This study aims to compare the effects of "questioning with minimal evaluation" (PE) and "prompt-evaluate-expand-repeat" (PEER) used in dialogic reading (DR) on children's language development. This study included 119 typically developing (TD) and 107 Chinese children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by using a pre- and…

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or with Down syndrome (DS) show diagnosis-specific differences from typically developing (TD) children in gesture production. We asked whether these differences reflect the differences in parental gesture input. Our systematic observations of 23 children with ASD and 23 with DS (M[subscript…

This study examined the quantity and quality of parental linguistic input to toddlers with moderate hearing loss (MHL) compared with toddlers with normal hearing (NH). The linguistic input to eighteen toddlers with MHL and twenty-four toddlers with NH was examined during a 10-minute free-play activity in their home environment. Results showed that…

Some children enter elementary school with large vocabulary delays, which negatively influence their later school performance. A rich home language environment can support vocabulary development through frequent high-quality parent-toddler interaction. Elaborated picture home activities can support this rich home language environment. This study…

Parent-child interaction plays a crucial role in early language acquisition. In young typically developing children, direct and indirect relationships between parent gesture, child gesture and child language have been observed. Far less is known about these relationships in atypical language development. The present study investigated parent…

Background: Late language emergence is a risk indicator for developmental language disorder. Parent-implemented early language intervention programmes (parent programmes) have been shown to have positive effects on children's receptive and expressive language skills. However, long-term effectiveness has rarely been studied. Additionally, little is…

Background: Deafness has an adverse impact on children's ability to acquire spoken languages. Signed languages offer a more accessible input for deaf children, but because the vast majority are born to hearing parents who do not sign, their early exposure to sign language is limited. Deaf children as a whole are therefore at high risk of language…

Adult responsiveness is related to language development both in young typically developing children and in children with autism spectrum disorders, such that parents who use more responsive language with their children have children who develop better language skills over time. This study used a micro-analytic technique to examine how two facets…

Socio-emotional development is increasingly recognised as playing a central role in children's academic achievement. However, little is known about the socio-emotional development of language-minority children on entry to school and how these children fare in comparison to their language-majority peers. To address this gap, longitudinal data on…

Background: The literature on input addressed to children with specific language impairment (SLI) has shown contrasting results on the role that parents assume during conversational interactions. Some studies have shown that parents compensate for the child's linguistic limitations. In contrast, other studies have indicated that mothers are…

The purpose of this study was to assess changes in children's language skills and parenting stress following participation in the Parent-Child Mother Goose Program (PCMGP). The intervention group consisted of 29 parents (age range 24 to 43 years, "M" = 33.5, SD = 4.1) and 30 children (18 females and 12 males) with ages ranging from 1 to…

There has been little research comparing the nature and contributions of language input of mothers and fathers to their young children. This study examined differences in mother and father talk to their 24 month-old children. This study also considered contributions of parent education, child care quality and mother and father language (output,…

Related maternal depressive symptoms obtained when infants were 1, 6, 15, 24, and 36 months old to child functioning at 36 months. Found that women with chronic symptoms were least sensitive during mother/child play from infancy through 36 months. Maternal sensitivity accounted for group differences in school readiness and verbal comprehension and…

Investigates communicative intent in 31 toddlers who were slow to talk and 32 normally developing toddlers matched on SES, age, and nonverbal cognitive ability. Communicative intent was studied during free play, both with the mother and with an unfamiliar examiner. Late talkers relied more on nonword vocalization, gestures, and gesture/oral…

Background: Psychosocial treatments are the mainstay of management of autism in the UK but there is a notable lack of a systematic evidence base for their effectiveness. Randomised controlled trial (RCT) studies in this area have been rare but are essential because of the developmental heterogeneity of the disorder. We aimed to test a new…