Young Children's Production Research Articles

Relating Acoustic Measures to Listener Ratings of Children's Productions of Word-Initial /ɹ/ and /w/.

The /ɹ/ productions of young children acquiring American English are highly variable and often inaccurate, with [w] as the most common substitution error. One acoustic indicator of the goodness of children's /ɹ/ productions is the difference between the frequency of the second formant (F2) and the third formant (F3), with a smaller F3-F2 difference being associated with a perceptually more adultlike /ɹ/. This study analyzed the effectiveness of automatically extracted F3-F2 differences in characterizing young children's productions of /ɹ/-/w/ in comparison with manually coded measurements. Automated F3-F2 differences were extracted from productions of a variety of different /ɹ/- and /w/-initial words spoken by 3- to 4-year-old monolingual preschoolers (N = 117; 2,278 tokens in total). These automated measures were compared to ratings of the phoneme goodness of children's productions as rated by untrained adult listeners (n = 132) on a visual analog scale, as well as to narrow transcriptions of the production into four categories: [ɹ], [w], and two intermediate categories. Data visualizations show a weak relationship between automated F3-F2 differences with listener ratings and narrow transcriptions. Mixed-effects models suggest the automated F3-F2 difference only modestly predicts listener ratings (R 2 = .37) and narrow transcriptions (R 2 = .32). The weak relationship between automated F3-F2 difference and both listener ratings and narrow transcriptions suggests that these automated acoustic measures are of questionable reliability and utility in assessing preschool children's mastery of the /ɹ/-/w/ contrast.

The Effects of Increasing Fruit and Vegetable Intake in Children with Asthma on the Modulation of Innate Immune Responses.

Children with asthma are at risk of acute exacerbations triggered mainly by viral infections. A diet high in fruit and vegetables (F&V), a rich source of carotenoids, may improve innate immune responses in children with asthma. Children with asthma (3–11 years) with a history of exacerbations and low F&V intake (≤3 serves/d) were randomly assigned to a high F&V diet or control (usual diet) for 6 months. Outcomes included respiratory-related adverse events and in-vitro cytokine production in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), treated with rhinovirus-1B (RV1B), house dust mite (HDM) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). During the trial, there were fewer subjects with ≥2 asthma exacerbations in the high F&V diet group (n = 22) compared to the control group (n = 25) (63.6% vs. 88.0%, p = 0.049). Duration and severity of exacerbations were similar between groups. LPS-induced interferon (IFN)-γ and IFN-λ production showed a small but significant increase in the high F&V group after 3 months compared to baseline (p < 0.05). Additionally, RV1B-induced IFN-λ production in PBMCs was positively associated with the change in plasma lycopene at 6 months (rs = 0.35, p = 0.015). A high F&V diet reduced asthma-related illness and modulated in vitro PBMC cytokine production in young children with asthma. Improving diet quality by increasing F&V intake could be an effective non-pharmacological strategy for preventing asthma-related illness by enhancing children’s innate immune responses.

Early diagnostic indicators of childhood apraxia of speech in young children with 7q11.23 duplication syndrome: preliminary findings

ABSTRACT Limited evidence for early indicators of childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) precludes reliable diagnosis before 36 months, although a few prior studies have identified several potential early indicators. We examined these possible early indicators in 10 toddlers aged 14–24 months at risk for CAS due to a genetic condition: 7q11.23 duplication syndrome (Dup7). Phon Vocalisation analyses were conducted on phonetic transcriptions of each child’s vocalisations during an audio-video recorded 30-minute play session with a caregiver and/or a trained research assistant. The resulting data were compared to data previously collected by Overby from similar-aged toddlers developing typically (TD), later diagnosed with CAS (LCAS), or later diagnosed with another speech sound disorder (LSSD). The Dup7 group did not differ significantly from the LCAS group on any measure. In contrast, the Dup7 group evidenced significant delays relative to the LSSD group on canonical babble frequency, volubility, consonant place diversity, and consonant manner diversity and relative to the TD group not only on these measures but also on canonical babble ratio, consonant diversity, and vocalisation structure diversity. Toddlers with Dup7 also demonstrated expressive vocabulary delay as measured by both number of word types orally produced during the play sessions and primary caregivers’ responses on a standardised parent-report measure of early expressive vocabulary. Examining babble, phonetic, and phonotactic characteristics from the productions of young children may allow for earlier identification of CAS and a better understanding of the nature of CAS.

Effect of Sing and Speak 4 Kids: An Online Music-Based Speech and Language Learning Game for Children in Early Intervention

Music-based speech language interventions have shown promise to support young children with autism, other speech and language deficits, and Dual Language Learners (also known as DLL, English Language Learners, or ELL). Online edtech learning programs may produce greater positive outcomes for children by including parents as mediators of the intervention. This study measured the preliminary effectiveness of Sing and Speak 4 Kids (SS4Kids), a music-based online speech and language development game, administered to 26 children ages 2–6 years old with or at risk for a diagnosis of autism, other speech and language deficits or DLL. The children were trained in early intervention settings across 4–6 sessions over a 2-week period in one of three group conditions: (a) teacher only in clinic; (b) parent only at home; (c) both teacher + parent. Measurement of verbal production of target words in pre- and post-training sessions showed that trained words significantly improved from pre-test to post-test Additionally, there was no effect of different group conditions (teacher only vs. parent only vs. both teacher + parent) on children's performance. Results suggest that the SS4Kids program is an effective music-based speech and language training method for supporting target word production in young children across a two week timespan. Importantly, the results also found that group conditions did not influence the improvement, confirming effectiveness of both clinic and home-based parent mediation. During a time when traditional in-person intervention services may be restricted, the current work provides cautious but emerging evidence of the effectiveness of an online edtech evidence-based practice to support the speech and language outcomes for a variety of children in early intervention.

Event-Related Potentials to Speech Relate to Speech Sound Production and Language in Young Children

ABSTRACT This research was funded through the American Speech and Hearing Foundation’s 2012 StudentResearch Grant in Early Childhood Language Development awarded to Vanessa Harwood as well as an anonymous generous donation to Haskins Laboratories. Electrophysiological measures of language within early childhood provide important information about neurolinguistic development. We investigated associations between amplitude and latency of the P1 and N2 event-related potential components in response to spoken pseudowords, and clinical measures of language performance within a sample of 58 typically developing children between 24 and 48 months. N2 amplitude differences between repeated and new tokens were correlated with measures of expressive and receptive language and speech sound production. Phonemic sensitivity measured by the N2 component may reflect the integrity of neural networks that are important for speech perception and production in young children.

The Girl Was Watered by the Flower: Effects of Working Memory Loads on Syntactic Production in Young Children

ABSTRACT Working memory is necessary for a wide variety of cognitive abilities. Developmental work has shown that as working memory capacities increase, so does the ability to successfully perform other cognitive tasks, including language processing. The present work demonstrates the effects of working memory availability on children’s language production. Whereas most of the previous research linking working memory to language development has been correlational, we experimentally varied the working memory load during concurrent language production in children 4–5 years old. Participants were asked to describe simple picture scenes that had recently been described for them in the relatively unfamiliar, passive voice (e.g., the flower was watered by the girl). Children frequently produced the passive voice, a form of syntactic priming. These responses were performed while children sometimes retained a visual-spatial or auditory-verbal working memory load to be recalled after sentence production but there was no effect of the load on syntactic priming. In a second experiment, after hearing passive-voice descriptions of pictures, instead of relying on priming, the children were directly asked to describe the same pictures by speaking in the same “special way.” Surprisingly, under a load, children more often used the passive voice as they were instructed to do, but at the expense of producing additional semantic and grammatical errors (including some nonsensical renditions such as the girl was watered by the flower). We propose that working memory, when available, is used to impose a quality-control process whereby the semantic fidelity of the response to the stimulus picture is preserved, here at the expense of disregarding the experimental instruction to reproduce the passive voice.

Speech production in young children with tongue-tie

IntroductionTongue-tie, or ankyloglossia, occurs in 4–10% of the population. Treatment of tongue-tie has increased by 420% in Australia between 2006 and 2016 and 866% in the United States between 1997 and 2012. Despite limited evidence, it has been suggested that tongue-tie can result in speech sound disorder (SSD). This study aimed to investigate tongue mobility and speech production outcomes in children with and without tongue-tie diagnoses. MethodFifty-nine children aged 2; 1 to 4; 11 years were recruited and formed three groups: treated tongue-tie (TTT), untreated tongue-tie (UTT) and no tongue-tie (NTT). Measures of lingual frenulum structure and function, tongue mobility, speech production, and parent and clinician intelligibility ratings were collected. ResultsNo statistically significant differences were found between the TTT, UTT and NTT groups for tongue mobility, speech production or intelligibility. Significantly more UTT children had a history of speech pathology attendance than participants in the NTT group. ConclusionThis study provides preliminary evidence of no difference between tongue mobility and speech outcomes in young children with or without intervention for tongue-tie during infancy. This study assists with clinical decision making and makes recommendations for families not to proceed with surgical intervention for tongue-tie during infancy, for the sole outcome of improving speech production later in life.

The role of memory and language ability in children’s production of two-clause sentences containing before and after

We assessed 3- to 6-year-old children’s production of two-clause sentences linked by before or after. In two experiments, children viewed an animated sequence of two actions and were asked to describe the order of events in specific target sentence structures. We manipulated whether the target sentence structure matched the chronological order of events (e.g., “He finished his homework, before he played in the garden” [chronological order]) or not (e.g., “Before he played in the garden, he finished his homework” [reverse order]). Children produced fewer accurate target sentences when the presentation order of the two clauses did not match the chronological order of events, specifically for target sentences linked by after. Independent measures of vocabulary and memory both were related to performance, but vocabulary was the stronger predictor. We conclude that developmental improvements in children’s ability to produce two-clause sentences linked by a sequential temporal connective are driven primarily by language ability rather than memory capacity per se. This work also highlights the advantages of using both sentence repetition (Experiment 1) and blocked elicited production (Experiment 2) paradigms to elicit sentence production in young children.

How Do Commercial Children’s Foods Influence Their Growth and Development? A Map of Commercially Available Children’s Foods in Honduras

Background: The premature consumption of processed foods with high sugar and sodium content over the course of life has been associated with an increased risk of suffering from chronic diseases starting in adolescence or early adulthood. Methods: There was an examination of the nutritional labelling of processed products for young children (n = 140) available in the Honduran market to evaluate their nutritional quality with regard to sodium and sugar content, pursuant to various international recommendations. Results: 54% of the products evaluated derive more than 20% of their calories from sugar. The categories that to a large degree exceed the recommended sugar content range are fruit drinks (80%) and dessert purees (65%). The average price per product serving is lower than one US dollar ($0.81). 46% and 6% of the products place sugar and salt, respectively, among the first five positions in their ingredient lists. Conclusions: Processed foods for infants and young children generally exceed the recommended sugar content, but due to their low cost and easy access, they are displacing traditional food consumption, contributing to increasing childhood obesity and chronic disease in the early stages of life.

Young Children's Structure Production: A Revision of the Index of Productive Syntax.

The Index of Productive Syntax (IPSyn; Scarborough, 1990) is widely used to measure syntax production in young children. The goal of this article is to promote greater clarity and consistency in machine and hand scoring by presenting a revised version of the IPSyn (IPSyn-R) and comparing it with the original IPSyn (IPSyn-O). Longitudinal syntax production in 10 30- and 42-month-old typically developing children drawn from the Child Language Data Exchange System (MacWhinney, 2000) Weismer corpus was examined, using both the IPSyn-O and the IPSyn-R. The IPSyn-R provided nearly identical scores to the IPSyn-O with the exception of scores affected primarily by 1 modified noun phrase structure. Structures ranked as more advanced were produced less frequently. The results also reveal which of the IPSyn-R's 59 structures were most and least likely to be produced by this sample at these ages. The qualitative and quantitative differences between the IPSyn-O and the IPSyn-R are relatively minor. The IPSyn-R can make it easier to score the IPSyn, both by clinicians and researchers, and facilitate the IPSyn's move to machine scoring of language samples.

Специализированные продукты для питания детей раннего возраста

Специализированные продукты для питания детей раннего возраста

Application of a LC–MS/MS method for multi-mycotoxin analysis in infant formula and milk-based products for young children commercialized in Southern Brazil

ABSTRACTAn analytical method based on liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) was validated and applied for the analysis of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1), ochratoxin A (OTA) and deoxynivalenol (DON) in infant formula and milk-based products for young children commercialized in Brazil. A total of 38 samples were evaluated, including 12 infant formula, 14 follow-on formula and 12 samples of milk-based products. AFM1 was detected in 12 (32%) samples, and seven (18%) samples contained AFM1 levels above the method limit of quantification in a concentration range between 0.013 and 0.067 ng mL−1 (0.026 ± 0.019). Two samples of milk-based products exceeded the maximum level (ML) fixed by the European Union for AFM1 in baby foods, however, all samples were in agreement with the levels established by the Brazilian regulation. OTA and DON were not detected in any of the analyzed samples.

Impact of Motor Speech Intervention on Neural Activity in Children with Speech Sound Disorders: Use of Magnetoencephalography

We present the novel use of a neuroimaging technique, magnetoenceph-alography (MEG), for examining therapy-related changes in neural activity during a speech and a non-speech motor task in children with speech sound disorders (SSD). Nine children (mean age = 4.2 years) with SSD were scanned in the MEG before and after an eight-week course of intensive motor speech therapy. MEG tasks involved an oromotor and a syllable production task. MEG analyses identified significant post-therapy changes in brain regions related to oromotor control and speech production. Behavioral assessments showed significant improvements on measures of motor speech skills and articulation following intervention. This is the first demonstration of the ability of MEG to: 1) capture brain activations resulting from oromotor movements and simple syllable production in young children, and 2) capture brain changes related to speech therapy. As the findings from this study are promising, we discuss directions for the design of future studies to further examine specific neural dysfunctions in speech sound disorders.

Not all /r/s and /l/s are the same: Classification of errors in children with cochlear implants versus normal hearing

Purpose: As children acquire speech sounds, they progress from clear substitutions, to “intermediate forms” (covert contrasts), to adult-like productions. However, there is evidence that this progression may be different in CI users as compared to NH children. Identification of intermediate forms is dependent upon rating scales that are sensitive to fine phonetic detail, such as visual analogue scales (VAS). This study uses both traditional VAS and a new 3-dimensional rating scale to explore differences in the /r,l/ productions of young children with and without hearing loss. Methods: Correct and error productions of /r,l/ were extracted from a standardized articulation test for nine congenitally deafened children who received cochlear implants (CIs) prior to age 3 and their speech age-matched controls. Stimuli were shortened to nonsense syllables to prevent real-word bias. Listeners rated these productions on both a VAS and a triangular scale, which allowed listeners to rate phone quality as a multi-dimensional function of /r/, /l/, and /w/. Results &amp; Conclusions: Both rating scales were sensitive to subtle acoustic differences in speech sounds. Listener responses suggested more variability in sound production within the group of CI users. Listeners preferred the triangular scale because it provided greater response sensitivity.

What Box: A task for assessing language lateralization in young children

ABSTRACTThe assessment of active language lateralization in infants and toddlers is challenging. It requires an imaging tool that is unintimidating, quick to setup, and robust to movement, in addition to an engaging and cognitively simple language processing task. Functional Transcranial Doppler Ultrasound (fTCD) offers a suitable technique and here we report on a suitable method to elicit active language production in young children. The 34-second “What Box” trial presents an animated face “searching” for an object. The face “finds” a box that opens to reveal a to-be-labelled object. In a sample of 95 children (1 to 5 years of age), 81% completed the task—32% with ≥10 trials. The task was validated (ρ = 0.4) against the gold standard Word Generation task in a group of older adults (n = 65, 60–85 years of age), though was less likely to categorize lateralization as left or right, indicative of greater measurement variability. Existing methods for active language production have been used with 2-year-old children while passive listening has been conducted with sleeping 6-month-olds. This is the first active method to be successfully employed with infants through to pre-schoolers, forming a useful tool for populations in which complex instructions are problematic.

Velopharyngeal Structural and Functional Assessment of Speech in Young Children Using Dynamic Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate a novel method for examining the velopharyngeal mechanism using static and dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at the sentence-level production in young children with normal anatomy. This study examined whether velopharyngeal events occurring in the midsagittal plane are correlated to muscle events occurring along the plane of velopharyngeal closure. Adenoid involvement in velopharyngeal function was also explored. A high-resolution, T2-weighted turbo-spin-echo three-dimensional anatomical scan was used to acquire static velopharyngeal data and a fast-gradient echo fast low angle shot multishot spiral technique (15.8 frames per second) was used to acquire dynamic data on 11 children between 4 and 9 years old. Changes in velar knee height from rest to the bilabial /p/ production was strongly correlated with changes in the velar configuration (r = 0.680, P = .021) and levator muscle contraction (r = 0.703, P = .016). Velar configuration was highly correlated to levator muscle changes (r = 0.685, P = .020). Mean alpha angle during bilabial /p/ production was 176°, which demonstrated that subjects achieve velopharyngeal closure at or just below the palatal plane. Subjects with a larger adenoid pad used significantly less (r = -0.660, P = .027) levator muscle contraction compared with individuals with smaller adenoids. This study demonstrates a potentially useful technique in dynamic MRI that does not rely on cyclic repetitions or sustained phonation. This study lends support to the clinical potential of dynamic MRI methods for cleft palate management.

Complex spatial language improves from 3 to 5 years: The role of prompting and overhearing in facilitating direction giving using Between and Middle

The primary goal of this study was to specify age-related improvements in young children's use of the complex spatial terms between and middle in response to prompting and overhearing supports. Three- to 5-year-old children described the location of a mouse hidden between two furniture items in a dollhouse. Three prompting conditions (Between Directive, Middle Directive, Nondirective) were compared with two overhearing conditions (Overhearing Between, Overhearing Middle). Children's use of between and middle was much more frequent in response to directive prompting than in response to nondirective prompting or overhearing. Only 4- to 5-year-old children showed some evidence of using middle in response to nondirective prompting and overhearing, demonstrating developmental gains in sensitivity to subtle cues. The secondary goal was to assess young children's production and comprehension of between and middle using tasks suitable for young children and parent report checklists. As expected, children's spatial language showed strong developmental improvement and was related to direction-giving performance.

Enriched Milk Drinks for Vitamin Deficiency Correction in Toddlers and Preschoolers

After switching to general diet, children aged over 1 year lack vitamins D, B12, C, as well as folates, calcium, iodine, iron, zinc, and docosahexaenoic acid. High prevalence of multi-micronutrient deficiency among toddlers and preschoolers constitutes grounds for administration of food products rich in micronutrients, including beverages made on different bases (juices, cow's milk, etc.). Baby food products for young children as well as micronutrient-enriched milk drinks have advantages over other dietary dishes because the vitamins and minerals contained in them correspond to the child's age requirement. The article discusses disagreements in the name of milk drinks for children over 1 year. The article also considers conformity of the quality of such drinks with the regulatory framework in force in the Russian Federation. The analysis of scientific literature on the effectiveness of inclusion of micronutrientenriched beverages in the diet of toddlers and preschoolers was carried out. Children whose diet includes only cow's milk with excessive intake of protein and saturated fats have a risk of developing deficiency of alpha-linolenic and docosahexaenoic acids, iron, vitamins C and D. Inclusion of milk drinks in the general diet guarantees adequate consumption of micronutrients, provides the body with vitamins and microelements, reduces disease incidence, improves cognitive functions of children.

Bilingual vocabulary production in young children receiving Maltese-dominant exposure: individual differences and the influence of demographic and language exposure factors

ABSTRACTThis study explored individual variability in the bilingual vocabularies of 65 Maltese children aged 23–27 months (N = 33) and 30–34 months (N = 32). Most of the participants’ direct input consisted of Maltese sentences embedding English words. Bilingualism was present at the societal level. Word production was measured through parental report, using a bilingual adaptation of the vocabulary checklist in the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories. The participants’ composite and single-language vocabulary measures were examined for central tendencies and age effects, together with individual usage of Maltese and English words. The study also investigated how demographic and language exposure factors, documented through parental questionnaire responses, accounted for individual differences in participants’ vocabularies. Proportionally adjusted single-language scores showed 61.54% of children to use fewer Maltese words than expected. Maternal education level emerged as a significant predictor of Total Vocabulary and Maltese word scores, but explained very little of the variance for each. Frequency of English language exposure in main caregiver input and age group emerged as factors explaining 30.5% of the variance in English vocabulary scores. Maternal education level and frequency of English exposure may therefore act as protective factors in the vocabulary development of children receiving Maltese-dominant exposure.

Natural and Instructional Input Practices: Consciousness-Raising in ELT

&lt;p&gt;Many researchers on language acquisition agree that early onset is important when acquiring a second language (L2). Second language acquisition depends on the experience of the target language. Accounts of successful L2 acquisition have accordingly emphasized the importance of the quality of the input available to the learners. Consequently, this study probes the impact of input quality on second language grammar comprehension and production of young children. 40 infants (3 to 4 years old) were selected as the sample of this study. The results revealed that explicit input which draws learners’ attention to linguistic form and structure caused a better grammar comprehension and production in young children; explicit grammar instruction can serve to speed up both grammar comprehension and production process.&lt;/p&gt;