Measures of phonological and lexical processing in typically developing and late talking children

Tesis doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Psicología, Departamento de Psicología Evolutiva y de la Educación. Fecha de lectura: 10-07-201

A Sentence Repetition Task in Spanish language: a valid tool for early language assessment

ABSTRACT Purpose Sentence Repetition Tasks (SRT) have been widely used to assess early language abilities in different languages and populations. In addition, it has been proved that performance in SRTs serve as a clinical marker to detect language difficulties. However, most of the research has been conducted in English language and with children older than 4 years of age. Despite this scarcity, [1] developed a SRT for monolingual Spanish-speaking children between 2 and 4 years of age. Initial findings showed that it is a useful tool for discriminating children with different linguistic levels. In addition, the task showed concurrent validity with a nonword repetition task. In the current study we want to explore the predictive validity of this task. Methods We conducted a longitudinal study including 20 monolingual Spanish-Speaking children who were tested twice, at 33 months of age and six months later. In addition to the SRT, participants completed a nonword repetition task [2] and the Spanish version of the Merrill-Palmer-R Developmental Scales [3]. Results showed strong and positive relationships between the different tests when first assessed. We also found strong and predictive relationships between the SRT at time 1 and SRT and the Merrill-Palmer-R at time 2. Conclusion We conclude that the SRT developed [1] is a valid tool for examining early language abilities and its changes over time

Medidas de procesamiento fonológico y léxico en niñas y niños con distintos niveles lingüísticos

Esta tesis forma parte de una línea de investigación más amplia centrada en el desarrollo lingüístico temprano desde una perspectiva emergentista. El equipo de investigación al que pertenecen la doctoranda y las codirectoras ha participado en proyectos en los que se trata de integrar información procedente de distintas tareas experimentales, pruebas estandarizadas y metodología observacional. En el seno de esta línea de investigación tan amplia, el presente trabajo se centra en el procesamiento fonológico y léxico tempranos, teniendo en cuenta la variabilidad que caracteriza al desarrollo del lenguaje durante los dos primeros años de vida. Así, los niños y las niñas con retraso inicial del lenguaje y hablantes tardíos cobran especial relevancia. La mayor parte de los estudios sobre niños y niñas hablantes tardíos se han realizado de forma descriptiva y en lengua inglesa. La bibliografía revela que la mitad de la población con niveles muy bajos de vocabulario productivo alrededor de los dos años de edad alcanza niveles medios y altos al llegar a la etapa escolar. Sin embargo, desconocemos qué variables lingüísticas están implicadas en estos procesos de cambio. La tesis doctoral pretende, pues, analizar el papel que desempeñan distintas variables lingüísticas en los cambios que ocurren en el procesamiento fonoléxico durante las primeras etapas. Como se acaba de señalar, se tienen en cuenta los distintos niveles de vocabulario.MadridES

Effects of grammatical category and morphology on fast mapping in typically developing and late talking toddlers

The purpose of this study was to examine early fast mapping abilities in late talkers (LT) and typically developing (TD) Spanish-speaking children by considering the effect of different variables on fast mapping (age, vocabulary level, grammatical category and number morphology). Thirty-eight Spanish-speaking children were assessed at three times (21 to 24 months at the beginning of the study). A group of LT was matched in age with a TD control group. They completed a fast mapping task with a disambiguation phase and an extension phase. Results show that vocabulary level and age interact with grammatical category and number morphology. TD children’s performance was significantly higher than LT children’s, but these differences decreased with age. Results suggest that the incorporation of new labels does not work automatically; some children may need repeated exposures to word–referent pairings. Longitudinal results suggest the importance of looking at the dynamics of lexical acquisition in addition to vocabulary size.Depto. de Investigación y Psicología en EducaciónFac. de PsicologíaTRUEpu

Los métodos basados en la duración de la mirada: ¿una ventana a la cognición temprana?

Los métodos experimentales para estudiar el desarrollo temprano han dominado la investigación en desarrollo cognitivo temprano durante las últimas décadas. La mayoría de las investigaciones se han llevado a cabo en laboratorios infantiles que utilizan la mirada de los bebés y niños pequeños como variable dependiente. Estos métodos han permitido acceder a información sobre capacidades cognitivas tempranas que anteriormente era impensable. En este trabajo revisamos, con una mirada crítica, las investigaciones que han utilizado dos métodos paradigmáticos: la habituación (en la variante llamada “violación de expectativas”) y la preferencia visual intermodal. Ambos permiten, respectivamente, valorar los avances realizados en la investigación sobre capacidades perceptivas y representacionales, y desarrollo lingüístico. Discutimos aspectos metodológicos como la elección del diseño y las medidas de las variables dependientes. Asimismo, se revisan las interpretaciones de los datos procedentes de estas investigaciones y la difusión que han tenido para promover una visión determinada del desarrollo temprano.Experimental methods used to study early development have dominated research on early cognitive development during the last decades. Most of the research carried out has used looking time measures as the dependent variable. These methods have given access to information on early cognitive abilities previously unthinkable. The paper critically reviews research work using two paradigmatic methods: habituation (the variant called “violation of expectations”), and intermodal visual preference. These two paradigms allow us to evaluate research progress on the study of complex cognitive-linguistic process, such as object perception, and the development of early grammar comprehension, respectively. Methodological aspects such as the choice of the design and measures of dependent variables are discussed. We also review the interpretation of data from these research studies and the diffusion they have had in order to promote a certain view of early development.Depto. de Investigación y Psicología en EducaciónFac. de PsicologíaTRUEpu

Changes in the Synchrony of Multimodal Communication in Early Language Development

Purpose: The aim of this study is to analyze the changes in temporal synchrony between gesture and speech of multimodal communicative behaviors in the transition from babbling to two-word productions. Method: Ten Spanish-speaking children were observed at 9, 12, 15, and 18 months of age in a semistructured play situation. We longitudinally analyzed the synchrony between gestures and vocal productions and between their prominent parts. We also explored the relationship between gestural–vocal synchrony and independent measures of language development. Results: showed that multimodal communicative behaviors tend to be shorter with age, with an increasing overlap of its constituting elements. The same pattern is found when considering the synchrony between the prominent parts. The proportion of overlap between gestural and vocal elements at 15 months of age as well as the proportion of the stroke overlapped with vocalization appear to be related to lexical development 3 months later. Conclusions: These results suggest that children produce gestures and vocalizations as coordinated elements of a single communication system before the transition to the two-word stage. This coordination is related to subsequent lexical development in this period.Depto. de Investigación y Psicología en EducaciónFac. de PsicologíaTRUEpu

Baremación de una tarea de repetición de pseudopalabras para la evaluación del desarrollo léxico

It has been demonstrated that the ability to repeat non-words is a good marker of lexical development in a number of languages, including Spanish. In addition, the ability to repeat nonwords has been used as a good discriminator between typically developing children and children with language delays or other language difficulties. However, despite its potential usefulness for clinical and research purposes, there is no validated scale in Spanish. To address this situation, we present a scale based on a sample of 342 monolingual Spanish-speaking children aged from four to seven years. After data analysis, a scale was elaborated to provide populational references for colleagues working in educational, clinical and research fields. The results show a ceiling effect for six years olds, as well as for monomorphemic and bisyllabic items. Implications of these scores are discussed in the corresponding section.La habilidad para repetir pseudopalabras se ha mostrado como un buen marcador de desarrollo léxico en multitud de lenguas incluyendo el español. Además, permite discriminar en buena medida entre niños con desarrollo típico y niños con trastornos y retrasos del lenguaje. Sin embargo, pese a su potencial importancia para su uso clínico e investigador, en español no contamos con baremos para una lista de estímulos determinada. Con el objetivo salvar esta notable carencia, se realiza una tarea de repetición de pseudopalabras a una muestra total de 342 niños y niñas monolingües españoles de entre cuatro y siete años. Tras el análisis de los resultados se elaboró un baremo con el objeto de aportar referencias poblacionales a colegas que trabajan en las citadas áreas clínico-educativas y de investigación. Los resultados muestran un efecto techo de esta tarea a los 6 años, así como para los estímulos monomorfémicos y bisílabos. Las implicaciones de estos resultados y baremo obtenido son discutidas en el apartado correspondiente. Palabras clave: Baremación; Desarrollo léxico; Repetición de pseudopalaSección Deptal. de Investigación y Psicología en Educación (Psicología)Fac. de PsicologíaTRUEpu

Word and Nonword Repetition Abilities in Spanish Language: Longitudinal Evidence from Typically Developing and Late Talking Children

This longitudinal study examined the early word and nonword repetition abilities of monolingual Spanish speaking children. We explored the role that word status, word length, and time play in repetition performance of children with different vocabulary levels. We also examined the predictive value of vocabulary level in repetition abilities. Thirty-seven children participated in this study: 15 late talkers and 22 typically developing children. Families completed the Spanish version of the MacArthur Communicative Developmental Inventory (MCDI) at age 2; children performed a word and nonword repetition task at three different moments, with a temporal interval of 6 months between Time 1 and Time 2, and eight months between Time 2 and Time 3, periods during which linguistic development takes place. We found significant effects for word status, word length, vocabulary level and time: words are repeated better than nonwords; one syllable items are easier to repeat than two and three syllable ones; the performance of late talking children is lower compared to typically developing children throughout the study; and repetition abilities improve longitudinally. In addition, early vocabulary level predicts subsequent repetition abilities and early nonword repetition abilities predict future nonword repetition performance.Sección Deptal. de Investigación y Psicología en Educación (Psicología)Fac. de PsicologíaTRUEpu

Verbal and More: Multimodality in Adults’ and Toddlers’ Spontaneous Repetitions

This study investigated verbal imitation from a multimodal point of view, considering the mutual influence of children’s and adults’ participation. Sixteen Spanish-speaking children were observed longitudinally at 21, 24, and 30 months of age in natural settings. We analyzed the multimodal characteristics of children’s and adults’ repetitions, considering whether they were verbal, verbal-gestural, or gestural. In addition, we also analyzed the multi-modal characteristics of the utterances that were repeated (source). Measures of vocabulary and grammatical levels were also taken into account at the three points in development. Results showed that verbal-gestural repetitions were frequent in the speech of children and adults, although not as frequent as verbal repetitions. Nevertheless, verbal-gestural speech was reproduced more frequently than verbal speech. Adults were more likely to reproduce children’s speech when it included gestures, which was also related to children’s linguistic level. Furthermore, children and adults synchronize their multimodal communicative behaviors, coordinating the modality of their repetitions with the modality of the source speech. The results are discussed taking into account the need to study the multimodal characteristics of child-directed speech, as well as the need to study verbal repetition and multimodal communicative behaviors simultaneously, as forms of interaction that are essential to language development.FEDER, Ministerio de Innovación y Universidades, Agencia Estatal de InvestigaciónDepto. de Psicología Experimental, Procesos Cognitivos y LogopediaFac. de PsicologíaTRUEpu

La percepción de las personas sordas sobre la lectura: una mirada a la adolescencia

El presente estudio pone el acento en la percepción que las personas sordas tienen sobre la lectura, con una especial reflexión sobre la adolescencia. Describe cuáles son los hábitos de lectura de la población adolescente sorda, sus itinerarios y estilos lectores, marcados en muchas ocasiones por las dificultades a las que se enfrentan, pero también por una férrea voluntad de superar las barreras que les separan de la experiencia lectora