Research evidence suggests children experiencing adversity are at risk of language disparities in early childhood. This puts these children at risk of poor language outcomes, perpetuating disadvantage in later development and academic life. This study aimed to investigate associations between Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) attendance,…

This study investigates the knowledge of binding in 21 English-speaking children with SLI, aged 6;08-16;05, compared to 21 children with WS, language- and age-matched, and 21 language-matched control children, aged 4-7;10. Our results demonstrate no difficulties in the interpretation of reflexive or personal pronouns in SLI, revealing an intact…

This study explores the ability of children with and without dyslexia to provide meaningful verbal self-reports of the strategies they used in a spelling recognition task. Sixty-six children aged 6 years 3 months-9 years 9 months were tested on a range of standardised measures and on an experimental spelling recognition task based on the work of…

Studies of the role of phonological representations in learning to read have almost exclusively focused on speech perception. In the current study, we examined links between sensorimotor control of speech, reading, and reading-related abilities. We studied two languages, English and Dutch, which vary in the regularity of their spelling-to-sound…

Purpose: In this study, the authors examined the role of syllabic structure in nonword repetition performance in typically developing (TD) children and children with specific language impairment (SLI). Method: Eighteen children with SLI (5;7--6;7 [years;months]) and 18 TD children matched for chronological age were tested on their ability to…

Consequences of theory of mind (ToM) development for daily social lives of children are uncertain. Five to 13-year-olds (N = 195) with typical development, autism, or deafness (both native and late signers) took ToM tests and their teachers reported on their social skills for peer interaction (e.g., leadership, group entry). Groups differed in…

This study aimed to consider collaborative practice in contributing to joint assessment and producing appropriate referral of children to speech and language therapy (SLT). Results of formal testing of selected comprehension skills are compared with functional/classroom performance as rated by class teachers. Thirty children aged 6.5-8.4 years,…

This study taught the passive to two children with specific language impairment (aged 8;1 and 8;2). It employed usage-based principles including "constructional grounding"; using short structures as the basis for acquiring long structures, and "construction conspiracy"; encouraging analogies between partially overlapping…

The study focuses on language and cognitive abilities of siblings of the linguistically most affected children with autism (i.e. siblings of nonverbal children--SIBS-ANV). Twenty-eight SIBS-ANV (17 boys), ages 4-9 years, took part in the study. All children attended regular schools, and none had received a diagnosis of autism. Controls were 27…