Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised Research Articles

Validity of specific CPT indices in differentiating school-aged children previously diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder from school-aged children with non-attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in general education classrooms: a case control study

BackgroundContinuous performance tests (CPTs) are a popular tool for evaluating the symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Performance measurements are typically linked to the biological features and cognitive functions of individuals. To determine the validity of specific CPT indices in differentiating between school-aged children with ADHD from with non-ADHD, each student’s sex, chronological age, and cognitive abilities should be considered.MethodsIn this prospective case–control study, a total of 30 non-ADHD students and 26 with ADHD who were aged 6 to 12 years were from general education classrooms. All students completed the Continuous Performance Tests (CPTs) and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-revised (Mandarin-Chinese version). Demographic data were collected from the students’ parents.ResultsDetectability, Omissions, Commissions, and Hit Reaction Time Standard Deviation (HRT SD) yielded higher T-scores in children with ADHD than those without. Compared with non-ADHD students, those with ADHD had higher classification scores for Detectability, Omissions, Perseverations, and HRT SD. For each CPT index, after individual factors were controlled for, logistic regression revealed that only students with positive scores for Detectability, Omission, and HRT SD (adjusted odds ratios = 4.627, 9.977, and 3.908, Ps < 0.05) were likely to receive a diagnosis of ADHD. Furthermore, after individual characteristics were controlled for, Logistic regression also revealed that the cumulative positive scores of the Detectability, Omission, or and HRT SD remained associated with an increased risk of ADHD (adjusted odds ratio = 3.116, P < 0.01).ConclusionsCompared with school-aged children with non-ADHD in general education classrooms, those with ADHD exhibited significantly lower performance in inattention-related CPT indices. To reach an accurate diagnosis through CPTs, clinicians should pay attention to Detectability, Omission, and HRT SD. Compared with other CPT indices, Detectability, Omission, and HRT SD may function as more suitable indicators for distinguishing between school-aged children with and non-ADHD in general education classrooms. These indicators are robust and unobscured by individual characteristics.

The Latency of Auditory Event-Related Potential P300 Prolonged in School-Age Students with Unilateral Hearing Loss in a Mandarin Learning Environment.

Our study investigated the differences in speech performance and neurophysiological response in groups of school-age children with unilateral hearing loss (UHL) who were otherwise typically developing (TD). We recruited a total of 16 primary school-age children for our study (UHL = 9/TD = 7), who were screened by doctors at Shin Kong Wu-Ho-Su Memorial Hospital. We used the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R) to test word comprehension, and the PPVT-R percentile rank (PR) value was proportional to the auditory memory score (by The Children's Oral Comprehension Test) in both groups. Later, we assessed the latency and amplitude of auditory ERP P300 and found that the latency of auditory ERP P300 in the UHL group was prolonged compared with that in the TD group. Although students with UHL have typical hearing in one ear, based on our results, long-term UHL might be the cause of atypical organization of brain areas responsible for auditory processing or even visual perceptions attributed to speech delay and learning difficulties.

Impact of ventilation tube insertion on long-term language outcomes at 6 and 10 years of age: A prospective pregnancy cohort study.

Investigating the impact of early childhood ventilation tube insertion (VTI) on long-term language outcomes. Longitudinal cohort study. A total of 2900 pregnant women participated in the Raine Study between 1989 and 1991 in Western Australia, and 2868 children have been followed up. Based on parental reports, 314 children had a history of recurrent otitis media but did not undergo VTI (rOM group); another 94 received VTI (VTI group); while 1735 had no history of rOM (reference group) in the first 3 years of childhood. Children with data on outcomes and confounders were included in analyses of PPVT-R at ages 6 (n = 1567) and 10 years (n = 1313) and CELF-III at 10 years (n = 1410) (approximately 5% in the VTI group and 15% in the rOM group). Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised edition and Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals® Preschool-3. At 6 years, mean PPVT-R scores were significantly lower in the VTI group than the reference group (β = -3.3; 95% CI [-6.5 to -0.04], p = .047). At 10 years, while the difference between the VTI and reference groups was less pronounced for PPVT-R scores, there was a small but consistent trend of lower measures, on average, across CELF-III scores (expressive: β = -3.4 [-7.1 to 0.27], p = .069; receptive: β = -4.1 [-7.9 to -0.34], p = .033; total: β = -3.9 [-7.5 to -0.21], p = .038). There was no evidence to suggest that language outcomes in the rOM group differed from the reference group. Lower scores of language outcomes in school-aged children who received VTI in early childhood may suggest a long-term risk which should be considered alongside the potential benefits of VTI.

Receptive Language Abilities for Females Exposed to Early Life Adversity: Modification by Epigenetic Age Acceleration at Midlife in a 30-Year Prospective Cohort Study.

Deviations from normative trajectories of receptive language abilities following early life adversity (ELA) may indicate an elevated risk for advanced cognitive aging and related morbidities. Accelerated epigenetic aging at midlife may further identify those at greatest risk for advanced cognitive aging following ELA. We examined whether accelerations in epigenetic aging at midlife can identify those individuals who demonstrated the greatest change in receptive language abilities following ELA. Data were drawn from the Female Growth and Development Study (n=86), a 30-year prospective cohort study of females exposed to substantiated child sexual abuse (CSA), a severe ELA, and a non-CSA comparison condition. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R) measured receptive language abilities on 6 occasions from childhood to mid-life. Interindividual differences in PPVT-R trajectories were examined in relation to CSA exposure and across 5 independent measures of epigenetic age acceleration derived from first (Horvath DNAmAge, Hannum DNAmAge) and second (GrimAge, PhenoAge, Dunedin Pace of Aging) generation epigenetic clocks. Quadratic growth models revealed that PPVT-R scores were significantly lower at age 25 for females exposed to CSA. Specifically, CSA exposed females had lower intercepts when GrimAge was accelerated and a smaller quadratic trend when PhenoAge was accelerated. ELA is associated with significant differences in development of receptive language abilities with the most pronounced differences observed for females with accelerated epigenetic ages at mid-life. These findings suggest that epigenetic age acceleration could serve as an indicator of differences in cognitive aging and portend to later adulthood cognitive functioning.

Effectiveness of cloud-based rehabilitation in children with developmental language disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic: A prospective cohort study.

During the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, we considered the case of a child with developmental language disorder (DLD) who could not go to the hospital on time to receive timely rehabilitation treatment due to disrupted hospital operations. The application of cloud-based rehabilitation platforms has provided significant advantages and convenience for children with DLD in-home remote rehabilitation. Among them, the JingYun Rehab Cloud Platform is the most widely used in mainland China. It is an interactive telerehabilitation system developed by Weixin Huang that delivers personalized home rehabilitation for special education children. In this study, we used the JingYun Rehab Cloud Platform to investigate the extent to which cloud-based rehabilitation is effective for children with DLD in terms of language and cognitive outcomes. This was a prospective cohort study including all children who were evaluated and diagnosed with DLD through Sign-Significant Relations and were followed up at the rehabilitation clinic of our institute. We followed 162 children with DLD for 3 months, including 84 children with DLD who participated in remote cloud-based rehabilitation on the JingYun Rehab Cloud Platform and 78 children with DLD as the control group who underwent home-based rehabilitation. Language abilities of both groups were assessed using the Chinese version of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised. Several measures of training performance (language, memory, and cognition tasks) were assessed before and after cloud-based rehabilitation in the remote cloud-based rehabilitation group. Children with DLD in the cloud-based rehabilitation group performed significantly better in language abilities, as assessed by the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised, than children with DLD in the control group. Furthermore, for children who participated in remote cloud-based rehabilitation, the frequency of training sessions was proportional to their performance on language, memory, and cognition tasks. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of cloud-based rehabilitation on the JingYun Rehab Cloud Platform in treating children with DLD.

The performance and predictors of Chinese character writing in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Writing difficulties are common in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Preliminary evidence suggests that early character writing ability is fundamental for later writing composition and academic achievement. Critical factors of different character writing tasks in children with ADHD, however, remain unclear. This study aims to describe the performance and identify predictors of Chinese character writing in children with ADHD. Thirty Mandarin Chinese-speaking children with ADHD (7.16 ± 0.59 years) and thirty matched peers (7.21 ± 0.57 years) were recruited from northern Taiwan. They were evaluated with the Battery of Chinese Basic Literacy (BCBL); the Chinese version of the Test of Nonverbal Intelligence, fourth edition (C-TONI-4); the Chinese version of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (C-PPVT-R); orthographic awareness test; character naming test; and the Bruininks Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, second edition (BOT-2). The results showed that Mandarin Chinese-speaking children with ADHD scored lower than their typically developing peers on both dictation and copying subtests. After controlling for age, orthographic awareness and inattention were identified as important predictors of character dictation; while, manual dexterity was a critical predictor of character copying in children with ADHD. The results demonstrated that character writing problems may exist in Mandarin Chinese-speaking children with ADHD, and cognitive-linguistic and fine-motor skills have varying contributions to Chinese character writing tasks.

Neuro-Cognitive Differences in Semantic Processing Between Native Speakers and Proficient Learners of Mandarin Chinese.

The present study aimed to investigate the neural mechanism underlying semantic processing in Mandarin Chinese adult learners, focusing on the learners who were Indo-European language speakers with advanced levels of proficiency in Mandarin Chinese. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging technique and a semantic judgment task to test 24 Mandarin Chinese adult learners (L2 group) and 26 Mandarin Chinese adult native speakers (L1 group) as a control group. In the task, participants were asked to indicate whether two-character pairs were related in meaning. Compared to the L1 group, the L2 group had greater activation in the bilateral occipital regions, including the fusiform gyrus and middle occipital gyrus, as well as the right superior parietal lobule. On the other hand, less activation in the bilateral temporal regions was found in the L2 group relative to the L1 group. Correlation analysis further revealed that, within the L2 group, increased activation in the left middle temporal gyrus/superior temporal gyrus (M/STG, BA 21) was correlated with higher accuracy in the semantic judgment task as well as better scores in the two vocabulary tests, the Assessment of Chinese character list for grade 3 to grade 9 (A39) and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised. In addition, functional connectivity analysis showed that connectivity strength between the left fusiform gyrus and left ventral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG, BA 47) was modulated by the accuracy in the semantic judgment task in the L1 group. By contrast, this modulation effect was weaker in the L2 group. Taken together, our study suggests that Mandarin Chinese adult learners rely on greater recruitment of the bilateral occipital regions to process orthographic information to access the meaning of Chinese characters. Also, our correlation results provide convergent evidence that the left M/STG (BA 21) plays a crucial role in the storage of semantic knowledge for readers to access to conceptual information. Moreover, the connectivity results indicate that the left ventral pathway (left fusiform gyrus-left ventral IFG) is associated with orthographic-semantic processing in Mandarin Chinese. However, this semantic-related ventral pathway might require more time and language experience to be developed, especially for the late adult learners of Mandarin Chinese.

Does Otitis Media Affect Later Language Ability? A Prospective Birth Cohort Study.

Purpose The aim of the study was to examine whether otitis media (OM) in early childhood has an impact on language development in later childhood. Methods We analyzed data from 1,344 second-generation (Generation 2) participants in the Raine Study, a longitudinal pregnancy cohort established in Perth, Western Australia, between 1989 and 1991. OM was assessed clinically at 6 years of age. Language development was measured using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R) at 6 and 10 years of age and the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Third Edition at 10 years of age. Logistic regression analysis accounted for a wide range of social and environmental covariates. Results There was no significant relationship between bilateral OM and language ability at 6 years of age (β = -0.56 [-3.78, 2.66], p = .732). However, while scores were within the normal range for the outcome measures at both time points, there was a significant reduction in the rate of receptive vocabulary growth at 10 years of age (PPVT-R) for children with bilateral OM at 6 years of age (β = -3.17 [-6.04, -0.31], p = .030), but not for the combined unilateral or bilateral OM group (β = -1.83 [-4.04, 0.39], p = .106). Conclusions Children with OM detected at 6 years of age in this cohort had average language development scores within the normal range at 6 and 10 years of age. However, there was a small but statistically significant reduction in the rate of receptive vocabulary growth at 10 years of age (on the PPVT-R measure only) in children who had bilateral OM at 6 years of age after adjusting for a range of sociodemographic factors.

Psychometric properties of the mandarin clinical evaluation of language for preschooler’s core scale

PurposeTo test the psychometric properties of a newly developed Mandarin Clinical Evaluation of Language for Preschooler’s Core Scale (MCELP-CS). MethodsData were collected from 379 preschool-aged participants, including 81 children with language disorders associated with clinical conditions. The 155-item MCELP-CS consists of five subscales: vocabulary comprehension (VC), sentence comprehension (SC), vocabulary naming (VN), sentence structure imitation (SSI), and story narration (SN). The scale was used to measure the receptive and expressive language abilities of children aged 3–5 years and 11 months. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-revised (PPVT-R) was used to measure the receptive vocabulary abilities among the children (n = 338). The internal consistency, test-retest reliability, structural validity, convergent validity, and diagnostic accuracy were used to evaluate the scale. Differences between age groups were also examined using analysis of variance. ResultsThe MCELP-CS had high internal consistency and good test-retest reliability. Fitting indices of the two-factor model from confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), including χ2, CFI, TLI, RSEAM, and SRMR, suggested that the model is consistent with the theoretical structure. Significant correlations between the MCELP-CS and PPVT-R showed a high convergent validity. In addition, the scale indicated good diagnostic accuracy in differentiating the language disorders of children with autism, cerebral palsy (CP), and hearing impairment (HI). ConclusionsThe MCELP-CS is a reliable and valid diagnostic tool for language disorders of Mandarin-speaking preschool children with autism, CP, and HI. It is appropriate to collect normative data for the MCELP-CS with a large sample population of preschool children.

Performance in motor, communicative and cognitive skills of girls with congenital hypothyroidism treated from the neonatal period.

To compare the performance in gross motor, fine motor-adaptive, language, cognitive and personal-social development skills of girls with a mean age of 36 to 71 months with Congenital Hypothyroidism treated from the neonatal period with that of their peers without thyroid alterations. The participants included in the study were 30 children aged between 36 and 70 months divided into two groups paired for chronological age and socioeconomic status: 15 girls diagnosed with Congenital Hypothyroidism - Experimental Group (EG) and 15 girls without thyroid changes - Control Group (CG). The following assessment instruments were used: Interview with parents, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test - Revised (PPVT-R), and Denver Developmental Screening Test - 2nd edition (DDST-II). Psychological testing of intellectual functioning was conducted with application of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (SBIS). The descriptive statistical analysis was performed using Student's t-test and the Mann-Whitney test at a significance level of 5% (p<0.05). Comparison of the PPVT-R and SBIS results showed a statistically significant difference between the EG and CG. Comparison of the DDST-II results showed a statistically significant difference between the groups for the fine motor-adaptive, language and gross motor areas. The present study confirms that Congenital Hypothyroidism affects child development, even when children are diagnosed and treated early, leading to alterations that can impair their motor, cognitive and language development.

What matters most when it comes to vocabulary and language development?

What matters most when it comes to vocabulary and language development?

Infants Born Large for Gestational Age and Developmental Attainment in Early Childhood.

Objectives To investigate if an association exists between being born large for gestational age (LGA) and verbal ability or externalizing behaviour problems at ages 4-5 years. Method A secondary analysis was conducted using the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, including singleton births in 2004-2005 followed till 4-5 years (n = 1685). LGA was defined as a birth weight > 90th percentile. Outcomes included poor verbal ability (scoring < 15th percentile on the Revised Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test) and externalizing behaviour problems (scoring > 90th percentile on externalizing behaviour scales). Multivariable logistic regression with longitudinal standardized funnel weights and bootstrapping estimation were used. Results Infants born LGA were not found to be at increased risk for poor verbal ability (aOR: 1.16 [0.49,2.72] and aOR: 0.83 [0.37,1.87] for girls and boys, resp.) or externalizing behaviour problems (aOR: 1.24 [0.52,2.93] and aOR: 1.24 [0.66,2.36] for girls and boys, resp.). Social factors were found to impact developmental attainment. Maternal smoking led to an increased risk for externalizing behaviour problems (aOR: 3.33 [1.60,6.94] and aOR: 2.12 [1.09,4.13] for girls and boys, resp.). Conclusion There is no evidence to suggest that infants born LGA are at increased risk for poor verbal ability or externalizing behaviour problems.

Timing and Chronicity of Maternal Depression Symptoms and Children's Verbal Abilities

To test the associations between the timing and chronicity of maternal depression symptoms (MDS) and children's long-term verbal abilities. Participants were 1073 mother-child pairs from a population-based birth cohort in Canada. MDS were assessed at ages 5 months, 1.5, 3.5, and 5 years using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Verbal abilities were measured at 5, 6, and 10 years using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R). Multiple linear regression models were used to estimate the association between timing (early: 5 months and/or 1.5 years vs late 3.5 and/or 5 years) and chronicity (5 months, 1.5, 3.5, and 5 years) of exposure to elevated MDS and children's mean PPVT-R scores. Children exposed to chronic MDS had lower PPVT-R scores than children never exposed (mean difference = 9.04 [95% CI = 2.28-15.80]), exposed early (10.08 [3.33-16.86]) and exposed late (8.69 [1.85-15.53]). There were no significant differences between scores of children in the early compared with the late exposure group. We adjusted for mother-child interactions, family functioning, socioeconomic status, PPVT-R administration language, child's birth order, and maternal IQ, psychopathology, education, native language, age at birth of child, and parenting practices. Maternal IQ, (η2 = 0.028), native language (η2 = 0.009), and MDS (η2 = 0.007) were the main predictors of children's verbal abilities. Exposure to chronic MDS in early childhood is associated with lower levels of verbal abilities in middle childhood. Further research is needed in larger community samples to test the association between MDS and children's long-term language skills.

요리활동을 통한 언어중재가 언어발달지연을 보이는 유아의 언어능력 향상에 대한 연구

본 연구는 요리활동을 통한 언어중재가 언어발달지연을 보이는 유아의 언어능력 향상에 대해 알아보고 현장에서의 효율적인 교수학습 및 환경구성을 마련하는데 연구의 목적을 두고 있다. 연구대상은 서울시에 위치한 E아동발달센터에 재원 중인 만3세 유아 3명(남아 2명, 여아 1명)을 대상으로 각 연령 별 발달을 고려한 주제를 각각 선정하여 요리활동을 통한 언어중재를 실행하였다. 언어중재는 1주에 1회 50분씩 총 25회에 거쳐 실시하였고, 어휘는 요리동사 및 명사가 골고루 분포되도록 하였다. 자료 분석은 그림 어휘력검사(PPVT-R), 취학 전 아동의 수용언어(RLA) 및 표현언어(ELA) 발달 검사(PRES)를 사전 사후 검사를 실시하였고, 결과를 요약하면 다음과 같다. 요리활동을 통한 언어중재를 언어발달지연을 보이는 유아에게 실시한 결과 어휘력, 수용언어, 표현언어, 통합언어 모두 정상언어발달수준에 도달하였음을 알 수 있었다. 이러한 결과는 요리활동을 통한 언어중재가 언어발달지연을 보이는 만3세 유아들에게 긍정적인 영향을 주는 활동임을 시사하고 있다. 따라서 요리활동은 유아의 능동적인 참여와 흥미를 유발 시킬 수 있으며, 다양한 경험을 통해 언어능력을 신장 시킬 수 있다고 본다. Language intervention through cooking activity programs is designed to provide an efficient teaching method and improved educational environment in the field of teaching. This program addresses the effects of this program on the language development of three three-year-old infants (M;2, F;1) in the Center in Seoul. A cooking topic suitable for the age of this group was selected. The language Intervention was conducted for 50 minutes per week for a total of 25 times, and made use of vocabulary, verbs and nouns related to cooking which were evenly distributed. In this study, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R), receptive language age (RLA) and expressive language age (ELA), and Preschool Receptive-Expressive Language Scale (PRES) were used to analyze the collected data. After the study, the cooking activity was accomplished with normal development outcomes appearing in the ability of vocabulary, receptive language, expressive language, and integrated language. There is now a solid evidence base supporting the efficacy of cooking activity in producing positive outcomes in the language development of language delayed infants. Consequently, cooking can induce their active participation and interest and extend their language abilities through various experiences.

Predicting receptive vocabulary change from childhood to adulthood: A birth cohort study

This study examined the parental and early childhood risk factors of different receptive vocabulary developmental profiles from childhood to adulthood. The sample (n=1914), comprised of monolingual English speaking participants, from the Mater University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy (MUSP). Receptive vocabulary was measured using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R) at the 5 and 21-year follow ups. Four vocabulary profiles were evident: persistently typical, persistently impaired, later onset of difficulties, and resolved delays. The presence of internalising behaviours at 5 years, lower paternal educational attainment, and maternal smoking during pregnancy were associated with later onset vocabulary impairment. These findings have clinical and educational implications for identifying children ‘at risk’ of later deterioration in language skills.

Short persistent sleep duration is associated with poor receptive vocabulary performance in middle childhood

The aim of this study was to examine whether short sleep duration is associated with poor receptive vocabulary at age 10years. In the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, parents reported their children's nocturnal sleep duration annually from ages 2.5 to 10years, and children were assessed for receptive vocabulary using the Peabody PictureVocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R) at ages 4 and 10years. Groups with distinct nocturnal sleep duration trajectories were identified and the relationships between sleep trajectories and poor PPVT-R performance were characterized. In all, 1192 children with available sleep duration and PPVT-R data participated in this epidemiological study. We identified four longitudinal nocturnal sleep trajectories: short persistent sleepers (n=72, 6.0%), short increasing sleepers (n=47, 3.9%), 10-h sleepers (n=628, 52.7%) and 11-h sleepers (n=445, 37.3%). In all, 14.8% of the children showed poor PPVT-R performance at age 10years. Nocturnal sleep trajectories and poor PPVT-R performance at age 10 were associated significantly (P=0.003). After adjusting for baseline receptive vocabulary performance at age 4 and other potential confounding variables, logistic regression analyses suggest that, compared to 11-h sleepers, the odds ratio of presenting poor receptive vocabulary at age 10 was 2.67 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.24-5.74, P=0.012] for short persistent sleepers and 1.66 (95% CI: 1.06-2.59, P=0.026) for 10-h sleepers. These results corroborate previous findings in early childhood, and indicate that short sleep duration is associated with poor receptive vocabulary during middle childhood.

Language at rest: A longitudinal study of intrinsic functional connectivity in preterm children.

BackgroundPreterm (PT) children show early cognitive and language deficits and display altered cortical connectivity for language compared to term (T) children. Developmentally, functional connectivity networks become more segregated and integrated, through the weakening of short-range and strengthening of long-range connections.MethodsLongitudinal intrinsic connectivity distribution (ICD) values were assessed in PT (n = 13) compared to T children (n = 12) at ages 8 vs. 16 using a Linear Mixed Effects model. Connectivity values in regions generated by the group × age interaction analysis were then correlated to scores on full IQ (FSIQ), verbal IQ (VIQ), verbal comprehension IQ (VCIQ), performance IQ (PIQ), Peabody picture vocabulary test—revised (PPVT­R), and Rapid Naming Composite (RDRL_Cmp).ResultsNine regions were generated by the group × age interaction analysis. PT connectivity significantly increased over time in all but two regions, and they ultimately displayed greater relative connectivity at age 16 than Ts in all areas except the left occipito-temporal cortex (OTC). PTs underwent significant connectivity reductions in the left OTC, which corresponded with worse performance on FSIQ, VIQ, and PIQ. These findings differed from Ts, who did not undergo any significant changes in connectivity over time.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that the developmental alterations in connectivity in PT children at adolescence are both pervasive and widespread. The persistent and worsening cognitive and language deficits noted in the PT subjects may be attributed to the loss of connections in the left OTC.

From the external to the internal

The present study investigated how Chinese children develop theory of mind (ToM) in a language environment with limited mental state talk that is rich in behavior discourse. In Study 1, 60 mothers shared a wordless storybook with their 3–4-year-olds. The children completed two false-belief tasks and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised at the same time and again 1 year later. Mothers’ early behavior clarifications during book-sharing predicted children’s later false-belief understanding independent of children’s early false-belief scores; children’s early verbal ability; maternal education; and mothers’ early mental state clarifications, simple mental state mentions, and simple behavior mentions. Using a discussion paradigm, Study 2 experimentally exposed 46 children aged 4 to 5 years to mental state or behavior clarifications or physical features of object talk (control group) through storytelling. Children in the experimental groups showed improvement in false-belief tasks from the pretest to the posttest. These findings indicate that behavior clarifications facilitated Chinese children’s mental understanding, suggesting a culture-specific mechanism for ToM development.

Epilepsy, school readiness in Canadian children: Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Children and Youth (NLSCY)

PurposeUtilizing data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) we evaluated the association between childhood epilepsy and health impairments on measures of school readiness employed in the survey. MethodsStandard scores on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R) were employed in a regression analysis to compare scores in children with and without epilepsy. We also examined the effect of impairments in any of the 8 domains of the Health Utilities index (HUI) on test scores. ResultsA total sample size of 39,130 children (20,044 males, and 19,086 female were included in the analysis, 33,560 children were administered the PPVT-R at a mean age of 4.5 years. There were 70 children with epilepsy, 21 had a score of 1 on the HUI, 21 were assessed to have a HUI<1 (signifying health impairments in one or more of the 8 domains). In the remainder, the PPVT scores were missing. Using the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression for continuous outcomes model for PPVT-R scores as the outcome variable, females scored 1.1 points higher (β=1.1, 95%CI 0.755, 1.444, p=0.000), children without epilepsy and HUI score of <1 scored 3.84 points lower (β=−3.843 95%CI −4.232, −3.452, p=0.000). Children with epilepsy and a HUI score of 1 scored 9.90 points lower (β=−9.902, 95%CI −16.343, −3.461, p=0.003) while those with epilepsy and HUI<1 scored 17.30 lower (β=−17.308, 95%CI −23.776, −10.839, p=0.000). ConclusionThe data provide objective evidence that children with epilepsy are at risk of scholastic underachievement at school entry, while those with additional health impairments as measured by the HUI are at greater risk of underachievement.

The development of a multimedia online language assessment tool for young children with autism

This study aimed to provide early childhood special education professionals with a standardized and comprehensive language assessment tool for the early identification of language learning characteristics (e.g., hyperlexia) of young children with autism. In this study, we used computer technology to develop a multi-media online language assessment tool that presents auditory or visual stimuli. This online comprehensive language assessment consists of six subtests: decoding, homographs, auditory vocabulary comprehension, visual vocabulary comprehension, auditory sentence comprehension, and visual sentence comprehension. Three hundred typically developing children and 35 children with autism from Tao-Yuan County in Taiwan aged 4-6 participated in this study. The Cronbach α values of the six subtests ranged from .64 to .97. The variance explained by the six subtests ranged from 14% to 56%, the current validity of each subtest with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised ranged from .21 to .45, and the predictive validity of each subtest with WISC-III ranged from .47 to .75. This assessment tool was also found to be able to accurately differentiate children with autism up to 92%. These results indicate that this assessment tool has both adequate reliability and validity. Additionally, 35 children with autism have completed the entire assessment in this study without exhibiting any extremely troubling behaviors. However, future research is needed to increase the sample size of both typically developing children and young children with autism and to overcome the technical challenges associated with internet issues.