Predicting Literacy Skills at 8 Years From Preschool Language Trajectories: A Population-Based Cohort Study

Shared characteristics of intervention techniques for oral vocabulary and speech comprehensibility in preschool children with co-occurring features of developmental language disorder and speech sound disorder: a systematic review with narrative synthesis

OBJECTIVES

To descriptively compare and contrast intervention techniques for preschool children with features of developmental language disorder (outcome: oral vocabulary) and speech sound disorder (outcome: speech comprehensibility) and analyse them in relation to effectiveness and theory.

DESIGN

This is a systematic review with narrative synthesis. The process was supported by an expert steering group consisting of relevant professionals and people with lived experience.

DATA SOURCES

Ovid Emcare, MEDLINE Complete, CINAHL, APA PsycINFO, ERIC, and Communication Source from January 2012 were searched. Relevant studies were obtained from an initial published review (up to January 2012).

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Interventions for preschool children (80% aged 2:0-5:11 years) with idiopathic speech or language needs; outcomes relating to either oral vocabulary or speech comprehensibility.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS

Searches were conducted on 27 January 2023. Two independent researchers screened at abstract and full-text levels. Data regarding intervention content (eg, techniques) and format/delivery (eg, dosage, location) were extracted. Data were synthesised narratively according to the methods of Campbell et al.

RESULTS

24 studies were included: 18 for oral vocabulary and 6 for speech comprehensibility. There were 11 randomised controlled trials, 2 cohort studies and 11 case series. Similarities included a focus on input-related techniques and similar therapy activities. Speech studies were more likely to be professional-led and clinic-led, rather than at home and through a parent. Analysis was restricted by heterogeneity in study design and terminology, as well as gaps within intervention reporting. Information deemed important to the expert steering group was missing.

CONCLUSIONS

Similarities and differences between intervention techniques for oral vocabulary and speech comprehensibility have been identified and synthesised. However, analysis of effectiveness was limited due to issues with study design and heterogeneity within studies. This has implications for the progression of the evidence base within the field.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42022373931.

Receptive and expressive vocabulary performance in 2- to 5-year-olds in care: The role of different care types and temperament

The detrimental role of institutionalization in children's development has prompted the introduction of alternative care types designed to offer more personalized care. The current study aimed to test whether children in alternative care types (care villages, care homes, and foster care) performed better on vocabulary than those in institutions. The role of temperament, specifically perceptual sensitivity and frustration, and the interaction between temperament and care types on vocabulary performance were also explored. The study involved 285 2- to 5-year-old children from different care types, and they were assessed through receptive and expressive vocabulary tests and temperament scales. The results of the linear mixed model revealed that children in alternative care types exhibited significantly higher vocabulary scores compared with those in institutions. Moreover, perceptual sensitivity showed a positive association with receptive and expressive vocabulary skills and seemed to act as a protective factor by mitigating the lower vocabulary scores in institutions. Frustration moderated vocabulary outcomes differently for children in institutions and foster care, aligning with the diathesis-stress model and vantage sensitivity theory, respectively. The findings emphasize the positive role of alternative care types in vocabulary performance and the importance of children's temperamental traits in this process.

The emergent literacy skills of 4- to 5-year-old children with and without a history of late talking

PURPOSE

To explore the emergent literacy skills of 4- to 5-year-old children with a history of late talking (H-LT) and a history of typical development (H-TD) by: (1) determining if the two groups differ on measures of emergent literacy, and (2) identifying the proportion in each group presenting with weak emergent literacy profiles.

METHOD

The emergent literacy skills of 4- to 5-year-old children with a H-LT (n = 13) and a H-TD (n = 11) were compared on measures of phonological awareness, print awareness (including print concepts and letter-sound knowledge), and narrative. Cut-off scores reflecting weak performance for each measure were determined. Children scoring below the cut-off on at least two measures were identified as having a weak emergent literacy profile.

RESULT

Group means indicated poorer emergent literacy performance in children with a H-LT compared to a H-TD, however, comparisons were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Proportionally, more children with a H-LT had a weak emergent literacy profile (8/13; 62%) compared to children with a H-TD (2/11; 18%).

CONCLUSION

Children with a H-LT may be more vulnerable for emergent literacy difficulties. By assessing multiple emergent literacy skills, individualised profiles for children can be determined and reported alongside between-group comparisons.

Language outcomes from the UK-CDI Project: can risk factors, vocabulary skills and gesture scores in infancy predict later language disorders or concern for language development?

At the group level, children exposed to certain health and demographic risk factors, and who have delayed language in early childhood are, more likely to have language problems later in childhood. However, it is unclear whether we can use these risk factors to predict whether an individual child is likely to develop problems with language (e.g., be diagnosed with a developmental language disorder). We tested this in a sample of 146 children who took part in the UK-CDI norming project. When the children were 15-18 months old, 1,210 British parents completed: (a) the UK-CDI (a detailed assessment of vocabulary and gesture use) and (b) the Family Questionnaire (questions about health and demographic risk factors). When the children were between 4 and 6  years, 146 of the same parents completed a short questionnaire that assessed (a) whether children had been diagnosed with a disability that was likely to affect language proficiency (e.g., developmental disability, language disorder, hearing impairment), but (b) also yielded a broader measure: whether the child's language had raised any concern, either by a parent or professional. Discriminant function analyses were used to assess whether we could use different combinations of 10 risk factors, together with early vocabulary and gesture scores, to identify children (a) who had developed a language-related disability by the age of 4-6 years (20 children, 13.70% of the sample) or (b) for whom concern about language had been expressed (49 children; 33.56%). The overall accuracy of the models, and the specificity scores were high, indicating that the measures correctly identified those children without a language-related disability and whose language was not of concern. However, sensitivity scores were low, indicating that the models could not identify those children who were diagnosed with a language-related disability or whose language was of concern. Several exploratory analyses were carried out to analyse these results further. Overall, the results suggest that it is difficult to use parent reports of early risk factors and language in the first 2 years of life to predict which children are likely to be diagnosed with a language-related disability. Possible reasons for this are discussed.

Shared characteristics of intervention techniques for oral vocabulary and speech comprehensibility in preschool children with co-occurring features of developmental language disorder and a phonological speech sound disorder: protocol for a systematic review with narrative synthesis

INTRODUCTION

Evidence suggests that over one-third of young children with developmental language disorder (DLD) or speech sound disorder (SSD) have co-occurring features of both. A co-occurring DLD and SSD profile is associated with negative long-term outcomes relating to communication, literacy and emotional well-being. However, the best treatment approach for young children with this profile is not understood. The aim of the proposed review is to identify intervention techniques for both DLD and SSD, along with their shared characteristics. The findings will then be analysed in the context of relevant theory. This will inform the content for a new or adapted intervention for these children.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This search will build on a previous systematic review by Roulstone et al (2015) but with a specific focus on oral vocabulary (DLD outcome) and speech comprehensibility (SSD outcome). These outcomes were identified by parents and speech and language therapists within the prestudy stakeholder engagement work. The following databases will be searched for articles from January 2012 onwards: Ovid Emcare, MEDLINE Complete, CINAHL, APA PsycINFO, Communication Source and ERIC. Two reviewers will independently perform the title/abstract screening and the full-text screening with the exclusion criteria document being revised in an iterative process. Articles written in languages other than English will be excluded. Data will be extracted regarding key participant and intervention criteria, including technique dosage and delivery details. This information will then be pooled into a structured narrative synthesis.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethical approval is not needed for a systematic review protocol. Dissemination of findings will be through peer-reviewed publications, social media, and project steering group networks.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD4202237393.

Home Literacy Experiences and Shared Reading Practices: Preschoolers With Hearing Loss

Home literacy experiences and observed parent and child behaviors during shared book reading were investigated in preschool-age children with hearing loss and with typical hearing to examine the relationships between those factors and children's language skills. The methods involved parent-reported home literacy experiences and videotaped parent-child dyads during shared book reading. Children's language skills were tested using the Preschool Language Scale-4. The results indicated significant differences between groups for home literacy experiences and observed parent and child behaviors. Parents of children with hearing loss were found to read more frequently to their children than parents of children with typical hearing, yet scored lower for literacy strategies and teaching techniques compared to parents of children with typical hearing. Children with hearing loss scored lower in interactive reading behaviors compared to children with typical hearing. For children with hearing loss, frequency of book reading and child interactive reading behaviors were strong predictive factors for children's language skills. These results suggest that families of children with hearing loss would benefit from professional support as they read storybooks to their children. Similarly, children with hearing loss should be encouraged to be more interactive during shared book reading.

Cognitive performance in preschoolers with non-syndromic craniosynostosis undergoing surgery: A comparison with typically developing children

This study aimed to determine the cognitive profile of preschool children undergoing surgery to correct non-syndromic craniosynostosis, compare them with typically developing children, and analyze possible cognitive deficits in the most prevalent subtypes: sagittal and unicoronal. Thirty-one children aged 3 years to 5 years and 11 months with non-syndromic craniosynostosis (11 sagittal, 9 unicoronal, 4 metopic, 3 lambdoid, 4 multisutural) who underwent surgery were compared with thirty-one typically developing children. The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Third Edition (WPPSI-III) was used to assess cognitive function. Children with non-syndromic craniosynostosis scored below the typically developing children in the Verbal Intelligence Quotient (VIQ) and Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient (FISQ). When specific subtypes were compared, children with sagittal synostosis scored similarly to the typically developing children; in contrast, children with unicoronal synostosis had lower performance in the Processing Speed Quotient and FISQ. The proportion of participants scoring below one standard deviation on the VIQ, General Language Composite, and FISQ was greater in the non-syndromic craniosynostosis group. This study supports the finding that children with non-syndromic craniosynostosis, particularly those with unicoronal synostosis, have more cognitive difficulties than those with normal development. Assessing cognition at preschool age in children with non-syndromic craniosynostosis is important in order to detect difficulties before they become more apparent at school age.

Psychometric Properties of the English-Spanish Vocabulary Inventory in Toddlers With and Without Early Language Delay

PURPOSE

Despite the increasing population of dual language learners (DLLs) in the United States, vocabulary measures for young DLLs have largely relied on instruments developed for monolinguals. The multistudy project reports on the psychometric properties of the English-Spanish Vocabulary Inventory (ESVI), which was designed to capture unique cross-language measures of lexical knowledge that are critical for assessing DLLs' vocabulary, including translation equivalents (whether the child knows the words for the same concept in each language), total vocabulary (the number of words known across both languages), and conceptual vocabulary (the number of words known that represent unique concepts in either language).

METHOD

Three studies included 87 Spanish-English DLLs (M age = 26.58 months, SD = 2.86 months) with and without language delay from two geographic regions. Multiple measures (e.g., caregiver report, observation, behavioral tasks, and standardized assessments) determined content validity, construct validity, social validity, and criterion validity of the ESVI.

RESULTS

Monolingual instruments used in bilingual contexts significantly undercounted lexical knowledge as measured on the ESVI. Scores on the ESVI were related to performance on other measures of communication, indicating acceptable content, construct, and criterion validity. Social validity ratings were similarly positive. ESVI scores were also associated with suspected language delay.

CONCLUSIONS

These studies provide initial evidence of the adequacy of the ESVI for use in research and clinical contexts with young children learning English and Spanish (with or without a language delay). Developing tools such as the ESVI promotes culturally and linguistically responsive practices that support accurate assessment of DLLs' lexical development.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.17704391.

Predictive Validity of Developmental Screening Questionnaires for Identifying Children With Later Cognitive or Educational Difficulties: A Systematic Review

Context: Parent/caregiver completing developmental screening questionnaires (DSQs) for children before 5 years of age is currently recommended. The DSQs recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) are the Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ), Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS), and the Survey of Well-being of Young Children (SWYC). Nevertheless, their predictive validity has not been well-established. Objective: To assess in the current literature, the value of AAP-recommended DSQs (ASQ, PEDS, SWYC) administered between 0 and 5 years of age, for predicting long-term cognitive achievement and/or school performance (CA/SP), after 1 year or more of evaluation and at/or after age 5 years, in the general population. Data Sources: Cochrane, MEDLINE PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scielo, and Scopus databases (until March 2021). Study Selection: Two authors selected the studies. Forward and backward citation follow-up was done; authors of DSQ were contacted to identify additional studies. Data Extraction: Cohorts were identified, and authors of selected studies were contacted to corroborate and complete extracted data. Results: Thirty-two publications, corresponding to 10 cohorts, were included. All cohorts used ASQ. Only cohort using PEDS was identified but did not meet the inclusion criteria. No cohorts conducted with SWYC were identified. Associations between ASQ and CA/SP were extracted for eight cohorts. The odds ratios were >3, and the area under the curve was 0.66-0.87. A trade-off between sensitivity and specificity was observed. Limitations: Heterogeneity in population characteristics and in DSQ adaptations. Conclusions: A positive association between ASQ and later CA/SP was found in different social, cultural, and economic settings. Additional studies are necessary to determine the impact factors in the predictive capacity of DSQs. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO, identifier: CRD42020183883.

Kindergarten screening tools filled out by parents and teachers targeting dyslexia. Predictions and developmental trajectories from age 5 to age 15 years

The concept of early 'efforts' has led to discussions for and against introducing language assessment for all kindergarten children. Evidence-based kindergarten screening tools completed by close caregivers could solve this controversy as the children themselves would only be indirectly involved. The aim of this study was to see whether the scores of such early screening tools aiming at developmental dyslexia could predict school marks of literacy competence 10 years later, and to see whether these screening tools would reveal different dyslexia trajectories. The study is part of the Bergen Longitudinal Dyslexia Study, and the results from individual testing are reported elsewhere. Here, the caregivers' views isolated from the rest of the study are focused. Three tools were used: the RI-5, a questionnaire assessing the risk of dyslexia; the TRAS, a non-standardized observation tool of children's communication skills; and the CCC-2, a questionnaire assessing Developmental Language Disorders. Screening was performed at age 5 (TP1), age 11, (TP2) and age 15 (TP3). At TP2, when dyslexia was identified, 13 children formed the dyslexia group, and the rest formed the control group. At TP3, the RI-5 and CCC-2 turned out to be predictive of literacy competence as measured by school marks. Developmental trajectories were seen through the regroupings and scorings into a persistent group, a late onset group and a resolving group. Evidence-based preschool screening tools filled out by close caregivers offer valid information on later literacy developmental trajectories.

Parental Reports of Preschoolers' Lexical and Syntactic Development: Validation of the CDI-III for European Portuguese

This study presents the validation analysis of the European Portuguese version of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory III (CDI-III-PT). The CDI-III-PT is a parental report measure allowing researchers to assess expressive vocabulary and the syntactic abilities of children aged 2;6–4;0. In this study, we present a version comprising a lexical subscale which follows the Swedish adaptation and an original syntactic subscale allowing us to include language-specific structures. The reports of 739 children were collected; in addition, a standardized measure of language was also administered to a sub-sample of these children and the reports of preschool teachers were collected for another sub-sample. The results indicate a high internal consistency of the lexical and syntactic subscales. As for sociodemographic variables often found to be predictors of language development, as measured by this type of instrument, the results indicate that age and maternal education are significant predictors of the scores, and that first-born children attain higher scores in vocabulary than later born children, but no significant gender differences were found. The scores of the CDI-III-PT are positively correlated with the ones obtained in the standardized language measure, thus supporting their validity. A high agreement between the reports of parents and teachers was also found. These findings indicate that the CDI-III-PT has adequate psychometric properties and that it can be a useful tool for research and clinical practice. The age-based norms that are now provided can be used to evaluate whether a child is performing poorly compared to their peers.

Associations Between Language Difficulties, Peer Victimization, and Bully Perpetration From 3 Through 8 Years of Age: Results From a Population-Based Study

Background and Purpose Schoolchildren with language difficulties experience more peer victimization compared to their typically developing (TD) peers. Whether these children also bully their peers (bully perpetration) more than TD children is unclear. Furthermore, little is known about peer victimization and bully perpetration among preschool children with language difficulties and how it may be related to different paths of language difficulties. This study aimed to investigate associations between language difficulties, peer victimization, and bully perpetration from preschool to school age as well as the risk of peer victimization and bully perpetration for children with different developmental paths of language difficulties and mild language difficulties compared to TD children. Method The sample was drawn from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study. Participants with completed questionnaires at 3, 5, and 8 years of age (n = 22,628) were included. Paths between latent variables of language skills at 3, 5, and 8 years of age, peer victimization at 5 and 8 years of age, and bully perpetration at 8 years of age were examined with structural equation modeling. Logistic regression was used to investigate peer victimization and bully perpetration for predefined paths of language difficulties. Results Poor language skills at 3 and 5 years of age were associated with peer victimization at 5 years of age. Poor language skills at 5 and 8 years of age were associated with peer victimization and bully perpetration at 8 years of age. The association between poor language skills at 5 years of age and bully perpetration at 8 years of age was stronger for girls. Persistent paths of language difficulties at 3, 5, and 8 years of age showed the highest risk of peer victimization and bully perpetration. Conclusions Language difficulties are associated with peer victimization and bully perpetration. The risk of peer victimization and bully perpetration differs according to different developmental paths of language difficulties from preschool to school age.