Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children with cochlear implants (CwCIs) constitute a heterogeneous population. A multitude of factors influence their spoken language development. There is evidence that CwCIs follow similar trajectories in language development as typically developing (TD) children but there is a lack of research on specific types of…

This study examined the relationship between parental self-efficacy in parents of young deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children and children's spoken language skills. A retrospective within-subjects study design was used that included 24 mother-child dyads with DHH children. Parental self-efficacy was assessed using the Scale of Parental…

Children with hearing loss often attend inclusive preschool classrooms aimed at improving their spoken language skills. Although preschool classrooms are fertile environments for vocal interaction with peers, little is known about the dyadic processes that influence children's speech to one another and foster their language abilities and how these…

Language delay impacts children's social development. Game-based teaching has shown promise in enhancing language skills, however, the effectiveness of digital game-based teaching for children with language delay remains underexplored. This study, focusing on Chinese kindergarten students, investigated the impact of digital game-based teaching…

The current study investigated language development of children residing in institutional care (IC) in Russia, compared to peers raised by biological family care (BFC). We used standardized behavioral testing (Preschool Language Scale-5, McArthur CDI), and an event-related potential picture-word matching paradigm. Children in IC significantly…

The purpose of this study was to explore the use of code-switching in the narratives of dual-language Latino preschoolers, specifically by examining its incidence, types, functions, and grammaticality. Previous work has investigated code-switching in younger children and in older children and adults, but relatively little work has investigated…

Purpose: The study explored longitudinally the course of vocabulary and general language development in a group of infants with Down syndrome (DS) compared to a group of typically developing (TD) infants matched on nonverbal mental ability (NVMA). Method: We compared the vocabulary and general language trajectories of the two groups in two ways:…

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…

The purpose of this study was to examine the longitudinal, bidirectional relationship between language skills and behavior problems in a sample of 194 preschool children enrolled in Head Start programs. Children were individually assessed using the "Preschool Language Scale-5," and teachers completed the "Child Behavior…

Purpose: Understanding variability sources in early language interaction is critical to identifying children whose development is at risk and designing interventions. Variability across socioeconomic status (SES) groups has been extensively explored. However, SES is a limited individual clinical indicator. For example, it is not generally directly…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of variability in teaching prepositions to preschoolers with typical development (TD) and developmental language disorder (DLD). Input variability during teaching can enhance learning, but is target dependent. We hypothesized that high variability of objects would improve preposition learning.…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand how joint attention and sensory-regulatory features are related in early childhood and predict language and social-communication outcomes in preschool in order to build mechanistic theories that can inform early intervention directed at improving these outcomes. Method: Cross-lagged panel…

Background and aims: The efficacy of parent-child reading for supporting language development has been well-established in the neurotypical (NT) literature. For children with autism spectrum disorder, (ASD) who may be at risk for delays in language development, prior research has shown promise for shared book-reading interventions. Yet there has…

Purpose: The current study was designed to investigate the differences in language input related to family factors (maternal level of education [MLE] and socioeconomic level of deprivation [SLD]) and their association with language outcomes in preschoolers. Method: This study used New Zealand SLD and MLE classification systems to examine…

Purpose: This study was conducted in a large Midwestern metropolitan area to examine the language environments at home and in center-based childcare for young children who are living in poverty. We compared child language use and exposure in the home and childcare settings using extended observations with automated Language Environment Analysis to…