The role of language in executive function development: Evidence from oral deaf preschoolers.

COVID-19 regulations limited young children's social learning experiences. This large-scale study examined whether children (5 months-4 years) assessed during or after the COVID-19 pandemic differ in language and socio-emotional development. We compared data from 2,166 children tested pre- (July 2015-March 2020), during (March 2020-July 2022), and post-COVID-19 regulations (July 2022-October 2023). Vocabulary was measured using the Dutch MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories as used in the YOUth cohorts at 10 months and Dutch MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories as used in the YOUth cohorts and the Dutch version of the third edition of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test at 2-4 years. Socio-emotional development was assessed using Ages and Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional at 5 months, 10 months, and 2-4 years. Compared to prepandemic children, 2-year olds and 3-year olds had smaller vocabularies after the pandemic. For socio-emotional development, problems increased in infants and male preschoolers both during and after the pandemic. For preschoolers, screen time rose sharply during the pandemic and was negatively linked to receptive vocabulary. While shared reading supported vocabulary development, there is no evidence that shared reading increased during the pandemic. Overall, the findings indicate that COVID-19 regulations had both immediate and continuing effects on children's language and socio-emotional development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

There is growing interest in how screen-based media is linked to young children's regulatory development. However, findings on the relationship between screen time and regulatory abilities remain mixed, highlighting the need to consider additional contextual factors (e.g., Barr, 2019). This study investigated whether screen time at age 2 predicted hot and cold executive functions (EFs) and language outcomes at age 4. It also tested whether these associations were moderated by parent-child coviewing behaviors and the type of media content children commonly consumed (educational vs. violent). Participants included 306 parent-child dyads (62% White, 22% Hispanic/Latino, 9% Black, 2% Asian, 5% mixed/other race), with 12% reporting an annual income below $20,000. Primary caregivers reported children's screen time at age 2 (M = 28.13 months, SD = 6.84), and children's EF and language were assessed at age 4 (M = 4.07 years, SD = 4.0 months) using standardized assessments (e.g., National Institutes of Health Toolbox Cognition Battery) and Kochanska's effortful control/EF tasks (i.e., Snack Delay, Whisper, Day/Night). Higher screen time at age 2 was associated with poorer performance on both hot and cold EF tasks and lower receptive vocabulary at age 4. Parent-child coviewing predicted better working memory, and higher exposure to educational content was linked to stronger EF and language outcomes. However, neither coviewing nor educational content moderated the effects of screen time on developmental outcomes over time. In contrast, higher exposure to violent content moderated children's attentional shifting performance. Overall, these findings suggest that early screen exposure-particularly to violent content-may negatively impact children's cognitive/regulatory development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

This study was performed in an effort to determine whether poor inhibitory control, operationalized as weak verbal skills, contributes to early antisocial behavior by impeding a child's ability to empathize with others and exercise control over their behavior. A model was tested whereby child empathy and self-control were conceptualized as mediators of a putative relationship between low verbal ability and future conduct problems. A mediation analysis was performed in which the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), a measure of auditory comprehension skills, receptive vocabulary, and verbal ability, served as the independent variable in this study, child-reported symptoms of conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder constituted the dependent variable, and child empathy and self-control functioned as mediators. Participants were 3,706 youth (1,862 boys, 1,795 girls) from the Longitudinal Survey of Australian Children (LSAC). A path analysis performed on these data revealed that while the indirect effect of PPVT on problems via self-control was significant neither the indirect effect of PPVT on conduct problems via empathy nor the direct effect of PPVT on conduct problems proved significant. These results suggest that weak inhibitory control in the form of low verbal ability may contribute to future conduct problems by interfering with the child's ability to exercise adequate behavioral control over their actions.

Early interventions for children at risk for developmental language disorder (DLD) have not systematically targeted the transition from vocabulary to syntax. This randomized controlled trial examined short-term effects of the Enhanced Milieu Teaching-Sentence Focused (EMT-SF) intervention, an 18-month multiphase intervention, on vocabulary after 6 months (child age = 36 months) and grammar after 12 months (child age = 42 months). Participants included 108 children at risk for DLD between 30 and 31 months of age and their caregivers. Participants spoke only English in the home and were primarily from White, non-Hispanic, college-educated families. Children were randomly assigned to the treatment or control group. Interventionists coached caregivers on EMT-SF strategies via telehealth. Following 6 months of intervention, a latent variable composed of Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Fifth Edition (PPVT-5) and Expressive Vocabulary Test-Third Edition scores characterized vocabulary outcomes. Following 12 months of intervention, a latent variable composed of scores on the Structured Photographic Expressive Language Test-Preschool 2 and the Test of Early Grammatical Impairment characterized grammar outcomes. At 36 months, mean vocabulary scores for both groups fell within the average range. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed no significant short-term treatment effect on the vocabulary latent variable (p = .458); however, post hoc analyses indicated a significant effect on PPVT-5 scores (p = .042). At 42 months, mean grammar scores for both groups fell below the average range. SEM revealed a significant short-term treatment effect on the grammar latent variable (p = .047). The EMT-SF treatment group demonstrated significantly higher single-word receptive vocabulary scores at 36 months and grammar scores at 42 months than the control group. Grammatical difficulties persisted for most children in both groups at 42 months, further documenting that grammar is a particularly vulnerable language domain for children at risk for DLD. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.32581677.

Autistic monolingual children show heterogeneity in their language abilities in the school-age years. School-age bilingual neurotypical children also show heterogeneity in their second-language (L2) abilities as these are modulated by many factors including cumulative L2 input. This study compared school-age neurotypical and autistic children's L2 vocabulary development, as modulated by cumulative L2 input, to determine the extent to which the autistic children formed a distinct group from the neurotypical children. Participants were autistic (n = 23) and neurotypical (n = 26) bilingual children with English as their L2 and diverse first-language backgrounds, aged 4;7-9;6 (years;months). Children were matched groupwise for age. Children were administered a receptive vocabulary test, and conversational language samples yielded expressive lexical measures: word tokens and types and internal state term tokens and types. Linear regression modeling revealed that the autistic group had lower scores for all but one vocabulary measure and that higher scores were associated with more L2 input for children in both groups. A hierarchical cluster analysis revealed more nuanced results: One cluster, consisting of all but one of the neurotypical and the majority of the autistic children, overlapped in vocabulary abilities, with the autistic group having somewhat more L2 input. A second cluster consisted of all autistic children except for one neurotypical child and had extensive L2 input and very low vocabulary abilities. The autistic bilinguals in this study were not a homogeneous group separate from their neurotypical peers. Instead, only some autistic bilinguals showed distinct L2 profiles from their neurotypical peers.

ABSTRACT This study explores the effects of emergent Welsh-English bilingualism on early literacy development in primary school children in Wales, aged 54–90 months. Sixty-three primary school pupils participated, including 38 Welsh-English emergent bilinguals and 25 English monolinguals. There were no differences between language groups for age (months), socioeconomic status, nonverbal intelligence, and English receptive vocabulary. Groups were compared on a battery of English literacy assessments from the MABEL [Multilanguage Assessment Battery of Early Literacy; Caravolas et al. 2019. MABEL: Multilanguage Assessment Battery for Early Literacy], namely Phoneme Awareness (phoneme isolation, deletion and blending) and word- and pseudoword reading skills. Language groups (monolingual and emergent bilingual) were further divided up based on their school year (Reception, Year 1 and Year 2) resulting in six smaller sub-groups. Results revealed superior emergent bilingual performance compared to monolingual peers on Phoneme Isolation, Phoneme Blending, Word- and Pseudoword reading in Reception, and Phoneme Deletion in Year 1, with no group differences in Year 2. This demonstrates that emergent bilingualism has a facilitative effect in the development of early literacy skills in primary school children. Future directions and implications are discussed.

Purpose This study examined the word and nonword reading abilities of Maltese participants with Down syndrome and explored how cognitive-linguistic skills and orthographic depth influence decoding performance. We hypothesised that word reading would exceed nonword reading in participants with Down syndrome, with a larger discrepancy in English given its deeper orthography. Method A comparative cross-sectional design was used. Fifteen participants with Down sydnrome and 19 typically developing peers, matched on fluid intelligence, completed word and nonword reading assessments in either Maltese or English. Cognitive measures included phonological awareness, visual perceptual processing, verbal short-term memory, receptive vocabulary, and sentence imitation. Non-parametric tests compared groups and within-group analyses examined associations between reading outcomes and subskills. Result Preliminary result shows that participants with Down syndrome performed comparably to typical developing peers on word and nonword reading. However, participants with Down syndrome showed significantly better performance on word than nonword reading in both languages, with a larger discrepancy in English than in Maltese. In English, visual-perceptual skills and vocabulary were associated with reading, whereas these links were weaker in the Maltese subgroup. Conclusion In this population, orthographic depth shapes decoding patterns. Interventions should emphasise phonological training while accounting for differences between shallow and deep orthographies.

The Concept of Executive Function and Children’s Cardinality Principle: A Chain Mediation of Approximate Number System and Receptive Vocabulary Skills

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep behaviors and receptive vocabulary in bilingual autistic children. While the facilitating role of sleep in language development is well established in typically developing (TD) children, autistic children commonly experience both sleep disturbances and language difficulties. However, little is known about the relationship between these factors, particularly with respect to second language (L2) vocabulary development. This cross-sectional study addresses this important and underexplored issue. We examined sleep behaviors in 36 autistic children and 40 typically developing (TD) children (aged 5-10years) in Hong Kong using a parent-administered sleep questionnaire, the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ). Receptive vocabulary in the first language (L1) and L2 receptive was assessed using standardized tests. Autistic children exhibited significantly greater sleep disturbances than their TD peers, including more frequent night wakings and parasomnias (e.g., bedwetting, sleep talking, and teeth grinding). Importantly, sleep disturbances in autistic children were adversely associated with L2 vocabulary scores (daytime sleepiness: B = -2.26, p = 0.019), but less so with L1. Autistic children who experienced greater daytime sleepiness showed lower L2 vocabulary scores, likely reflecting reduced attention and working memory in the cognitively demanding context of L2 learning. These findings highlight the association between sleep behaviors and L2 vocabulary in autistic children. Future longitudinal and intervention-based research should further investigate the directionality of these relationships.

Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) tools can make it difficult to discern what is "real". Though children are interacting with AI-generated materials through entertainment and learning applications, no published work directly considers children's ability to distinguish human-created from AI-generated information. In the current study, 37 children (6-10 years old) heard a narrative about a "SmartBot" (representing AI) that could write text, invent photos, and create art. They were then asked to discern which in a series of stimuli including short texts and images of objects, art, and faces, had come from the SmartBot vs. a human teacher and answer questions regarding their beliefs about AI. Children also completed measures of abstract reasoning and receptive vocabulary, and parents completed a home technology use survey. A separate sample of 49 adults (18-34 years) served as a comparison group for accuracy scores on the set of stimuli. On average, children performed at or below chance in discriminating human-created from AI-generated content across modalities, and their overall accuracy was significantly below that of adults. Children's individual discernment varied and was significantly and negatively associated with parent reports of children's at-home technology use. Children had varied beliefs about AI agency and experience, but broadly understood that an AI agent (the SmartBot) is not alive (95%). Our findings suggest that spending more time on digital devices is associated with susceptibility to artificial content and risk for misattributing AI content as human, highlighting the importance of early AI literacy to support children's engagement with AI technologies.

This study investigates how neurodiversity shapes the relationship between implicit statistical learning (ISL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) proficiency. A total of 121 Arabic-speaking adolescents participated: 54 with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) and 67 typically developing (TD) peers. All learners completed standardized tests of receptive vocabulary (PPVT), expressive grammar (CELF-FS), and a nonverbal statistical learning task (2AFC). Results revealed that the TD group significantly outperformed the HFA group across vocabulary, grammar, and ISL accuracy. In the TD group, ISL strongly correlated with vocabulary (r = .46, p < .001) and grammar (r = .42, p < .001), whereas these associations were weak and non-significant in the HFA group. Regression and moderation analyses confirmed that neurodevelopmental status moderated the predictive link between ISL and language outcomes. These findings underscore ISL as a key predictor of EFL proficiency for typically developing learners, but highlight its limited role among learners with early language delays. The study contributes to theoretical models of language–cognition interaction and offers practical implications for inclusive EFL pedagogy.

Children with Speech Sound Disorders (SSD) may have difficulties with speech perception and/or phonological awareness. Research on this area remains limited in children who speak tonal languages, such as Thai. This study aims to investigate whether Thai-speaking preschool children with SSD show difficulties in speech perception and phonological awareness compared to age-matched typically developing (TD) children. The study also examines the relationships among age, speech production, vocabulary abilities, and speech perception and phonological awareness within both SSD and TD groups. A total of 76 Thai-speaking children (SSD n = 32, TD n = 44) in kindergarten levels 2-3, aged 4;0-6;6 years, participated in this study. All children completed speech and vocabulary assessments, as well as speech perception and phonological awareness experiments. The speech perception experiment included two tasks: 1) phonemic discrimination and 2) lexical and phonetic judgement. The phonological awareness experiment included three tasks: 1) initial phoneme identification, 2) rime awareness, and 3) lexical tone awareness. Children with SSD did not perform differently from their TD peers when controlling for age and receptive vocabulary. Age predicted performance on phonemic discrimination and rime awareness in the SSD group, and on lexical and phonetic judgment and rime awareness in the TD group. Receptive vocabulary predicted only rime awareness in the SSD group. Speech production, as measured by percentage consonants correct, was not a significant predictor of performance in either group. The findings provide new evidence on speech perception and phonological awareness performance in Thai-speaking children. Children with SSD did not show difficulties in speech perception or phonological awareness in this study, which may be explained by the mild to moderate severity of SSD in these children. This study highlights the need to develop standardised Thai articulation and phonological assessments to facilitate more precise classification of children into specific SSD subtypes in future studies. .

Lead is a toxic metal ubiquitous in our environment. While dramatic reductions in lead sources have paralleled equivalent decreases in lead-poisoning rates, chronic lead exposure remains a critical public health concern. Childhood lead exposure (at its lowest levels) is linked to changes in cognitive development but less is known about lead’s effects on children’s brain structure, especially as a result of in utero exposure. We measured prenatal and early-postnatal lead exposure in shed deciduous teeth of 448 9- and 10-year-old children (from 20 United States cities) and linked those lead levels to childhood brain structure, cognition/behavior, and neighborhood- and family-level socioeconomic characteristics. Here we show negative associations between tooth-lead levels and the thickness of the brain’s cortex, particularly in regions linked to language processing. With increasing tooth-lead levels, children of lower-income (versus higher-income) families showed steeper declines in receptive vocabulary. Caregiver-reported behavioral problems exhibited similar associations. With in utero exposure linked to adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes (well before lead exposure and its risks are evaluated by healthcare professionals), prenatal screening of maternal lead levels/exposure, coupled with recommended strategies to reduce its placental transmission, may help reduce lead’s effects on future generations.

Genetically defined neurodevelopmental syndromes provide a framework for examining constraints on language development. This study compared language performance in children and adolescents with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS; n = 40) and Down syndrome (DS; n = 40), matched for age and nonverbal cognitive ability, aged 6-16years. Standardized assessments included the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF-5) and the BLOC-C to evaluate multiple receptive and expressive language domains. Group differences, effect sizes, and associations with age were analyzed to characterize syndrome-specific profiles. Children with 22q11.2DS demonstrated relatively stronger receptive vocabulary and syntax alongside weaker morphosyntactic and pragmatic skills, with vocabulary showing moderate positive associations with age. In contrast, the DS group exhibited generally lower performance across domains, with pronounced difficulties in morphosyntax and limited age-related gains. These findings highlight differences in overall level of performance and relative strengths within a globally impaired profile across syndromes and emphasize the value of multi-dimensional assessment in capturing both age-related patterns and vulnerabilities.

To systematically evaluate the benefits and risks of bilateral cochlear implantation (BiCI) in children compared with unilateral cochlear implantation (UniCI), with a focus on auditory outcomes, language development, and potential complications. A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted following PRISMA guidelines and registered in PROSPERO (1128982). Searches were performed in PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library for studies published between 2015 and June 2025, with selective inclusion of earlier high-quality pediatric studies. Eligible studies included children with congenital or early-onset bilateral deafness who received BiCI or UniCI. Primary outcomes were speech perception (especially in noise), sound localisation, and spoken language development. Secondary outcomes included quality of life and adverse effects. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed using standardised mean differences (SMD). Fifty studies were included in the qualitative synthesis and 20 in the meta-analyses. BiCI provided significantly better outcomes in speech perception in noise (SMD = + 0.70, p < 0.001) and sound localisation (SMD = + 0.74, p < 0.001), with consistent benefits across study designs and populations. Language development also favoured BiCI (SMD = + 0.65 for receptive vocabulary). Earlier implantation and shorter inter-implant intervals were associated with larger benefits. Surgical and vestibular complications were infrequent and did not exceed those reported for UniCI. Quality-of-life ratings were consistently higher in BiCI users. Bilateral cochlear implantation offers a significant but variable advantage over unilateral implantation in children, particularly in noisy environments, spatial hearing, and language acquisition. While language outcomes generally favour BiCI, results show greater heterogeneity compared to auditory measures. Benefits are most robust with early and simultaneous implantation. Although BiCI is a safe and effective intervention, the observed methodological and clinical heterogeneity underscores the need for standardized longitudinal assessments.

Efforts to improve preschool children's early literacy skills continue to intensify (e.g., Cabell et al., 2023; Wackerle-Hollman et al., 2024), often using tiered frameworks (e.g., response to intervention and pyramid model) to identify children needing intervention. Much research about early literacy interventions within tiered frameworks has overrepresented young Black children (i.e., 45% of participants; Stuckey et al., 2022). However, tiered frameworks can also be leveraged in ways that challenge deficit-oriented lenses often used by practitioners, schools, systems, and researchers when implementing such frameworks. Children's placement in a tiered framework was examined for fall and spring to identify strengths of 487 Black 3- and 4-year-old preschool children based on an early literacy screener, Get Ready to Read!-Revised. Estimated mean standard scores fell squarely in the average range, and the percentage of children identified for Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 at both fall and spring approximated the theoretical percentages proposed by researchers (e.g., Fuchs & Fuchs, 2006; Stoiber & Gettinger, 2016). Children's Get Ready to Read!-Revised performance aligned with diagnostic measures of receptive vocabulary, print knowledge, and phonological awareness. Results contribute to the limited research base about early literacy strengths of young Black children and have implications for school psychologists' contributions to the response to intervention process in preschools. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

fNIRS evidence for enhanced brain activity during task-based Arabic learning in virtual reality

BackgroundDiscourse type can alter the demands placed on L2 listeners by changing coherence, rhetorical density, and the balance between meaning-driven and form-driven processing. Building on the Information-Rich Discourse Hypothesis, this study examines whether an information-rich scientific text and a rhetorically complex literary text produce different patterns of listening comprehension, perceived effort, and metacognitive strategy use among EFL learners.MethodsSixty undergraduate EFL learners completed a within-subjects listening task involving two counterbalanced discourse conditions (scientific vs. literary). Outcomes included comprehension accuracy, processing speed, self-reported cognitive load, and self-reported use of top-down versus bottom-up metacognitive strategies. Analyses used paired comparisons and repeated-measures modeling that accounted for order and individual differences (listening anxiety and receptive vocabulary knowledge as a lexical-coverage proxy).ResultsListening to the information-rich scientific text resulted in significantly higher comprehension accuracy, faster processing, and lower cognitive load than listening to the rhetorically complex literary text. Strategy reports showed systematic adaptation across conditions, with greater reliance on top-down strategies in the scientific condition and greater reliance on bottom-up strategies in the literary condition. Individual differences were associated with variability in outcomes and strategy use; however, interpretations involving vocabulary are framed cautiously because the vocabulary measure reflects written receptive knowledge rather than phonological vocabulary access.ConclusionDiscourse type exerts robust effects on EFL listening performance, perceived effort, and strategic regulation. These findings support the Information-Rich Discourse Hypothesis and underscore that listening success depends on an interaction between discourse characteristics, learner profiles, and strategic processing.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40359-026-04684-2.

Language-specific speech perception intensifies at preschool age; yet no study has examined this phenomenon in bilinguals. This study explores stop and vowel perception in English and Spanish in 74 Mexican-origin children (mean age: 50 months; 37 Spanish-English bilinguals, 24 females; 37 English monolinguals, 23 females) and examines whether language exposure, input diversity, and receptive vocabulary moderate bilinguals' perception in each language. Bilinguals' English stop-but not vowel-perception, as assessed through a forced-choice minimal-pair identification task in 2022 and 2023, was partially affected by Spanish, suggesting subtle bilingual-monolingual differences. The effect of input diversity on perception was mediated by vocabulary in English and exposure in Spanish, highlighting the complex interplay of input- and proficiency--related variables on bilingual perception.