process on the part of the pupils and also based on human values serves as a general regulator in the relationship among the social groups in the micro environment at school.We center our study on the character of the teacher with his contributions and modalities in his communication regarding the pupils, regarding the quality of the teaching in the close connection to the environment, the milieu being created in the classroom, also with his motivation in his academic work and his didactic efficiency. Our study aims to show the importance of several aspects of verbal and pre-verbal communication of the teacher and their perception by the pupils in Albanian schools.

Left hemisphere EEG coherence in infancy predicts infant declarative pointing and preschool epistemic language

Pointing plays a central role in preverbal communication. While imperative pointing aims at influencing another person’s behavior, declarative gestures serve to convey epistemic information and to share interest in an object. Further, the latter are hypothesized to be a precursor ability of epistemic language. So far, little is known about their underlying brain maturation processes. Therefore, the present study investigated the relation between brain maturation processes and the production of imperative and declarative motives as well as epistemic language in N = 32 infants. EEG coherence scores were measured at 14 months, imperative and declarative point production at 15 months and epistemic language at 48 months. Results of correlational analyses suggest distinct behavioral and neural patterns for imperative and declarative pointing, with declarative pointing being associated with the maturation of the left hemisphere. Further, EEG coherence measures of the left hemisphere at 14 months and declarative pointing at 15 months are related to individual differences in epistemic language skills at 48 months, independently of child IQ. In regression analyses, coherence measures of the left hemisphere prove to be the most important predictor of epistemic language skills. Thus, neural processes of the left hemisphere seem particularly relevant to social communication.

First Language Acquisition: the Temperament of the Mother and Preverbal Communication

The present study made an attempt to look into the linguistic characteristics strongly related to the mother's temperament vis-à-vis the success of the early communication with their infants. By comparing percentage data we can conclude that all of the mothers characterised along the scales unstable—stable and introvert–-extrovert do use motherese strategies, out of which scenarios given by affirmative intonation, the various communication functions and the verbal paradigm were analysed. We found that the stage and the frequency at which these language features were used varied significantly and strongly depended on the mother's personality factors. We can therefore establish that mothers with different temperaments can be characterised by a different combination of language strategies facilitating first language acquisition. No mother temperament displayed a total lack of motherese elements.

The psychic envelopes in psychoanalytic theories of infancy.

This paper aims to review the topic of psychic envelopes and to sketch the main outlines of this concept in infancy. We first explore the origins of the concept in Freud's “protective shield” and then its development in adult psychoanalysis before going on to see how this fits in infancy with post-Bionian psychoanalysis and development. Four central notions guide this review: (1) Freud's “protective shield” describes a barrier to protect the psychic apparatus against potentially overflowing trauma. It is a core notion which highlights a serious clinical challenge for patients for whom the shield is damaged or faulty: the risk of confusion of borders between the internal/external world, conscious/unconscious, mind/body, or self-conservation/sexuality. (2) Anzieu's “Skin-Ego” is defined by the different senses of the body. The different layers of experienced sensation, of this body-ego, go on to form the psychic envelope. This theory contributes to our understanding of how early trauma, due to the failures of maternal care, can continue to have an impact in adult life. (3) Bick's “psychic skin” establishes the concept in relation to infancy. The mother's containing functions allow a first psychic skin to develop, which then defines an infant's psychic space and affords the infant a degree of self-containment. Houzel then conceptualized this process as a stabilization of drive forces. (4) Stern's “narrative envelope” derives from the intersection between psychoanalysis and neuroscience. It gives us another way to conceptualize the development of pre-verbal communication. It may also pave the way for a finer distinction of different types of envelopes. Ultimately, in this review we find that psychic envelopes in infancy can be viewed from four different perspectives (economic, topographical, dynamic, and genetic) and recommend further investigation.

Bilateral cochlear implantation in children: A systematic review and best‐evidence synthesis

To evaluate the effectiveness of bilateral cochlear implantation over unilateral implantation in children with sensorineural hearing loss. Pubmed, Embase, and Web of Science. All studies comparing a bilateral cochlear implant group with a unilateral implant group were included. Twenty-one studies compared a bilateral cochlear implant group with a unilateral group. No randomized trials were identified. Due to the clinical heterogeneity, statistical pooling was not feasible and a best-evidence synthesis was performed. The results of this best-evidence synthesis indicate the positive effect of the second implant for especially sound localization and possibly for preverbal communication and language development. There was insufficient evidence to make a valid comparison between bilateral implantation and a bimodal fitting. Although randomized trials are lacking, the results of our best-evidence synthesis indicate that the second cochlear implant might be especially useful in sound localization and possibly also in language development.

The Function of Parental Proxy Talk in Pre-Verbal Communication

The Function of Parental Proxy Talk in Pre-Verbal Communication

Expressive timing in infant-directed singing between 3 and 6 months

This longitudinal study compared the temporal characteristics of maternal singing at 3 and then at 6 months. Infant-directed (ID) singing is claimed to have different functions in preverbal communication. However few studies have focused on the specific characteristics of ID singing that change across the first months of life. We aimed to explore these changes between 3 and 6 months because musical routines become prominent in the repertoire of games parents and infants spontaneously play during a period referred to as ‘the period of games’. We focused specifically on expressive timing because it reflects how mothers dynamically adapt their singing to their infant's states of attention and involvement. We aimed to determine whether the expressive timing cues of maternal singing would be different at 3 and then at 6 months. To this end, the interactions of 18 mother–infant dyads were recorded while mothers were singing a popular French playsong for their infant at 3 and then at 6 months. Acoustic analyses revealed that mothers showed final-lengthening and tempo slowing for both age groups, but marked the ends of the hierarchical structural units of the song more saliently with their 6-month-olds. Unexpectedly, infant sex was also found to affect maternal singing: more exaggerated phrase-lengthening patterns were observed in singing to girls.

Pragmatic assessment in Egyptian stuttering children

EnAbstract Background Pragmatics, the use of language in context, has been investigated only recently in the language of children who stutter. Some investigators have begun to address how the language and fluency of stuttering are influenced in different communicative settings. Some recent data have suggested that there may be a propensity for a delay or differences in certain areas of language learning for children who stutter compared with normal fluent children, specifically in vocabulary, pragmatic, or syntax development. Aim The aim of this study was to assess pragmatic skills in Egyptian Arabic-speaking children who stutter and to determine the relation between stuttering and the pragmatic aspect of language for future planning of a pragmatic-focused rehabilitation program for children who stutter. Participants and methods The sample in this study included 20 Egyptian Arabic-speaking children diagnosed to have stuttering and 20 children with normally developed language who spoke fluently. Both groups were of average intelligence; their age ranged between 4 and 7 years. All were from the same socioeconomic strata and were selected from the outpatient clinic Kasr El-Aini Hospital. All participants were subjected to a pragmatic assessment and language assessment applied in the Phoniatric Unit, Kasr El-Aini hospital. Results Scores of pragmatic skills were significantly lower in the stuttering group than the control group, except in object function skills. Preverbal communication skills decreased with increasing degree of stuttering and with an increase in Bloodstein stages of stuttering. Otherwise, other pragmatic skills showed no linear correlation with increasing degree of stuttering severity or an increase in Bloodstein stages of stuttering Conclusion Scores of pragmatic skills were significantly deficient in the stuttering group. All this should be considered during planning of a rehabilitation program for stuttering.

Poster #140 TEST-RETEST RELIABILITY OF THE DANISH ADAPTION OF THE NATIONAL ADULT READING TEST IN PATIENTS WITH PSYCHOSIS AND CANNABIS USE DISORDER

Studies have shown that many children with early language difficulties also have delays in social-emotional competencies as well as social-emotional and behavioral problems. It is unclear if these conditions are causally related, if they share a common underlying etiology, or if there are bidirectional effects. Studies investigating these associations have mostly involved children who are already using words to communicate, but it is important to know whether delays in preverbal communication and language development have any effects on these associations. The aim of the present study was to examine associations between preverbal communication and early verbal skills in infancy and subsequent social-emotional competencies and ensuing social-emotional and behavioral problems in early toddlerhood. The role of background factors known to influence early language development was also examined.The sample consisted of 395 children (51.6% boys) from the Finnish Steps Study cohort. Language was assessed at age 13 months (+ 1 month) with the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory for Infants (CDI-I), and the social-emotional domain was assessed at age < 17 months with the Brief Infant–Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (BITSEA).Infants with lower preverbal gestural communication and receptive language skills had a higher risk of delays in social-emotional competencies in toddlerhood than children with better communication skills, but not of elevated social-emotional and behavioral problems.The results indicate that lower early communication skills can predict delays in the development of social-emotional competencies, which has been found to be a risk factor for later development of social-emotional and behavioral problems. It is important to monitor early communication skills to provide guidance to parents in supporting early pragmatic communication and language development in infancy, if needed.

Effects of an Early Intervention Program on Preverbal Communication in a Child With Autism: Developmental and Behavioral Analysis With a Multiple-Baseline Design

Effects of an Early Intervention Program on Preverbal Communication in a Child With Autism: Developmental and Behavioral Analysis With a Multiple-Baseline Design

Further refinement of the nature of the communication impairment in Cornelia de Lange syndrome

Purpose – Research into the communication skills of individuals with Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS) is extremely limited. This paper aims to evaluate the nature of these skills and impairments in CdLS using a detailed informant assessment of pre-verbal communication skills. Design/methodology/approach – The study used the Pre-verbal Communication Schedule to evaluate communication skills in individuals with CdLS (n=14), aged five to14 years. The group was compared with a contrast group of individuals with Cri du Chat syndrome (CdCS; n=14) who were matched for age and intellectual ability. Findings – A significant difference was identified in understanding non-vocal communication (p&lt;0.005), with the CdLS group showing a greater deficit. These findings indicate the presence of a syndrome-specific deficit in understanding non-verbal communication in individuals with CdLS and suggest that there may be a dissociation between the processing of verbal and non-verbal communication. Originality/value – The findings indicate that, in many ways, these two syndrome groups are not dissimilar in terms of their communication skills. However, individuals with CdLS show a syndrome-specific deficit in understanding non-vocal communication relative to the CdCS group.

E103 Preverbal communication skills in children with early bilateral and monolateral cochlear implant

E103 Preverbal communication skills in children with early bilateral and monolateral cochlear implant

Infants' joint attention skills predict toddlers' emerging mental state language.

To assess predictive relations between joint attention skills, intention understanding, and mental state vocabulary, 88 children were tested with measures of comprehension of gaze and referential pointing, as well as the production of declarative gestures and the comprehension and production of imperative gestures, at the ages of 7-18 months. Infants' intention-based imitation skills were assessed at 12, 15, and 18 months. At the ages of 24 and 36 months, toddlers' internal state lexicon was evaluated by parents with a German adaptation of the Mental State Language Questionnaire (Olineck & Poulin-Dubois, 2005). Regression analyses revealed that 9-months-olds' comprehension of referential pointing contributed significantly to the prediction of intention-based imitation skills at 15 months, as well as to children's volition and cognition vocabularies at 24 and 36 months, respectively. Moreover, 12-month-olds' comprehension of an imperative motive was shown to selectively predict toddlers' use of volition terms at 24 months. Overall, these results provide empirical evidence for both general and specific developmental relations between preverbal communication skills and mental state language, thus implying developmental continuity within the social domain in the first 3 years of life.

Bilateral versus unilateral cochlear implantation in young children

Objectives To compare the preverbal communication skills of two groups of young implanted children: those with unilateral implantation and those with bilateral implantation. Material and methods The study assessed 69 children: 42 unilaterally and 27 bilaterally implanted with age at implantation less than 3 years. The preverbal skills of these children were measured before and 1 year after implantation, using Tait Video Analysis that has been found able to predict later speech outcomes in young implanted children. Results Before implantation there was no significant difference between the unilateral group and the bilateral group. There was still no difference at 12 months following implantation where vocal autonomy is concerned, but a strongly significant difference between the groups for vocal turn-taking and non-looking vocal turns, the bilateral group outperforming the unilateral group. Regarding gestural turn-taking and gestural autonomy, there was a strongly significant difference between the two groups at the 12 month interval, and also a difference before implantation for gestural autonomy, the unilateral group having the higher scores. Multiple regression of non-looking vocal turns revealed that 1 year following implantation, bilateral implantation contributed to 51% of the variance ( p < 0.0001), after controlling for the influence of age at implantation and length of deafness which did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions Profoundly deaf bilaterally implanted children are significantly more likely to use vocalisation to communicate, and to use audition when interacting vocally with an adult, compared with unilaterally implanted children. These results are independent of age at implantation and length of deafness.

Letter from Europe: A Quick Fix for Crying?

Letter from Europe: A Quick Fix for Crying?

Body and spirit in psychodynamic therapy: Eastern contributions to non-verbal psychotherapeutic paradigms

This paper looks at dilemmas concerning psychodynamic therapy with patients practicing Eastern psycho-spiritual disciplines that involve physical regimens. Psychoanalytic approaches to questions of body–mind interactions are reviewed. Taoist and Buddhist therapeutic traditions are used to contextualize contemporary psychodynamic practice relating to bodily perceptions and to pre-verbal reality and communication. Case studies from the author's work as a psychodynamic therapist and body-psychotherapist are presented to illustrate the use of an integrative body-based approach, with the patients in point, within a psychodynamic context. Theory and practice with patients whose modes of relating and frames of reference are linked with psychosomatic experiences, that challenge accepted nomenclature, are discussed.

Praxis der Frühförderung im ersten Lebensjahr

In der Hör-Frühförderung im ersten Lebensjahr steht die ressourcenorientierte Begleitung und Beratung der Eltern an erster Stelle. Die Unterstützung einer guten präverbalen Kommunikationsentwicklung und damit auch einer gesunden Bindungsentwicklung ist die Basis für jeglichen Spracherwerb. Der Dialog mit dem Säugling hat daher Priorität vor allen anderen Fördermaßnahmen. Im natürlichen hörgerichteten Förderansatz sind die Eltern in den Stunden selbst aktiv und bekommen ein unterstützendes Feedback zu ihrem Interaktionsverhalten mit dem Säugling. Dies erfordert ein Umdenken im Rollenverständnis der Frühförderin.