Verbal Skills Research Articles

Special Report: Autism Spectrum Disorder and Inflexible Thinking—Affecting Patients Across the Lifespan

Special Report: Autism Spectrum Disorder and Inflexible Thinking—Affecting Patients Across the Lifespan

Behavioral Parent Training Engagement Among Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

The purpose of the current study was to examine engagement with Behavioral Parent Training (BPT) for families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and assess openness to novel delivery formats for BPT (e.g., telehealth, group). Participants were caregivers of 501 children with ASD (ages 2–6) enrolled in the SPARK (Simons Foundation Powering Autism Research for Knowledge) online national registry. The study assessed: (1) rates of child disruptive behavior diagnoses, (2) engagement and satisfaction with BPT, (3) parent and child factors (e.g., diagnostic history), and (4) openness to novel delivery formats. Almost 25% of young children with ASD in this sample had disruptive behavior problems rising to the level of a diagnosis of ADHD or ODD and thus would benefit from BPT. However, only one third of these families had actually been referred to BPT. Families indicated high level of interest in participating in BPT, with a particular interest in Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) as well as novel delivery formats such as telehealth and group. Specific components of the therapy and delivery formats were indicative of parent satisfaction (e.g. groups, longer treatment sessions, longer treatment length). Specific parent and child characteristics were predictive of openness to novel formats (e.g. parental depression, more severe behavioral challenges, lower verbal skills). Results underscore the need for increased referrals and access to BPT programs the ASD population. Both parent and child characteristics are important for determining appropriate delivery formats.

Therapeutic Supports for Neurodiverse Children Who Have Experienced Interpersonal Trauma: a Scoping Review

AbstractThis review examined the therapeutic support literature for children with autism and/or an intellectual disability who have experienced interpersonal trauma. We captured studies that implemented a therapeutic support with this population and synthesised articles that made clinical practice recommendations. Fifty-two relevant articles were identified, and four patterns were uncovered. First, primary studies in this research domain are scant, diffuse, and largely lacking in methodological consistency. Second, the literature favoured therapeutic supports that relied less on verbal skills and/or demanded a high cognitive load. Further, parent/caregiver involvement was repeatedly emphasised. Finally, methods of therapeutic support delivery appeared consistent with the broader neurodevelopmental literature. Overall, these results provide an important first step toward establishing best practice for supporting these vulnerable children.

Observational Study of Pediatric Cochlear Implant Recipients: Two-year Follow-up Outcomes.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the improvements in quality of life and auditory performance via a descriptive report using patient-related outcomes measures in a group of children with cochlear implants (CI). This was a longitudinal and retrospective study based on the analysis of patient records of a total of 28 children with CI, 18 of whom had bilateral (64.3%) and 10 had unilateral (35.7%). The study included repeated within-subject measures of Hearing Implants Quality of Life (CuHI-QoL), Categories of Auditory Performance (CAP-II), Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing scale-Parents' version (SSQ-P) scales, and Implant Recipient Follow-up (IRF) form at 6-month intervals from baseline up to 24 months. During the 2-year follow-up assessments, all children with CI showed statistically significant improvement over time in their CAPII, SSQ-P, CuHI-QoL, and IRF scores (p<0.001). The most significant increase in scores occurred within the first six months following the baseline and then continued to increase gradually at a slower pace over time. A moderate negative relationship was found between the age of implantation and SSQ-P and family satisfaction scores of IRF (p<0.05). Family expectations, overall well-being, quality of life, auditory, and verbal skills increase positively with earlier CI intervention. Moreover, the subjective assessment results showed that parents-positive attitudes toward implantation, and willingness to recommend it to others have steadily increased in time. Although the cohort is relatively small and variable, the results offer a descriptive view to outcomes in real-world practice.

Maternal Occupation-Specific Skills and Children’s Cognitive Development

This article hypothesizes that maternal occupation-specific skills are associated with children’s cognitive development over and above parents’ other human, financial and social capital. Data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study on 13,543 children were complemented with occupation-level data (n = 79) from the British Skills Surveys on aggregate measures of mothers’ occupation-specific skills (literacy, numeracy, problem-solving, verbal and physical). We did not find any association between maternal occupation-specific skills and children’s non-verbal ability (inductive reasoning, spatial awareness) at age five when conditioning on covariates. However, mothers’ verbal skills (e.g. presentation skills) were positively associated with children’s verbal ability (Naming Vocabulary) over and above other parental resources. By contrast, mothers’ physical skills (e.g. use of physical strength) were negatively associated with children’s verbal abilities. Albeit effect sizes are small, maternal occupation-specific skills contribute to social stratification in children’s verbal development net of human, financial and social capital.

VERBAL MEMORY AS A PREDICTOR OF ORAL LANGUAGE ABILITY IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

This study aims to assess how much the predictive power of verbal short term memory has on language skills. Participants in this study involved 50 typical preschool children, with a range of ages four to six years. Each participant was assessed using the Test of Auditory Processing Skill (TAPS-3) and Developmental Profile (DP-3). Data analysis in this study used correlation tests and linear regression tests with JASP. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between verbal short term memory and language skills (r = 0.635; p &lt;0.001).

Comprehension of explicit and implicit information in prereaders: the role of maternal education, receptive vocabulary, executive functions, and theory of mind

ABSTRACT Listening narrative comprehension is a complex process that requires the processing of explicit (i.e., information presented in the text) and implicit information (i.e., information inferable from the text) and involves several linguistic and cognitive skills. However, the specific role of these skills in children’s comprehension remains unclear. This study investigated the contribution of maternal education, receptive vocabulary, executive functions (working memory, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility), and Theory of Mind to the comprehension of explicit and implicit information during a listening comprehension task among 100 Italian native speakers attending first grade (M age = 6.5 years, SD = 3.7). Hierarchical linear regression analyses indicated that maternal education and children’s verbal skills were positively associated with comprehension of explicit information, whereas cognitive flexibility and Theory of Mind provided an independent contribution to the comprehension of implicit information over and above maternal education and verbal skills. Prereaders not only process different types of information during a listening comprehension task and engage in integrative processes to go beyond the information presented in the text but also rely on different linguistic and cognitive skills in the comprehension of both explicit and implicit information.

Effects of Increasing Indoor Negative Air Ions on Cognitive Performance and Health of High Pure CO2 Level-Exposed College Students

Cognitive performance is essential to foster learning. High CO2 concentrations are common in classrooms and can lead to reduced cognitive performance. Negative air ions (NAIs) can improve cognitive performance. This study explored the effects of indoor NAIs on the cognitive performance and health of college students exposed to a high pure CO2 environment. Forty college students were exposed to four sets of conditions (NAIs+500 ppm CO2, 500 ppm CO2, NAIs+2500 ppm CO2, and 2500 ppm CO2). Participants’ cognitive performance, including reasoning, short-term memory, concentration, and verbal ability, was assessed under each condition using the Cambridge Brain Sciences tool. Acute health symptoms were investigated using a subjective questionnaire, and simultaneously, participants’ blood pressure, heart rate, and lung function were tested. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) in a repeated-measures design was used to analyze the effects of different conditions on cognitive performance and health symptoms. The results revealed that the different levels of CO2 and NAIs had a significant effect on cognitive performance after one hour of exposure and had no significant effect after three hours of exposure. Compared with 500 ppm CO2, 500 ppm CO2+NAIs resulted in better reasoning skills, short-term memory, and verbal skills, and 2500 ppm CO2 led to poorer reasoning skills. The addition of NAIs to 2500 ppm CO2 improved reasoning skills, short-term memory, and verbal skills. The benefits of adding NAIs to high pure CO2 condition on cognitive performance are more noticeable than those to low CO2 condition. Moreover, adding NAIs can reduce nasal irritation or dryness, skin irritation or dryness, sleepiness symptoms, and heart rate elevation caused by pure CO2. However, the benefits of NAIs on health symptoms and physiology were not observed under the 500 ppm CO2 condition. Adding NAIs to a high pure CO2 level is an effective means to improve the cognitive performance and health of college students.

Outdoor Science Approach with Peer Tutoring at University Level as an Example of Implementing Sustainable Development Strategies

(1) Background: Education for sustainable development emphasizes the need to train future teachers to apply effective approaches to ensure the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals defined by the 2030 Agenda. (2) Methods: The research aim was to determine empirical data to introduce an outdoor science teaching approach with peer tutoring to teacher candidates through its impact on their performance, i.e., achievement, perceived mental effort, and opinion on the applied approach. The applied approach represents the integration of physics and geography through the elective course homeland geography at the Faculty of Teacher Education in Belgrade. Students performed outdoor measurements of physical quantities in created tasks. The tasks aimed to engage students’ spatial thinking and critical observation skills, whereas the use of verbal skills and content presentation skills was encouraged through peer tutoring. (3) Results: The research results showed a positive impact of an outdoor science teaching approach with peer tutoring on students’ achievement. Additionally, we found that perceived mental effort decreases with the use of this approach. Lower mental effort indicated more space in working memory, which can be used for processing new information. Therefore, obtained results indicated that the applied teaching approach is suitable for students. (4) Conclusions: The obtained results should incentivize other faculties that train future teachers to apply an outdoor teaching approach with peer tutoring. As a result of preparing future teachers in a way that promotes awareness of sustainable development and the local environment, it can be expected that young people will be more interested in solving these important issues because they will see them in their environment and be connected to them.

Factors Influencing Conceptualization of Gender Development Construct by the Women Students of Navsari Agriculture University

This study investigates the factors influencing awareness about the gender development construct among female students at Navsari Agricultural University in Gujarat, India. Women students of agriculture, horticulture, forestry, veterinary science, and animal husbandry made up the study population. The study's sample size is 140, and data were collected via self-administered surveys. A literature review and focus group recommendations were used to create the data collection instrument. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. According to the findings, Factors like academic performance, written and verbal communication skill, self-confidence, value orientation and cohesiveness were highly significant and positively associated with awareness about the gender development, whereas Age, mass media exposure, aspiration, overall modernity were positive and significantly associated with awareness about the gender development.

Consensus recommendations on communication, language and speech in Phelan-McDermid syndrome

Phelan-McDermid syndrome is a genetic condition primarily caused by a deletion on the 22q13.3 region or a likely pathogenic/pathogenic variant of SHANK3. The main features comprise global developmental delay, marked impairment or absence of speech, and other clinical characteristics to a variable degree, such as hypotonia or psychiatric comorbidities. A set of clinical guidelines for health professionals covering relevant aspects of clinical management have been written by the European PMS Consortium, and consensus has been reached regarding final recommendations. In this work, attention is given to communication, language and speech impairments in PMS, and the findings from available literature are presented. Findings from the literature review reveal marked speech impairment in up to 88% of deletions and 70% of SHANK3 variants. Absence of speech is frequent and affects 50%–80% of the individuals with PMS. Communicative skills in the expressive domain other than spoken language remain understudied, but some studies offer data on non-verbal language or the use of alternative/augmentative communication support. Loss of language and other developmental skills is reported in around 40% of individuals, with variable course. Deletion size and possibly other clinical variables (e.g., conductive hearing problems, neurological issues, intellectual disability, etc.) are related to communicative and linguistic abilities. Recommendations include regular medical check-ups of hearing and the assessment of other factors influencing communication, thorough evaluation of preverbal and verbal communicative skills, early intervention, and support via alternative/augmentative communication systems.

Hydrocephalus and school-age neurodevelopmental outcomes in the management of myelomeningocele prenatal surgery trial: a secondary analysis.

The purpose of this secondary analysis was to assess the role of hydrocephalus on neurodevelopmental outcomes in a cohort of school-age children enrolled in the Management of Myelomeningocele Study (MOMS) clinical trial. The sample analyzed in this report consisted of 150 of 183 children aged 5-10 years (mean ± SD 7 years 8 months ± 1.2) who were randomly assigned between 20 and 26 weeks of gestational age to undergo either prenatal or postnatal surgery and were enrolled in the school-age follow-up study of MOMS. These 150 children (76 prenatal and 74 postnatal) were placed into three groups: no hydrocephalus (n = 22), unshunted hydrocephalus (n = 31), and shunted hydrocephalus (n = 97). Comparisons were made on the basis of measures of adaptive behavior, intelligence, reading and math skills, verbal and nonverbal memory, fine motor dexterity, and sensorimotor skills. Parent ratings of executive functions, inattention, and hyperactivity-impulsivity were also compared. There were no statistically significant differences in neurodevelopmental outcomes between the groups with no hydrocephalus and unshunted hydrocephalus, or between the prenatal and postnatal groups with shunted hydrocephalus, so these groups were combined (no/unshunted vs shunted hydrocephalus). The no/unshunted group showed significantly better performance (p < 0.05) than the shunted group in terms of adaptive behavior, intelligence, verbal and nonverbal memory, reading skills (but not math), fine motor dexterity, sensorimotor skills (but not visual-motor integration), and inattention (but not hyperactivity-impulsivity or executive function ratings). An assessment of the prenatal surgery group showed that the combined no/unshunted group performed better than the shunted group in terms of adaptive behavior and verbal memory skills. Both the prenatal and postnatal surgery subgroups with unshunted hydrocephalus performed as well as the group with no hydrocephalus despite significantly enlarged ventricles. Although the primary assessment of school-age outcomes in the MOMS clinical trial did not show better adaptive behavior and cognitive skills in the prenatal group, hydrocephalus and shunting were associated with poorer neurodevelopmental outcomes (both prenatal and postnatal groups). Disease severity and dynamic changes in hydrocephalus status may be the primary factors in the need for shunting and a major determinant of adaptive behavior and cognitive outcomes after prenatal surgery.

Peer Role-Play Simulation: A Valuable Alternative to Bedside Teaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically affected every aspect of life worldwide. Contact restrictions and social distancing during the epidemic has led to the suspension of bedside teaching (BST) and shifting to online didactic teaching and other methods of active learning. We implemented peer role-play simulation (PRPS) during the pandemic to compensate for the suspended BST. This study aims to explore the effectiveness of PRPS in developing the students' verbal communication, empathy and clinical reasoning skills compared to BST. This is a cross-sectional observational study conducted in Jazan University faculty of medicine with the study sample including all medical students enrolled in 5th and 6th year during the academic year 2020-21. Data collection involved using a web-based validated questionnaire. Most of the students (84.1%) rated bedside teaching (BST) as extremely beneficial or beneficial in developing verbal communication skills compared to 73.3% for peer role-play simulation (PRPS). A similar pattern was found in empathy skills development with 84.1% for bedside compared to 72.2% for PRPS. The pattern is reversed with the development of clinical reasoning skills with 77.7% rating BST as beneficial or extremely beneficial compared to 81.2% for PRPS. Overall, peer role-play is generally a valuable and trustworthy method in the absence of bedside teaching for enhancing clinical reasoning skills of medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic from students' perspective. It is less efficient than bedside teaching in enhancing communication skills. It cannot wholly replace bedside teaching, although it can be used reliably for that purpose in exceptional circumstances when bedside teaching cannot be implemented.

Importance of Effective Communication Skills during Campus Interview

Thousands of bright students leave college each year with the intention of finding employment to pursue their aspirations. Some people are fortunate enough to land a job through campus interviews, while others must look for work on their own. Do you count among them? Why should the hiring manager choose you over your friend or any other recent graduate from a different college for the open position? You can claim that you are the ideal candidate for the position or that your academic record qualifies you for the position. The interviewer will look for more than just your academic background, though, unless you are applying for academic positions. Any campus interview has a number of selection phases that vary depending on the university and degree. Your attitude, aptitude, academic knowledge, extracurricular activities, verbal, strategic, analytical, and other skills are frequently evaluated. When it comes to interactions between interviewers and interview candidates, these are the major fields which are being evaluated. Communication skill development is a self[1]improvement process, and as such, it has good consequences on personality, mood, and overall quality of life. Communication skill development is a self[1]improvement process, and as such, it has good consequences on personality, mood, and overall quality of life. Even the most basic “how to enhance communication skills” templates will have positive results in some cases. In this research paper, we have tried to focus on the importance of communication skills for campus interviews.

발달장애 청소년의 비대면 사회적 의사소통 프로그램에 대한 인식과 요구도 조사

This study aimed to find out the understanding and demand of youth with developmental disabilities for Contact-free social communication programs, taking into account environmental factors such as the increase of developmental disabilities and COVID-19 pandemic. For this, a survey was conducted targeting 54 Youth with developmental disabilities between the ages 19 and 24. The research subjects were selected as those who voluntarily agreed to participate in the study as those who were able to live independently through dormitory and well-express their opinions. Online questionnaire data which is developed by investigator were collected by youth with developmental disabilities at lifelong educational institutions in K city. As a result, Youth with developmental disabilities had a high awareness of the need and participation will in Contact-free social communication programs. Regarding the reasons for the negative response, environmental factors such a use of equipment and lack of personnel support. In terms of program progress and composition, short sessions and time were preferred, and verbal pragmatic skills are more required than non verbal pragmatic skills. Youth with developmental disabilities were expected to adapt in society through appropriate social communication skills. Based on their needs and expectations, An appropriate Contact-free social communication program should be developed.

Peer effects on academic self-concept: a large randomized field experiment

Abstract Social theories posit that peers affect students’ academic self-concept (ASC). Most prominently, Big-Fish-Little-Pond, invidious comparison, and relative deprivation theories predict that exposure to academically stronger peers decreases students’ ASC, and exposure to academically weaker peers increases students’ ASC. These propositions have not yet been tested experimentally. We executed a large and pre-registered field experiment that randomized students to deskmates within 195 classrooms of 41 schools (N = 3,022). Our primary experimental analysis found no evidence of an effect of peer achievement on ASC in either direction. Exploratory analyses hinted at a subject-specific deskmate effect on ASC in verbal skills, and that sitting next to a lower-achieving boy increased girls’ ASC (but not that sitting next to a higher-achieving boy decreased girls’ ASC). Critically, however, none of these group-specific results held up to even modest corrections for multiple hypothesis testing. Contrary to theory, our randomized field experiment thus provides no evidence for an effect of peer achievement on students’ ASC.

What do you focus on? An investigation of goal focus from childhood to old age.

Goals constitute an important construct in developmental psychology. They represent a central way in which individuals shape their development. Here, we present two studies on age-related differences in one important goal dimension, goal focus, that is, the relative salience of the means and ends of goal pursuit. Extant studies on age-related differences in adults suggest a shift from focusing on the ends to focusing on the means across adulthood. The current studies aimed to expand this research to encompass the entire lifespan including childhood. The first cross-sectional study included participants spanning from early childhood into old age (N = 312, age range: 3-83years) and used a multimethodological approach comprising eye tracking, behavioral, and verbal measures of goal focus. The second study investigated the verbal measures of the first study in more detail in an adult sample (N = 1550, age range: 17-88years). Overall, the results do not show a clear pattern, making them difficult to interpret. There was little convergence of the measures, pointing to the difficulties in assessing a construct such as goal focus across a large range of age groups differing in social-cognitive and verbal skills.

Urban and rural differences in needs, service use and satisfaction among caregivers of autistic children in Morocco.

It is very important to understand the needs of caregivers to be able to empower caregivers and to develop or improve services around the world. Therefore, research in different regions is needed to understand differences in caregivers needs between countries, but also between areas within countries. This study investigated differences in needs and service use between caregivers of autistic children in Morocco, living in urban and rural areas. A total of 131 Moroccan caregivers of autistic children took part in the study and responded to an interview survey. The results showed both similarities and differences between urban and rural living caregivers' challenges and needs. Autistic children from urban communities were much more likely to receive intervention and attend school than children from rural communities, even though age and verbal skills of the two groups of children were comparable. Caregivers expressed similar needs for improved care and education, but different challenges in caring. Limited autonomy skills in children were more challenging to rural caregivers, while limited social-communicational skills were more challenging to urban caregivers. These differences may inform healthcare policy-makers and program developers. Adaptive interventions are important to respond to regional needs, resources, and practices. In addition, the results showed the importance of addressing challenges as experienced by caregivers such as costs related to care, barriers in access to information, or stigma. Addressing these issues may help reduce both global and within-country differences in autism care.

The association of cognitive abilities with language disorder in 8-year-old children: A population-based clinical sample.

Despite accumulated evidence that language development depends on basic cognitive processes, the balance in contributions of verbal and non-verbal cognitive skills to language abilities is still underexplored. Little is known about which cognitive measures best predict the degree of severity in children with language disorder (LD). To examine the association between verbal and non-verbal cognitive abilities with language abilities in typically developing and language impaired 8-year-old children, as well as which cognitive abilities are most effective in distinguishing LD severity levels. Children (N = 509) from the Language-8 Study, which oversampled probable cases of children with LD from a population-based cohort in Norway, were assessed at 8 years. Language skills were assessed using the Norwegian Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-4 (CELF-4). Children's verbal and non-verbal cognitive abilities were assessed via standardized cognitive measures. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was first conducted to uncover the underlying factor structure of the cognitive variables. Using a hierarchical multiple regression analysis, we then examined to what extent the non-verbal cognition factor explained language abilities above and beyond verbal cognition factors. Lastly, multinomial logistic regression was used to examine which cognitive measures best predicted the degree of severity in the children with LD. The EFA resulted in three factors (Verbal Cognition, Processing Speed and Memory, and Non-Verbal Cognition). The hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that all three cognitive factors contributed significantly to individual variation in language abilities. Non-Verbal Cognition explained 5.4% variance in language abilities above and beyond that accounted for by Verbal Cognition and Processing Speed and Memory. Results from the multinomial logistic regression analysis indicated that cognitive subtests, including Familiar Sequences, WASI Vocabulary and WASI Similarities, not only distinguished LD from typically developing children, but were also efficient in distinguishing severity of LD symptoms. This study confirms concurrent links between language and non-verbal cognitive skills above and beyond the contribution of verbal cognitive skills. The results provide further evidence that children with LD experience both language and cognitive problems in mid-childhood. Our findings suggest implications for LD intervention and diagnosis. The findings support the importance of measuring both verbal and non-verbal cognitive skills when making an LD diagnosis, and point to the potential of targeting underlying cognitive skills as one strategy to support language abilities. What is already known on the subject Language development is dependent on basic cognitive processes. These include both verbal and non-verbal cognitive abilities. Children with LD often experience both language and cognitive problems. There is evidence that performance on cognitive tests may be associated with the degree of severity of LD. What this paper adds to existing knowledge The current results from a large population-based cohort establish that a number of verbal and non-verbal cognitive abilities are tightly linked to variation in language abilities and the degree of severity of LD. Our study confirms concurrent links between language and non-verbal cognitive abilities above and beyond the contribution of verbal cognitive abilities. We also identify specific verbal and non-verbal cognitive tests that distinguish between typical children and children with LD, as well as LD severity. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? Our findings support the importance of measuring both verbal and non-verbal cognitive skills when making an LD diagnosis. Our findings also point to the potential of targeting underlying cognitive skills as one strategy to support language abilities. We suggest that future intervention studies focus on the impact of non-verbal cognitive skills on language development in children with LD.

Peningkatan Keterampilan Komunikasi dengan Metode Pembelajaran Role Playing pada Siswa Kelas V Sekolah Dasar

Based on the findings of observations, it was determined that students in class V still lacked adequate communication skills. It was found that only 50% of students saw the other person when communicating, 50% of students with a clear voice when speaking, 40% of students used good grammar, 40% of students with mastery of material content, and 45% of students who used gestures and facial expressions as communication aids. This study aims to address the issue of students' verbal and nonverbal communication skills in class V UPT SD Negeri 51 Gresik in order to apply the role-playing method to social studies learning. Class Action Research Method (CAR). The steps taken to conduct this research were divided into four stages: planning, action, observation, and reflection. The method of collecting data in this study is observing teacher activities, observing student activities, and observing students' communication skills. According to the findings of this study's analysis, using the role-playing technique enables students to develop effective communication with teachers and their peers. Then in the implementation of role playing or doing role play, students are more active and responsive from the beginning to the end of learning. Thus the role playing method to improve students' communication skills is declared effective.