Skills In Toddlers Research Articles

Communication Skills in Toddlers Exposed to Maternal SARS-CoV-2 during Pregnancy.

Studies about the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on pregnant women and children born to positive women are controversial with regard to possible inner ear-related damage but most of them do not detect the involvement of this virus in auditory function. However, only a few studies on long-term effects on language development are currently available because of the recent onset of the pandemic. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on perceptual and expressive abilities and the emerging development of communication in young children. To this purpose, the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory-Words and Gestures form (CDI-WG), was administered to parents. In total, 115 children whose mother was infected by SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy were enrolled in the study and evaluated at the Audiology Service of the Modena University Hospital. All children underwent Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) at birth: 114/115 had a "pass" result bilaterally, while 1 case had a unilateral "refer" result. Overall, 110/115 newborns (95.65%) underwent audiological evaluation between 10-18 months of age. In 5/110 patients (3.6%), the Pure Tone Average (PTA) result was equal to 35 dB; one case had a hearing threshold of around 50 dB due to a bilateral effusive otitis media. A notable finding was the percentage of children with tubal dysfunction in both evaluations, within 2 months of age and around 12 months of age. Most children revealed normal hearing. The CDI-WG was completed by 56/115 families. The rate of children below the fifth percentile was 8.9% for sentences understood, 12.5% for words understood, and 5.4% for words produced. Concerning CDI-Gestures, only 2 children (3.6%) were below the fifth percentile. A structured audiological follow-up in association with the evaluation of communication skills of children appears fundamental, particularly in the years of maximum neuroplasticity. Long-term studies are still necessary to evaluate the possible consequences of the pandemic.

Prenatal tobacco and alcohol exposure, white matter microstructure, and early language skills in toddlers from a South African birth cohort.

Tobacco and alcohol are the two most common substances used during pregnancy, and both can disrupt neurodevelopment, resulting in cognitive and behavioral deficits including language difficulties. Previous studies show that children with prenatal substance exposure exhibit microstructural alterations in major white matter pathways, though few studies have investigated the impact of prenatal substance exposure on white matter microstructure and language skills during the toddler years. In this study, 93 children (34 exposed to alcohol and/or tobacco) aged 23 years from the Drakenstein Child Health Study, South Africa, completed Expressive and Receptive Communication assessments from the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (BSID-III) and underwent diffusion MRI scans. Diffusion images were preprocessed, and 11 major white matter tracts were isolated. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) were extracted for each white matter tract. Linear regression was used to examine differences between the tobacco/alcohol exposed group and unexposed controls for FA, MD, and language scores, as well as relationships between brain metrics and language. There were no significant group differences in language scores or FA. Children with alcohol or tobacco exposure had lower average MD in the splenium of the corpus callosum compared to unexposed controls. Significant interactions between prenatal substance exposure and language scores were seen in 7 tracts but did not survive multiple comparisons correction. Our findings show that prenatal alcohol and/or tobacco exposure appear to alter the relationship between white matter microstructure and early language skills in this population of toddlers, potentially laying the basis of language deficits observed later in older children with prenatal substance exposure, which may have implications for learning and interventions.

Cause for Concern? The Relationship Between Language Skills in Toddlers and Later Reading Skills in School

AbstractThe purpose of this longitudinal study is to investigate the association between poor language skills in toddlers and later reading skills. In contrast to earlier research, the present study used an authentic assessment of language skills conducted by staff in early childhood education and care as a tool for early identification. The participants were 515 Norwegian monolingual toddlers who were assessed when they were 33 months, 7 years, and 10 years. The results showed a small correlation between language skills identified at 33 months and later reading skills. The toddlers with the 10% poorest language skills were overrepresented in the 10% with the poorest decoding skills in 2nd grade and reading comprehension in 5th grade. Furthermore, 67.3% of toddlers with poor language skills attained below-average reading scores in 5th grade. These findings support the importance of paying attention to children in the lowest 10%, even at the age of 33 months. Furthermore, the results show that authentic assessments in the early years conducted by staff in early childhood education and care can make an important contribution to identifying toddlers in need of extra language stimulation in early childhood education.

The Relationship of Mother Characteristics and Childhood Nutrition Status to the Rough Motor of Toddlers 3-5 Years Old

Toddlers aged 3-5 years are at an ideal period in the development process, especially in gross motor development. Gross motor skills are toddlers' ability to move by involving body structures and functions. The gross motor skills of toddlers can be influenced by several factors, namely maternal characteristics and nutritional status. The features of mothers involved in gross motor include knowledge, education, employment, and mother's care. It is also a factor in the nutritional status of children, so it will indirectly be connected to the child's motor.
 This study used a cross-sectional design with purposive sampling techniques; the study sample comprised 37 respondents from toddlers and their mothers. The research was conducted at the Children's Poly, Kartika Pulomas Hospital, East Jakarta. The data measured were toddlers' nutritional and gross motor status using the DDST screening format.
 The characteristics of respondents in the normal gross motor category were 16 toddlers (43.2%), while toddlers with suspected gross motor were 21 toddlers (56.8%). The bivariate analysis results showed that knowledge, maternal parenting, and nutritional status had a significant relationship with gross motor with a p-value of < 0.05. Age, education, and occupation had no association with gross motor with p-value > 0.05.

Effectiveness of Using the Anthropometric Stunting Meter in Children Aged 24-59 Months at the Lageun Health Center, Aceh Jaya District

Stunting in toddlers can have an impact on children's health and intelligence in the future, such as susceptibility to infection and decreased performance in school. This activity aims to train posyandu cadres in improving anthropometric measurement skills in toddlers. The target audience for this community service activity is posyandu cadres. Stunting indicates chronic nutritional problems as a result of long-lasting man many factors increase stunting in toddlers, both directly and indirectly. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the stunting anthropometric tool in children aged 24-59 months in the working area of the Lageun Health Center. The population in this study were all toddlers aged 24-59 months, totaling 45 toddlers. The number of samples is 22 toddlers. The purpose of this training activity is to increase awareness of the targeted skills in independent early detection of stunting using anthropometric methods. The method of implementing this community service activity uses a combination of education, training, and simulation methods. The targets are pregnant women, mothers with children under five years old, and health cadres. Based on field studies, the stunting anthropometric tool shows effective results. The results of the implementation of activities show high enthusiasm from the target. It is hoped that this activity can parents' awareness of toddlers' nutritional health problems, so that t has an impact and can contribute to reducing the number of stunting cases to be precise in the Lageun Health Center area.

Overview of the Development of Language Skills in Toddlers with Prescreening Developmental Questionnaire (PDQ) at Posyandu Anggrek Sukamandi, Sagalaherang District, Subang, Indonesia

At the toddler development stage, namely 1-3 years old, language skills become a very crucial aspect in the process of interaction and communication with the surrounding environment. At this time, children begin to develop vocabulary, speech skills, understand instructions, and express themselves using words. This study aimed to provide an overview of the development of language skills in toddlers at Posyandu Anggrek Sukamandi, Sagalaherang District, Subang, Indonesia. This study was a descriptive observational study. A total of 42 research subjects participated in this study. Univariate analysis was carried out to screen language skills with the PDQ. Toddlers who experience questionable language development are 7.14%. Toddlers with adverse language development were found in 28.57% of toddlers with malnutrition and 3.23% of toddlers with good nutrition, 16.67% of toddlers with mothers who had primary school education, and 7.15% of toddlers with mothers who had a junior high school education. The percentage of the development of questionable language is higher in toddlers who have risk factors than in toddlers who don't have risk factors.

Verbal Responsiveness in Parents of Toddlers With and Without Autism During a Home Observation

This study examined patterns of verbal responsiveness in parents of toddlers (Mage = 20 months) later identified with autism (n = 121), developmental delay (n = 46), or typical development (n = 44) during an hourlong home observation. Parent verbal responsiveness (PVR) was compared using MANOVA across groups and by child expressive language phase. Multiple regression analyses controlling for child age and maternal education were employed to examine the extent to which PVR predicted variance in concurrent child social communication and prospective language skills. Parents provided synchronous responses approximately 90% of the time. Parents of children with autism and developmental delay used smaller proportions of responses that added linguistic information (i.e., expansions and follow-in directives for language) than those of children with typical development. Parents of children in the preverbal phase were more likely, on average, to affirm their children’s acts of intentional communication or provide a follow-in directive for action that did not necessitate a verbal response than to expand or elicit language. Regression results indicated that parental use of expansions and follow-in directives for language made significant contributions to child language outcomes. The patterns we observed may reflect parents’ attunement to their child’s developmental level. Responsiveness to a child’s focus of attention is vital in the earlier stages of language learning; however, results point to the potential importance of parental expansions and follow-in directives for promoting language development across groups in this sample. Directions for intervention research targeting PVR and language skills in toddlers with autism and developmental delays are discussed.

Gambaran Keterampilan Perkembangan Motorik Kasar pada Anak Toddler (usia 1-3 tahun) di Posyandu Wilayah Kerja Puskesmas Tabanan III

Background: One important aspect of the development process is gross motor development, namely body movements using large muscles. Gross motor skills are the ability to move various parts of the body that involve the activity of the large muscles on command and regulate body movements against various influences from outside and from within the body. Interviews conducted by researchers with 10 mothers who had children aged 1-3 years found seven mothers who said they did not provide stimulation to their children, such as not inviting their children to play because they had to work, not teaching children how to stand or learn to walk according to the child's age. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to find out the description of gross motor skills in toddlers (1-3 years old) in the Working Area of the Tabanan III Health Center. Methods: This research is a descriptive analytic study using a cross-sectional approach. Respondents were selected based on purposive sampling, namely all mothers who had children aged 1-3 years at the Posyandu, Tabanan III Health Center, as many as 83 people using an observation sheet. Results: This study shows that the description of gross motor skills development in the Posyandu Work Area of the Tabanan III Health Center is in the normal category as many as 57 respondents (68.7%) while those in the abnormal category are as many as 26 respondents (31.3%). It was also found that most of the mothers were >30 years old, most of the mothers had graduate education, and most of the children were male. Conclusion: Gross motor development skills in toddlers (age 1-3 years) in the Posyandu Working Area of the Tabanan III Health Center are in the normal category

The Effectiveness of Demonstration Methods and Booklets on The Growth and Development Stimulation Skills of Toddlers

In achieving the SDG's 2030 target, the government is making early detection efforts for children from pregnancy to the age of 5 years with the aim of increasing survival. The Indonesian government is making efforts to find out the growth and development of children with the SDIDTK program (stimulation of detection and intervention and growth and development).
 This research is a quantitative research with Two Group Pretest-Posttest Without Control Design. The technique of taking respondents using non-probability sampling. Samples taken in group 1 were 60 people and group 2 were 60 people, so that the total sample was 120 people, who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria.
 The results of this study indicate that there are significant changes in mothers in stimulating the growth and development of their children before and after being given demonstrations and booklets about stimulation of growth and development. The results of the t-test were 1,962 and the p-value was 0.057 (p-value > 0.05), which meant that there was no difference between growth and development stimulation skills after health education was carried out using the demonstration method or using booklet media.
 There needs to be involvement or active participation between health workers, mothers, toddlers and their families to cultivate a culture of stimulating growth and development in children, as well as increasing supporting facilities and infrastructure for good growth and development in health service facilities such as health centers and posyandu which are easily accessible by the community.

ANALISIS PERKEMBANGAN MOTORIK KASAR PADA BALITA DITINJAU DARI STATUS GIZI DI POSYANDU DESA KETIMANG WONOAYU

One of the components that influence gross motor development problems is nutritional status. The research method is quantitative with a cross-sectional research design. The population and sample are all children aged 3-5 years who are present at the posyandu in Ketimang Wonoayu as many as 31 toddlers with a sampling technique using total sampling in November 2022. Process data using univariate and bivariate analysis using the chi-square statistical test. The results of the chi-square test obtained a p-value of 0.006 <α (0.05), showing that there is a significant relationship between gross motor development and nutritional status for toddlers. The development of gross motor skills in toddlers in terms of nutritional status has an influence, so it is important for parents to pay attention to the nutritional status, especially at the age of five.

Parental Linguistic Inputs to Toddlers with Cochlear Implants during Parent-Toddler Interaction

Objectives: Parental linguistic input is one of the most important factors in the early language environment of young children. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of parental linguistic input in toddlers with cochlear implants (CIs), aged 12-36 months, compared to those with typical hearing (TH); and to explore the relationships between parental linguistic input variables and the language development of toddlers in each group. Methods: Parental linguistic input to 14 toddlers with CIs and 18 toddlers with TH was examined during a 20 minute free-play activities. This study compared the amounts of parental linguistic input and the proportion of facilitative language techniques (FLTs) between the CI and TH groups. Results: Parents of toddlers with CIs used more utterances and shorter mean length of utterance than parents of toddlers with TH. However, toddlers with CIs were exposed to a similar number of different words compared to toddlers with TH. Parents of toddlers with CIs used less FLTs than parents of toddlers with TH. In the TH group, high- and low-level FLTs were significantly correlated with language skills of toddlers. However, there was no significantly relationship between parental linguistic input variables and toddlers’ language skills in the CI group. Conclusion: These results suggested that toddlers with CIs were exposed to a different quantity and quality of parental linguistic input compared to toddlers with TH. These findings can be used to develop the parent education program in the early intervention for toddlers with CIs.

Peningkatan Pengetahuan dan Keterampilan Kader Posyandu dalam Deteksi Dini Stunting di Wilayah Kerja Puskesmas Sukabangun Kecamatan Delta Pawan Kabupaten Ketapang

Background: Lack of understanding of Posyandu cadres and lack of measuring instruments (anthropometry) can affect the precision of measurement and interpretation in children with nutritional problems, particularly stunting. This study intends to examine if Posyandu cadres' knowledge of early stunting detection in the Sukabangun Public Health Center working region. Method: This study employs a quasi-experimental approach with a pre-test and post-test for a single group. This study's population consisted of 81 Posyandu cadres, and the sample size was 37. Results: The data were analyzed using a frequency test, specifically the paired sample t-test if the data were normal and the Wilcoxon test if they were not. The knowledge level of Posyandu cadres increased from 48.6% to 81.1% as a result. The proficiency level of Posyandu cadres in reading MCH books increased from 40.5% to 78.4%. In the meantime, the proficiency of Posyandu cadres in anthropometric measurements increased to 73% from 21% for infants and to 91% from 54% for children. Based on the bivariate analysis, there were disparities in the level of knowledge among Posyandu cadres ranging from 2.59 to 7.84. In addition, the degree of proficiency in reading MCH books increased from 5.27 to 11.46, stunting detection skills in toddlers increased from 2.03 to 6.73, and early detection skills of child stunting increased from 5.81 to 13.46. Therefore, the training was deemed effective overall. Conclusion: The training method for early detection of stunting at the research site is effective.

Word by Word: Everyday Math Talk in the Homes of Hispanic Families

ABSTRACT Children learn math concepts long before they enter school. Across all cultures, children are exposed to number and spatial language to varying degrees during everyday home routines. Yet most studies of math talk occur in the lab and target non-Hispanic, English-speaking families. We expanded inquiry to the spontaneous math language (i.e., number and spatial language) of Spanish-speaking mothers and their 1- to 2-year-olds (N = 50) during home activities. Mothers varied enormously in their use of math language, and mother math language related to toddler math language, whereas mother non-math language did not. Children’s math language both preceded and followed mother math talk, suggesting imitation and reinforcement as important processes in children’s math language learning. Children also produced math language outside the context of mother input. Findings advance an understanding of children’s early math language in natural settings and have implications for interventions aimed at promoting math skills in toddlers from diverse backgrounds.

Skin Carotenoids Are Related to Cognitive and Motor Skills Among Toddlers

ObjectivesRecent studies have demonstrated the significance of carotenoid status for cognitive and motor development. However, little research has been conducted among infants and toddlers in this area. Given the rapid development in cognitive and motor skills that occurs in early life, it is important to determine the role of carotenoid status on cognitive and motor skills in toddlers. MethodsToddlers (N = 20) between 12 to 18 months participated in this study. Reflection spectroscopy (Veggie Meter) was used to measure skin carotenoids. The Bayley’s Scales of Infant Development Screening Test-4th Edition was used to assess cognitive and motor development. Covariates accounted for included weight-for-length, parent education level, and breast-feeding duration. ResultsFollowing adjustment for weight-for-length z-score, level of parent education, and breastfeeding duration, there was a significant positive relationship between skin carotenoids and the cognitive (rho = 0.508, 0.008) and gross motor (rho = 0.395, 0.035) subsections of the Bayley’s assessment. Infants (N = 20) exhibited a mean veggie meter score of 251.3, mean Bayley’s cognitive score of 32.6, and a mean Bayley’s gross motor score of 36.8. ConclusionsThis finding is consistent with prior literature among children and adults suggesting that carotenoid status may positively influence both cognitive and motor development in early life. Funding SourcesFunding is provided by the American Egg Board’s Egg Nutrition Center.

Brief Report: Assessment of a Caregiver-Implemented Intervention for Improving Social Communication Skills in Toddlers and Young Children with Autism.

As early identification of autism improves, there is a critical need for interventions to support the development of social communication skills in toddlers. Caregiver coaching and parental involvement is crucial for improving outcomes and providing children with adequate hours of planned active engagement. This pilot study assessed a 4-week intervention for individual caregiver–child dyads. Eight toddlers 21- to 45-months of age participated. Standardized assessments were collected at four study visits to assess autism symptomatology, language development, and both caregiver knowledge and engagement. Results demonstrated the feasibility of the intervention. Social communication, receptive and expressive language all improved as measured by direct assessment. Caregiver knowledge and caregivers’ subjective feelings of engagement with their toddlers also improved.

Bilingual and Monolingual Autistic Toddlers: Language and Social Communication Skills.

Parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) express concern about raising their children bilingually, and often hear advice from professionals against the use of bilingualism. The current study examined the relation between bilingualism and the language and social communication skills of toddlers diagnosed with ASD (N = 353) in the US, while controlling for socioeconomic risk factors. Structural equation modeling showed no differences in language skills between bilingual Spanish-English speaking children and monolingual English-speaking (p = .596) or monolingual Spanish-speaking (p = .963) children and showed a bilingual advantage on socialization skills when comparing bilingual and monolingual English-speaking children (p = .001). Parents of autistic children exposed to Spanish and English should be encouraged to raise their child bilingually if it best suits familial needs.

Influence of socio-economic status on play development in toddlers – a mother child dyadic interaction based study

PurposeThe present study aimed to analyze the influence of SES on play skills in toddlers during a mother–child dyadic interaction. MethodologyThe study followed a cross sectional study design and included forty toddlers between the ages of 2–3yrs, with their mothers. Participants were divided based on their SES into two groups as Group 1[Middle Socio-Economic State (MSES)] and Group 2 [Lower Socio- Economic Status (LSES)] with an equal number of participants in each group (20). Dyadic interaction between the mother and the toddler was recorded for 25minutes for both the groups. The first and the last 5minutes were excluded from the analysis and the middle 15minutes were coded using the Play observation Scheme. Results and conclusionThe present study findings indicate a strong social class effect on the play skills demonstrated by toddlers. The findings of the present study indicated that the occurrences of interactive play such as Associative and Cooperative play were higher in toddlers of the MSES group compared to the LSES group. Another interesting finding is the significant difference in the occurrence of Simple and Complex pretend play between the two groups, with the MSES group outperforming their peers in the LSES group. An insight into the play skills of toddlers from low-income household would be helpful in creating awareness about the importance of play for holistic child development. It could also aid in the development of play assessment and intervention for toddlers from these socio-economic strata.

The effect of giving potty training on the skills of defecating and urinating at toddler

Toddlers are an effective age to develop their various potentials which include physical, motor, cognitive, social-emotional development and language development. One of the child's developmental tasks is toileting skills or what are known as urinating and defecating skills. A skill that should be introduced early in toddlers to prevent enuresis is potty training. This study aims to analyze the effect of giving potty training on the independence of defecation and urination in toddlers. The type of research used is Quasy Experiment with one group pretest-posttest design research design. This study design only conducted an intervention in one group, without comparison. The population in this study were all children under five as many as 85 people. The sampling technique used purposive sampling so that the sample size in this study amounted to 30 people. Data analysis using Paired Samples Test. The results showed that there where there is an effect of giving potty training on defecation and urination skills in toddlers (p-value 0.000 <α 0.05). So it can be concluded that giving Potty Training can improve defecation and urination skills in toddlers.

Relations of Restricted and Repetitive Behaviors to Social Skills in Toddlers with Autism

We examined the relations of restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRB; insistence on sameness, repetitive sensory-motor, self-injurious behavior) to social skills overall and aspects that comprise social skills as measured by the VABS-II (coping skills, play/leisure time, interpersonal relationships) in 24- (n = 63) and 36-month old (n = 35), high-familial-risk toddlers with ASD. Hierarchical linear regression results indicated that repetitive sensory-motor was the best predictor of social skills overall. Secondary results indicated that all three RRB subtypes were associated with each subdomain of social skills; however, repetitive sensory-motor was the strongest and most consistent among these effects. While our results suggests a general negative relation of subtypes of RRB to aspects of adaptive social function, repetitive sensory-motor behaviors may be of particular relevance to the development of social skills during toddlerhood.

Mediated semantic priming interference in toddlers as seen through pupil dynamics

Mediated priming refers to the activation of a target word by a prime word through an intermediate word. This type of priming provides behavioral evidence of between- and within-level spreading activation in the lexical system. Studies of toddlers show phonosemantic between-level mediated priming that supports a cascade of activation between different levels of processing. However, it is not clear whether the activation can spread freely within the same level. This study explored whether 24-month-old toddlers show mediated priming effects at the semantic level (e.g., cat [prime] – mouse [mediator] – cheese [target]) with a preferential looking task using an eye tracker. The results show a smaller proportion of target looking and greater pupil size in the related condition than in the unrelated condition; these effects were greater in the second half of the analysis window. We interpret these data as a spreading activation that is partially free but modulated during infancy. We also provide evidence of pupil dilation as a neurophysiological marker in a preferential looking task with priming. We discuss the results in light of the cognitive control, inhibition, and general cognitive skills of toddlers.