Parent language input is a well-established predictor of child language development. Multisensory attention skills (MASks; intersensory matching, shifting and sustaining attention to audiovisual speech) are also known to be foundations for language development. However, due to a lack of appropriate measures, individual differences in these skills…

This article offers a conceptual and analytical framework for understanding the 'understandings' generated through practitioner research, and specifically exploratory practice (EP), based on Aristotle's philosophy of knowledge. Drawing on Olav Eikeland's interpretation of Aristotle's philosophy of knowledge as a gnoseology, it illustrates how a…

Network analytic methods that are ubiquitous in other areas, such as systems neuroscience, have recently been used to test network theories in psychology, including intelligence research. The network or mutualism theory of intelligence proposes that the statistical associations among cognitive abilities (e.g., specific abilities such as vocabulary…

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) vary greatly in social functioning, and in turn, long-term relational and academic outcomes. Responsive parenting which follows a child's lead and focus of attention is predictive of language and social gains for children with or without developmental risk. The present study prospectively assessed 176…

Children born preterm constitute one of the largest populations of children at risk for the development of language impairments. A little over one in ten pregnancies result in a preterm birth and approximately 25% of these children go on to experience subsequent difficulties with language (CDC, 2015; Foster-Cohen, Friesen, Champion, &…

Producing pronouns involves linguistic and social-cognitive knowledge because children must learn words and understand pronouns' changing referents. This study examined pronoun production longitudinally in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; n = 15), whose social-cognition might impair pronoun use, and in typically developing (TD; n…

There is strong evidence that self-regulatory processes are linked to early academic skills, both concurrently and longitudinally. The majority of extant longitudinal studies, however, have been conducted using autoregressive techniques that may not accurately model change across time. The purpose of this study was to examine the unique…

The present study investigates the validity of a 4-point rating scale used to measure the level of preschool children's orientation to literacy during shared book reading. Validity was explored by (a) comparing the children's level of literacy orientation as measured with the "Children's Orientation to Book Reading Rating Scale" (COB)…

This study examined the relationship between attention problems and expressive language and academic readiness skills in preschool-aged children from middle-class families. Forty-three children (44% female) were assessed individually for expressive language skills and knowledge of basic academic concepts (e.g. colours, letters and numbers). The…

Background: Sex-differences exist in some areas of human social behaviour. In animals, foetal testosterone (fT) plays a central role in organising the brain and in later social behaviour. fT has also been implicated in language development, eye-contact, and spatial ability in humans. Methods: Fifty-eight children (35 male and 23 female), whose fT…