Parent Interaction Between an Infant with a Cochlear Implant and Additional Disabilities

Pediatric hearing loss has many spoken language learning issues that can impact parent-infant interaction. Moreover, additional disabilities are likely to increase stress, which could have cascading effects on communication. The purpose of the study was to examine interactions between mother- and father-child dyads with and without hearing loss and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Cytomegalovirus (CMV), and global delay. Recordings of the parents speaking with six infants in the study were analyzed: an infant with cochlear implants and ASD (low socioeconomic status, SES), two infants with cochlear implants and normal development (high SES and low SES), one infant with a cochlear implant and CMV (average SES), one infant with a cochlear implant and global delay (average SES), and one infant who was typically developing and had normal hearing (high SES). After analyzing the results for communication measures, such as vocalization attempts, turn-taking in utterances, mean-length of utterances, and type-token ratio, it was concluded that maternal and paternal interaction was negatively affected due not only to the difficulty of the hearing loss and/or additional disability, but rather due to a combination of factors, including the disability, SES, maternal and paternal education, and the home environment

Evaluation of a Computer-Based Observer-Effect Training on Mothers\u27 Vocal Imitation of Their Infant

Infants begin to learn important skills, such as contingency learning, social referencing, and joint attention through everyday interactions with their environment. When infants learn that their behavior produces a change in the environment (e.g., attention from others), infants engage in behavior that produces that effect (e.g., increases in smiling sustained engagement. When mothers and other caregivers respond immediately to infant behavior, they help their infant learn that the infant’s own behavior is effective, producing a change in the environment. The current investigation evaluated the effect of a computer-based training that aimed at teaching mothers to play a vocal-imitation contingency-learning game. The training included observer-effect methodology, meaning the mothers engaged in observation and evaluation of other mothers engaging in vocal imitation but did not themselves receive any direct coaching or feedback. All mothers completed the training during one session and in less than 45 min. Results indicate that all mothers increased their use of vocal imitation post training and maintained their performance at a two-week follow-up. Results are discussed in terms of how computer training may facilitate dissemination of responsive caregiver training

Impact of the Childcare Setting and Caregiver Education on Toddler Language Environment

Young children\u27s early language development is strongly related to their school performance, and slow language growth may predict later academic problems. The link between the language quality and amount of speech that children hear and their language development is well documented; however, the factors that impact variability in linguistic input are not well understood. The purpose of this quantitative study was to assess the association between childcare settings and childcare provider education level and toddlers\u27 language environment. The study sample consisted of 29 Bulgarian children. The study used a new technology called Language Environment Analysis, which is the preferred method to assess children\u27s language environment. Vygotsky\u27s theory guided this effort to understand the impact of child caregiver settings and caregiver educational background on the child language environment. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, percentage agreement, analysis of covariance, and linear logistic regressions. Results showed a significant correlation between the childcare setting and the mean number of adult words spoken around the child, child vocalizations, and conversation turns. However, the educational level of the childcare providers did not have a significant effect on the adult words pronounced by the childcare providers, the number of child vocalizations, or conversational turns. Positive social change may result from improvements in caregivers\u27 practices aimed to advance adult-child daily interaction. Future studies could provide important information to policy makers to improve childcare practices to enhance caregivers\u27 information concerning factors that could greatly influence language and overall child development in countries outside the United States

An Evaluation of the Effects of Adult Social Interaction on Infant Vocalizations

The results of previous studies suggest that infant vocalizations may be sensitive to social interaction as a reinforcer (e.g., Poulson, 1983, 1988; Rheingold, Gewirtz, & Ross, 1959). The purpose of Study 1 was to conduct descriptive analyses to examine teacher-infant interactions in three early education settings to determine (a) the prevalence of vocalizations, (b) the temporal contiguity between infant vocalizations and adult social interaction, and (c) the nature of adult social interaction. The purpose of Study 2 was to replicate the results of previous experimental analyses by demonstrating higher levels of vocalizations in a reinforcement condition as compared to levels of vocalizations in an extinction (EXT) condition. Results of Study 1 showed that (a) levels of vocalizations were similar across classrooms, (b) potential neutral contingencies between social interaction and vocalizations existed in two of the three classrooms, and (c) the nature of adult social interaction varied across the classrooms. Results of Study 2 failed to replicate those of previous research in demonstrating consistently higher levels of vocalizations in the reinforcement condition as compared to levels of vocalizations in the EXT condition. The author discusses potential reasons for this failure to replicate, including the possibility of automatically maintained vocalizations. Additional experimental analyses are necessary to further explain the inconsistent results obtained in Study 2

Maternal vocal feedback to 9-month-old infant siblings of children with ASD

Infant siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder display differences in early language and social communication skills beginning as early as the first year of life. While environmental influences on early language development are well documented in other infant populations, they have received relatively little attention inside of the infant sibling context. In this study, we analyzed home video diaries collected prospectively as part of a longitudinal study of infant siblings. Infant vowel and consonant-vowel vocalizations and maternal language-promoting and non-promoting verbal responses were scored for 30 infant siblings and 30 low risk control infants at 9 months of age. Analyses evaluated whether infant siblings or their mothers exhibited differences from low risk dyads in vocalization frequency or distribution, and whether mothers' responses were associated with other features of the high risk context. Analyses were conducted with respect to both initial risk group and preliminary outcome classification. Overall, we found no differences in infants' consonant-vowel vocalizations, the frequency of overall maternal utterances, or the distribution of mothers' response types. Both groups of infants produced more vowel than consonant-vowel vocalizations, and both groups of mothers responded to consonant-vowel vocalizations with more language-promoting than non-promoting responses. These results indicate that as a group, mothers of high risk infants provide equally high quality linguistic input to their infants in the first year of life and suggest that impoverished maternal linguistic input does not contribute to high risk infants' initial language difficulties. Implications for intervention strategies are also discussed.R21 DC 08637 - NIDCD NIH HHS; T32 MH073124 - NIMH NIH HHS; R01-DC010290 - NIDCD NIH HHS; R21 DC008637 - NIDCD NIH HHS; R01 DC010290 - NIDCD NIH HHS; U54 HD090255 - NICHD NIH HH

The effect of telepractice on vocal interaction between provider, deaf and hard-of-hearing pediatric patients, and caregivers.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how telepractice affects a vocal interaction between a speech-language pathologist (SLP), deaf and hard-of-hearing children who received cochlear implants (n = 7), and caregivers as they engage in speech-language interventions conducted in-person and via telepractice (tele). Frequency of vocalizations, vocal turns, pause duration, fundamental frequency (F0) mean and range, utterance duration, syllable rate per utterance duration, and mean length of utterance (MLU) were examined. The SLP vocalized more during in-person than tele-sessions, opposite result for the mother. There were more SLP-child turns during in-person sessions than tele-sessions; opposite result for mother-child turns. Pauses were longer in SLP-child, mother-child turns during tele than in-person sessions. The SLP increased mean F0, SLP and child expanded F0 range in tele-sessions. The mother had longer utterance duration, higher MLU during in-person than tele-sessions. Results suggest vocal interactions between provider, patient, and caregiver are impacted by intervention service modality