Background: The educational context in South Africa does not always support the development of bilingualism to enable the cognitive and social advantages of dual language proficiency. The emphasis on English as the language of instruction overlooks bilingual competence. This study attempts to show that by considering conceptual vocabulary,…

Background: Submucous cleft palate (SMCP) has a heterogeneous presentation and is often identified late or misdiagnosed. Diagnosis is prompted by speech, resonance or feeding symptoms associated with velopharyngeal insufficiency. However, the broader impacts of SMCP on communication have rarely been examined and therefore are poorly understood.…

Purpose: Working memory capacity and language ability modulate speech reception; however, the respective roles of peripheral and cognitive processing are unclear. The contribution of individual differences in these abilities to utilization of spatial cues when separating speech from informational and energetic masking backgrounds in children has…

This exploratory randomised controlled trial tested the effectiveness of a tablet-based information communication technology early intervention application to augment existing therapy with the aim of improving visual motor, imitation, language and social skills in young children with ASD who reside in regional areas. Fifty-nine participants were…

There is a dearth of research describing the small population of students who have significant cognitive disabilities and are also English learners (ELs). This study expands what is known about this population by describing EL students who participated in Dynamic Learning Maps Alternate Assessments in 16 states during the 2016-2017 year. Data…

We examined language profiles of 2571 children, 30-68 months old, with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), other developmental disabilities (DD), and typical development from the general population (POP). Children were categorized as expressive dominant (ED), receptive dominant (RD), or nondominant (ND). Within each group, the ED profile was the least…

Research Findings: This study examined the association between interactive book reading quality and prekindergarten children's gains in language and literacy skills over the course of an academic year for 96 teachers and 417 children across multiple locations in the United States. Two moderators were examined, namely, children's initial skill…

Background: Language assessment is a key element of evaluations of children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). The present study examined the validity of a gaze-based receptive language index (RLI) in predicting language test results.Method: Participants included toddlers, pre-school, and school age children and adolescents…

While the use of intelligent personal assistants (IPAs) has exploded in recent years, little is known about their use to promote English as a foreign language (EFL) development. Thus, this study addresses this gap in the literature by examining the in-class use of the IPA, Alexa, among second language (L2) English students to support improvements…

Recent literature has challenged commonly held views of musical expression as a de facto measure of talent, or something that develops naturally and cannot be taught, suggesting instead that the importance of innate skill is often exaggerated and hinders a student's development. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of research detailing strategies…

Phelan-McDermid syndrome (PMS) is a single-locus cause of developmental delay, autism spectrum disorder, and minimal verbal abilities. There is an urgent need to identify objective outcome measures of expressive language for use in this and other minimally verbal populations. One potential tool is an automated language processor called Language…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to add to our understanding of the dimensionality of oral language in children and to determine whether oral language and listening comprehension are separate constructs in children enrolled in preschool (PK) through 3rd grade. Method: In the spring of the school year, children from 4 states (N = 1,869)…

Purpose: Language is related to false-belief (FB) understanding in both typically developing children and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current study examined the role of complementation and general language in FB understanding. Of interest was whether language plays similar or different roles in the groups' FB performance.…

Purpose: Both theoretical models of infant language acquisition and empirical studies posit important roles for attention to speech in early language development. However, deaf infants with cochlear implants (CIs) show reduced attention to speech as compared with their peers with normal hearing (NH; Horn, Davis, Pisoni, & Miyamoto, 2005;…

Recent studies highlight the important contribution of phonological working memory (PM) in the early stages of both native and foreign language development. However, research on the effects of PM training on language development is very limited. This study aimed at assessing the effectiveness of a PM training educational intervention as a means of…