The German Music@Home: Validation of a questionnaire measuring at home musical exposure and interaction of young children.

The present study introduces the German version of the original version of the Music@Home questionnaire developed in the UK, which systematically evaluates musical engagement in the home environment of young children. Two versions are available, an Infant version for children aged three to 23 months and a Preschool version for children aged two to five and a half years. For the present study, the original Music@Home questionnaire was translated from English into German and 656 caregivers completed the questionnaire online. A confirmatory factor analysis showed moderate to high fit indices for both versions, confirming the factor structure of the original questionnaire. Also, the reliability coefficients for the subscales (Parental beliefs, Child engagement with music, Parent initiation of singing, Parent initiation of music-making for the Infant version and Parental beliefs, Child engagement with music, Parent initiation of music behavior and Breadth of musical exposure for the Preschool version) ranged from moderate to high fits. Furthermore, the test-retest analysis (N = 392) revealed high correlations for the general factor and all subscales confirming their internal reliability. Additionally, we included language questionnaires for children of two and three years of age. Results showed that higher scores on the Music@Home questionnaire were moderately associated with better language skills in two-year-olds (N = 118). In sum, the study presents the validated German Music@Home questionnaire, which shows good psychometric properties. The two versions of the questionnaire are available for use in order to assess home musical engagement of young children, which could be of interest in many areas of developmental research

Effects of music therapy in the treatment of children with delayed speech development - results of a pilot study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Language development is one of the most significant processes of early childhood development. Children with delayed speech development are more at risk of acquiring other cognitive, social-emotional, and school-related problems. Music therapy appears to facilitate speech development in children, even within a short period of time. The aim of this pilot study is to explore the effects of music therapy in children with delayed speech development.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 18 children aged 3.5 to 6 years with delayed speech development took part in this observational study in which music therapy and no treatment were compared to demonstrate effectiveness. Individual music therapy was provided on an outpatient basis. An ABAB reversal design with alternations between music therapy and no treatment with an interval of approximately eight weeks between the blocks was chosen. Before and after each study period, a speech development test, a non-verbal intelligence test for children, and music therapy assessment scales were used to evaluate the speech development of the children.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared to the baseline, we found a positive development in the study group after receiving music therapy. Both phonological capacity and the children's understanding of speech increased under treatment, as well as their cognitive structures, action patterns, and level of intelligence. Throughout the study period, developmental age converged with their biological age. Ratings according to the Nordoff-Robbins scales showed clinically significant changes in the children, namely in the areas of client-therapist relationship and communication.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study suggests that music therapy may have a measurable effect on the speech development of children through the treatment's interactions with fundamental aspects of speech development, including the ability to form and maintain relationships and prosodic abilities. Thus, music therapy may provide a basic and supportive therapy for children with delayed speech development. Further studies should be conducted to investigate the mechanisms of these interactions in greater depth.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>The trial is registered in the German clinical trials register; Trial-No.: DRKS00000343</p

Viscoelastic and self-healing behavior of silica filled ionically modified poly(isobutylene-co-isoprene) rubber

Rubber composites were prepared by mixing bromobutyl rubber (BIIR) with silica particles in the presence of 1-butylimidazole. In addition to pristine (precipitated) silica, silanized particles with aliphatic or imidazolium functional groups, respectively, were used as filler. The silanization was carried out either separately or in situ during compounding. The silanized particles were characterized by TGA, 1H-29Si cross polarization (CP)/MAS NMR, and Zeta potential measurements. During compounding, the bromine groups of BIIR were converted with 1-butylimidazole to ionic imidazolium groups which formed a dynamic network by ionic association. Based on DMA temperature and strain sweep measurements as well as cyclic tensile tests and stress-strain measurements it could be concluded that interactions between the ionic groups and interactions with the functional groups of the silica particles strongly influence the mechanical and viscoelastic behavior of the composites. A particularly pronounced reinforcing effect was observed for the composite with pristine silica, which was attributed to acid-base interactions between the silanol and imidazolium groups. In composites with alkyl or imidazolium functionalized silica particles, the interactions between the filler and the rubber matrix form dynamic networks with pronounced self-healing behavior and excellent tensile strength values of up to 19 MPa. This new approach in utilizing filler-matrix interactions in the formation of dynamic networks opens up new avenues in designing new kinds of particle-reinforced self-healing elastomeric materials with high technological relevance

Die interdisziplinäre S3-Leitlinie zur Therapie von Sprachentwicklungsstörungen - das Wichtigste in Kürze

Hintergrund: Sprachentwicklungsstörungen (SES) gehören zu den häufigsten und am häufigsten behandelten Störungen im Kindesalter und wirken sich bis ins Jugend- und Erwachsenenalter negativ auf den Bildungserfolg und den sozialen Status aus. Ihre Prävalenz beträgt etwa 9,9 %. Die Mehrheit der Kinder mit SES hat keine weiteren gravierenden sprachrelevanten Störungen (Prävalenz ca. 7,4-7,6 %), ca. 2,3 % haben zusätzliche Beeinträchtigungen, die zu einer SES beitragen können, wie Hörstörungen oder neurologische Entwicklungsstörungen. Phonologische Aussprachestörungen, die einen Teil der SES bilden, sind oft mit späteren Lese- und Rechtschreibschwierigkeiten verbunden.Material und Methoden: Aus diesen Gründen und vor allem, um evidenzbasierte Empfehlungen für wirksame Interventionen bei SES abzugeben, die dem aktuellen wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisstand Rechnung tragen, wurde eine S3-Leitlinie dazu erstellt. Sie basiert auf einem systematischen Review zur Wirksamkeit von Interventionen für SES insgesamt, für die einzelnen linguistischen Domänen und für das Late-Talker-Risikostadium für SES.Ergebnisse: Die Leitlinie empfiehlt (a) bei Late Talkers (Alter 24-36 Monate) bei expressiver Sprachverzögerung strukturiertes Elterntraining, bei zusätzlicher rezeptiver Sprachverzögerung oder anderen Risikofaktoren Sprachtherapie, (b) bei phonologischen Aussprachestörungen phonologische oder integrierte Behandlungsmethoden; bei phonetischen Störungen einen traditionellen motorischen Ansatz, (c) bei lexikalisch-semantischen und d) morphologisch-syntaktischen Störungen eine Kombination aus impliziten und expliziten Methoden (Inputanreicherung, Modellierungstechniken, Elizitationsmethoden zur Schaffung von Produktionsgelegenheiten, Einsatz von Metasprache und Visualisierungen). Zudem werden Interventionsprinzipien und -methoden für pragmatische SES und für SES bei mehrsprachigen Kindern, für die stationäre Sprachrehabilitation und für SES im Zusammenhang mit Hörstörungen, geistiger Behinderung, Autismus-Spektrum-Störungen, selektivem Mutismus sowie sprachrelevanten Syndromen und Mehrfachbehinderungen empfohlen.Diskussion: Die Leitlinie impliziert auch pädagogische Aspekte und soll eine hochwertige Therapieforschung anregen, die die Einbeziehung der Eltern, das Therapiesetting und die Dosierung (Häufigkeit, Dauer, Inhaltsmodule pro Therapiesitzung) berücksichtigt.Fazit: Die Leitlinie bietet eine klare, empirisch fundierte Anleitung für wirksame Interventionen bei SES