SRCLD 2015 AbstractsIS01

Advances in Language Sample Analysis for Research Jon F. Miller; University of Wisconsin-Madison Ann Nockerts; SALT Software, LLC

Language sample analysis (LSA) has long been a mainstay for researchers investigating language development in children. Documenting language use in everyday speaking situations provides the opportunity to measure performance across all levels of language use. Almost all of the foundational research on language development relied on the use of samples of language production. Today, LSA is still considered the gold standard for validating language use in context. Computer technology has provided solutions to many of the past limitations of LSA, facilitating the use of this classic methodology. This tutorial will review our solutions to many vexing research problems including; managing large numbers of samples, identifying and coding specific features, selecting appropriate elicitation protocol, creating preliminary data on specific features, training lab staff, and insuring the fidelity of data collection. Two major advances will be discussed relative to research solutions using SALT software. First, the creation of large databases of typical speakers gives you norm-referenced expectations across age and grade, K–12, and provides language production expectations for conversation, narration, exposition, and persuasion protocols. Second, SALT not only provides more than 50 analyses automatically, but also includes a specialized editor for entering transcripts, routines to facilitate coding, and tools to analyze large data sets, feeding the results directly into statistical analysis software. Join us in exploring the use of language sample analysis in your next research project. Learn how our tools can facilitate the development of your next research project, from elicitation through transcription and analysis. New coding tools will be presented that allow you to extract language data unique to your research. We will discuss how our databases of typical speakers can be used to provide preliminary data for justifying your research concept and may even serve as preliminary control groups. The use of our tools for analyzing languages other than English will be reviewed. We look forward to a discussion of what road blocks you are facing with your research program and what additional tools are needed.

IS02

How Specific Qualities of Caregiver Input Shape Child Language Development Meredith L. Rowe; Harvard University

While we know that quantity of caregiver language input positively relates to children’s vocabulary development, studies focused on specific features or qualities of input can further reveal how children use input to learn language. In addition, measures of input quality frequently trump input quantity in predicting vocabulary growth. In this talk I discuss findings from a variety of studies pinpointing specific qualities of input that promote language learning at different points across early childhood. I also address how and why these input features may (or may not) vary based on family characteristics such

as socioeconomic status, and I highlight practical implications for intervention. Much of this work has been funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at NIH.

IS03

Linguistic development in children with hearing loss: Impact of access on language experience and outcomes

Mary Pat Moeller; Boys Town National Research Hospital J. Bruce Tomblin; University of Iowa

Early and consistent access to linguistic input is regarded as important if not essential for speech and language development in typically-developing children. Our research suggests that permanent hearing loss places young children at risk for linguistic delays to the extent that it restricts access to speech and language input. The historical literature documents extensive delays in speech, language, academic, and psychosocial development in children who are deaf or hard of hearing. However, researchers are now met with a new generation of children who are commonly identified in infancy and receive early interventions that include improved hearing technologies. Although the expectation is that these service innovations should prevent or minimize speech and language delays, the requisite studies exploring children’s outcomes are just beginning to emerge. This presentation first examines a series of studies exploring factors (e.g., characteristics of maternal input, hearing technology, overhearing) that influence access to linguistic input in children with hearing loss. Selected findings from this earlier work were examined in a larger context through a multi-site, longitudinal study of the outcomes of children with mild-to-severe hearing loss (Outcomes of Children with Hearing Loss, OCHL). This presentation focuses next on results from the OCHL project, which was designed to address major gaps in the extant literature on children who use hearing aids rather than cochlear implants. Three major factors (audibility, consistency and duration of hearing aid use, and caregiver input characteristics) are discussed in relation to children’s longitudinal outcomes. We argue that the language learning system is vulnerable when there are constraints in the availability of cues. To the extent that language learning is dependent on statistical properties of the input, children with hearing loss may experience unique areas of vulnerability. We consider whether or not language development is robust in the context of this new generation of children with mild to severe hearing loss. Throughout the discussion, we will consider ways in which research with this group of children can inform more general theories of child language acquisition. This work was supported by NIH-NIDCD R01DC006681 and NIH-NIDCD R01DC009560.

IS04

So simple a baby can do it: Why paying attention to infant learning can benefit language treatment

Elena Plante; The University of Arizona

Experimental studies of infant learning show that babies can learn patterns that reflect both word units and grammatical patterns with only minutes of exposure to novel language input. Moreover, this input-driven learning generalizes to untrained examples. In contrast, treatment studies for specific language impairment can go on for months, and overall gains can still be modest. This raises the critical question: Could we produce better treatment outcomes by making treatment protocols adhere to the conditions known to facilitate rapid learning by infants? A series of experimental studies demonstrated that both children and adults with impaired language skills can demonstrate rapid learning (i.e., generalization that occurs within a single session) when input is structured in ways that are known to facilitate input-based learning. Most recently, we have begun to translate this experimental work to treatment. In a series of feasibility and early efficacy studies, we show that application of learning principles can boost treatment effects for a well-studied clinical procedure (conversational recast treatment). This work was supported by NIDCD grants R01DC004726-S1, R21DC014203, and R01DC011276.

SOP1-1

Preliminary Clinical Trials in Language Intervention: An Interactive Book Reading Example

Holly Storkel; University of Kansas Rouzana Komesidou; University of Kansas Krista Voelmle; University of Kansas

Preliminary Clinical Trials address core design and clinical issues necessary to establish the feasibility of a Phase III/IV Definitive Clinical Trial that, in turn, tests the efficacy and effectiveness of the intervention. Phase I trials that address issues of treatment intensity are virtually standard in the drug treatment literature but surprisingly rare in the language intervention literature. We illustrate design issues via a preliminary clinical trial of interactive book reading with children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI). An escalation strategy that hones in a ‘promising’ intensity for the treatment using the fewest number of participants is illustrated. Preliminary results from 21 children show that the adequate intensity for children with SLI is 3- to 4-times the intensity shown to be effective for same-age typically developing children (i.e., 36-48 exposures for children with SLI compared to 12 exposures for peers). This intensity appears sufficient to support learning from input as well as retention. [Funded by DC012824]

SOP1-2

Can Vocabulary Lessons Increase The Amount Of Complex Syntax That At-Risk Children Hear? Tentative Answers From Within An Implementation Science Framework

Amanda Owen Van Horne; University of Iowa Maura Curran; University of Iowa Jessica Hall; University of Iowa Sarah Gillespie; University of Iowa

Increased rates of complex syntax input to children are associated with increased child complex syntax use, and that targeted input may change child use of particular syntactic

structures. Children of low socioeconomic backgrounds are at risk of receiving less complex syntax input and may therefore benefit from classroom interventions to improve input. Here, six Head Start classrooms received one of two vocabulary interventions, with one condition focused on verbs biased toward complement clauses and the other serving as a control condition. Each class received 10 week-long sets of activities based on verbs from their condition. Fidelity recordings were taken four times in the ten week period confirming expected syntax usage from teachers. Non-ideal classroom matching and differences in teacher material use complicate analysis, but results suggest that children with lower PPVT-III scores tended to show gains on nonfinite sentences, and children with higher vocabulary scores tended to show gains on finite sentences in a sentence imitation task. Interpretation within an implementation science framework informs data analysis. Funding: U of Iowa

SOP1-3

Language Ability Groups in Bilinguals: Changes in Group Membership Depending on the Assessment Method

Maria Kapantzoglou; Portland State University María Adelaida Restrepo; Arizona State University Marilyn S. Thompson; Arizona State University

There are two main challenges when estimating the diagnostic accuracy of new language ability measures: (a) using an a priori diagnosis of children (with and without primary language impairment) as a reference may introduce error given there is no gold standard for the a priori classification; and (b) classifying children into two groups may underestimate the number of language ability groups, or, alternatively, a single group may characterize the continuum of language performance. Latent profile analysis (model-based reasoning) was applied in this study to examine the number and nature of distinct language ability groups in an unclassified sample of 431 predominately Spanish-speaking children, 5-7 years old, learning English. Groups were identified based on language sample analyses, language-processing measures and non-verbal cognitive abilities. A transition matrix was created to show how participants changed groups across four assessment methods based on conditional probabilities for group membership. Results suggested more than two distinct language ability groups in the population with the method of assessment influencing the number and characteristics of the groups. IES# R324A080024

SOP2-1

Parent Input Subject Diversity Accelerates Children’s Early Sentence Growth Pamela Hadley; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Matthew Rispoli; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Janet Holt; Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville Theodora Papastratakos; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Ning Hsu; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

To develop more effective early grammatical interventions, a better understanding of how children’s learning mechanisms operate on authentic parent input is needed. We

hypothesized that parent input sentences with diverse lexical noun phrase (NP) subjects would accelerate children’s early sentence diversity. Treatment group parents (n=19) were instructed in responsive interaction strategies (Manolson et al., 2007; Pepper & Weitzman, 2004) and language modeling strategies designed specifically to increase lexical noun phrase (NP) subjects (e.g., The nose fits.) when their children were between 21- and 24-months old. Growth in children’s third person sentence diversity was modeled from 21 to 30 months. The parent treatment group substantially increased input sentences with both lexical NP subject tokens and types (?p2 > .45) compared to the parent control group. Significant group differences were also apparent for quadratic acceleration in children’s sentence diversity. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of using relatively simple strategies to alter grammatical properties of parent language input and the effects of these strategies on children’s early grammatical growth. Funding: NICHD R21 HD071316

SOP2-2

A new paradigm for studying children’s online comprehension of their parent’s unscripted speech

Sudha Arunachalam; Boston UniversityWe introduce a new paradigm to investigate how children process unscripted parental input using a tablet and a Tobii X2-30 eye-tracker. This portable setup permits parent-child interaction while yielding real-time data from the child. We will discuss implementation and potential applications of this approach. We will also present data from this paradigm on children’s abilities to rapidly identify which particular object in a visual scene their parent is talking about. Dyads consisting of a 3- to 4-year-old child and one of their parents played a finding game in which the parent’s goal was to get the child to point to one of six pictures by labeling or describing it. The results reveal interesting variation among parents in the labels they chose to provide, and similarities as well as differences in children’s processing as compared to prior literature using prerecorded auditory stimuli. This research program will reveal what aspects of parental input support children’s comprehension and may inform parent-training interventions. Funding: NIH 1K01DC013306-01A1

SOP2-3

Input Packaging and the Acquisition of Copula is Matthew Rispoli; University of Illinois Theodora Papastratikos; University of Illinois Colleen Stern; University of Illinois Pamela Hadley; University of Illinois

Understanding relationships between parent input and language acquisition is fundamental to the design of interventions. This study focused on copula is, a highly frequent tense/agreement morpheme with variable surface forms. It has syllabic and contracted forms and appears in different syntactic positions for statements versus questions. We analyzed parent input to 42 typically developing children at 2;0. The input packaging of copula is was significantly correlated with child copula is productivity at

2;3. Is contracted to WH pronouns (e.g., where’s his foot?) was negatively related, but full form copula is in declarative sentences (e.g., the apple is red.) was positively related. Hierarchical multiple regression showed that child copula productivity at 2;0 combined with input packaging at 2;0 accounted for over 59% of the variance in child copula productivity at 2;3. Child copula productivity accounted for approximately 29% of the unique variance. Parent input packaging accounted for an additional 11% of the unique variance. The implications of input packaging for the design of optimal input for grammatical interventions will be discussed.

SOP3-1

Impaired cognitive flexibility in preschoolers with SLI: Evidence from Dimensional Change Card Sort performance

Leah Kapa; University of Arizona Elena Plante; University of Arizona

Executive function, higher-order cognitive skills necessary for controlling thought, attention, and action, has been identified as an area of weakness among children with specific language impairment (SLI). There is fairly consistent evidence that children with SLI have deficits on some components of executive function including working memory and inhibition. However, a third component of executive function, cognitive flexibility is relatively understudied. Cognitive flexibility refers to the ability to switch attention between stimuli, stimulus properties, or tasks. Results from the few studies that have considered cognitive flexibility in SLI are mixed with regard to whether this component is affected in SLI. We compared preschool children with SLI to typical preschoolers using the Dimensional Change Card Sort task, a measure of cognitive flexibility, and found that the SLI group performed significantly worse than typical peers. These findings add to mounting evidence of executive function deficits associated with SLI and suggest that preschoolers with SLI demonstrate weaker cognitive flexibility than peers with typical language development. Research supported by NIDCD F32DC014188

SOP3-2

Patterns of Relationships among Attention, Working Memory and Language in Children with and without Specific Language Impairment

Ronald Gillam; Utah State University Julia Evans; University of Texas at Dallas James Montgomery; Ohio University

This study investigated attention switching and working memory in 148 children with and without SLI (7;0 -11;11) who were propensity matched on age, gender, race, ethnicity, SES, and parental education. Children with SLI were significantly less accurate than the typically-developing (TD) controls on the attention switching task; and recalled significantly less information on an N-back task and the Woodcock Johnson Working Memory subtest. Attention and working memory were moderately correlated with language comprehension and production measures. A multiple regression analysis revealed different patterns of relationships among attention, working memory and

language for children with SLI and the TD controls. Results suggest that children with SLI are not merely “low normals” and that “normal” processing models may not account for the relationships among attention, WM and language in children with SLI. Supported by grant (R01 DC010883) from NIDCD.

SOP3-3

Lexical-phonological representations and speed of processing in word recognition and word production in children with Specific Language Impairment

Julia Evans; University of Texas, Dallas Ron Gillam; Utah State University James Montgomery; Ohio University

This study investigated speed of word recognition and lexical access in 148 children with and without SLI (7;0 -11;11) propensity matched on age, gender, race, ethnicity, SES, and parental education. Children’s ability to name familiar nouns was compared to time needed to recognize them in a gating task. Results suggest that lexical access may be mediated by different factors for children with and without SLI. Children with SLI were slower and less accurate than controls to name nouns; also needing more speech input to identify target words in the gating task. For the controls, nouns that were gating more quickly were named faster and more accurately. For the children with SLI, speed of lexical access was not related to how quickly words were gated, but was instead mediated by the time needed to differentiate the target word from lexical competitors. Results suggest that lexical cohort competition may significantly impact speed and accuracy of lexical processing in children with SLI but not normal controls. Supported by grant (R01 DC010883) from NIDCD.

PS1F01

Maternal education and linguistic abilities in Spanish-speaking children with and without Language Impairment

Alejandra Auza; Hospital General “Dr. Manuel Gea González”Many Spanish-speaking children from low socioeconomic status (SES) grow in families where the mother usually has a low educational level (LEL). Previous studies have observed that LEL has an effect on vocabulary and grammar abilities; as a consequence, these children are frequently confused with children with Language Impairment (LI). The aim of this study was to compare lexical and grammatical abilities in Mexican children with and without LI. Specifically, differences in the total number of words, different words and the percentages of grammatical errors committed on a story retell task were analyzed. Participants were 550 Spanish-speaking children (4;0 to 6;11 years) with and without LI classified according to the maternal education. Results indicated that maternal education contributed to the variance in vocabulary and percentage of grammatical errors. Moreover, children with LI with mothers with LEL had significantly lower vocabulary and more grammatical errors than children with TLD. The

discussion is centered on how the differences in maternal education are associated with language experience, language complexity and percentage of grammatical errors.Funding: Conacyt, Ciencia Básica 2013

PS1F02

Changes in maternal language over time: Mother-child interaction between 2 sets of twins with cerebral palsy

Alicia Gaura; Univerity of Wisconsin-Madison Katie Hustad; University of Wisconsin-Madisondeoart

Purpose: This study investigated the similarities and differences in maternal expressive language over time for two mothers and their twins with cerebral palsy (CP). Questions examined whether each child’s profile of speech and language abilities impacted a mother’s expressive language.

Method: Two sets of male twins with CP and their mothers participated at three different time points (Mean age at T1: 64.5 months; T2: 82.5 months; T3: 95.5 months). At all time points, each child and their mother participated in a ten minute snack and/or play interaction. Language samples were analyzed in SALT and PRAAT.

Results: The mothers differed in their expressive language characteristics and synchrony with their child’s language. However, the mothers were consistent in their expressive language use with both of their children, regardless of each child’s speech and language profile.

Participants in this study were selected from a larger study, which was funded by grants K23DC007114 and R01DC009411 from the NIDCD, NIH, and a grant from the CPIRF.

PS1F03

Grammatical priming in Spanish-English bilingual children with and without language impairment

Alisa Baron; The University of Texas at Austin Lisa Bedore; The University of Texas at Austin Elizabeth Peña; The University of Texas at Austin

The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the amount of language models (i.e., dose frequency) that Spanish-English bilingual children with and without specific language impairment (SLI) require in order to consistently produce challenging target grammatical forms for 6 morphemes, 3 in English and 3 in Spanish, via a structural priming task. Participants included 35 kindergarten (14 low normal and 7 with SLI) and 55 2nd grade children (19 low normal and 11 with SLI). Participants were administered 10 control and 10 experimental cloze phrase computer tasks for each morpheme. In the experimental task participants heard a model of the target morpheme and were required to finish the cloze phrase. Results indicated that in both English and Spanish, children with LI need more models than low normal children and typically developing children. Additionally, more tasks for children with LI did not become primed compared to tasks

for low normal children and typically developing children. The funding source: R01DC010366

PS1F04

When language impairment isn’t enough: Factors that influence service status for school-age children

Andrea Ash; University of Utah Theresa Pfaff; University of Utah Sean Redmond; University of Utah

We investigated the potential impact of several factors on intervention status in children with and without LI. Community ascertainment with blinded confirmatory examination yielded one-hundred eighty one 1st-3rd grade participants (LI = 45, Non-LI = 136). Children were administered a battery of language, reading, behavioral, pragmatic, and cognitive measures. Parents provided information regarding maternal education, receipt of services, and neurocognitive difficulties. Univariate analyses of variance and logistic regression revealed that the following variables significantly contributed to service receipt in the Non-LI group: neurocognitive difficulties, CELF-4, reading, pragmatics, and CBCL-ADHD; and in the LI group: neurocognitive difficulties, CELF-4, TEGI, and reading. By itself, language ability only modestly influenced whether children received speech-language services, with children who have non-linguistic difficulties more likely to receive services than those with a primary language deficit. The presence of ongoing educational/health disparities in children with LI warrants further investigation. Funding provided by NIDCD grant RO1DC011023.

PS1F05

Morphological accuracy in a highly inflected language: Useful as a clinical marker? Elin Thordardottir; McGill University and CRIR-Institut Raymond Dewar

Morphological accuracy has been a focus of many studies on Specific (or Primary) language impairment. Those working in highly inflected languages receive somewhat contradictory messages from the research literature: on one hand, morphology is widely regarded as a central area of vulnerability in SLI; on the other hand, error rates tend to be relatively low in such languages. Cross-linguistic comparisons are further complicated by age effects within given languages. This study examines the length of utterance and morphological accuracy of children with and without SLI (n= 56) ranging in age from 4 to 14 years who speak Icelandic, a highly inflected language. Like English, its typical development is characterized by an Optional Infinitive Stage. MLU increased linearly with age in both groups, with group differences decreasing with age. Morphological accuracy rates ranged from 80 to 100%. Among the youngest children, the lowest scores (involving Optional Infinitives) were obtained by children with SLI, but there was important overlap between groups. Older children in both groups scored at or close to ceiling. Funding: NSERC and RANNIS.

PS1F06

Semantic Priming and Interference Effects on Word Learning in School-age Children with Specific Language Impairment

Yoonhee Yang; Ewha Womans University Dongsun Yim; Ewha Womans University

The purpose of this research was to identify the best predictor of word learning skills in children with and without Specific Language Impairment (SLI). The study included children between 6 to 9 years of age, 18 SLI and 18 NL (Normal Language), and Semantic Priming and Interference tasks which measure the ability to access the word learning process, were used. The SLI group showed low performance on all tasks compared to the same age NL group, and the SLI group did not show any task that predicts receptive vocabulary whereas in the NL group the accuracy of the semantic priming task predicted receptive vocabulary. The speed of semantic priming task was the best predictor of the QUIL in the SLI group, but the speed of interference task was the best predictor of QUIL in the NL group. The results indicate that both semantic priming effect on related target word and inhibiting ability for unrelated target word may significantly contribute to word learning for school-age children with and without SLI.Ewha-Global-Top-5-Project

PS1F07

Evaluating the Measurement Properties of the Narrative Scoring Scheme with Students with Mild Intellectual Disability

Andrea Barton-Hulsey; Georgia State University Rose A. Sevcik; Georgia State University Mary Ann Romski; Georgia State University

The Narrative Scoring Scheme (NSS) is a rating scale of narrative ability comprised of 7 items including Introduction, Character Development, Mental States, Referencing, Conflict/Resolution, Cohesion and Conclusion to estimate a child’s narrative ability. This study used item response theory within a structural equation modeling framework to evaluate item function of the NSS in students with mild intellectual disabilities. Factor loadings and item thresholds for each of the 7 items were examined. Additionally, metric equivalence/invariance (ME/I) was assessed for the NSS across raters. Results indicated that the NSS items functioned as an informative measurement tool with students with mild ID. A test of scalar invariance indicated that the adapted NSS consistently functioned across raters when used with students with mild ID. This project was supported in part by the U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences (H324K040007).

PS1F08

The use of a caregiver interview to assess vocal development in infants with hearing loss

Anne Thomas, M.Ed.; University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Boys Town National Research Center

Sophie Amborse, Ph.D.; Boys Town National Research Center Mary Pat Moeller, Ph.D.; Boys Town National Research Center

Recent advances in early identification of hearing loss create a pressing need for measurement tools that are sensitive to changes in vocal and speech development in infants and toddlers. Such tools support research on outcomes and monitoring of intervention effectiveness. Caregivers are in a unique position to provide insights into their children’s vocal development. A parent-report assessment tool was designed to evaluate prelinguistic and early linguistic stages of vocal and speech development from 6 to 21 months. This unique assessment tool uses audio samples of authentic infant vocalizations presented in a paired-comparison format to make the target vocal landmarks understandable to parents. The tool comprises four sections 1) Warm-up, 2) Precanonical Behaviors, 3) Canonical Behaviors, and 4) Word Productions. Experimental data were collected from parents of 82 children with hearing loss and 24 children with normal hearing. Results indicate that this tool is sensitive to changes in children’s prelexical and early linguistic development, and to developmental differences among the groups at 18-months of age. Funding provided by NIDCD R01DC009560.

PS1F09

The impact of word frequency on grammatical error detection in Swedish-speaking school-age children with and without language impairment

Anna Eva Hallin; New York University Christina Reuterskiöld; New York University

Error detection tasks are widely used to measure language awareness and processing, but no previous studies have investigated the effect of lexical frequency on grammatical error detection. This study explores error detection ability in Swedish-speaking school-age children with and without language impairment (LI) from an emergentist perspective. Sensitivity and detection speed of two target errors, that are vulnerable in pre-school Swedish-speaking children with LI (omission of obligatory indefinite article in a noun-phrase and use of the infinitive instead of past tense verbs), are compared to two control errors (omission of preposition and a singular noun instead of plural). The target errors involve either a high- or a low-frequency noun/verb. Sentences are presented aurally and responses are collected through button-presses. Preliminary results from three 10-year old children with typical development indicate that control errors are easier/faster to detect than target errors, and errors involving high-frequency words easier/faster than those involving low-frequency words. Results from 40 ten-year olds with and without language impairment will be presented and discussed.

PS1F10

The use of BESA as a bilingual test with monolingual Spanish-speaking children Donna Jackson-Maldonado; Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro Jan Holst; Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro Ana Susana Mejía; Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro Elizabeth Peña; University of Texas, Austin Lisa Bedore; University of Texas, Austin

Non-biased assessment for diverse populations must follow appropriate guidelines. It has been shown that language-minority students may score lower than their monolingual

peers on tests with monolingual, middle-class norms. To solve this, most recently published tests have bilingual norms. Now, in contrast, it is not clear whether these norms may still be used with monolinguals. The use of adjusted norms has been a procedure to assess children when language backgrounds differ from the norming sample. In this study we assess 65 monolingual Spanish-speakers between 4 and 6 years using the BESA bilingual norms in order to determine if adjusted norms are necessary for monolingual-speakers Results show that only children 5 and 6 year olds fall between the 1st SD of the norms. Four year olds differ considerably. Validity for monolingual Spanish speakers is established for the semantics subtest of the BESA.Funding obtained from FOFIUAQ

PS1F11

Classroom-Based Vocabulary Intervention for Struggling Readers Mary Kubalanza; University of IL at Urbana-Champaign Cynthia J. Johnson; University of IL at Urbana-Champaign

Language and literacy intervention research suggests that students who are reading below grade level benefit from direct instruction. The present study proposes a small group vocabulary intervention for four 2nd/3rd grade struggling readers, led by a speech--language pathologist in the classroom. Two instructional models were compared using a single-case alternating treatments design. Treatment 1 integrated multimodal, multi-linguistic, and interactive work, in which students participated in a discussion, were asked to draw pictures to illustrate word meanings, and collaboratively composed sentences using the target words. Treatment 2 focused on independent work, in which students were asked to look up and copy dictionary definitions from an online dictionary. Vocabulary gains were measured by the accuracy of written definitions. Greater gains were observed across all four students following Treatment 1. Results suggest that multimodal, multi-linguistic, and interactive instructional techniques may allow students with language and literacy differences greater access to new word knowledge.

PS1F12

Past Tense Production in Children with and without Specific Language Impairment Across Germanic Languages: A Meta-analysis

Windi Krok; Purdue University Laurence Leonard; Purdue University

Meta-analyses were performed to determine if, across studies, English and non-English Germanic-speaking children with specific language impairment (SLI) differ from their typically developing peers in their use of past tense. Data from qualifying studies were extracted and results were converted to Hedges g effect sizes. Large combined effect sizes were seen for both regular and irregular past tense use, and for both English and non-English Germanic languages. Large effect sizes were seen when children with SLI were compared to younger typically developing children as well as when they were compared to same-age typical peers. These findings suggest that past tense marking might have promise as a clinical marker across a range of Germanic languages. This possibility is especially noteworthy given that past tense inflections differ in both

frequency and phonological characteristics across languages. Grants T32 DC00030 and R01 DC00458 from NIDCD

PS1F13

Literacy in Children with Hearing Impairments: A Descriptive Study Anthony Koutsoftas; Seton Hall University Deborah Welling; Seton Hall University Joanne Odiase; Seton Hall University

An important consideration for language assessment and treatment in children with hearing impairments (HI) are literacy skills including reading and writing abilities. This study reports out on the first phase of a multi-phased project investigating literacy assessment and intervention in children with HI. Prior research supports the need for this endeavor; however, few studies on reading and writing are housed in well-accepted theoretical frameworks. The current study uses the Simple View of Reading (Hoover & Gough, 1990) and the Simple View of Writing (Berninger & Amtmann, 2003) as theoretical frameworks for assessing reading and writing skills in children with HI. A two day test protocol including standardized and experimental measures was administered to children and provided measures representing reading and writing abilities. Descriptive analyses and significant correlations support the validity of this approach to assess reading and writing in this population. This project was funded by a grant from the Board of Directors of Language Learning: A Journal of Research in Language Studies.

PS1F14

Variability in the Input: The Role of Multiple Talkers in a Statistical Language Learning Paradigm

Nicolette Noonan; The University of Western Ontario Lisa Archibald; The University of Western Ontario

Language learners are able to segment fluent speech based on the distributional patterns inherently present within language, also known as statistical language learning. Laboratory research has demonstrated that this may be a crucial mechanism under operation within the language acquisition process. There is a growing interest in how these laboratory findings can be replicated within a more naturalistic linguistic environment. In the present study, healthy adults were exposed for 28 minutes to an unsegmented artificial language containing six tri-syllabic nonwords and spoken by one female voice or a female and male voice, and the ability to identify words was compared across groups. Participants’ abilities to identify words from the artificial language at test were equivalent across conditions, indicating that distributional learning can be achieved by adults even with variable input. The present study design provides a useful paradigm for further research including important developmental studies.

PS1F15

Linguistic and Cognitive Factors Sensitive to Language Performance Differences in English Language Learners (ELLs)

Areej Balilah; Western University Lisa Archibald; Western University

This study investigated cognitive and linguistic markers that may differentiate English Language Learners (ELL) from age-matched monolingual children with and without specific language impairment (SLI). The performance of ELL whose L1 was Arabic and who had been learning English as the language of instruction (L2-English) in Canada was compared to two monolingual groups from Saudi Arabia: typically developing Arabic-speaking children (TD) and Arabic-speaking children with SLI (A-SLI). Groups of 6 to 9 year olds participated including 45 unselected ELL, 45 A-SLI, and 376 TD. The three groups completed a battery of linguistic and cognitive measures of vocabulary, grammar, reading, nonverbal intelligence, working memory, and speech intelligibility. No differences were found between the ELL and TD groups on nonverbal intelligence and visuospatial working memory. The ELL, however, scored significantly more poorly on Arabic language measures than both monolingual groups. Results are considered in terms of the length of exposure to English, and the instructional and cultural context for the ELL group.

PS1F16

Language Development of Persian-English Bilingual Preschoolers for Speech-Language Pathologists

Bita Payesteh; University of Minnesota, Minneapolis Lizbeth Finestack; University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

This study aims to provide a better understanding of the language skills of bilingual Persian-English children who attend a Persian immersion preschool and the influence of exposure to Persian and English on their language skills. Participants were 19 preschoolers (2 through 5 years) who came from bicultural and bilingual (Persian and English) families. Children completed a language assessment battery in Persian and English and parents completed a questionnaire regarding their child’s development and language environment. The data demonstrate that Persian appears to be more vulnerable to positive and negative effects depending on Persian input and use. These findings bolster the notion that minority language exposure and use does not negatively impact a child’s ability to learn and use English, consistent with previous data with other language pairs, and that increased use of English may be at the cost of improving heritage language skills. Funding for this study was provided by the Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences and the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota.

PS1F17

Spanish and English Proficiencies of Latino Children of Immigrants. Differences Across Demographic Profiles of Family, Home, and Preschool Factors.

Brian Collins; Hunter College, CUNY Claudio Toppelberg; Harvard Medical School, Judge Baker Children's Center

Latino dual language children typically enter school with a wide range of proficiencies in Spanish and English. This could be a result of their home environment, family background, and early childhood settings which are all foundational to language development. The current study investigates dual language proficiencies, demographic and language factors at the home and preschool of 228 second-generation Latino children of immigrant. Spanish and English oral language competences were assessed with the Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery- Revised (WLPB-R) at kindergarten and again in 2nd grade. Multi-dimensional interviews of parents surveyed factors such as parent immigration and education, family structure and language use, home literacy, and preschool history. ANOVAs evidenced differences in English and Spanish proficiencies across demographic profile groups at kindergarten and 2nd grade. Subsequent multiple regressions examining the additive effect of factors significantly accounted for variance of English and Spanish at kindergarten and 2nd grade. While the effects were larger for English outcomes, the differences in language proficiencies across groups were larger and more persistent for Spanish.

PS1F18

Content and form in the narratives of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in two elicitation contexts: Implications for Assessment and Instruction

Brigid Crotty; Utah State University Sandra Laing Gillam; Utah State University

The purpose of this study was to examine potential form-content trade-offs in grammaticality and narrative proficiency in stories told by school-age children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as they proceeded through a narrative intervention program.

Children with ASD do not typically demonstrate problems with grammaticality, though they have difficulty with narrative comprehension and production. We explored whether children with ASD experienced form-content trade-offs when learning to produce more complex narrative discourse, and if they were more or less likely to experience form-content trade-offs when asked to create a story than when asked to recall a story.

Five children participated in this multiple-baseline across participants, single-subject design study to improve narrative proficiency. Children’s narratives improved significantly during instruction. Evidence for form-content trade-offs was observed more often in spontaneous stories than in the retell context. Individual variation and implications for assessment and instruction are discussed.

The narrative intervention in this project was developed with funds from the Institute for Educational Sciences awarded to the second author and to Utah State University (R324A100063).

PS1F19

Investigation of Dose Schedule for Preschool Children with Specific Language Impairment

Christina Meyers; University of Arizona Elena Plante; University of Arizona

Dosage has been identified as important element of intervention that has the potential to increase intervention efficacy. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of dose schedule for children with grammatical morphology deficits associated with Specific Language Impairment (SLI). Sixteen 4-5 year old children with SLI participated in a 6-week intervention program during which children received equivalent daily Enhanced Conversational Recast treatment targeting a grammatical morpheme. Half of the children received treatment in one 30-minute session (massed condition); the other half received treatment in three 10-minutes sessions (spaced condition) during a 3-hour period. Progress was assessed 3 times weekly by probing a child’s use of his/her treatment morpheme and untreated morpheme (maturational control) in unique contexts. Pre-to-post treatment effect sizes (d) for treated morphemes in both conditions were significantly greater than effect sizes for untreated morphemes, demonstrating treatment efficacy. There were no differences between massed and spaced conditions. Research supported by T32DC009398 and 1R21DC014203.

PS1F20

Uniformity across First Person and Third Person in Typically Developing Children’s Pronoun Case Errors

Colleen Fitzgerald; University of Illinois, Bowling Green State University Matthew Rispoli; University of Illinois Pamela Hadley; University of Illinois

Pronoun case errors in typical development have been widely documented, but whether children who produce first person errors (e.g., Me want it) also produce third person errors (e.g., Him like it) has not been established. The purpose of this study was to determine if children treat case uniformly across first person and third person, consistent with the generative view that case is an abstract feature, or if instead children make errors in either first or third person but not both, consistent with the cognitive linguistic assumption that errors do not reflect acquisition of an abstract system. Spontaneous pronoun case errors collected from 43 children over 15 months revealed an association between first person errors and third person errors with children being significantly more likely to produce errors in both the first and third person (n=23) or neither (n=8) than in just one person. Furthermore, errors overlapped temporally providing further evidence for uniformity in case. These findings support the assumption that case is acquired as a unified, abstract system. NSF BCS-0822513

PS1F21

Language Ability and Science Achievement in Adolescents Courtney Karasinski; Grand Valley State University

It has been suggested that mastery of each academic subject requires disciplinary literacy, or specific language skills. This investigation analyzed data from the eighth grade wave

of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class (ECLS-K, N=8928), in order to assess the relation between oral language ability and science achievement. Teacher ratings of students’ ability to orally express correct grammar, analytical thinking, and creative thinking were entered into a regression model as predictors of t-scores science testing. The oral language variables accounted for 16% of the variance in science scores. Grammar and analytical thinking, but not creative thinking, emerged as significant predictors.These results suggest that oral language abilities play a role in science achievement in eighth grade students, concurring with the concept of disciplinary literacy and suggesting a role for speech-language pathology in science education.

PS1F22

Comprehension of driving vocabulary in adolescents with language impairment Jessica Pandolfe; University of Connecticut Tammie Spaulding; University of Connecticut

Adolescents with specific language impairment(SLI) exhibit academic challenges partly due to difficulties acquiring vocabulary with ease. Their slow word learning may extend outside of academia to their performance on a non-academic assessment, the Learner’s Permit Test. Driving handbooks contain vocabulary that may be challenging for those with SLI. While accommodations are available for those who cannot read, there are no accommodations for those who struggle with understanding the terminology used within the test itself. A self-designed task using vocabulary common to state-wide driver’s manuals was administered to adolescents with SLI to determine if they had greater difficulty understanding driving-related vocabulary relative to typical peers.

PS1F23

Assessing Early Language Comprehension in Young Children with ASD: Comparing Looking-While-Listening and Parent Report

Courtney Venker; University of Wisconsin-Madison Eileen Haebig; University of Wisconsin-Madison Jenny Saffran; University of Wisconsin-Madison Jan Edwards; University of Wisconsin-Madison Susan Ellis Weismer; University of Wisconsin-Madison

Rationale. Comprehension is commonly measured by parent report, but it may be difficult for parents of children with ASD to accurately judge their child’s language comprehension. We compared parent report to looking-while-listening (LWL), which assesses comprehension by presenting two images on a screen, along with accompanying speech.Methods. Twenty-four 30-month-olds with ASD participated. Parents completed the CDI. Children completed a LWL task. Trials were included if the target was reported as unknown.Results. Children spent significantly more time looking at the target after it was named than before (p = .04).

Conclusions. In a LWL task, children with ASD understood nouns their parents reported as unknown. Parent report may underestimate comprehension in young children with ASD compared to LWL. Future work should continue to investigate the agreement between parent report and LWL with a goal not of identifying which method is correct, but of learning what each method tells us and what it does not.Funding source(s): R01 DC012513 (Ellis Weismer, Edwards, Saffran), P30 HD003352 (Mailick)

PS1F24

Modality constraints on Working Memory Tasks in Children with and without Specific Language Impairment

Dongsun Yim; Ewha Womans University Yoonhee Yang; Ewha Womans University Shinyoung Kim; Ewha Womans University Kyeongran Bae; Ewha Womans University

The purpose of the current study was to investigate children's working memory performance based on modality and task type and to find the best predictor of receptive vocabulary in children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI). A total of 50 children participated in this study with 25 children with SLI and 25 typically developing children between 4 to 8 years of age. The working memory tasks were composed of four different task types (digit, color, shape and word) and were presented visually and auditorily. The SLI group performed significantly lower on all working memory tasks compared to the Normal Language (NL) group. Visual-word span was the best predictor of receptive vocabulary (REVT-R) in the SLI group, whereas auditory-digit span was the best predictor of REVT-R in the NL group. The visual-word span and the auditory-digit span can be used for the SLI and NL groups, respectively as the most predictable task of REVT-R. Thus, it is important to consider both presentation method and type of stimuli for identifying language impairment. NRF-2014S1A5A8017863

PS1F25

Interpretation of verb phrase telicity by children with specific language impairment and their peers with typical language

Diane Ogiela; Idaho State UniversityThis study aimed to examine and compare how 6- to 9-year-old children with specific language impairment (SLI) and typical language (TL) use linguistic information from verbs, particles and direct object determiners to interpret event descriptions as telic (having a logical endpoint) or atelic (not having an logical endpoint). To determine whether they interpreted verb phrases with different types of verbs and direct objects as telic or atelic, participants viewed short videos and provided a button press response to a yes/no question after each one. Their responses responses and reaction times (RT) were recorded. The results indicated main effects of verb type for both partitive verbs and verbs with resultative particles in terms of both telicity interpretation and RT. This indicated that both groups were sensitive to verb-type in the interpretation of telicity.

There were also interactions between group, verb type, and determiner type, which suggested some differences in RT and sensitivity to determiner-type between the two groups.

PS1F26

Statistical Word Learning in School-Age Children with ASD, SLI, and Typical Development

Eileen Haebig; University of Wisconsin - Madison Jenny Saffran; University of Wisconsin - Madison Susan Ellis Weismer; University of Wisconsin - Madison

Language is a crucial developmental skill. Children with specific language impairment (SLI) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) both have language deficits. This study examined language learning mechanisms in school-age children with ASD, SLI, and typical development. Specifically, we assessed the ability to map meaning onto newly segmented words through statistical learning (i.e., sensitivity to transitional probabilities). We also examined prerequisite skills (segmenting and associative novel word learning). Implicit measurement methods were used, allowing for collection of data reflecting real-time learning. Results revealed that statistical learning and word learning abilities were intact in children with typical development and high functioning ASD. Conversely, children with SLI displayed deficits in statistical learning and word learning relative to their age- and cognition-matched peers. The statistical structure of the speech stream before the word learning task did not influence learning in the three groups; however the exposure to sounds that re-appeared in the word learning task may have primed the formation of phonological representations and boosted learning in the SLI group.Funding: R01 DC011750-02, T32 DC005359, F31 DC013485, P30 HD03352

PS1F27

Maturational Delay in Auditory Evoked Potentials in Children with Specific Language Impairment

Elaine Kwok; Western University, Canada Lisa Archibald; Western University, Canada Marc Joanisse; Western University, Canada Janis Oram Cardy; Western University, Canada

Several studies have documented abnormal auditory evoked potentials (AEP) in children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI), but possible factors contributing to these neural abnormalities are unclear. We sought to examine the relation between AEP maturation and language functioning in children with SLI. Using intraclass-correlation-coefficients (ICC), we compared the AEP in response to a single tone in 21 children with SLI aged 7 to 11 years to four normative waveforms (corresponding to 7, 8, 9, and 10 years of age) established from 67 controls with typical development (TD). Results revealed that language abilities and chronological age were significant predictors of AEP maturity, and that many of the individual children with SLI had immature AEP waveforms resembling an earlier stage of typical development. AEP immaturity seemed to be particularly associated with greater degrees of language impairment (> 1.25SD

below the mean), irrespective of chronological age. Maturational delay in AEP is a possible neural marker for children with SLI. This study was funded by The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

PS1F28

Identification accuracy of the Test of Integrated Language and Literacy Skills Elena Plante; The University of Arizona Nickola Nelson; Western Michigan University

Core evidence that a test can be used to identify children with disorders includes sensitivity and specificity data. Despite much discussion of this need in the professional literature, it is still the case that most tests fail to present this information. When this information is included in test manuals, sensitivity and specificity is often not provided for the different ages covered by the test. This leaves clinicians with only a broad estimate of what the overall diagnostic accuracy might be across ages, but not for the age of the particular child they wish to test. Here we present sensitivity and specificity data for the Test of Integrated Language and Literacy SkillsTM (TILLS) indicating the set of subtests that maximizes accurate identification and the resulting sensitivity and specificity at different age levels. Results support appropriate levels of diagnostic accuracy at every age covered by the test. This work was funded by IES grant R324A100354

PS1F29

Links between oral language and early literacy development in Spanish-English bilingual first-graders

Elisa Barquin; University of Texas at Austin Elizabeth Peña; University of Texas at Austin Lisa Bedore; University of Texas at Austin

Our understanding of language and literacy development in dual language learners remains limited and more research is needed to better serve this population (Hammer, Jia & Uchikoshi, 2011). For monolingual children, it is well established that oral language skills are the foundation for early literacy skills. Previous research has documented links between oral language and literacy for bilingual children; however it has generally focused on vocabulary or broadly defined proficiency. In this study we document the relationships between Spanish-English bilingual children’s early literacy abilities and their scores on the morphosyntax and semantics subtests of the Bilingual English Spanish Oral Language Screener (Peña et al, 2008). We also consider the co-occurrence of risk for reading and language impairment. Results show strong correlations between language and literacy scores both within and across languages. While the risk for reading impairment was smaller than that for SLI, the occurrence of reading risk in the SLI-risk group was twice that of the children not at risk for SLI (12.5% vs. 6%). Funded by the NIDCD.

PS1F30

The role of language skills in sentence imitation: a study of Czech adults Filip Smolík; Institute of Psychology AS CR, Prague Miroslava Abrahámová; Charles University, Prague

Sentence imitation is often used for assessing language, especially in children. However, the role of language knowledge in the task has not been investigated directly. This is relevant not only for our understanding of sentence imitation, but also the working memory system, as sentence imitation is viewed as a reflection of one working memory component, the episodic buffer. The study investigated the correlates of performance on the sentence imitation task in native speakers of Czech, focusing on three domains: simple verbal short-term memory, complex verbal memory, and language skills. A total of 71 Czech adults were tested on sentence imitation and 9 different memory and language tasks. Primarily, the study tested the hypothesis that language skills predict sentence imitation above and beyond the simple and complex verbal memory tasks. This was confirmed. Subsequent analysis suggested that the best measure of language skills was a PPVT-like picture vocabulary comprehension task. Overall, the study confirms that sentence imitation is a valid measure of language skills even in adults.

PS1F31

What’s the story? Micro- and Macro- Analyses of Narratives From Children with ADHD and LI

Alexa Hamilton; Miami University Brittany Ruetschle; Miami University Leah Mong; Miami University Geralyn Timler; Miami University Sean Redmond; University of Utah

This study examined the narrative production skills of 4 groups of children, ages 6 to 8, with ADHD, SLI, ADHD+LI, and typical development (TD). The “Alien” story from the Test of Narrative Language (Gillam & Pearson, 2004) was elicited. Several micro- and macro-structural analyses were conducted. As expected, microstructure measures (e.g., mean length of utterance, grammatical errors, etc.) differentiated the groups with linguistic impairments from the ADHD and TD groups. Macrostructure analyses revealed a different story: the ADHD+LI group produced fewer story grammar elements than the other groups, including the SLI group. Clinical and theoretical implications will be presented. The data analyzed in this project was collected through studies supported by grants from the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (R03DC008382/R01DC011023) and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation.

PS1F32

Novel Morpheme Induction by Young Bilinguals Kristi Moon; Davis School District Sean Redmond; University of Utah

The study investigated the relation between dynamic assessment, specifically a morpheme induction task (MIT), and various language factors for bilingual students.

Factors included parent ratings of children’s language learning aptitude, age, vocabulary level, short term memory, and language exposure. A positive relationship between morpheme induction and language learning aptitude would support use of dynamic assessment with bilingual students. Twenty-six 5-6-year-old Spanish-English bilingual children and their parents participated in a variety of surveys and language tasks. Results found no significant relationship between the MIT and parent ratings of children’s language learning aptitude. MIT performance was related to age, language exposure, and short-term memory. Supplemental scoring schemes for the MIT showed different relations among variables and language learner profiles. Different error types on the MIT were related to short-term memory, age, and language exposure at various levels. This dynamic assessment was affected by variables besides language abilities and was not found to be valid but error analysis could give insight to various language skills that bilingual children have.

PS1F33

The Diagnostic Accuracy of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals- Preschool 2.

Anny Castilla-Earls; SUNY FredoniaThis study investigates the diagnostic accuracy of the validity of one of the most common language tests used with preschool children: the CELF Preschool-2. The participants included 145 4-6 year old English monolingual children. The results suggest that the CELF-P2 has good specificity but unacceptable sensitivity when using a population based-sample.

PS1F34

Beyond Ain't and Be: Cultural-linguistic Mismatch in Teacher-Child Interactions Megan-Brette Hamilton; University of Illinois Laura S. DeThorne; University of Illinois

We will present a study that examined the complexities of teacher-student interactions, focusing on the potential role of cultural-linguistic mismatch, with a child who speaks African American English. Using ethnographic methods paired with a social-cultural framework and mismatch theories, data collection included field note data from classroom observations, classroom videos of teacher-child interactions during literacy lessons, home videos of child-caregiver interactions, and interviews. Analyses included categorical coding of field notes and discourse analyses of video transcripts. Three key findings emerged: (a) power differential between teachers and children that tended to privilege Mainstream American English; (b) use of semiotic resources, including language and physicality, in mediating/scaffolding interactions; and (c) complex patterns of both alignment and mismatch between teacher and child that included linguistic, paralinguistic, and nonlinguistic features. Implications include the need to consider cultural influences on communication more broadly (beyond psycholinguistics) and to more explicitly annotate cultural-linguistic differences within both educational and research practices.

PS1F35

Breastfeeding and Language Outcomes Jamie Mahurin Smith; Illinois State University

Many researchers have investigated the potential impact of breastfeeding in infancy on a child's subsequent development, but only a small subset of these studies considers communication development and impairment. This poster reviews that literature, discussing postnatal neurodevelopment, potential mechanisms for dietary influences on communication outcomes, studies of typically developing children, and studies of children with communication concerns. For population-based studies of language development, a modest but statistically robust relationship is seen acrosslarge samples that account for breastfeeding exclusivity. A similar protective relationship is seen in studies that evaluate the relationship between breastfeeding and communication disorders; effect sizes are typically larger in these papers. Implications for researchers and service providers are reviewed.

PS2F01

Evidence for a changing role of interference in verbal working memory capacity in children and adults with developmental language impairment.

Gerard Poll; Elmhurst College Carol Miller; The Pennsylvania State University

Both children and adults with developmental language impairment (DLI) often have more limited verbal working memory capacities. It is unclear what role the ability to suppress no-longer-relevant stimuli plays in working memory limitations.To better understand the mechanisms resulting in working memory differences, we analyzed errors made by children and adults with DLI on a verbal working memory task. We considered substitution errors involving words appearing in the task as evidence of interference. Substitutions were divided into those influenced by more recent and less recent stimuli. We found modest evidence that children with DLI (age 10) differed from their typical language peers, and more reliable evidence that they differed from adults with DLI in the proportion of interference errors they committed. The errors of adults with DLI were not disproportionately interference errors. Neither children nor adults had disproportionate errors influenced by less recent stimuli. Suppression of stimuli no longer relevant to the task appears to be a less pronounced deficit for individuals with DLI in adulthood. Funding: NIDCD 5R03DC007312, 1F31DC010960.

PS2F02

French Language Samples: Does length matter? Elin Thordardottir; McGill University and CRIR-Institut Raymond Dewar

Despite the fact that a systematic language sample analysis procedure has been available for Quebec French for a decade with some normative data, such analysis is not widely

used clinically. A principal reason is that it is time consuming. This study had two main purposes: to present normative language sample data for Quebec French from age 2 to 6 years and to examine ways to render the more useful clinically. Participants were 134 children with typical language development and 27 children with Primary Language impairment (PLI); all monolingual speakers of Quebec French. Results showed that the language sample analysis yields developmentally sensitive measures (MLU in words and morphemes, number of words and number of different words). Children with PLI performed significantly more poorly than children with TD. Comparison of samples of 100, 50, 25 and 12 utterances revealed remarkable stability with high correlations between results at 100 utterances and each of other sample lengths. The correlation between MLUm and MLUw was near perfect.

PS2F03

Collective and Distributive Interpretations: The Development of Semantic Primitives in Child Spanish

Ramón Padilla-Reyes; Ohio State University John Grinstead; Ohio State University Melissa Nieves-Rivera; University of Puerto Rico Dorian Gonzalez-Bonilla; University of Puerto Rico

We examine the development of distributivity and collectivity as they are lexicalized in quantifiers in Spanish. Past research has found that distributivity in English and Italian develops gradually and only becomes adult-like at 9-10 years, when conveyed by expressions like each or ciascun but no research has been done concerning collective only expressions in any language. Here we evaluate (i) whether distributivity develops at the same rate in Spanish as in other languages, (ii) whether distributivity and collectivity develop at the same rate and (iii) if this is a function of lexical development. Participants (77 TD monolingual Spanish-speaking children, aged 5-10 years-old, and 20 adult controls in Puerto Rico) were given a Truth Value Judgment Task to measure their collective and distributive interpretations of unos/a-pl, los/the-pl (collective) and cada/each (distributive) in distributive and collective contexts. Restriction of these quantifiers to adult-like distributive and collective contexts developed gradually, as in the other languages studied and the lexical measure predicted their development. They each predicted the other’s development, as well.

PS2F04

Is “easier” easier? Young people’s comprehension of their legal rights Gwyneth Rost; University of Massachusetts Amherst

The Innocence Project reports that a third of confessions obtained by police interrogators are inaccurate. We hypothesize that language skills contribute to this problem: specifically, that many offenders, having below-average language abilities, fail to fully comprehend and appreciate the Miranda warning (the official reading to a suspect of his/her rights to silence and counsel) and subsequently offer false testimony.

In the experiments presented in this talk, we report on language differences between Miranda warnings and on the relative ease with which adolescents and young adults understand them. To do this, we collected 124 unique Miranda warnings from around our state and analyzed them for clause density, lexical familiarity and the prosodic cues experienced police officers use when delivering them. We then compared adolescents (aged 14-18) and young adults (aged 18-24) comprehension of the warning that had scored as most simple to the one that had scored as most difficult. Early findings indicate that linguistically simple Miranda Warnings are more readily comprehended than complex ones.

PS2F05

Utility of the Spelling Sensitivity Score to Analyze the Spellings of Children with Language Impairment

Hannah Krimm; Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Krystal Werfel; University of South Carolina

The purpose of this study was to examine the utility of the Spelling Sensitivity Score (SSS) beyond whole word correct/incorrect scoring in analyzing the spellings of children with specific language impairment (SLI). Participants were 31 children with SLI and 31 children with typical language in grades 2 through 4. Spellings of individual words were scored using two methods: (a) whole word correct/incorrect and (b) SSS. Children with SLI scored lower than children with typical language when spelling was analyzed using whole word scoring (p = .00; d = 0.81) and SSS scoring (p = .00; d = 0.94). Additionally, mean performance using SSS scoring highlighted group differences in the nature of spellings errors. Children with SLI were likely to represent all elements but use at least one illegal letter in words, whereas children with typical language were likely to represent all elements with legal or correct letters.

PS2F06

Exploring profiles of preschool-aged Spanish-English bilinguals that do and do not demonstrate a cognate advantage

Irina Potapova; San Diego State University and University of California, San Diego

Sonja Pruitt-Lord; San Diego State University Henrike Blumenfeld; San Diego State University

Though it has been robustly demonstrated that adult bilinguals respond more accurately to cognate words (cross-linguistic translation equivalents that are similar in phonology and orthography; telephone/teléfono in English and Spanish) than non-cognates (apple/manzana), little is known about cognate effects in child bilinguals. The present study extends previous work on cognate effects in Spanish-English bilingual preschoolers, roughly half of whom demonstrated a cognate advantage.

We explored children’s accuracy rates for cognate and non-cognate items on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Third Edition (PPVT-III), Forms A and B. Then, we considered

relationships with measures of linguistic development (the Test of Language Development and two spontaneous language sample measures).

Findings indicate that Forms A and B detected different patterns in cognate and non-cognate accuracy rates. Further, the cognate advantage, as measured by Form B, was significantly correlated with measures of language development.

NIH training grant [grant number T32 DC007361], NIH NIDCD RO3 [grant number DC012141], Price Charities research grant, San Diego State University Grants Program Grant [grant number 242338], ASHFoundation New Investigator Grant.

PS2F07

Planning Abilities in Monolingual and Bilingual School-Aged Children Ishanti Gangopadhyay; University of Wisconsin-Madison Meghan Davidson; University of Wisconsin-Madison Margarita Kaushanskaya; University of Wisconsin-Madison Susan Ellis Weismer; University of Wisconsin-Madison

Bilingual advantages are observed in simple executive function (EF) tasks. However, the effect of bilingualism on planning, a complex cognitive task critical for academic achievement, has not been examined in children. The current study examined planning skills in simultaneous bilingual children and their monolingual peers via the Tower of London task administered under three conditions (no secondary task, articulatory suppression, and motor suppression). Total number of moves, planning time, and execution time were recorded. Analyses revealed that bilinguals tended to be more efficient at planning than monolinguals. Contrary to findings with adults, children were most efficient at planning when engaging in articulatory suppression. These findings suggest that bilingualism may facilitate planning ability in children. Future work will need to examine further the role of secondary tasks in bilingual and monolingual children’s planning performance. [Funded by NIH Grant R01 DC011750, P30 HD03352]

PS2F08

Lexical-Semantic Differences between Young Adults with Language Learning Disorders and Their Peers

Jessica Hall; University of Iowa, DeLTA Center Karla McGregor; University of Iowa, DeLTA Center

Lexical-semantic deficits characterize developmental language disorders throughout childhood and adolescence. To what extent do lexical-semantic deficits extend into the young adult years? In the current study, we administered a semantic fluency task to address this question. We asked 52 college students with confirmed language learning disorders (LD) and 133 typical college students to name as many items as possible in two categories, foods and animals, in one minute each. The college students with LD produced fewer words overall and had fewer embedded semantic clusters than typical

college students. We conclude that lexical-semantic deficits are characteristic of young adults with LD and that the deficit manifests as imprecise specifications of meaning.

PS2F09

Interference Control in Children with and without Specific Language Impairment Jessica Scheuer; The Graduate Center of the City University of New York Luca Campanelli; The Graduate Center of the City University of New York Klara Marton; The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, Barczi

Gusztav College of Special Education of Eotvos Lorand UniversityThis study aims to determine whether the working memory limitations seen in children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) reflect a weakness in forming and maintaining temporary content-context bindings among mental representations, poor inhibitory control, or a deficit in both inhibitory control and binding abilities. Participants included children with SLI between the ages of 8-11 and age-matched peers with typical language development (TLD). Participants completed three variations of a computer-based recognition task: one baseline familiarity task where children had to recognize whether a word was present in either of two memory lists previously presented, a binding task requiring children to recall a word with its spatial position, and a modified Sternberg task where a cue was given indicating the list to remember. Performance profile differences between groups and across tasks signaled specific difficulties in children with SLI. These findings provide us with further information about the nature of the WM deficit.This work was supported by PSC-CUNY grant “Interference Control in School-age Children” (Klara Marton, PI).

PS2F10

Does dual language exposure modify cognitive processes related to language abilities?

Ji Sook Park; The Pennsylvania State University Elina Mainela-Arnold; University of Toronto Carol Miller; The Pennsylvania State University Teenu Sanjeevan; University of Toronto Mariam Komeili; University of Toronto Janet van Hell; The Pennsylvania State University Daniel Weiss; The Pennsylvania State University David Rosenbaum; The Pennsylvania State University

Aims: In this study, we asked whether procedural learning and processing speed are modified by language experience (monolingual exposure as opposed to bilingual exposure). Methods: We tested 42 children (22 monolingual and 20 bilingual children) who performed the Serial Reaction Time Task (SRT) for procedural learning and the Visual Choice Decision task (VCD) for processing speed. Results: Hierarchical linear regression models showed that these cognitive processes did not differ for bilingual and monolingual children. However, a post hoc analysis indicated

that within the bilingual group, variability of dual language exposure predicted processing speed but did not predict procedural learning abilities. Conclusion: The results indicate that processing speed might be more strongly modified by language experience than procedural learning. Bilingualism might confer an advantage for children with language impairment insofar as processing speed, which underlies a higher order cognitive ability, may be enhanced by dual language experience.Funding source: Penn State University The Social Science Research InstituteUniversity of Toronto Connaught Foundation

PS2F11

Do Word-Level Characteristics Predict Spontaneous Finiteness Marking in Specific Language Impairment?

Patrick Wilson; University of Massachusetts-Amherst Jill Hoover; University of Massachusetts-Amherst

The correct use of verb finiteness reflects grammatical knowledge and competence of speakers. In children’s speech, omission of finiteness is a sign that grammatical knowledge is still emerging, or even incomplete, due to normal development, or to the presence of a disorder, like specific language impairment (SLI). In this study, we ask whether word-level characteristics predict correct spontaneous finiteness marking in children who show partial knowledge. Word level characteristics have been shown to influence finiteness marking on experimental probes, but less is known about these effects during spontaneous language. The current study focused on children’s spontaneous use of third person singular and regular past tense forms. Data for analysis are from a database of spontaneous language samples collected from 40 preschool children (20 with SLI and 20 developing typically; Hoover, Storkel, & Rice, 2012). Samples were analyzed and coded for correct finiteness marking and omissions. Uninflected base words were then analyzed for phonological and lexical variables. Results are discussed relative to theories of finiteness acquisition in typical development and SLI.

PS2F12

Children’s Sentence Interpretation: Development of Word Order Sensitivity Jim Montgomery; Ohio University Julia Evans; University of Texas-Dallas Ron Gillam; Utah State University

This study examined developmental changes in children’s sentence interpretation abilities and their sensitivity to word order cues in two canonical and two non-canonical sentence structures. Using a “whodunit?” paradigm, 181 7-11 year old children listened to canonical (subject-verb-object, subject relative) and non-canonical (passive, object relative) sentences controlled for semantic plausibility. After each sentence, children selected as quickly as possible the picture representing the agent of the sentence from an array of three images. Children interpreted canonicals with greater accuracy and speed than non-canonicals. Older children (AgeM = 10;6) were superior to younger children

(AgeM = 8;1) with respect to both accuracy and speed of interpretation. Interpretation of the non-canonicals was marked by far greater variability than the canonicals. Results indicate that children’s canonical and non-canonical sentence interpretation improves with age. Compared to canonicals, interpretation of non-canonicals is markedly poorer and not yet mastered by 11 years. Developmentally, sentence interpretation is strongly influenced by children’s sensitivity to the word order cues of the language. Supported by grant (R01 DC010883) from NIDCD

PS2F13

Late Talkers: Predictive Accuracy of Semantic vs. Syntactic Delays Johanna Rudolph; University of Texas at Dallas

Previous studies suggest that late talker status is not diagnostically useful for predicting the development of specific language impairment (SLI). The goal of the current study was to determine whether different types of late talking differentially predict later outcomes. In particular, we focused on the classification categories late vocabulary producer (LVP) and late word combiner (LWC). 119 children (4;0-7;0 years), including 47 with typical language development and 72 with SLI, participated. LVP and LWC status was obtained via parent report. The predictive accuracy of these categories was determined by calculating sensitivity, specificity, positive (LR+) and negative likelihood ratios (LR-). LR+ values suggested that LVP is not predictive of later language status (LR+ = 3.26; 95%CI = 1.00-10.66) whereas LWC is strongly predictive (LR+ = 9.14; 95% CI = 3.00-27.79). The strengths of limitations of using LWC status for early identification of SLI will be discussed. This project was funded in part by NIH Grant TL1 TR000162 from the NCATS and in part by R01 DC00458 from the NIDCD.

PS2F14

The Production of Semantic Representations in Children with Autism, SLI, and Typical Language

Kacy Kreger; Northern Illinois University Allison Gladfelter; Northern Illinois University

Although differences in processing are well-established in children with autism and SLI, little is known about how these differences impact the type of information they ultimately acquire when learning new words. The purpose of this study was to analyze novel word definitions from children with autism, SLI, and typical language to determine if the type of semantic information they learned was influenced by these processing differences. 36 children (12 in each group) participated in a novel word learning study across three sessions. The semantic features of 432 definitions were coded and analyzed based on three processing dimensions: (1) visual vs. verbal, (2) inferred vs. explicit, and (3) local vs. global descriptors. The results indicate that some, but not all, of these documented processing differences influence the type of semantic features children with autism and SLI learn while adding words to their lexicons. The clinical advantages of these findings will be discussed. This project was funded by the Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language and Literacy at Northern Illinois University.

PS2F15

Preschool Age Children Demonstrate Long-Term Memory of Word Forms Using a 3 Alternative Forced Choice Task

Katherine Gordon; University of Iowa Karla McGregor; University of Iowa Larissa Samuelson; University of Iowa Rebecca Gomez; University of Arizona Brigitte Waldier; University of Iowa

In laboratory and clinical settings, it is common practice to measure learning of word-object links with alternative forced choice (AFC) comprehension tests but to measure learning of word forms with production tests. Given the differing task demands involved, it is not surprising that children often do well on the former and poorly on the latter. However, Gordon and McGregor (2014) demonstrated that 4- to 6-year-old children can identify word forms after a limited number of exposures and a long-term delay when given a 3-AFC test of word forms. Here we extended the technique to younger children. Three-year-old children performed above chance levels when tested immediately and days after training and there were no differences between 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children. The 3-AFC technique allows children with more limited production skills to demonstrate their memory for word forms. This technique holds promise for assessment of children with language impairments. Funding provided by NIHDCD.

PS2F16

Working Memory and Language in Reading Comprehension and Language Impairment

Kathleen Peets; Ryerson University Christiane Kyte; University of Toronto Ashley Davis; University of Toronto

Memory, vocabulary and syntax are established predictors of reading comprehension (RC) among typically developing (TD) children. These relationships are less understood in language impairment (LI), and there is a lack of consensus on the specific type of WM involved (verbal vs. nonverbal). This study looked at RC in children (7.1-10.4 years) with and without LI, and its relationship with core language and memory. Preliminary results showed an advantage for the TD group in core language and RC, and relationships between RC and core language (vocabulary [r=.46, p<.03] and syntax [r=.48, p<.02]) and both verbal (r=.56, p<.01) and non-verbal working memory (r=.44, p<.03) for both groups combined. The scatterplots illustrated a similar pattern between groups with the LI group at the low end the TD group at the high end of the distribution. The data support an integrated model of both domain-specific and domain-general processing in RC and in LI, although more data will better inform the distinct profile of LI in RC.Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

PS2F17

Code-switching in the narratives of bilingual children with language impairment Kerry Ebert; Rush University Angela Mammolito; Rush University

Code-switching is a unique feature of bilingual development that is not yet understood, particularly in children with language impairments. The purpose of this study is to examine code-switching patterns and frequency in school-age bilingual children with language impairment. Narrative language samples were collected in Spanish and in English from 68 sequential bilingual children, aged 5;6-11;3, with impaired language development. Standardized testing was also completed in both languages and provided information on relative and absolute linguistic proficiency. Rates of code-switched words were calculated for each child in each language. Code-switching occurred infrequently for most children, but was more common from L1 (Spanish) to L2 (English) than vice versa. Proficiency in the target language and relative dominance both influenced code-switching frequency but did not completely explain it. Individual differences appeared to be present. Results suggest that sociolinguistic context, relative and absolute language proficiency, and individual predilection may all influence code-switching within a constrained narrative context for school-age children with language impairment. Future directions for investigating code-switching are discussed.Funding from NIDCD 1R21DC010868.

PS2F18

Age-Related Progressions in Story Grammar in Young Children’s Narratives. Kiren Khan; The Ohio State University Laura Justice; The Ohio State University Mihaiela Gugiu; The Ohio State University Ryan Bowles; Michigan State University Lori Skibbe; Michigan State University Shayne Piasta; The Ohio State University

Some theoretical and empirical work has identified the broad stages that underlie narrative development in young children, particularly in terms of story grammar structure. However, most of this research has relied on global estimates of story grammar and limited sample sizes across continuous age groups. As a consequence, our understanding of the order of emergence of individual story grammar components is incomplete. The current study addresses this gap by providing a more comprehensive investigation of story grammar growth in 386 children with a mean age of 4.8 years (SD= 11.67 months; range= 36 months to 83 months) using cross-sectional methods. Results indicate a developmental pattern such that children include more individual story grammar components across the four age groups. Additionally, 3-, 4-, and 5-year olds experience particular difficulty with establishing and resolving the main goal in the story. Our results hold implications for revising theoretical models of story grammar emergence in preschoolers. This study was funded by Institute of Education Sciences grant no. R305A110293 to R. Bowles.

PS2F19

Social communication and social skills: An investigation of boundaries Kristen Izaryk; Western University Elizabeth Skarakis-Doyle; Western University

Children’s social communication (SC) has been described the intersection of language use and social skills (SK) during peer interaction. However, definitions of SC and SK are not conceptually distinct, with both referring to the effective execution of a skill in social interaction. This conceptual obscurity is reflected in diagnostic categorization such as in the DSM-5. This has raised concerns clinically, specifically for identifying and treating SC in children and for SLPs’ scope of practice. Thus, this study sought to examine the boundaries of SC in relation to SK. 20 SLPs rated items from a SK checklist on a visual analog scale with dichotomous anchors, “Not at all representative of SC” and “Fully representative of SC”. Results support previous work demonstrating a unique role for SC in peer-related SK, and align with definitions of SC that emphasize peer interactions. Furthermore, results begin to address an SLP’s scope of practice when treating SC disorders by suggesting a lead role for SLPs when treating peer-related SK and a collaborative role for adult-related SK.

PS2F20

Causal effects on child language development: A review of studies in CSD Clare Rogers; University of Illinois Mariana Aparicio Betancourt; University of Illinois Laura S. DeThorne; University of Illiniois

We will present a recent review of all abstracts published in key journals from communication science and disorders (CSD) over the last decade. Of the approximately 300 articles that explicitly studied environmental influences on child language development, the focus was heavily weighted toward therapist-delivered behavioral interventions, the linguistic input of caregivers, and caregiver qualities such as socioeconomic status. Few, if any studies, explicitly examined such environmental factors as diet, exposure to toxins, and stress—all of which have been documented as potential influences on child development in other disciplines. This review highlighted the need to expand the research base for the field of CSD to include a broader range of environmental influences on child language development.

PS2F21

Inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility in children with specific language impairment: A meta-analysis

Laura Pauls; The University of Western Ontario Lisa Archibald; The University of Western Ontario

It has been suggested that language supports executive functioning by maintaining verbal representations of rules that guide behavior (Fatzer & Roebers, 2012). Children with specific language impairment (SLI) have shown deficits retaining verbal material in short-term memory (Graf Estes et al., 2007), so should show deficits on tasks supported by verbal rules. We tested this hypothesis using a meta-analysis to compare children with and without SLI on tasks thought to place varying dependency on verbal representations

of rules: inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility measures. Four databases were searched for studies with behavioral measures of inhibitory control or cognitive flexibility in school-age children with SLI. Weighted average effect sizes were calculated for each executive function. Where appropriate, moderator analyses examined the effect of task complexity and verbal loading on the difference between groups. Results showed that children with SLI consistently performed below peers on inhibitory control tasks, but differed from peers in cognitive flexibility in only some cases. These findings are in line with the hypothesis that language supports executive functioning.

PS2F22

How well do complex sentence measures differentiate children with and without language impairment? Evidence from a narrative generation task

Ling-Yu Guo; University at Buffalo Phyllis Schneider; Univeristy of Alberta Alyssa Cavallari; University at Buffalo Kerry Steed; University at Buffalo

This study examined the diagnostic accuracy of two complex sentence measures in identifying preschool and school-aged children with language impairment (LI). Participants were 62 four-year-olds, 60 six-year-olds, and 66 eight-year-olds with and without LI. A narrative sample was collected from each child. Two measures were computed: subordination index (i.e., number of independent and finite dependent clauses per C-unit) and complexity index (i.e., number of independent and finite and NONfinite dependent clauses per C-unit). Eight-year-olds produced higher subordination and complexity indices than four-year-olds in typical (TL) children and in children with LI. At each age level, the TL group produced higher subordination and complexity indices than the LI group. For subordination and complexity indices, sensitivity and/or specificity was below the acceptable level across ages. That is, these measures were likely to under-identify children with LI and over-identify those with TL. We conclude that subordination index or complexity may not be appropriate for differentiating children with and without LI. However, these measures may still be useful in documenting treatment progress of complex sentences.

PS2F23

Learning and generalization of a procedural learning skill in children with Specific Language Impairment

Lise Desmottes; University of Liège, Belgium Christelle Maillart; University of Liège, Belgium Thierry Meulemans; University of Liège, Belgium

Rationale. The aims of this study are: (1) to extend the Procedural Deficit Hypothesis (PDH) in children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) by examining acquisition and generalization of a mirror-tracing skill, a paradigm that does not involve sequence learning and had never been used in SLI, and (2) to explore the conditions that optimize

skill learning. Method. Thirty school-aged children with SLI matched to 30 control children had to trace several figures seen only in mirror-reversed view in two learning sessions separated by a one-week delay. Two practice conditions were compared: a ‘constant’ practice characterized by low variability (the same figure is presented during training) and a ‘random’ practice characterized by high variability (different figures are trained). Results. Results show that children with SLI learn and generalize the procedural skill in the same way as control children only in the random practice. Conclusions. The structure of learning have an impact on the ability to learn and transfer from specific training figures to novel cases. Fund National of Scientific Research, FNRS.

PS2F24

The relationship between preschoolers' oral narrative comprehension skills and other emergent literacy skills

Lynn Dempsey; Brock UniversityIn order to better understand the complex factors underlying literacy acquisition a pilot study was conducted to explore the relationship between early oral narrative comprehension and comprehension monitoring skill and other aspects of oral language known to predict literacy achievement. Thirty preschool age children completed measures of oral story comprehension and comprehension monitoring as well as tests of expressive and receptive vocabulary, alphabet knowledge, print knowledge, and phonological awareness. Preliminary analyses revealed moderately strong correlations between each of the narrative comprehension measures and each of the other emergent literacy skills examined. Detailed analyses and implications will be presented. This study was funded by a grant from the Brock University Advancement Fund.

PS2F25

What do you think Mama Raccoon is saying?: Examining children's Theory of Mind, early writing, literacy, and language skills

Margaret Quinn; Georgia State University Gary Bingham; Georgia State University Christopher Stanzione; Georgia Institute of Technology

Children’s writing in the years before formal schooling has been shown to be predictive of later literacy outcomes (Hammill, 2004; NELP, 2008). Despite this clear importance, relatively little is known about children’s early expressions of composing and complexity within children’s early written compositions. Previously, early composing has been theorized to connect with children’s development of Theory of Mind, or the understanding of others’ mindsets, as writers often plan and generate text with an audience in mind (Leyva, Hopson, & Nichols, 2012). As such, the current study will explore relationships between children’s early writing, the development of Theory of Mind, and other emergent literacy and writing outcomes in Pre-K.

PS2F26

Motor Ability as a Predictor of Language Ability Teenu Sanjeevan; University of Toronto Elina Mainela-Arnold; University of Toronto Ji Sook Park; Pennsylvania State University Mariam Komeili; University of Toronto Carol Miller; Pennsylvania State University David Rosenbaum; Pennsylvania State University Daniel Weiss; Pennsylvania State University Janet van Hell; Pennsylvania State University

Rationale: The purpose of this study was to determine whether motor ability could distinguish language impairment from bilingual exposure in bilingual children. We investigated (1) whether motor ability predicted vocabulary and sentence processing beyond the effects of clinical status and language exposure and, (2) whether motor abilities differed between monolingual and bilingual children independent of clinical status.Methods: 31 monolinguals and 25 bilinguals were categorized into specific language impaired and typically-developing groups. Standardized measures of language and motor ability were administered.Results: Motor ability was a significant predictor of sentence processing only. The motor abilities of monolingual and bilingual children were not significantly different independent of clinical status.Conclusions: The results suggest that (1) motor and language abilities are related and supported by common neural mechanisms and that (2) these cognitive mechanisms are not significantly shaped by bilingual exposure. Therefore, measurements of motor ability could be ideal for identifying language impairment in bilingual children.Funding sources: University of Toronto Connaught Foundation, Penn State Social Science Research Institute

PS2F27

Narrative Speaking in Adolescents and Adults: Building a Normative Database with Fables

Marilyn Nippold; University of Oregon Megan Frantz Kaspar; University of Oregon Laura Vigeland; University of Oregon

Adolescents and young adults with language impairments are at risk for experiencing difficulty in narrative speaking, which involves storytelling, and in critical thinking, which involves a systematic reflection on the content of what is spoken by others. However, few tasks are available to examine these aspects of communication in adolescents and young adults. Hence, the current project attempted to address this limitation by conducting a series of studies with individuals in the 12- to 24-year age range having typical language development (TLD). The broader purpose was to begin to build a normative database for narrative speaking, one that could be used by speech-language pathologists to plan intervention for individuals in this age range having specific language impairment (SLI) or nonspecific language impairment (NLI). Results

indicated that a narrative task involving fables and critical thinking questions elicited a high level of syntactic complexity in young adolescents (mean age = 14) and young adults (mean age = 22). Implications for language sampling with individuals in this age range will be discussed.

PS2F28

Profiles of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Who are Minimally Verbal Maysoon Biller; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Cynthia J. Johnson; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The purpose of the present study was to examine the cognitive-social and oral motor planning abilities, as they pertain to spoken communication, of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who are minimally verbal. This was an in-depth descriptive clinical case study that examined detailed profiles of six children with ASD, ages 3 to 6 years. The study consisted of eight assessments of cognitive-social and oral motor planning abilities. Demographic information was collected as well. The demographic and assessment results were compiled to develop individual profiles of each child’s abilities. Each child’s profile was presented along with the similarities and differences among the six participants’ profiles. Overall, the participants had limited cognitive-social abilities (e.g., communicative intent, joint attention, reciprocity, and symbolic play) and limited oral motor planning abilities (e.g., oral motor movement, control of a voiced and voiceless airstream, and imitation of phonemes) that appeared to coincide with their limited number of spoken words. The clinical implications of the present study were examined as well as its limitations.

PS2F29

Evaluation of a Deductive Approach to Teach Grammatical Forms to Children with Primary Language Impairment

Lizbeth Finestack; University of Minnesota, Twin CitiesThis study aimed to determine if 5-to 7-year-old children with primary language impairment are able to make use of explicit, deductive instruction to learn three novel grammatical forms varying in complexity. Half of the participants received treatment using traditional implicit, inductive approaches (i.e., models and recasts); the other half received the inductive approaches combined with explicit, deductive instruction, which incorporated explicit presentation of the pattern guiding the target form. Based on performance on daily probes, we classified participants as either pattern-users or non-pattern users for each target form. Pattern-users were participants whose performance was not significantly different than 90%. Analyses revealed a significant advantage for the deductive approach, with medium to large effect sizes. These results suggest that a deductive approach may be more beneficial than an inductive approach alone when targeting a variety of novel grammatical forms. Study supported by: NIH R03DC011365.

PS2F30

Orthography and Modality Influence Speech Production in Skilled and Poor Readers

Meredith Saletta; University of Iowa Lisa Goffman; Purdue University Tiffany Hogan; MGH Institute of Health Professions

The acquisition of literacy skills influences the perception and production of both spoken and written language. The connection between these modalities develops differently based on the individual's degree of reading skill. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of orthography on the implicit language processing of children and adults with varying levels of reading proficiency. Participants (adult, good readers; adult, poor readers; and children demonstrating typical reading development) repeated and read aloud nonwords which systematically varied in modality of presentation and orthographic transparency. We analyzed their implicit language processing via measures of segmental accuracy and articulatory stability. Results indicated that all three groups improved in both phonological and motor learning with practice, but that only the adults with weak reading skills demonstrated learning which was directly correlated to orthographic transparency. This work contributes to our understanding of the typology of reading disorders as well as the influence of orthography on language development. This research was funded by the NIH/NIDCD grant R01 DC04826.

PS2F31

Phonological Awareness and the lexical restructuring hypothesis Michelle Erskine; University of Wisconsin-Madison Tristan Mahr; University of Wisconsin-Madison Mary E. Beckman; The Ohio State University Benjamin Munson; University of Minnesota Jan Edwards; University of Wisconsin-Madison

Phonological awareness (PA) is a critical skill that children must acquire to learn to read (McBride-Chang, 1990). Research has shown that children with compromised phonological awareness skills exhibit poorer reading ability. While previous research has shown that measures of speech perception, phonological working memory, and oral language are reliable predictors of PA, the literature is divided as to the underlying mechanisms that contribute to the growth of PA skills in preschool children. This study will evaluate two central claims posited by the lexical restructuring hypothesis. The first claim posits that higher phonological knowledge explains the relationship between vocabulary size and phonological awareness, and the second claim proposes that vocabulary knowledge explains the relationship between speech perception and phonological awareness. Participants from an ongoing longitudinal study were tested two times, once at age 3 and again at age 4. Their performance on measures of perceptual ability, vocabulary, working memory, and phonological awareness is evaluated using a mediation analysis.

PS2F32

Associations between Social Language, Executive Function, and Theory of Mind, in Children with ADHDh

Shelley Lanzkowsky; Goryeb Children's HospitalRationale: To determine whether failure to pass a theory of mind (ToM) test identifies a distinct group of children with ADHD. The ToM (-) group is hypothesized to have more difficulty in the areas of social language and/or executive function (EF) compared to the ToM (+). Methods: 6-7 year olds with ADHD, IQ>70, no autism, in mainstream educational settings were recruited. The Sally-Anne (SA) test identified 17 ToM (-) children and 21 Tom (+) children. Both groups were further tested with The Social Language Development Test and WISC-IV (processing speed and working memory were used as measures of EF).Results: The ToM (-) group had more difficulty with social language (p<.001), processing speed (p=.005) and working memory (p=.034). Full scale IQ (p<.001) was also lower, an un-expected finding, because ToM is considered independent of IQ.Conclusion: A distinct group of ADHD, ToM (-) children is identified using the Sally-Anne test with lower EF, social language and IQ.Funding: Feld Grant

PS2F33

Frequency of exposition effect and long-term retention on complex structure learning in French-speaking children with specific language impairment

Gaïd Prigent; University of Liège, Belgium Christophe Parisse; University of Paris Ouest Nanterre, France Christelle Maillart; University of Liège, Belgium

The current study targets complex structure learning in children with SLI and uses a structural priming task.Eighteen school-aged children with SLI matched on maternal education and lexical reception to eighteen children with typical language development (TLD) participated to the study.Hypotheses:• Children with SLI should be more sensitive to structural priming effects compared to children with TLD. • The production of the structure ‘puisque’ (rare form for because) would be more difficult than that of the structure ‘parce que’ (frequent form for because), especially for the children with SLI. • Effect of priming would persist one week later.A structural priming task with three steps was proposed two times. For base level, children were asked to describe 20 experimental pictures. Learning level was the level of priming. Transfer level was similar to base level.Results indicated that all main effects (Group: SLI-TLD / Time: First session-one week later / Condition: Base-Learning-Transfer) were significant. Interestingly, a significant Group-by-Condition interaction was revealed and showed that groups were affected by condition in different way.

PS2F34

Word Learning in Spanish-English Bilingual Children Genesis Arizmendi; University of Arizona Mary Alt; University of Arizona Shelley Gray; Arizona State University Tiffany Hogan; MGH Institute of Health Professions Samuel Green; Arizona State University Nelson Cowan; University of Missouri

To date there is relatively little known about dynamic word learning processes in children who are bilingual. In this study, we examined the differences between typically developing monolingual and bilingual (Spanish/English) children on word learning tasks to determine if manipulations in binding, phonology, and semantics may support or hinder a bilingual child’s ability to learn new words. In the context of a novel word learning game we recruited 2nd grade monolingual and bilingual children to play several tasks that targeted these processes in English novel word learning. We find that bilingual children perform just as well as their monolingual peers on most tasks, but show evidence of crosslinguistic influences related to phonology that result in less accurate responses and slower rate of learning. The findings make sense given that bilingual children must deal with the same semantic features across languages, but must master two phonological systems, leaving phonology more vulnerable to other factors of a word learning experience (e.g allocating resources to spatial information, semantics).NIH/NIDCD - R01DC010784 and NIH/NIDCD diversity supplement - 3R01DC010784-04S1.

PS3S01

Longitudinal Causal Effects on Early Adolescent Language Laura S. DeThorne; University of Illinois Nicole Harlaar; The Mind Research Network, New Mexico Jamie Mahurin Smith; Illinois State University Clare Rogers; University of Illinois Mariana Aparicio Betancourt; University of Illinois

This study utilized twin methodology to examine the etiological overlap and longitudinal stability of children’s narrative and standardized language skills across three time points during the preadolescent years (ages 10-12yrs). Individual differences in a Standardized Language factor were primarily genetic at each age, whereas individual differences in a Narrative Language factor were primarily due to nonshared environmental influences. Within each age, Narrative Language and Standardized Language correlated moderately, and these associations were due to genetic factors. Longitudinal analyses showed that the stability of Standardized Language across the preadolescent years was due to both genetic and nonshared environmental effects. In contrast, the Narrative Language factor showed significant nonshared environmental stability between adjacent time points only (Time 1 and Time 2; Time 2 and Time 3). Additionally, ‘new’ nonshared environmental effects

on Narrative Language emerged at Time 3. Implications for the direction of future research will be discussed. This project has been funded by NIDCD (HD38075, HD46167, HD050307), with additional support from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

PS3S02

Associations between parent concerns and clinical outcomes in children with and without early language delay at two points in development

Thomas Klee; University of Canterbury Jayne Newbury; University of Canterbury Stephanie Stokes; University of Canterbury Catherine Moran; University of Canterbury Gina Tillard; University of Canterbury Ruth Ramsay; University of Canterbury Kate Cook; University of Canterbury

Rationale. Toddlers with signs of early language delay usually come to the attention of professionals when concerned parents seek advice. The problem professionals face is whether to recommend clinical assessment on the basis of parent concern. This study extends findings we presented at SRCLD last year by examining the relation between a combined measure based on parent-reported language and concern and standardized test outcomes at two points in development.Methods. Data from a prospective longitudinal study of 168 children with (n= 51) and without (n = 117) early language delay were assessed twice over 18 months. An index measure, based on CDI vocabulary and word combinations, in conjunction with four parent concern questions, was compared to dichotomized PLS4 test results at the beginning of the study (CA 24-31 months) and again 18 months later.Results and conclusions. The index measure demonstrated strong associations with concurrent test outcomes but was only moderately predictive of outcomes 18 months later. The clinical limitations and implications of the findings will be discussed.

PS3S03

Comprehension of Miranda Rights by Adolescents with Specific Language Impairment

Anne Marie Lieser; University of Connecticut Tammie Spaulding; University of Connecticut

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if adolescents with specific language impairment(SLI) understand their legal rights as indicated within the Miranda warnings.Method: Grisso’s Instruments for Assessing Understanding and Appreciation of Miranda Rights (1998) was administered to 15 adolescents with SLI and 15 typical language peers.Results: Performance on the Miranda Rights assessment was positively correlated with language ability. In addition, the adolescents with SLI exhibited significantly greater

difficulty in understanding and appreciating their Miranda Rights than their typical language peers. Conclusion: Adolescents with SLI are particularly vulnerable to having difficulty understanding their Miranda Rights and the consequences of waiving these rights. The higher prevalence of language impairment in incarcerated juveniles relative to the general population may be due, in part, to this comprehension difficulty.

PS3S04

Vocabulary and Phonological Awareness Skills in Head Start Preschoolers Courtney Karasinski; Grand Valley State University Denise Ludwig; Grand Valley State University Janine Bartley; Grand Valley State University

The importance of learning literacy skills has been widely researched. Preschool programs, such as Head Start, provide early education to children from families of low socioeconomic status (SES) with a primary goal of school readiness. The National Reading Panel has identified five skills that should be included in scientifically based reading instruction: phonological awareness (PA), phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and reading comprehension. The current investigation assessed the relation between skills in PA and vocabulary in thirty-seven children attending Head Start. Children were assessed for receptive vocabulary (PPVT), and Phonological Processing (select subtests of the CTOPP), as part of a broader investigation of the impact of phonological awareness intervention in Head Start classrooms. A bivariate correlation analysis was conducted of the baseline data, revealing that receptive vocabulary was significantly correlated with PA skills of rapid color naming and blending words. The results of this investigation highlight the relation between receptive vocabulary, sound blending and rapid word retrieval. This is a university funded project.

PS3S05

Reading and Writing in Fourth Grade Children with and without Language Learning Disabilities

Anthony Koutsoftas; Seton Hall University Pradyumn Srivastava; University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

This study reports on comparative between group differences in children with and without Language-Learning Disabilities (LLD) on reading and writing measures. For reading, a standardized assessment was administered and provided information on listening comprehension, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. For writing, a three day writing process protocol was administered whereby children produced a narrative story on three separate days with extended time for planning, writing, and revising. Both approaches are representative of school expectations allowing for an ecologically valid representation of language-based differences in children with and without LLD. Patterns of relationships among reading and writing measures by group are also reported allowing

for a better understanding of the interplay of multiple modes of language in school-age children. Findings suggest some, but not all areas, are significantly different between groups and that the patterns of relationships among measures differ by group providing some explanation for observed differences. This project was funded by a new investigators grant from the American Speech Language Hearing Foundation.

PS3S06

Establishing a Best Estimate Clinical Diagnosis of SLI: The Diagnosis of Specific Language Impairment by Speech-Language Pathologists

Stacy Betz; Western Illinois University Cally Keefauver; Western Illinois University

Despite specific language impairment (SLI) being widely studied, there is no agreed upon diagnostic method. Research studies often investigate the accuracy of a single assessment method. An alternative approach is the use of a clinical best estimate diagnosis which allows SLPs to use a variety of assessment methods and then form a diagnosis based on their clinical judgment when interpreting all of the results in tandem. This study investigated which assessment methods are most useful when making a clinical best estimate diagnosis. 1,233 SLPs completed an online survey which asked which assessment methods they use when diagnosing a child between 5 and 7 years with SLI. Results indicated the most common procedure was standardized tests followed by input from teachers/parents, language samples, naturalistic observation of the child, and review of academic performance. The most commonly used measures allowed SLPs to not only obtain standardized scores, but also evaluate the child’s functional language use, and obtain input from individuals who routinely interact with the child outside of the formal testing setting.

PS3S07

Durable Links Take Shape Nina Capone Singleton; Seton Hall University Jessica Saks; Seton Hall University

This study examined the role of co-speech shape gestures in word learning using error analysis, naming and word extension tasks. Co-speech shape and function gestures have been effective in promoting naming of taught words, but shape gestures provide the added benefit of naming untaught exemplars (i.e., word extension; Capone & McGregor, 2005; Capone Singleton, 2012). Here, we compare co-speech shape gestures with indicator gestures, adding experimental controls to bolster the results of Capone Singleton (2012). We impose shape-based primes into the naming task and analyze naming errors as they evolve. Typically-developing preschoolers participated in the primed naming test (day 1, 2, 3), word teaching (day 1, 2), and extension naming (shape-similar, shape-dissimilar; day 3). Results suggest that co-speech shape gestures move children toward mapping the word form but especially in building a durable link from semantic- to lexical-representation.

PS3S08

Comparing the developmental language skills of low-income preschoolers Page Carriveau Pattermann; Georgia State University Julie Washington; Georgia State University Lakeisha Johnson; Georgia State University

Although it is well established that children from low-income backgrounds perform lower on standardized language measures and measures of academic achievement than their middle-income peers, little research has been conducted focusing on varying skills within low-income groups. The aim of this research was to look deeper into child-specific factors beyond socioeconomic status to begin to unpack the complex relationships of personal factors and language skills within the low-income population. The language skills of children at two preschools were examined; one preschool serves homeless children, and one serves the general low-income population. Differences in receptive vocabulary, expressive vocabulary, and syntactic skills were reported. Results were discussed relative to the importance of language skill development to academic success.

PS3S09

Aspects of grammatical development in Mandarin late-talking children Yuchun Chen; College of Education, Fu Jen Catholic University Huimei Liu; National Taiwan Normal University

This study presents an exploratory study of the grammatical development in the story-telling task of 32 Mandarin-speaking late talking children and 29 children with typical language development. In a longitudinal study of the children at 5 and 7 years of age, we first focused on children’s production of two specific functional grammatical categories related to Mandarin nouns and verbs: classifiers and aspect markers. The use of adverbs and conjunctions were also investigated. In sum, the longitudinal observations we have made suggest that these late-talking children had delayed grammatical development. Our results provide preliminary empirical data of aspects of grammatical development in Mandarin late-talking children.

PS3S10

An early literacy program for young children with Down syndrome: Changes observed over one year

Leah McKeil; The University of British Columbia Paola Colozzo; The University of British Columbia Jill Petersen; The Down Syndrome Research Foundation Amanda Szabo; The Down Syndrome Research Foundation

Fifteen students with Down syndrome (DS) aged 3 to 7 years (M age 4;11 pre-intervention) participated in a 45-week early literacy program using a hybrid approach of whole-word and phoneme-based strategies. Weekly individual sessions with a certified teacher were augmented by additional regular homework. Measures of letter name identification, letter sound identification, and sight word reading all showed statistically significant changes for the group. These three pre-intervention

measures were also positively and significantly correlated with number of sight words read post-intervention, whereas age was not. There was also a clear difference regarding how many sight words students were able to read post-intervention depending on whether or not they used abstract symbols to communicate pre-intervention. This study provides support for hybrid approaches to early literacy intervention with preschoolers with DS with varying levels of language development. It also highlights the building blocks to consider in literacy instruction.The Early Foundations Reading Program was implemented by the Down Syndrome Research Foundation with funding provided by a grant from the Variety Children’s Charity.

PS3S11

Prosodic Cues Facilitate Infant Word Learning Monica DaSilva; Western University Lisa Archibald; Western University

Before infants can begin to form word utterances they are using auditory and visual information from their environment as cues to aid them in word identification and segmentation. Prosodic awareness is one such cue involving learning rhythmic patterns in speech to detect word forms. The present study investigates how the sound structures in early auditory input influence infants’ ability to form associations between objects and their labels. Infants aged 17-20 months were presented with two object-label pairs during a looking time preference procedure. One label contained a prosodic manipulation while the other was monotone. Using a version of the Switch Task, test trials were either congruent with the previously learned object-label pairs or incongruent and the objects contained the opposite label. Infants spent significantly longer looking to objects during incongruent trials when the label contained a prosodic cue. Our findings indicate that prosodic cues in speech can affect how readily infants form associations between objects and their spoken labels aiding in early word learning. NSERC RGPIN-2014-03982

PS3S12

Examining implementation fidelity: moving an evidence-based early communication intervention into practice.

Julie Feuerstein; University of Washington Lesley B. Olswang; University of Washington Kathryn Greenslade; University of Washington Patricia Dowden; University of Washington Gay Lloyd Pinder; Children's Therapy Center of Kent

When implementing evidence-based protocols into practice, a tension exists between adhering to the protocol as designed and adapting it to fit real world demands. This mixed-method research presents data from a pilot project that examined implementation fidelity as an outcome of training seven community practitioners to administer an evidence-based early communication intervention. Fidelity was assessed using accuracy scores to measure practitioner adherence to the protocol, and ratings to judge quality in

delivering the intervention’s essential elements. Fidelity was high for adherence but variable for quality. Practitioner responses during a follow-up interview captured perceived challenges in learning and using the protocol, and may account for the discrepancy between adherence and quality. Results highlight the tension between fidelity and adaptability, and provide the foundation for further research to examine the essential versus adaptive elements of the intervention. This research was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Numbers UL1TR000423 and TL1TR000422.

PS3S13

Language Control in Bilingual Children with Different Language Abilities Megan Gross; University of Wisconsin - Madison Margarita Kaushanskaya; University of Wisconsin - Madison

Language control, the ability to regulate language choice based on the situation, is essential for successful bilingual development. Difficulties with language control have been attributed to linguistic gaps in children and executive function deficits in adults. The current study examined both linguistic and cognitive predictors of language control in a group of 44 Spanish-English bilingual children (ages 5-7) that included children with typical vocabulary scores in both languages, children exhibiting first-language loss with low scores in Spanish, English language learners with low scores in English, and children at risk for impairment with low scores in both languages. Language control was indexed by cross-language errors during picture naming in single-language contexts and a mixed-language context in which the cued language varied unpredictably. Children also completed the Dimensional Change Card Sort to assess shifting. Children with limited vocabularies in both languages produced the most cross-language errors. Furthermore, children with poorer shifting skills were more likely to make cross-language errors. Thus, both language impairment and executive function difficulties may impede language control development. [Funding: R03 DC010465, R01 DC011750, T32 HD049899]

PS3S14

Visual Attention and Language Production in Bilingual Children Svenja Gusewski; University of Texas at Dallas Kirstin van der Gracht; University of Texas at Dallas Raúl Rojas; University of Texas at Dallas

Rationale: The purpose of this project was to pilot a novel approach that incorporates eye tracking as a correlate of narrative language production in (Spanish-English) bilingual children. Methods: Participants retold a story in Spanish and in English while looking at wordless picture storybooks displayed on a Tobii eye tracking system. The narrative retell samples were transcribed and analyzed using SALT Research 2012 software.Results: Multiple Linear Regression models were used to determine the relation between visual attention and language production in English and Spanish. The effect of Number of Different Words in each language was positive and significant, and the effect of Words

Per Minute in each language was negative and significant. The Spanish overall model was significant. Conclusions: These findings suggest a possible relation between visual attention and vocabulary in each language, which seems to be stronger in Spanish for these participants. Funding source: This project was funded by a Faculty Research Initiative Grant from the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at The University of Texas at Dallas.

PS3S15

The semantic and syntactic properties of early expressive verb vocabulary: A comparison of typically developing and delayed children at 2 years

Sabrina Horvath; Boston University Leslie Rescorla; Bryn Mawr College Sudha Arunachalam; Boston University

Given the relative difficulty of verb acquisition as well as its importance to early grammatical development, this study investigates the similarities and differences in early verb vocabulary between typically developing (TD) and delayed (LD) 2-year olds (N=274: 211 TD, 63 LD). We used data from Rescorla and Aschenbach's (2002) collection using the Language Development Survey (LDS), a parent report of expressive vocabulary. LDS verbs were analyzed across syntactic and semantic properties, including: syntactic frames, telicity, manner/result, semantic class, and frequency. Percentage mastery scores were calculated by population and verb property. Results of this analysis indicate that for TD versus LD children, there are similarities in syntactic complexity of known verbs but notable differences in semantic properties, including telicity and manner/result. Theoretical and clinical applications will be addressed.Funding source: NIH/NIDCD K01 DC013306.

PS3S16

The effect of regional accents on sentence comprehension in children with specific language impairment

Pauline Frizelle; University College Cork Jennifer Harte; University College Cork Fiona Gibbon; University College Cork Paul Fletcher; University College Cork

Accent has been shown to affect typically developing children’s comprehension. An accent effect has also been shown in adults with aphasia. However, the effect of accent on the understanding of children with specific language impairment (SLI) has not been fully explored. Children with SLI (mean age 6;04, n = 43) and typically developing (TD) children (mean age 4;10, n = 45), matched receptively, completed a sentence comprehension task modelled on the Token Test, spoken in three Irish regional accents -- the children’s local (Cork) accent, a neutral-Irish accent, and a Northern-Irish accent. Overall performance showed that children with SLI had significantly greater difficulty understanding a Northern-Irish accent than either of the other two. This accent effect was

not evident in the TD group. Variation in regional accents may be negatively impacting the performance of children with SLI on receptive assessments. Whether this accent effect is large enough to influence a clinical decision on the need for intervention requires further research. (This study is funded by the Irish Health Research Board).

PS3S18

Examining memory span and implicit rule knowledge across language and music abilities in children

Laura Pauls; The University of Western Ontario Lisa Archibald; The University of Western Ontario

Language impairment in children has been associated with deficits in implicit learning of rule-based structures and in phonological short-term memory span. Although these deficits are most pronounced in language, they might give rise to difficulty learning and retaining other auditory material, such as music. Studies with adult subjects have lead researchers to suggest that adults may learn harmonic patterns in music the same way that infants track statistical regularities in speech. Other research has demonstrated a connection between verbal recall and recall of rhythms. The present study examines these cross-modal relationships in children to offer insight into the cognitive mechanisms supporting language learning. Children completed measures of short-term memory span, and rule violation testing knowledge of implicitly learned rules. Parallel versions of each task were completed using music and language. Early results show large correlations between the two memory span tasks and between the rule violation tasks.

PS3S19

Performance of Low-Income African American English-speaking Children on the Morphological Comprehension Subtest of the TOLD-I:4

Ryan Lee; Georgia State University Julie Washington; Georgia State University

The purpose of this study was to examine the responses of AAE-speaking children to items on the Morphological Comprehension subtest of the Test of Language Development—Intermediate: Fourth Edition (TOLD-I:4; Hammill, & Newcomer, 2008). Approximately 60% (30 / 50) of items are potentially impacted by the use of AAE. Participants were 250 AAE-speaking boys and girls ranging in age from 7-11 years old. All were enrolled in a large, urban public school district. Using logistic regressions we analyzed the impact of age and dialect density on children’s responses. Results revealed age and dialect density as significant predictors of children’s performance. This project was funded by NIH grant 1R24HDO7545-01.

PS3S20

The Relation Between Theory of Mind and Language Variation in Frog Stories of School-age African American Children: An Exploratory Study

Monique Mills; The Ohio State University

Rationale: Studies have found a positive relationship between theory of mind and narrative language in school-age children. However, little is known about this relationship in the context of language variation. Methods: 50 African American English-speaking children, grades 2-5, produced narratives elicited from the wordless book, Frog, Where Are You?. FWAY narratives were examined for two indices of ToM: false belief understanding and internal state word production. A third, non-narrative index of ToM was also administered—The Reading the Eyes in the Mind Test (Baron-Cohen, Joliffe, Mortimore, & Robertson, 1997). The Test of Narrative Language appraised children’s overall narrative ability. The Diagnostic Evaluation of Language Variation-Screening Test measured language variation.Results: There was no relationship language variation and any of the three ToM measures. The ToM measure that accounted for the most variance in narrative language was false belief understanding.Conclusions: Results of the study provide preliminary evidence that the three ToM measures may be dialect-neutral and, thus, appropriate for the assessment of AAE-speaking children.

PS3S21

Support for Quadrant Models of Language Disorders and Dyslexia from Factor Analysis of a New Test

Nickola Nelson; Western Michigan University E. Brooks Applegate; Western Michigan University Michele Anderson; Western Michigan University Elena Plante; University of Arizona

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of 15 subtests of a new Test of Integrated Language and Literacy Skills (TILLS) provided empirical support for theoretical quadrant models (Bishop & Snowling, 2004; Catts, Adlof, Hogan, & Weismer, 2005) that classify language and literacy disorders by plotting abilities along two dimensions—phonological and nonphonological. A simple random sample was drawn from a data set of 1462 children (ages 6;0 – 18;11) using the following proportions: normal language (NL, .81), language learning disability (LLD, .13), language learning risk (LLR, .05) and special populations—autism spectrum disorder, deaf or hard-of-hearing, and mild intellectual disability (SPop, .01)—for a combined sample of 1200 cases. EFA supported a two-factor solution with “phonological” (i.e., sound-word structure) skills represented by Nonword Spelling, Nonword Reading, Reading Fluency, and Written Expression Word score, and “nonphonological” (i.e., sentence-discourse) skills represented by Vocabulary Awareness, Story Retelling, Listening Comprehension, Reading Comprehension, Following Directions, and Social Communication. Theoretical and practical implications are considered. This work was funded by IES grant R324A100354.

PS3S22

Interpretation of Novel Verbs Using Syntactic Cues by Boys with Fragile X Syndrome

Sara Kover; University of Washington Jenny Saffran; University of Wisconsin-Madison Leonard Abbeduto; University of California, Davis

Rationale. In typical development, children extend to novel verbs the understanding that a transitive sentence structure marks a causal relation between an agent and patient?a process known as syntactic bootstrapping (Naigles, 1990). Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is associated with intellectual disability and language impairments, with weaknesses in the syntactic domain. Despite this profile, no research has examined novel verb interpretation based on syntactic cues in children with FXS.Method. Boys with FXS (n = 9; 6-12 years old) completed an infrared eye-tracking task. Data from boys with typical development, autism spectrum disorder, and typical adults were collected to aid interpretation of findings.Results. For the intransitive?but not the transitive?verb, boys with FXS showed increased looking to the target during the test window relative to baseline. Conclusions. Boys with FXS interpreted an intransitive novel verb using sentence structure. Further research on mechanisms of lexical acquisition in boys with FXS is warranted. Funding Sources. NIH F31DC010959, R01HD054764, R01HD037466, P30HD003352, American Psychological Association, Society for Research in Child Development.

PS3S23

Parallel Implicit and Explicit Processing Mechanisms in Statistical Language Learning

Nicolette Noonan; The University of Western Ontario Lisa Archibald; The University of Western Ontario

There is growing interest in uncovering the cognitive mechanisms that support the process of statistical language learning. In an initial study, we found reduced learning after 28 minutes of exposure to an artificial language when participants were engaged in a same-domain (verbal) but not cross-domain (visuospatial) working memory task. In the present study, we examined whether this domain-specific interference effect was an artifact of the long exposure time employed in our previous study. Participants were exposed to an unsegmented speech stream for seven minutes while concurrently engaged in one of four working memory task conditions: (1) verbal WM, high-load; (2) verbal, low-load; (3) visuospatial WM, high-load; (4) visuospatial, low load. Compared to a control condition (no concurrent WM task), those in either of the verbal conditions were less accurate at identifying words from the artificial language. Those in either visuospatial condition did not differ from controls. This result strengthens previous findings, suggesting a feedback between domain-specific implicit and explicit levels of verbal processing.

PS3S24

Parent-Implemented Spoken Language Intervention for Adolescent Boys with FXS: Effects on Child’s Use of Narrative Inferences

Sarah Nelson; UC Davis MIND Institute Andrea McDuffie; UC Davis MIND Institute Robyn Tempero Feigles; UC Davis MIND Institute Lauren Bullard; UC Davis MIND Institute Leonard Abbeduto; UC Davis MIND Institute

Inferential language, an aspect of narrative language competence, requires the ability to relate meaning to a listener in a way that goes beyond concrete descriptions of events. Competence in using inferential language provides the foundation for reading comprehension and academic success. Males with fragile X syndrome, the leading inherited cause of intellectual disability, have pronounced delays in using spoken language effectively in the context of social interactions. In the current study, we examined the impact of a parent-implemented narrative language intervention on the ability of youth with FXS to produce story-related inferences. The intervention used illustrated picture books to maintain a shared conversational topic between the parent and child. Additionally, the intervention sessions were delivered to families in their homes through the use of distance video teleconferencing. Preliminary data indicate that the adolescents improved in their ability to generate various types of inferences and to make evaluations that went beyond a literal interpretation of the illustrations in the stories. Funding source: NICHD U54 HD079125-02

PS3S25

Interaction Skills via Spontaneous Speech Sample Analysis: 2-5 year old children with and without Language Impairment

Dongsun Yim; Ewha womans university Wonjeong Park; Ewha womans university Seonghye Cheon; Ewha womans university Yeo-Jin Lee; Ewha womans university Jiyeon Lee; Ewha womans university

The purpose of this study is to investigate performances in typically developing children(TD) in different age groups by analyzing spontaneous speech samples regarding four subtypes (the number of utterances, conversation initiations, responses and turn-takings), compared to those of children with language-delay(LD). Participants were 131 children who were between two to five years old. Each child’s spontaneous speech while playing with 3 different toy for 30minutes. The frequency of utterances, responses, and turn-takings increased with age, but there was no significant difference in the number of conversation initiations. Additionally, there was a significant difference in the number of utterances, conversation initiations, responses, and turn-takings between TD and LD. Therefore, analysis of interaction skills via spontaneous speech reveals their language development and shows an efficacy of screening for children at risk in language delay.This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea grant funded by the Korean government (NRF-2013R1A2A2A03068010).

PS3S26

Perceptual learning does not always facilitate speech production

Peter Richtsmeier; Oklahoma State University Lisa Goffman; Purdue University

We examined speech production as it is influenced by perceptual learning—learning that appears limited. Twenty-nine four- and five-year-old children were familiarized with words containing target consonant sequences, for example, the /fp/ in /mæfp?m/. Two sequences had an initial high familiarization frequency which typically leads to increased speech accuracy. Two had a low familiarization frequency. Additionally, thirteen participants first completed a similar task—focused on learning prosodic contours—that involved the same familiarization procedure. For the participants who did not complete the initial prosody-learning task, greater production accuracy was observed in the high familiarization frequency sequences. However, for the participants who completed the prosody-learning task first, greater accuracy was observed for low familiarization frequency sequences. In sum, high familiarization frequency sometimes resulted in reduced accuracy. We believe this unexpected result reflects learning interference: Initial learning (e.g., of prosodic contours in nonwords) may inhibit or interfere with subsequent learning (e.g., of consonant sequences in nonwords) when the two instances of learning are similar. Supported by NIH R03-011898 to Dr. Peter Richtsmeier.

PS3S27

Distributional-based lexical category acquisition in infants with and without a familial history of speech or language impairment

Michelle Sandoval; University of Arizona Elena Plante; University of Arizona Rebecca Gomez; University of Arizona

The ability to learn distributional patterns quickly and implicitly is argued to be involved in many aspects of language acquisition from phonology to syntax. Studies with adults and children with language impairment show they lag behind their peers in this ability. However we know little about how this difference in learning may present itself during infancy. This study compared 15-month-olds with and without a family history of speech or language impairment and examined their use of distributional patterns for lexical category acquisition. Infants were habituated to an artificial language containing adjacent and nonadjacent relationships that predicted category membership. Infants were tested with novel grammatical and ungrammatical phrases to test for generalization and to identify the distributional patterns used to categorize. Unlike their peers with a family history of speech or language impairment who showed no significant learning effects, the typically developing infants used adjacent distributional information to categorize. These results suggest that infants with a familial history of speech or language impairment show a deficit in distributional learning.

PS3S28

Auditory temporal integration in children with language impairment compared to age- and language-matched controls

Rachael Smyth; The University of Western Ontario Lisa Archibald; The University of Western Ontario

David Purcell; The University of Western Ontario Janis Oram Cardy; The University of Western Ontario

Research has suggested that auditory temporal integration (ATI) may play a role in language development. Using standardized tests of language and nonverbal intelligence and a computerized task requiring the child to make a decision about the speed of two chirps between birds, we measured the language, nonverbal intelligence and ATI threshold of 15 7-13 year-olds with language impairment (LI), 19 7-13 year-old aged-matched controls and 28 5-6 year-old language-matched controls. The computerized task estimated the child’s ATI threshold using a staircase procedure based on accuracy. The children with LI had significantly lower language scores than both control groups, and the groups did not differ in their nonverbal intelligence. There were no group differences in ATI threshold. Pearson correlation revealed significant correlations between ATI threshold and chronological age, but no significant correlations between ATI and language ability or nonverbal intelligence. These results do not support the theory that ATI is related to language development and disorders.This work was supported by a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.

PS3S29

Relationship between Speaking Rate and Reading Fluency in 4th and 5th Grade Children with and without Language Learning Disability

Pradyumn Srivastava; University of ArkansasThe purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between speaking rate and reading fluency. Speaking rates of sixty-seven 4th and 5th grade children with and without language learning disability (LLD) typical development was measured through spoken elicitation tasks (expository and narrative) in words spoken per minute (WSPM) and reading fluency using the Gray Oral Reading Test (GORT-4; Wiederholt & Bryant, 1986) in correct words read per minute (CWPM). Regression analysis revealed a statistically significant correlation between speaking rate in spoken expository task and reading fluency with expository speaking rate predicting a significant amount of variance in reading fluency. Although the speaking rate for spoken narrative CWPM was close to the reading fluency, it did not correlate with or predict reading fluency. Results support the hypothesis that spontaneous speech and reading aloud share some output processes, perhaps at the level of motor planning and execution.

PS3S30

Continuing education practices of speech-language pathologists working in early intervention

Janine Bartley; Grand Valley State University Sheri Stronach; University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Empirical support of social communication interventions for infants and toddlers with social communication impairments continues to grow and highlight effective components of such interventions. Therefore it is essential to evaluate the knowledge and use of

evidence-based clinical practices by speech-language pathologists working with this population. This survey study explored formats and impacts of continuing education used by speech-language pathologists working in early intervention with infants and toddlers with social communication impairments. Survey respondents pursued continuing education through a variety of means, including the most frequently used formats: in-person conferences and journal articles. Few differences in clinical decision-making were found between speech-language pathologists with over 30 hours of continuing education compared to those with fewer hours. The findings of this study will inform future development of continuing education for clinicians. This research was supported by start up funds provided by the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.

PS3S31

Specific Language Impairment in Kannada: Evidence from a morphologically complex language

Shivani Tiwari; Manipal University Prathibha Karanth; The Com DEALL Trust Rajashekhar Bellur; Manipal University

Cross-linguistic studies on SLI in the recent past suggest that the nature and severity of morphosyntactic deficits in children with SLI varies with the language. Therefore, in the present study we investigated the morphosyntactic deficits in a group of children with SLI who speak Kannada, a morphologically complex Dravidian language spoken in Indian subcontinent and compared with two separate groups of typical developing children matched for language and age to children with SLI. All participants were assessed for morphosyntactic comprehension and expression using standardized language test and a spontaneous speech task. Results of the study showed that children with SLI differed significantly from age-matched but not language-matched control group, on tasks of both comprehension and expression of morphosyntax. The observed difference in impairments of morphosyntax in Kannada-speaking children with SLI from English-speaking children with SLI is explained based on the morphological richness theory that predicts that children with SLI perform relatively better in morphologically rich language due to occurrence of their frequent and consistent features that mark the morphological markers.

PS3S32

Parents of children with language impairment provide valid rating of their children socioemotional and behavioural difficulties

Andrea Ash; University of Utah Sean Redmond; University of Utah

Increased reliance upon standardized parent rating scales to assess children’s socioemotional and behavioral difficulties may be problematic for children with language impairment (LI) because the validity of these measures with this population is unknown. We investigated the integrity of parental ratings of children with LI by using validity indices from the Conners Parent Rating Scale 3rd Edition (CPRS-3). Seventy-six boys (LI = 16, Non-LI = 60), ascertained through community screening and blinded

confirmatory testing participated. Both groups included children with clinically significant symptoms and diagnoses of ADHD. Possible parental bias was examined using the Negative Impression and Positive Impression scales of the CPRS-3. No group differences were found. The overwhelming majority of parents from both groups were also consistent in their behavioral ratings (87.5%; 98%) however, a significant but small group difference favoring the Non-LI group was found on the Inconsistency Index. Implications for the study and management of children’s LIs are discussed. This project was supported by a grant from the NIDCD (RO1DC011023).

PS3S33

Perception of visual speech cues in school-age children with a history of specific language impairment and their typically developing peers – an event-related potentials study

Natalya Kaganovich; Purdue University Jennifer Schumaker; Purdue University

We examined whether school-age children with a history of SLI (H-SLI) and their typically developing (TD) peers differ in the ability to match a heard word with its visual articulation. On each trial of the task, children first heard a word and then saw a face silently articulating either the same word (congruent condition) or a different word (incongruent condition). Preliminary analyses of the data indicate that although the H-SLI children correctly identified visual articulations as matched or mismatched on most trials, their brain responses differed from those of the TD children. More specifically, in the TD children, brain responses in both conditions consisted of an N400-like component anteriorly and a robust positivity posteriorly. In the H-SLI children, the same components were observed. However, they differed in amplitude and latency from those of TD peers. Additionally, congruent and incongruent conditions differed more in the H-SLI children over posterior sites. These results suggest that the H-SLI children may have weak visual speech representations.

PS3S34

Sources of homogeneity and heterogeneity in language development of children institutionalized in early childhood

Natalia V. Rakhlin; Wayne State University Sascha Hein; Yale University Elena L. Grigorenko; Yale University

We will present a study comparing language development in previously institutionalized children adopted from Russia (A-group, mean adoption age = 2.24, SD = 1.8), children reared in Russian institutions (I-group), biological families in the US (US-controls) and in Russia (R-controls). The goal of the study was to isolate, quantify and investigate the effects of institutionalization length, adoption age, prenatal substance exposure and prematurity on language development in the A- and I-group. The results indicated that the A-group performed below US-controls, but above the I-group on most measures, and on a par with R-controls on early literacy, demonstrating complete catch-up with US-controls at time 2 on kindergarten knowledge. While age effects lost significance after

controlling for institutionalization length, correlations between language and institutionalization length remained significant after controlling for adoption age, underscoring the potential impact of institutional practices above and beyond age-of-acquisition effects. Pre-institutional risks (prenatal exposure to substances) were associated with lower performance on literacy skills and moderated the relationship between adoption age and kindergarten readiness. This research was supported by funds from the Foundation for Child Development (PI: Grigorenko).

PS3S35

Relationships between phonological neighborhood density at two years and expressive language scores at two and 3;6 years in a longitudinal study.

Stephanie Stokes; University of Canterbury Thomas Klee; University of Canterbury Jayne Newbury; University of Canterbury Catherine Moran; University of Canterbury

Toddlers’ first words are of higher mean phonological neighborhood density (ND) than words learned later. The words of children with delayed lexical development are of significantly higher mean ND than those of typically developing children. A relationship between a higher mean ND value at two years and expressive language skills at 3;6 years may indicate that early word processing difficulties inhibit ongoing development. Parents of 143 children completed MCDI forms when the children were two. PLS-4 tests were administered at two and 3;6 years. Child individual mean ND scores were generated from ND scores of monosyllabic nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. Standard scores were generated for the PLS-EC. ND at two years was a significant predictor of PLS-4 scores at both two years and 3;6 years, once Age and early MCDI scores had been accounted for, indicating some continuing effects of early lexical processing difficulties on continuing language development. Manipulating ND as an intervention variable may result in better outcomes for children at the low end of performance.