Speech planning as an index of speech motor control maturity

International audienceThis paper investigates speech motor control maturity in 4-year-old Canadian French children. Acoustic and ultrasound data recorded from four children, and for comparison, from four adults, are presented and analyzed. Maturity of speech motor control is assessed by measuring two characteristics: token-to-token variability of isolated vowels, as a measure of motor control accuracy, and extra-syllabic anticipatory coarticulation within V1-C-V2 sequences. In line with theories of optimal motor control, anticipatory coarticulation is assumed to be based on the use of internal models of the speech apparatus and its efficiency is considered to reflect the maturity of these representations. In agreement with former studies, token-to-token variability is larger in children than in adults. An anticipation of V2 in V1 was found in all adults but in none of the children studied so far. These results indicate that children's speech motor control is immature from two perspectives: insufficiently accurate motor control patterns for vowel production, and inability to anticipate forthcoming gestures. Both aspects are discussed and interpreted in the context of the immaturity of the internal representations of the speech motor apparatus in 4-year-old children

Speech planning in 4-year-old children versus adults: Acoustic and articulatory analyses

International audienceThis study investigates speech motor control in 4-year-old Canadian French children in comparison with adults. It focuses on measures of token-to-token variability in the production of isolated vowels and on anticipatory extra-syllabic coarticulation within V 1-C-V 2 sequences. Acoustic and ultrasound articulatory data were recorded. Acoustic data from 20 children and 10 adults have been analyzed. Thus far, ultrasound data have been analyzed from a subset of these participants: 6 children and 2 adults. In agreement with former studies, token-to-token variability was greater in children than in adults. Strong anticipation of V 2 in V 1 was found in all adults, but not in children. Most of the children showed no anticipation at all and some of them showed a small amount of anticipation along the antero-posterior dimension only, manifested in the acoustic F2 dimension. These results are interpreted as evidence for the immaturity of children's speech motor control from two perspectives: insufficiently stable motor control patterns for vowel production, and a lack of effectiveness in anticipating forthcoming gestures. In line with theories of optimal motor control, anticipatory coarticulation is assumed to be based on the use of internal models of the speech apparatus and the increasing maturation of these representations as speech develops

A summary of research in reading readiness

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston UniversityPurpose: To measure the various abilities presented in the readiness workbooks of basal reading series and to relate the findings to reading achievement of Grade One in January; to measure, also, the knowledge of letter names and sounds and relate the findings to reading achievement of Grade One in January. Materials Used: Workbooks of nine systems were analyzed to discover types and frequency of suggested exercises. Four general areas were in evidence; auditory discrimination, language development, motor skills, and visual discrimination. Groups tests were constructed to include exercises comparable to the published ones with ceilings in all areas beyond the workbook material. In addition to these four tests, the Boston University Individual Test and the Boston University First Grade Success Study (January Test) were given. Intelligence was measured by the Otis Quick Scoring Mental Ability Test which had been given in October [TRUNCATED

Developmental changes in electrophysiology and speech during problem-solving as predictors of inhibitory control in preschool

The current study examined developmental changes in electrophysiological indices of frontal cortical maturity across the toddler years and assessed how variation between children in the initial level and amount of change were associated with variation in their inhibitory control (IC) abilities in preschool. Additionally, to provide information about the role of language in the development of IC, the study also examined children’s speech during problem-solving at 3 years and assessed how variation between children in the overall amount and content of their private (i.e., self-directed) and social speech in this context were associated with variation in their IC. Finally, the current study assessed whether the amount of speech during problem-solving was a mediating mechanism through which the overall level of frontal cortical maturity across the toddler years was associated with children’s IC in preschool. One-hundred and eighty children (54% male) participated in the study. Frontal cortical maturity was assessed from resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) at 10, 24, and 36 months; spectral power (6-9 Hz) at frontal scalp sites was computed and averaged to yield composites. Children’s problem-solving speech was observed at 3 years from a challenging puzzle task; mothers were nearby but unavailable to help. Utterances were transcribed and coded based on orientation (social vs. private) and content. Children’s IC was assessed at 4 years from a battery of observational tasks and surveys completed by mothers and experimenters. Frontal EEG power composites were modeled in a growth curve using structural equation modeling; associations between individual variation around growth parameters (intercept, slope), speech variables, and IC were examined in Mplus. Results indicated that there was significant, positive linear change in children’s resting frontal EEG power values from 10 months to 3 years, suggesting this is a period of maturational growth in the frontal cortex. Although a significant amount of variance in the initial level (intercept) and amount of change (slope) were observed, it was not associated with variation in children’s IC at age 4 or in the amount of speech they produced during problem-solving at age 3. However, the amount of speech children produced during problem-solving was significantly negatively associated with their IC, suggesting that young children who are more vocally reactive to challenges (e.g., frustration) may have lower IC in the preschool period. Additionally, the proportion of children’s private speech that was ‘mature’ (i.e., semantically on-task, coordinated with task-relevant manual actions) was positively associated with their IC, which is consistent with theory and previous research. Finally, a significant positive association between the proportion of children’s social speech that was classified as ‘help-seeking’ and their IC was observed, suggesting that motivation to comply with adults’ requests is an important factor in this developmental process. Collectively, these findings suggest that characteristics of young children’s speech during problem-solving at 3 years help explain variance in their IC skills at age 4, but that additional research is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms and the role of children’s frontal cortical maturity

A paralisia cerebral infantil e a linguagem : uma revisão sistemática

Aim: The aim of this systematic review was to describe the language’s development in children with cerebral palsy and its association with other variables, such as the Cerebral Palsy (CP) subtype and the level of Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS). Method: A systematic review was carried out, following the prisma check-list. The databases consulted were PUBMED, SCOPUS and Web of Science. Articles published in other languages, than English, and articles that used only functional measures to assess expressive language, were excluded. The Systematic Review Protocol was registered in the PROSPERO Register. Results: A total of 723 publications were found in the PUBMED, SCOPUS and WEB of SCIENCE databases. Of these articles, 374 duplicates were excluded. Most of the included studies were developed in European countries and in the last 10 years. There were only 2 case-control studies, which compared tipically developped (TD) children with children with CP, as all the others being observational cohort studies, organized either by CP subtype or by other functional classifications. Regarding the evaluated language subdomains, all studies assessed receptive language and most all of those also assessed expressive language. Within these two main areas, there was great variability in the specific domains evaluated, from semantics, phonological awareness, articulation, lexical development. Conclusion: The data found in this systematic review reinforces the idea proposed by previous researchers that the motor disorders are often accompanied by disturbances in cognition and, in particular, in language. In the studies where the CP children were compared with TD children, although there was significant variability among subdomains, the performance was, in general, poorer. In what concerns the association with the GMFCS level and the CP subtype, all articles showed that as GMFCS level increases, the language impairments also increase and the dyskinetic subtype seemed to be the one with poorer performance in language tasks, results that are in line with previous research

Evidence for Speech Sound Disorder (SSD) Assessment

Comprehensive studies on aspects related to the assessment of different biomedical parameters (acoustic and laryngeal signs and oral airflow amplitude), as well as parameters for speech disorders, articulation rate, speech inconsistency, and speech stimulability, are essential for better professional practice and to understand misarticulations in children with speech sound disorders (SSDs). Different equipments that enable noninvasive collection and analysis of data have become more common in speech-language pathology practice. Studies recently conducted by our research group have emphasized the evaluation of auditory-perceptual processing by means of assessments of central auditory processing, electrophysiology of hearing—considering that pure-tone, speech audiometry, and tympanometry are routinely used with children during the diagnostic phase and motor speech production performed by acoustic analysis of speech, electroglottography, aerodynamic measures, and ultrasound tongue imaging. This chapter presents the recent advances observed in studies with Brazilian-Portuguese speakers aiming to improve the assessment of speech sound disorders and to understand better the relationship between the different processing mechanisms involved in speech

Literature review of preschool and kindergarten screening devices

The purpose of this study was to review the literature concerning screening devices that have been developed for use with children at the preschool and kindergarten level

How to study the mind: An introduction to embodied cognition

Embodied Cognition (EC) is a comprehensive approach to, and framework for, the study of the mind. EC treats cognition as a coordinated set of tools evolved by organisms for coping with their environments. Each of the key terms in this characterization-tool, evolved, organism, coping, and environment-has a special significance for understanding the mind that is discussed in this article

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes

This bibliography lists 138 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in Jun. 1980