This preliminary study examined the relationship between clinicians' perceptions (i.e., speech pathologists) of children's scores on the Assertiveness scale of the Teacher-Child Rating Scale 2.1 and gains in naming and defining words following English-only or Spanish--English intervention for emergent bilinguals (EBs). Twenty-eight…

This study documented the perspectives of school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who provide vocabulary intervention to students with language impairment. SLPs (n = 357) working in school settings completed an online survey that included multiple choice, multiple answer, and open-ended questions about service delivery, intervention…

This study documented the standardized tests and informal assessment techniques that school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) reported as most helpful for identifying vocabulary deficits and for monitoring progress. Speech-language pathologists (N = 142) working in U.S. public school settings completed an online survey that included…

Students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) struggle to attain grade-equivalent literacy skills and require education interventions to improve. Recent literature reviews have revealed the need for high-quality intervention research for the following areas of reading: vocabulary development, reading comprehension, reading fluency, and…

Interactive book reading (IBR) has proven effective for increasing children's lexicons with most of the results based on students' learning of nouns. Little is known about the application of IBR to instructional verbs (i.e., words used during the instruction of academic content). To address this gap, 122 prekindergarten children were recruited…

Adolescence is a unique developmental period, spanning the gulf between childhood and adulthood. For adolescents who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), the major physical, cognitive, linguistic, social, and emotional changes associated with adolescence may have significant implications for their use of AAC. These challenges are…

Research has demonstrated that academic success is significantly related to word knowledge. Basic concept words are important because of their use in classroom directions and assessment instructions. It is important that educators assess a child's understanding of basic concept vocabulary at school entry. For children who demonstrate basic concept…

This study examined and compared patterns of errors in the oral definitions of newly learned words. Fifteen 9- to 11-year-old children with language learning disability (LLD) and 15 typically developing age-matched peers inferred the meanings of 20 nonsense words from four novel reading passages. After reading, children provided oral definitions…

The investigators compared two techniques for teaching expressive vocabulary to late talkers: modeling with an expectant pause and modeling with an evoked child production. They also explored the influence of neighborhood density on children's real word learning. Three late talkers (ages 25-33 months) received two alternating vocabulary treatments…

Nearly 25% of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) students come from homes where a language other than English is used and are known as English-Language Learners (ELLs). Evidence-based practices used to teach students who are DHH ELLs are imperative. To build an evidence-base, successful strategies must be examined across multiple researchers, sites,…

A child's early language environment is critical to his or her life-course trajectory. Quantitative linguistic feedback utilizes the Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA) technology as a tool to analyze verbal interactions and reinforce behavior change. This exploratory pilot study evaluates the feasibility and efficacy of a novel behavior-change…