The purpose of this study is to investigate the relations among children's symbolic functioning at 15 months, joint attention at 24 months, expressive communication at 24 and 36 months, and executive functioning at 36 months. With the sample from rural areas in the United States collected by the Family Life Project (N = 1,008), a longitudinal data…

Purpose: Early motor abilities (gesture, oral motor, and gross/fine skills) are related to language abilities, and this is not due to an association with cognitive or symbolic abilities: Oral motor skills are uniquely associated with language abilities at 21 months of age. It is important to determine whether this motor-language relationship…

Purpose: This study investigated the effects of enhanced milieu teaching (EMT) on caregiver implementation of language support strategies and child communication skills using a hybrid telepractice service delivery model. Method: Four caregivers and children with language delays aged 18-27 months participated in a multiple baseline across behaviors…

Measurement of optimum treatment efficacy to address language delays in children using cochlear implants is difficult, but important, to promote evidence-based treatments and reduce treatment inequities. This exploratory retrospective study investigated associations between; frequency of early intervention (weekly, fortnightly, monthly); total…

Although extensive research exists on vocabulary instruction during book reading in preschool classroom, comparatively little research has been conducted on vocabulary exposure in classroom play contexts and child vocabulary outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine Head Start teacher and child vocabulary use in dyadic play sessions and…

We examined the relations between teachers' use of comments during book reading sessions in preschool classrooms and the vocabulary growth of children with low and moderately low language ability. Using data from a larger randomized controlled trial, we analyzed comments defined as utterances that give, explain, expand, or define. Comments were…

Joint attention, or the shared focus of attention between objects or events and a social partner, is a crucial milestone in the development of social communication and a notable area of deficit in children with autism spectrum disorder. While valid parent-report screening measures of social communication are available, the majority of these…

This study investigated questions adults asked to children with autism spectrum disorder in inclusive pre-kindergarten classrooms, and whether child (e.g. autism severity) and setting (i.e. adult-to-child ratio) characteristics were related to questions asked during center-time. Videos of verbal children with autism spectrum disorder (n?=?42) were…

This study describes the language environment of preschool programs serving children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and examines relationships between child characteristics and an automated measure of adult and child language in the classroom. The Language Environment Analysis (LENA) system was used with 40 children with ASD to collect data…

Research Findings: The objective of this study was to understand how two dimensions of parent-child book-reading quality--instructional and emotional--interact and relate to learning in a sample of low-income infants and toddlers. Participants included 81 parents and their children from Early Head Start programs in the rural Midwest. Correlation…

Normal and learning disabled (LD) first graders were given a battery of language and perceptual-motor-memory (PMM) tests. Results indicated that: LD children generally are less proficient in vocabulary and language tasks; and language tests are better indicators of learning disabilities than PMM tests. (SJL)