Background: Previous studies have explored the size and word type composition (nouns, predicates, etc.) of expressive vocabularies of preschool children with Down syndrome, both spoken and signed. Separately, overall preferences for modality of expression have also been explored. Aims: To extend previous findings by describing the relationships…

The current study examined how mothers' production of four types of internal state words at multiple ages across the second year in a free play context was related to their infants' acquisition of those words. Twenty-nine mother-infant dyads were videotaped for 18 minutes during free play when infants were 13 and 17 months old. Mothers' total and…

Purpose: This longitudinal study assessed continuity and stability of productive language (vocabulary and grammar) and discourse features (turn-taking; asking and responding to questions) during mother-child play. Method: Parent-child language use in 119 Spanish-speaking, Mexican immigrant mothers and their children at two ages (M = 2.5 and 3.6…

Infants and toddlers with hearing loss (HL) are at risk for developing communicative delays that can have a substantial lasting effect. Understanding child characteristics that may be targeted in early intervention is essential to maximizing communicative outcomes in children with HL. Among the most malleable predictors of communication skills…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate language growth in individuals with fragile X syndrome (FXS) from early childhood to adolescence and the influence of maternal responsivity on language growth. Method: We conducted a longitudinal analysis of language development in 55 youths (44 males, 11 females) with FXS. Data collection spanned…

This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of preschoolers' home and classroom literacy environments and the relationships between receptive and expressive vocabulary, phonological awareness, and concepts about print (CAP) development. The participants were 168 parents and their children from five private preschools in a large suburban…

Purpose: Pragmatic language difficulties have been documented as part of the FMR1 premutation phenotype, yet the interplay between these features in mothers and the language outcomes of their children with fragile X syndrome is unknown. This study aimed to determine whether pragmatic language difficulties in mothers with the "FMR1"…

We conducted two studies to examine the effects of an interactive read aloud and vocabulary intervention on the vocabulary knowledge of Spanish-speaking preschoolers living in the U.S. In Study 1, 68 children (n = 34 in the treatment group) and 6 parents in the treatment group received the intervention in Spanish at home, and in Spanish and…

The paper reports on a study designed to develop a risk model that can best predict single-word spelling in seven-year-old children when they were aged 4 and 5. Test measures, personal characteristics and environmental influences were all considered as variables from a community sample of 971 children. Strong concurrent correlations were found…

Purpose: The authors investigated continuity and discontinuity of vocabulary skills in a population-based cohort in the Netherlands. Method: Mothers of 3,759 children completed the Dutch version of the MacArthur Short Form Vocabulary Checklist (Zink & Lejaegere, 2003) at 18 months and a Dutch translation of the Language Development Survey…

This study examined interactions between preschool children and parents during shared book reading by analyzing parental self-report data. Using confirmatory factor analytic procedures and structural equation modeling, this study developed a scale measuring meaning-related and print-related reading interactions and examined their associations with…

This study examined the impact of training mothers to talk elaboratively about the past on children's understanding of mind. The researchers randomly assigned 102 mothers of 19-month-old children to a training or no-training group. Mothers in the experimental group received training in an elaborative style of talking about the past when children…

This study used data from the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) 2009 4-year-old cohort to examine associations among family characteristics, home and classroom environments, and the emergent literacy skills of Head Start children. Results from hierarchical linear models suggest that both family and classroom contexts play a…

Purpose: This study examined a mother's speech style and interactive behaviors with her twin sons: 1 with bilateral hearing impairment (HI) and the other with normal hearing (NH). Method: The mother was video-recorded interacting with her twin sons when the boys were 12.5 and 22 months of age. Mean F0, F0 range, duration, and F1/F2 vowel space of…

Purpose: To examine which cognitive, environmental, and speech-language variables predict expressive syntax in boys with fragile X syndrome (FXS), boys with Down syndrome (DS), and typically developing (TD) boys, and whether predictive relationships differed by group. Method: We obtained Index of Productive Syntax ( Scarborough, 1990) scores for…