Level Of Verbal Ability Research Articles

Response format changes the reading the mind in the eyes test performance of autistic and non-autistic adults.

Recognizing and understanding the perspectives of others-also called theory of mind-is important for effective communication. Studies have found that some autistic individuals have greater difficulty with theory of mind compared to non-autistic individuals. One purported theory of mind measure is the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET). This test presents participants with photographs of pairs of eyes and asks them to identify the emotion displayed by each pair of eyes from four choices. Some researchers have argued that the multiple-choice format of the RMET may not be an accurate measure of theory of mind, as participants could simply be guessing or using a process of elimination to select the correct answer. Participants may also be disadvantaged if they are not familiar with the specific emotion words used in the multiple-choice answers. We examined whether a free-report (open-ended) format RMET would be a more valid measure of theory of mind than the multiple-choice RMET. Autistic and non-autistic adults performed better on the multiple-choice RMET than the free-report RMET. However, both versions successfully differentiated autistic and non-autistic adults, irrespective of their level of verbal ability. Performance on both versions was also correlated with another well-validated adult measure of theory of mind. Thus, the RMET's multiple-choice format does not, of itself, appear to underpin its ability to differentiate autistic and non-autistic adults.

القدرة التنبؤية لعالقات معلمات الروضة باألطفال ذوي التعلق غير اآلمن بحب االستطالع والتفاعل مع األقران وفقاً لمستويات القدرة اللفظية لديهم بمدينة ع مان

The present study aimed to identify the predictive ability of kindergarten teachers' relationships with children of insecure attachment to curiosity and interaction with peers according to their levels of verbal ability in the city of Amman in Al-Jami’ah district. The sample of the study consisted of (110) children (71 male children and 39 female children). To achieve the objectives of the study, the scale of Attachment pattern was used in addition to the measures of the teacher-child relationships, interaction with peers, curiosity and verbal ability. The findings showed that the level of the positive relationships between the kindergarten teacher and the children of the insecure attachment style, the level of children’s curiosity, and the level of their verbal ability were all moderate, with an average of (2.60), (0.63) and (% 51.8), respectively. Besides, children had a high level of interaction with their peers with an average of (3.03). The findings also showed that the kindergarten teacher's relationship with the children of the insecure attachment pattern explained (19.6%) of their curiosity, and (17.8%) of their interactions with peers. Results also revealed that there were no statistically significant differences in the relationship between the teacher's relationship with children, and their curiosity from one hand, and their interaction with peers on the other hand according to the variables of verbal ability and gender.

The Influence of Verbal Ability on the Writing Achievement of Undergraduates of Federal University of Technology Owerri, Nigeria

This study investigated the extent to which verbal ability would influence the writing achievement of fresh undergraduate students of Federal University of Technology Owerri, Nigeria. The pretest, posttest, control group, quasi experimental design was employed for the study. A sample of 425 students from a population of 5300 newly admitted undergraduates from four different faculties and departments of the university were the study participants. Three departments were used as the experimental groups while one was the control. These faculties and departments were selected through simple random sampling. A writing achievement test and a verbal ability test were the instruments used for the study. The data were collected from the writing scores and verbal test scores of the participants and analysed using mean and standard deviation, as well as Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). From the results of the study, it was found that verbal ability level did not significantly affect the writing achievement of participants. The findings indicate that students who apply themselves to their studies can excel in their writing irrespective of their level of verbal ability. It was therefore recommended that teachers in the different educational institutions should encourage their students to become proficient in the different areas of language covered by the verbal ability tests as this would help the students excel in their tertiary courses, while on the other hand, students should apply themselves to their studies as hard work and not verbal ability level is a key determinant determine in performance and achievement in their English language and other courses.

Psychiatric symptoms, challenging behaviour and utilization of psychiatric services among adults with intellectual disabilities in Turkey.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of and the factors associated with psychiatric symptoms (PS) and challenging behaviour (CB) in adults with intellectual disabilities, and the utilization of psychiatric services in Turkey. Psychiatric Assessment Schedule for Adults with Developmental Disorders Checklist-Revised was used for PS and a structured form for other variables in 771 participants. Of the participants, 50.1% had PS and 36.4% presented with CB. Multivariate analysis revealed that a higher level of needs, better verbal ability, residential living, incontinence and CB, and lifetime suicidal ideation/attempt were independently associated with PS. For CB, it emerged as male carer, PS, lifetime suicidal attempt/ideation, lower level of verbal ability and autism spectrum disorder. Barriers were experienced by 64.7% of participants within the previous year. Psychiatric symptoms and CB seem to be problems for a significant proportion of adults with intellectual disabilities in Turkey, and there are certain barriers to psychiatric services.

Teacher-student relationship quality from kindergarten to sixth grade and students' school adjustment: A person-centered approach

The present study used a person-centered approach to identify teacher-student relationship trajectories from kindergarten to sixth grade in a Dutch sample (N = 1300). Teachers reported about relationships with individual students (closeness, conflict, and dependency) in kindergarten, grade 3, and grade 6, and about externalizing behaviors in kindergarten. Students were tested for verbal ability in kindergarten, and completed math and reading tests and questionnaires about task motivation and self-efficacy in sixth grade. Latent class growth analyses revealed three trajectories for closeness: high-stable (normative), very high-decreasing, and moderate-increasing. For conflict, low-stable (normative), low-increasing, and high-decreasing trajectories were found. For dependency, a low-decreasing (normative) and a low-increasing trajectory were found. Boys, students with lower levels of verbal ability, and students with more externalizing behavior were overrepresented in non-normative trajectories. Furthermore, students with low-increasing levels of teacher-student dependency scored lower on achievement tests and reported lower motivation in sixth grade compared to students with a normative trajectory.

ANALISIS KEMAMPUAN MENYELESAIKAN SOAL CERITA MATEMATIKA DITINJAU DARI KEMAMPUAN VERBAL PADA SISWA KELAS VII SMP MUHAMMADIYAH SE-KOTA MAKASSAR

One measure of the success of students is to look at learning outcomes of students, low ability students in working on a story about the looks of the many errors of students in doing story problems so low student mathematics achievement. There are several factors that affect the high and low ability students in doing mathematics story problems, one of which is verbal.This study aims to determine the level of verbal ability and ability to solve word problems and to investigate the effect of verbal ability to ability to solve math word problems of Grade VII Students in the Entire SMP Muhammadiyah in Makassar. This type of research is ex-post facto nature of causality. The study population was all of Grade VII Students in the Entire SMP Muhammadiyah in Makassar scattered as many as 1048 students in 10 schools and a total sample of 145 students with a sampling technique that stratified cluster random sampling. Instruments used in this research is to test each variable with data analysis techniques used were descriptive statistics and analysis infrensial (Correlation Analysis and Regression Analysis).The results of this study indicate that: (1) The level of verbal skills of students in middle category with an average value of 51.83; (2) Level of ability to solve word problems of students in middle category with an average value of 70.62; (3) Verbal Ability has a correlation / relationship with the ability to solve math word problems with a relationship of 67.5%; (3) Verbal Ability positive effect on ability to solve word problems with the effect of 42% while the rest of 58% influenced by other variables outside the model. Verbal ability positively affects students ability to solve word problems, it can be interpreted that the better or higher verbal skills possessed by students the ability to solve word problems these students will be better or higher.

Assessment of cognition and language in the early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder: usefulness of the Bayley Scales of infant and toddler development, third edition.

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to test the usefulness of the Cognitive and Language scales Bayley‐III in the early assessment of cognitive and language functions in the context of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis. This paper focuses on the application of the Bayley‐III and studies the predictive value of the test result in children with ASD with different levels of verbal ability.MethodA sample of 135 children (121 boys, 14 girls) with a confirmed ASD diagnosis at age 4 years were assessed with the Bayley‐III before 42 months of age (m = 36.49, s = 4.46) and later with other rating scales of different psychological and psycholinguistic functions as part of a longitudinal study [McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA) (n = 48, 90% boys), Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K‐ABC) (n = 38, 87% boys) or Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA) (n = 44, 89% boys)]. Age assessment in months: MSCA (m = 48.80, s = 3.33), K‐ABC (m = 51.80, s = 7.17) and ITPA (m = 54.48, s = 3.34).ResultsLower scores on the cognitive and language Bayley‐III scales before 3.5 years of age predicted lower cognitive and oral language levels at 4 years of age. A significant correlation was found between the Cognitive Bayley‐III Scale and the General Cognitive MSCA Scale, and with the Compound K‐ABC Mental Processing. An association between the nonverbal cognitive level and oral language level acquired at 4 years of age was found.ConclusionsThe Bayley‐III is a useful instrument in cognitive and language assessment of ASD.

Effect of Modes of Video Presentation of Metacognitive Strategies on Secondary School Students' Achievement in Reading Comprehension in North Central Nigeria

Many senior secondary school students struggle with reading comprehension of expository texts in Nigeria, leading to mass failure in the Senior School Certificate Examinations conducted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC). Research on improving reading comprehension has dwelt on isolated reading strategies taught the learners through the conventional lecture method. No study has explored the effect of video-based training on metacognitive strategies and verbal ability on students’ achievement in reading comprehension. This study, therefore investigated the effect on achievement in reading comprehension of three modes of video instruction in metacognitive strategies of senior secondary school students in North Central zone of Nigeria. It also examined the main and interaction effects of verbal ability level, gender and treatments on achievement in reading comprehension. The study used a quasi-experimental post-test only equivalent group design. Three secondary schools were selected from three States in the North Central geo-political zones in Benue, Nasarawa and Kogi States. In each of the three schools, a total of 120 senior secondary school (SS II) students of both sexes were randomly sampled and assigned to three experimental groups and a control group. The study was guided by five hypotheses which were tested at p

Deferred Imitation and Social Communication in Speaking and Nonspeaking Children With Autism

Deferred imitation and early social communication skills were compared among speaking and nonspeaking children with autism and children developing typically. Overall, the children with autism showed a lower frequency on measures of deferred imitation and social communication compared with typically developing children. Deferred imitation was observed at a significantly lower level among the speaking and nonspeaking groups of children with autism. However, when comparing the speaking autism group with the typical group, many differences in observed social communication disappeared. These results underscore the importance of considering children’s verbal ability in autism research and clinical practice, and indicate that there are specific difficulties in deferred imitation in autism but that the social communication deficits that are observed are greatly influenced by low level of verbal ability.

Strengths and weaknesses in reading skills of youth with intellectual disabilities

Reading-related skills of youth with intellectual disability (ID) were compared with those of typically developing (TD) children of similar verbal ability level. The group with ID scored lower than the TD group on word recognition and phonological decoding, but similarly on orthographic processing and rapid automatized naming (RAN). Further, phonological decoding significantly mediated the relation between group membership and word recognition, whereas neither orthographic processing nor RAN did so. The group with ID also underperformed the TD group on phonological awareness and phonological memory, both of which significantly mediated the relation between group membership and phonological decoding. These data suggest that poor word recognition in youth with ID may be due largely to poor phonological decoding, which in turn may be due largely to poor phonological awareness and poor phonological memory. More focus on phonological skills in the classroom may help students with ID to develop better word recognition skills.

Level of cognitive performance as a correlate and predictor of health behaviors that protect against cognitive decline in late life: The path through life study

There is a lack of information on how cognitive ability relates to both health behaviors and change in health behaviors over time. This study examined verbal ability and processing speed as predictors of health behaviors in the PATH Through Life Study that includes cohorts aged in their 20s, 40s and 60s. Higher cognitive scores were associated with higher levels of physical activity, greater likelihood of taking vitamin and mineral supplements, reduced likelihood of current smoking and not abstaining from alcohol. However, lower level of verbal ability and processing speed were associated with higher levels of use of cholesterol lowering medication in the 60s cohort. Physical activity, consumption of vitamins and minerals and taking cholesterol lowering and antihypertensive medication over the four-year follow-up period increased in this cohort. The likelihood of adopting healthier behaviors was greatest for those with the lowest cognitive scores. We conclude that while higher levels of cognitive performance are associated with health promoting behaviors, improvements in health behavior are more likely to be due to non-cognitive, contextual and societal factors.

Verbal Ability and Structured Navigation on Learning with Hypertext

Learners bring their unique individual perceptions, preferences, and abilities to a learning situation. The effect of individual differences on learning depends in part on how the instructional system accommodates individual differences. The current study examined the role of individual differences in verbal ability and structured navigation in hypertext learning. It was predicted that learning would vary with how well the hypertext environment supported a learner's individual attributes. Ninety-seven participants participated in one of four groups of a 2 × 2 between-subjects factorial design, which focused on the interaction between levels of navigational structure (unconstrained or expert constrained) and levels of participants' verbal ability (high or low). Overall, learners with high-verbal ability performed better on an unconstrained navigation structure than those with low-verbal ability; whereas in an expert-constrained navigation this difference between verbal ability levels was smaller. The results have implications for the design of hypertext-based learning systems.

Strategies and biases in location memory in Williams syndrome

Individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) demonstrate impaired visuo-spatial abilities in comparison to their level of verbal ability. In particular, visuo-spatial construction is an area of relative weakness. It has been hypothesised that poor or atypical location coding abilities contribute strongly to the impaired abilities observed on construction and drawing tasks [Farran, E. K., & Jarrold, C. (2005). Evidence for unusual spatial location coding in Williams syndrome: An explanation for the local bias in visuo-spatial construction tasks? Brain and Cognition, 59, 159–172; Hoffman, J. E., Landau, B., & Pagani, B. (2003). Spatial breakdown in spatial construction: Evidence from eye fixations in children with Williams syndrome. Cognitive Psychology, 46, 260–301]. The current experiment investigated location memory in WS. Specifically, the precision of remembered locations was measured as well as the biases and strategies that were involved in remembering those locations. A developmental trajectory approach was employed; WS performance was assessed relative to the performance of typically developing (TD) children ranging from 4- to 8-year-old. Results showed differential strategy use in the WS and TD groups. WS performance was most similar to the level of a TD 4-year-old and was additionally impaired by the addition of physical category boundaries. Despite their low level of ability, the WS group produced a pattern of biases in performance which pointed towards evidence of a subdivision effect, as observed in TD older children and adults. In contrast, the TD children showed a different pattern of biases, which appears to be explained by a normalisation strategy. In summary, individuals with WS do not process locations in a typical manner. This may have a negative impact on their visuo-spatial construction and drawing abilities.

Weak central coherence: a cross-domain phenomenon specific to autism?

This study investigated whether evidence for the weak central coherence theory could be specifically associated with a group of children with autism compared with normally developing children (n=17 per group). Two tasks were employed, one involving visual illusions and the other verbal homophones. Both were based on tasks used in previous central coherence research. Incorporation of tasks involving the use of different domains (verbal versus visual) also enabled the investigation of claims that weak central coherence is a cross-domain processing style or deficit. The autistic group were found to be no different to the control group in performance on the visual illusions task. The autistic group made more errors than the normally developing group on the rare condition of the homophone task. However, analysis suggests this difference is mediated by verbal ability level and not diagnostic status per se. Theoretical implications and alternative explanations are discussed.

Autistic spectrum disorder: a child population profile.

This study analyses the prevalence of ASD, comorbidity, educational provision and ability in autistic children in a single health district, born between 1983 and 1996. The number of recorded diagnoses doubled over a 4 year period. This appeared to be due to greater recognition of ASD in more able children, in children initially presenting with ADHD, and possibly in females. ADHD accounted for a substantial proportion of comorbidity. Age at diagnosis appeared to be related to school placement. Cognitive ability levels ranging from more than three standard deviations below the mean to more than one standard deviation above the mean were found in the moderate and severe learning difficulty school population as well as in the mainstream population. Exceptionally low levels of verbal ability were present in a high proportion of mainstream pupils. Measured levels of cognitive function show poor relationship with actual educational placement.

Brief report: cognitive correlates of enlarged head circumference in children with autism.

This study examined the frequency and cognitive correlates of enlarged head circumference in a sample of 63 children with autism between the ages of 4 and 14. Consistent with prior evidence, macrocephaly occurred at a significantly higher frequency than in a normal reference sample. Head circumference was not associated with language or executive functioning, nor was it related to verbal or nonverbal IQ. Head circumference was, however, correlated with discrepancies between verbal and nonverbal IQ scores, independent of absolute level of verbal ability. Children with discrepantly high nonverbal abilities had a mean standardized head circumference that was more than 1 SD greater than in the reference sample, and that was significantly greater than in autistic children with a relative verbal advantage or no discrepancy in cognitive abilities, for whom mean head circumference was within normal limits. This convergence of physical and cognitive features suggests a possible etiologically significant subtype of autism.

Correlates of distress in children at risk for affective disorder: exploring predictors in the offspring of depressed and nondepressed mothers

Background: Efforts to understand the correlates of psychological distress in children frequently examine possible correlates in samples of children who are selected for high levels of distress. The propose of this study was to compare distress correlates in a sample with depressed mothers, and thus at high-risk for distress, to a low-risk sample. Methods: Examining data from part of a larger project, the association of children’s depressive symptoms and internalizing and externalizing problems to maternal depression level, life stress, verbal ability, and the experience of a traumatic event were examined in a series of regression equations. Results: Results indicated that children’s depressive symptoms, rather than internalizing and externalizing problems, tended to be most consistently related to maternal variables, and also suggested that any experience of maternal depressive symptoms was associated with child problems. It was also found that child depressive symptoms were correlated with life events, but only for nondepressed mothers, and that at-risk children with higher levels of verbal ability were significantly less likely to report experiencing depressive symptoms and internalizing problems than were those with lower levels of verbal ability. Limitations: Because these data are preliminary, further research examining a broader array of variables is important. Conclusions: These results suggest the need for different models of these processes in different populations of children.

Less Truth Than Error: Massachusetts Teacher Tests

Scores on the Massachusetts Teacher Tests of reading and writing are highly unreliable. The tests' margin of error is close to double to triple the range found on well-developed tests. A person retaking the MTT several times could have huge fluctuations in their scores even if their skill level did not change significantly. In fact, the 9 to 17 point margin of error calculated for the tests represents more than 10 percent of the grading scale (assumed to be 0 to 100). The large margin of error means there is both a high false-pass rate and a high false-failure rate. For example, a person who received a score of 72 on the writing test could have scored an 89 or a 55 simply because of the unreliability of the test. Since adults' reading and writing skills do not change a great deal over several months, this range of scores on the same test should not be possible. While this test is being touted as an accurate assessment of a person's fitness to be a teacher, one would expect the scores to accurately reflect a test-taker's verbal ability level. In addition to the large margin of error, the MTT contain questionable content that make them poor tools for measuring test-takers' reading and writing skills. The content and lack of correlation between the reading and writing scores reduces the meaningfulness, or validity, of the tests. The validity is affected not just by the content, but by a host of factors, such as the conditions under which tests were administered and how they were scored. Interviews with a small sample of test-takers confirmed published reports concerning problems with the content and administration.

Spatial Ability and Lateralization in the Haptic Modality

Two experiments examined the relation between spatial visualization ability and spatial lateralization using a unimanual haptic task with random shapes as stimuli. High spatial ability was not associated with enhanced right hemisphere functioning. However, spatial ability considered in the context of sex differences (Experiment 1) and level of verbal ability (Experiment 2) did yield interactions with the laterality (i.e., hand) variable, at least for first-list data. In Experiment 2, verbal ability also interacted with the gender and hand variables and in the same crossed ability–sex manner as was found for spatial ability in Experiment 1. It is concluded that cognitive abilities, including the relation between abilities, may be associated with the extent to which the right cerebral hemisphere mediates tactuospatial performance and that this association may differ for males and females.

Intellectual Functioning of Women Ex-Prisoners

In many Western jurisdictions, people with an intellectual disability are over-represented at various stages of the criminal justice system, including appearances before local courts, suspects undergoing police questioning, and in prisons. Whilst the over-representation has been established, little is known about concurrent factors which may contribute to the behaviour which brings them to the attention of the criminal justice system. Conversely, few data are available about people with an intellectual disability who have similar living environments, but who are not involved in criminal acts. This study examines a sample of 60 women, 30 of whom are ex-prisoners, and 30 of whom are presently living in similar unstable residential situations (refuge, welfare organisation accommodation, etc), but who do not have a history of prior imprisonment. No significant differences were found between the two groups in terms of prevalence of intellectual disability; 25% of the total group had an IQ score of 69 or lower, which would place them in the category of intellectual disability. In the ex-prisoner group, this figure was 29.7%, whereas in the non-prisoner group, it was 20%. A further 11.7% were in the borderline category of IQ score 70–79. Low verbal IQ scores correlated with alcohol or benzodiazepine abuse, smoking, self-harm and suicide, poor mental and physical health, low levels of education, and unstable accommodation. For both ex-prisoners and non-prisoners, high intelligence appeared to be a mediating factor, lessening the impact of other factors related to deprived and difficult living circumstances. The low levels of verbal ability revealed indicate the need for tailoring rehabilitation programmes for verbally impaired participants.