Speech and language development of children born at < or = 32 weeks' gestation: a 5-year prospective follow-up study

Speech and language comprehension and production were assessed at the age of 5 years in a cohort of children born preterm at < or = 32 weeks' gestational age (N=55) in comparison with children born at term and of similar age, sex, and social backgrounds. Data both including and excluding major neurological disabilities are presented. Mean performance for the entire group of preterm children was significantly lower than for the controls on most of the measures including the composite IQ scores. When the nine children who had major neurological disabilities were excluded from the preterm group, statistically significant differences were found on four of the total 12 speech and language measures. Intellectually normal preterm children without major neurological disability were slower than the controls on rapid word retrieval. In addition, difficulties in comprehending relative concepts were typical for the preterm children. The results suggest 'subtle dysnomia', which is indicative of later reading problems. On global verbal measures and on the basic speech and language aspects the study groups did not differ. Specific language impairment, defined as a discrepancy of > 1SD between Performance IQ and Verbal IQ scores, showed a tendency to be more common in the control group. Within both the study groups, the boys showed a tendency for a greater discrepancy between their Performance and Verbal IQ scores.     

At risk for language disorders? Correlates and course of language disorders in preschool children born at risk

The language abilities of 324 children of an at-risk population were investigated at age 2 and 4.5 y. Modified research criteria of the ICD-10 for specific developmental disorders of speech and language were applied. Frequencies between 4% and 7%, depending on age and type of disorder, were diagnosed among children whose performance on the language measure was only 1 instead of ICD-10's 2 SD below group mean, but the discrepancy measure of 1 SD between non-verbal language score and language measure was retained. Psychosocial aspects of a child's environment proved to be better predictors of later language disorders than obstetric complications. Stability of specific language disorders was on the whole fairly low, but children who perform below age level on language measures remained at risk. Gender differences are almost compensated by the age 4.5 y.     

Identification and cloning of three novel human G protein-coupled receptor genes GPR52, PsiGPR53 and GPR55: GPR55 is extensively expressed in human brain

OBJECTIVES: To examine the psychoeducational profile associated with the chromosome 22q11.2 microdeletion (DiGeorge/velocardiofacial syndrome). STUDY DESIGN: Thirty-three patients (aged 6 to 27 years) with a 22q11.2 microdeletion underwent psychoeducational testing as part of a comprehensive evaluation. Nonparametric statistics were used to compare verbal and performance IQ, academic achievement scores, and receptive versus expressive language scores. Post hoc comparisons were made of IQ subtest scores and of language versus verbal IQ. RESULTS: Full-scale IQ ranged from the normal to the moderately retarded range. Mean verbal IQ was significantly higher than mean performance IQ. In a similar manner, mean reading and spelling scores were superior to the mean mathematics score, although achievement scores typically were in the range of verbal IQ. In addition, many children showed clinically significant language impairments, with mean language scores lower than mean verbal IQ. CONCLUSIONS: The IQ and academic profiles are reminiscent of a "nonverbal learning disability," although achievement was not discrepant from IQ. The coincidence of language impairment with a relative strength in reading belies a unique neuropsychologic profile. Educational programming for these children must address both verbal and nonverbal deficits.     

Intra-oral shape recognition by 138 mentally retarded subjects

Among Ss with normal intelligence, oral shape-recognition tests have shown a relationship between articulatory ability and oral sensory integrity. This investigation explored oral sensory impairment as a possible contributory cause of the articulatory difficulties exhibited by the mentally retarded. The Florida Oral-form Recognition Measure (FORM), a task requiring the intra-oral identification of 10 geometric shapes, was administered to 138 mentally retarded Ss. Twenty Ss were retested to establish reliability. Ss were placed in groups according to etiological categories (AAMD classification) and were assigned speech ratings by a speech pathologist. Of the total sample, 86% had varying degrees of defective speech or language. Mean FORM score was 3.5, and preliminary analysis yielded significant correlations between FORM score and IQ and between speech and language rating. Further multivariate analysis with IQ held as a co-variant indicated no significant relationship between FORM score and communicative ability. This suggests caution in inferring that intra-oral shape-recognition scores reflect degree of oral sensory integrity. Perhaps a battery of oral perceptual tasks might more validly assess oral sensation-perception and aid in clarifying its relationship to speech.     

Cochlear implantation of children with minimal open-set speech recognition skills

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the postoperative performance of 12 children who demonstrated some open-set speech recognition skills before receiving a Nucleus multichannel cochlear implant with a view toward expanding the selection criteria for cochlear implant candidacy to include children who derive minimal benefit from amplification. DESIGN: Pre- and postoperative performance of two groups of children were compared. Group 1 consisted of 12 children who demonstrated some open-set speech recognition skills before receiving a Nucleus multichannel cochlear implant (Borderline group). Group 2 consisted of 12 children who demonstrated no open-set speech recognition skills before implantation with a Nucleus device (Traditional group). In all children, candidacy was determined based on preimplant binaural aided performance. For most subjects, the poorer ear was selected for implantation. Mean pre- and postoperative speech recognition scores of the Borderline subjects were compared to determine the benefit provided by their cochlear implants. Secondly, matched-pair analyses were used to compare the mean speech recognition scores obtained by the Borderline and Traditional subjects. RESULTS: The scores of the Borderline group improved significantly on five of six speech recognition measures when 6 mo postoperative scores obtained with the implant were compared with preoperative test scores obtained with hearing aids. By the 12 mo postoperative interval, the scores of the Borderline group had improved significantly (p < 0.05) on all six measures. In contrast, scores obtained by the Traditional group had improved significantly on three of six measures at both the 6 and 12 mo postoperative intervals. Comparison of postoperative test scores revealed that the Borderline group scored significantly higher than the Traditional group on three of six measures at the 6 mo test interval and on six of six measures at the 12 mo test interval (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study indicate that both groups derive significant benefit from their cochlear implants. Although the mean preoperative audiograms for the implanted ears did not differ significantly for the two groups of subjects, members of the Borderline group exhibited significantly better speech recognition skills than the Traditional group during the first year after implantation. These findings suggest that the increased auditory experience of the Borderline subjects positively influenced their performance with a cochlear implant. The authors advocate that the selection criteria used to determine pediatric cochlear implant candidacy be broadened to include consideration of children who demonstrate minimal open-set speech recognition skills.     

Infants' early ability to segment the conversational speech signal predicts later language development: A retrospective analysis.

Two studies examined relationships between infants' early speech processing performance and later language and cognitive outcomes. Study 1 found that performance on speech segmentation tasks before 12 months of age related to expressive vocabulary at 24 months. However, performance on other tasks was not related to 2-year vocabulary. Study 2 assessed linguistic and cognitive skills at 4-6 years of age for children who had participated in segmentation studies as infants. Children who had been able to segment words from fluent speech scored higher on language measures, but not general IQ, as preschoolers. Results suggest that speech segmentation ability is an important prerequisite for successful language development, and they offer potential for developing measures to detect language impairment at an earlier age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimental studies on the infectivity of Anguillicola crassus third-stage larvae (Nematoda) from paratenic hosts

Speech, language, and communication disorders are prominent reasons for referrals to a child development center. From 1984 to 1988, 1,090 preschool children were referred to our child development center, which serves the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. Of all referrals, 432 (41%) were primarily due to speech, language, and communication problems. After exclusion of those with IQ < 50 and those with non-language-related disabilities, 323 children remained. The children were classified into different subtypes of developmental language disorders and autistic spectrum disorders. The main developmental language disorder subtypes were combined expressive-receptive (49%) and expressive (44%). Central processing deficits were less common, occurring in 20 (7%) of the children. Parents of children with developmental language disorders had educational levels similar to those of parents of children referred to the child development center for other causes. However, parents of children with infantile autism had higher educational levels than parents of children with developmental language disorder or parents of children referred for other causes (P < .001). Our results reflect the distribution of language and related problems in an unselected population of preschool children referred to a child development center.     

Children with in utero cocaine exposure do not differ from control subjects on intelligence testing

OBJECTIVE: To determine if in utero cocaine exposure affects IQ scores in children at age 4 years. DESIGN: A prospective, longitudinal evaluation by blinded examiners of the IQ scores of cocaine-exposed and control children of low socioeconomic status who have been observed since birth. SETTING: A study center in an inner-city hospital. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred one children with in utero cocaine exposure and 118 control children, all of whom were 34 weeks' gestational age or older and nonasphyxiated at birth. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Intelligence quotient scores on a standardized intelligence test, the Wechsler preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence--Revised. RESULTS: Seventy-one cocaine-exposed and 78 control children were administered the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence--Revised. Maternal, natal, and 30-month characteristics of the children tested did not differ from those not tested. Groups did not differ on mean Performance (83.2 vs 87.0), Verbal (79.0 vs 80.8), or Full Scale (79.0 vs 81.9) IQ scores (all P > or = .10 [values for cocaine-exposed children given first]). None of these 3 scores was associated with cocaine exposure in multivariate linear regressions. Although cocaine-exposed and control groups did not differ in outcome, 93% of cocaine-exposed and 96% of control children had Full Scale IQ scores below 100, the mean IQ score for the test. CONCLUSIONS: In an inner-city cohort, IQ scores did not differ between cocaine-exposed and control children. However, both groups performed poorly.     

Behavioral treatment and normal educational and intellectual functioning in young autistic children.

Autism is a serious psychological disorder with onset in early childhood. Autistic children show minimal emotional attachment, absent or abnormal speech, retarded IQ, ritualistic behaviors, aggression, and self-injury. The prognosis is very poor, and medical therapies have not proven effective. This article reports the results of behavior modification treatment for two groups of similarly constituted, young autistic children. Follow-up data from an intensive, long-term experimental treatment group (n?=?19) showed that 47% achieved normal intellectual and educational functioning, with normal-range IQ scores and successful first grade performance in public schools. Another 40% were mildly retarded and assigned to special classes for the language delayed, and only 10% were profoundly retarded and assigned to classes for the autistic/retarded. In contrast, only 2% of the control-group children (n?=?40) achieved normal educational and intellectual functioning; 45% were mildly retarded and placed in language-delayed classes, and 53% were severely retarded and placed in autistic/retarded classes. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temperament in late talkers

This study examines the temperamental characteristics of children who were identified at age two as being slow in expressive language development, and those of peers with normal language history. When the children were in first grade (approximately age six), parents and clinicians rated subjects' temperamental characteristics, using a standardized temperament assessment instrument. Subjects with a history of slow expressive language development were rated significantly lower on Approach/Withdrawal--indicating shyness, aloofness, or reduced outgoingness--than peers with normal language history. Approach/Withdrawal scores were significantly correlated with average sentence length in spontaneous speech, and this measure also predicted Approach/Withdrawal scores in regression analyses. The clinical and theoretical implications of these findings for early language delay are discussed.     

Utility of WAIS–R seven-subtest short form as applied to the standardization sample.

Summary scores from the full Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS–R; D. Wechsler, 1981) and the 7-subtest abbreviated form of the WAIS–R were examined across age and education levels in the standardization sample. Full scale IQ (FSIQ) scores demonstrated the highest comparability between forms, followed by verbal IQ (VIQ) and then performance IQ (PIQ) scores. In comparison with FSIQ and VIQ, correlations between the test versions were consistently lower for PIQ. Lower reliability was found among education groups and tests that included subtests that demonstrated greater variability. Age grouping did not impact the alternative forms reliability. The findings support the use of the 7-subtest short form of the WAIS–R primarily for VIQ and FSIQ summary scores with the additional caution that results from abbreviated scores result in reduced reliability and a larger standard error of measure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuropsychological test performance and the attention deficit disorders: Clinical utility of the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery—Children's Revision.

The Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery—Children"s Revision (LNNB—CR) was administered to 54 clinic-referred children aged 8–12 years. Children reliably diagnosed as attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity were compared with children diagnosed as attention deficit disorder without hyperactivity and with a clinic control group diagnosed with internalizing disorders. Both attention deficit disorder groups were lower than the control group in verbal and Full Scale IQ scores but did not differ from one another. The groups did not differ significantly on any of the LNNB—CR clinical scales, on the right or left hemisphere scores, or on the pathognomonic score using analyses of variance (ANOVA) or analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) with both Full Scale IQ and age as covariates. These findings failed to support the hypothesis that attention deficit disorder, either with or without hyperactivity, is associated with neuropsychological dysfunction as measured by the LNNB—CR. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-control in children: Development of a rating scale.

Conducted 2 studies to develop a Self-Control Rating Scale (SCRS) for children. The 33-item SCRS showed high internal consistency (0.98) and test–retest reliability (0.84). In a validational study of 110 normal 3rd–6th graders, the SCRS correlated significantly with latency and error scores from the Matching Familiar Figures Test, the Q score from the Porteus mazes, and behavioral observations. These correlations remained significant when both MA and CA were partialed out. Discriminant validity was demonstrated by a very low and nonsignificant correlation with IQ and MA. An orthogonal factor analysis resulted in 1 major factor, which was labeled Cognitive-Behavioral Self-Control. The relationship of SCRS scores to age, the differences across grade levels, and the differences between boys and girls were also examined. The 2nd study compared 32 children referred for self-control training with 32 nonreferred children matched on age (127.13 and 126.73 mo, respectively), sex, and IQ. Significant differences were found on the SCRS, Matching Familiar Figures Test latencies, and behavioral observations. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Explaining the relation between IQ and delinquency: Class, race, test motivation, school failure, or self-control?

An inverse relation between IQ and delinquency has been well established, but the direction of effect remains to be specified. Differing explanatory accounts of the relation were empirically examined in the present study using data on 13-yr-old boys involved in a high-risk longitudinal study. Accounts that interpreted the relation as spurious or that posited that delinquency-related factors lead to low IQ scores received no support; findings were most consistent with the hypothesis that the direction of effect runs from low IQ to delinquency. The IQ–delinquency relation was robust after race, class, and observed test motivation were controlled statistically. Additionally, the effect of IQ was mediated by school performance for Black youth but not for White youth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of the WAIS and WAIS—R: Different results for different IQ groups.

Using a procedure that eliminated repetition of identical items, thus avoiding order effects, we administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and the WAIS—Revised to 108 subjects. All correlations between the two tests were significant and similar to those reported in the WAIS—R manual. For the group as a whole, verbal, performance, and full scale IQ scores on the WAIS—R were significantly lower than their respective WAIS scores; however, this difference was not consistent across IQ levels. Subjects of both average and borderline intelligence had WAIS IQ scores significantly above their WAIS—R scores. For the mildly retarded subjects, the performance IQs were equal for the WAIS and WAIS—R, whereas the WAIS—R verbal and full scale IQ scores were higher than the corresponding WAIS IQ scores. However, these score differences were small (1 point) and of little practical value. The differences of moderately retarded subjects, on the other hand, were large and in the reverse direction: the WAIS—R IQ scores were significantly higher than the WAIS IQ scores. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation of phonological and orthographic processing to early reading: Comparing two approaches to regression-based, reading-level-match designs.

K. E. Stanovich and L. Siegel (see record 81-030191) introduced regression-based logic to the reading-level-match design by statistically matching children with reading disabilities, with and without discrepancies in IQ, to normal-reading children on the basis of grade-adjusted decoding scores. The authors replicated this approach but contrasted it with statistical matches using w scores, which are Rasch-scaled decoding scores based on a common metric regardless of age or grade. No differences were found in cognitive skills between children whose reading performance was discrepant and not discrepant with IQ, regardless of whether age-adjusted decoding scores or w scores were used. Matching on w scores did not result in the phonological and orthographic tradeoffs seen when standardized scores were used. The orthographic-decoding relationship was nonlinear, with little functional relation between the skills at low levels of decoding. These results question the conclusion that orthographic skills are compensatory for reading-disabled children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An exploratory analysis of American Indian children's cultural engagement, fluid cognitive skills, and standardized verbal IQ scores.

This exploratory cross-sectional study examined fluid cognitive skills and standardized verbal IQ scores in relation to cultural engagement amongst Tohono O'odham children (N = 99; ages 7 to 12 years). Guardians with higher socioeconomic status engaged their children in more cultural activities, and participation in more cultural activities contributed to higher standardized verbal IQ scores. Mean cognitive skill scores varied as a function of age and Tohono O'odham language knowledge. Children who understood and/or spoke Tohono O'odham started out with lower average scores than did children with no language knowledge, but mean scores generally increased in the older age groups such that they were equal to or higher than those of nonspeakers by age 9. Children with higher fluid cognitive skill scores had higher standardized verbal IQ scores than did children with lower scores. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prosodic markers of syntactic boundaries in the speech of 4-year-old children with normal and disordered language development

This study focuses on the potential role of prosodic "boundary features" in developmental disorders of morphosyntax. As exemplified melodically by the final portion of the falling tone and rhythmically by final syllable lengthening, boundary features mark the right edge of major constituent units in speech and thus phonetically reflect syntactic structure on the level of clauses and sentences. To resolve conflicting findings about the development of boundary features in children with specific language impairment (SLI), this study describes the falling tone and final syllable lengthening in the spontaneous speech of 10 four-year-old children with the phonologic-syntactic type of SLI and 10 four-year-old children with normal language development. The results--indicating that some prosodic boundary features are normal in preschoolers with SLI--show that impairments of morphology and syntax on the segmental level of the grammar do not implicate systematic deficits in syntax-sensitive features on the suprasegmental level. The potential dissociation between prosodic and morphosyntactic development is shown most clearly by the remarkable robustness of the falling tone, which was observed in 9 of the 10 children with SLI, in spite of the moderate to severe deficits they demonstrated in segmental phonology, morphosyntax, and mean length of utterance.     

Hearing capacity and speech production in 417 children with facial cleft abnormalities

Children with cleft palates often suffer from chronic conductive hearing losses, delayed language acquisition and speech disorders. This study presents results of speech and language outcomes in relation to hearing function and types of palatal malformations found. 417 children with cleft palates were examined during followup evaluations that extended over several years. Disorders were studied as they affected the ears, nose and throat, audiometry and speech and language pathology. Children with isolated cleft lips were excluded. Among the total group, 8% had normal speech and language development while 92% had speech or language disorders. 80% of these latter children had hearing problems that predominantly consisted of fluctuating conductive hearing losses caused by otitis media with effusion. 5% had sensorineural hearing losses. Fifty-eight children (14%) with rhinolalia aperta were not improved by speech therapy and required velopharyngoplasties, using a cranial-based pharyngeal flap. Language skills did not depend on the type of cleft palate presents but on the frequency and amount of hearing loss found. Otomicroscopy and audiometric follow-ups with insertions of ventilation tubes were considered to be most important for language development in those children with repeated middle ear infections. Speech or language therapy was necessary in 49% of the children.