Browsing by Subject "Language development"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Differential At-Risk Pediatric Outcomes of Parental Sensitivity Based on Hearing Status
    (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2021) Jamsek, Izabela A.; Holt, Rachael Frush; Kronenberger, William G.; Pisoni, David B.; Psychiatry, School of Medicine
    Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of parental sensitivity in language and neurocognitive outcomes in children who are deaf and/or hard of hearing (DHH). Method: Sixty-two parent–child dyads of children with normal hearing (NH) and 64 of children who are DHH (3–8 years) completed parent and child measures of inhibitory control/executive functioning and child measures of sentence comprehension and vocabulary. The dyads also participated in a video-recorded, free-play interaction that was coded for parental sensitivity. Results: There was no evidence of associations between parental sensitivity and inhibitory control or receptive language in children with NH. In contrast, parental sensitivity was related to children's inhibitory control and all language measures in children who are DHH. Moreover, inhibitory control significantly mediated the association between parental sensitivity and child language on the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals–Fifth Edition Following Directions subscale (6–8 years)/Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals Preschool–Second Edition Concepts and Following Directions subscale (3–5 years). Follow-up analyses comparing subgroups of children who used hearing aids (n = 29) or cochlear implants (CIs; n = 35) revealed similar correlational trends, with the exception that parental sensitivity showed little relation to inhibitory control in the group of CI users. Conclusions: Parental sensitivity is associated with at-risk language outcomes and disturbances in inhibitory control in young children who are DHH. Compared to children with NH, children who are DHH may be more sensitive to parental behaviors and their effects on emerging inhibitory control and spoken language. Specifically, inhibitory control, when scaffolded by positive parental behaviors, may be critically important for robust language development in children who are DHH.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Family Environmental Dynamics Differentially Influence Spoken Language Development in Children With and Without Hearing Loss
    (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2022) Holt, Rachael Frush; Kronenberger, William G.; Pisoni, David B.; Psychiatry, School of Medicine
    Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether families of children with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) are organized similarly to those of typically developing, typically hearing (TH) children and whether the dimensions of family dynamics and environment are related to spoken language development similarly in children with and without SNHL. Method: Primary caregivers of children with SNHL (n = 63) or TH (n = 65) completed the Family Environment Scale-Fourth Edition (FES-4) to assess multiple dimensions of family environment. Children's receptive vocabulary was assessed with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Fourth Edition, and their receptive language was assessed by an age-appropriate version of the Concepts and Following Directions subtest of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals and the Sentence Comprehension subscale of the Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language-Second Edition. Principal component analysis was used to examine the dimensional structure of the family environment. Results: Three higher order components were derived from FES-4 subscales for both families of children with SNHL and with TH: Supportive, Controlling, and Conflicted. However, the composition of the factors themselves differed between the two groups. For the TH group, most family environment measures on the FES-4 were not associated with language outcomes. In contrast, for children with SNHL, families who were more supportive, less controlling, and less conflicted had children with better language skills. Conclusions: Three well-accepted dimensions of family dynamics and functioning apply to families of children with SNHL, but their composition differs from those of families with TH children. Family environmental dynamics were much more strongly associated with language outcomes in children with SNHL than in their TH peers. The spoken language development of children with SNHL, in particular, is better in families that provide high levels of support for each other and, in particular, low levels of control, disorganization, and conflict, reflecting the fragile nature of their spoken language development.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Nonword Repetition as a Predictor of Long-Term Speech and Language Skills in Children with Cochlear Implants
    (Wolters Kluwer, 2013) Casserly, Elizabeth D.; Pisoni, David B.; Psychology, School of Science
    Hypothesis: The rapid phonological processing skills of children with cochlear implants early in life (ages 8-10), as measured by nonword repetition performance, will predict their language development 8 years later (ages 16-18). This core processing ability will also correlate with concurrent measures of language at both ages of testing. Background: Understanding the causes of the wide range of performance in pediatric cochlear implant users currently constitutes a major barrier to clinical and research progress in the field. Research into children's neurocognitive abilities such as working memory capacity and verbal rehearsal speed, in addition to conventional demographic variables, has shown that these foundational skills play a key role in determining outcomes. Here, we investigate the impact of rapid phonological processing, an ability which is critical in spoken language use, for children with cochlear implants. Methods: Fifty-two deaf children with cochlear implants completed a battery of 14 clinical and research measures of language, neurocognitive, and nonword repetition skills in 2 testing sessions 8 years apart. Results: Performance on the nonword repetition task at both testing sessions correlated significantly with concurrent language abilities. Importantly, nonword repetition accuracy at age 8 to 10 also significantly predicted performance on measures of language ability at age 16 to 18 in a wide range of domains, from speech intelligibility to sentence recognition in noise. These relations were significant even when other neurocognitive measures were controlled. Conclusion: Early nonword repetition performance in children with cochlear implants predicts later language development and, therefore, may identify those children at high risk for poor outcomes.