Janet E. Fischel

A picture book reading intervention in day care and home for children from low-income families

The effects of an interactive book reading program were assessed with children from low-income families who attended subsidized day-care centers in New York. The children entered the program with language development in standard English vocabulary and expression that was about 10 months behind chronological age on standardized tests. Children were pretested and assigned randomly within classrooms to 1 of 3 conditions: (a) a school plus home condition in which the children were read to by their teachers and their parents, (b) a school condition in which children were read to only by teachers, and (c) a control condition in which children engaged in play activities under the supervision of their teachers. Training of adult readers was based on a self-instructional video

Predicting improvement after first-grade reading difficulties: the effects of oral language, emergent literacy, and behavior skills.

This study investigated the role of early literacy and behavioral skills in predicting the improvement of children who have experienced reading difficulties in 1st grade. The progress of 146 low-income children whose reading scores in 1st grade were below the 30th percentile was examined to determine (a) how the poorest readers in 1st grade progressed in reading achievement through 4th grade and (b) which emergent literacy and behavioral skills measured in kindergarten predicted differential 4th grade outcomes. Results indicated that the divergence between children who improved and those who did not was established by the end of 2nd grade. Further, individual linguistic skills and behavioral attributes measured in kindergarten contributed substantively to this difference. Implications for intervention timing and educational policy are discussed.

Behavioral correlates of developmental expressive language disorder.

The association of behavior problems with preschool language disorders has been documented extensively. However, researchers have typically failed to differentiate subgroups of language-impaired children, to use observational data in documenting the behavior disorders, or to study children at the youngest ages. Using a multimodal assessment, this study examined parent-child interaction and behavior problems in a clearly defined subgroup of language-impaired children, those with developmental expressive language disorder (ELD). These children exhibit a delay in expressive language compared with receptive language and nonverbal cognitive skills. Subjects were identified and studied at the youngest age at which the disorder can be assessed. A group of ELD children, averaging 27 months of age, was contrasted with a group of normally developing children, matched for age, sex, and receptive language ability. Groups were compared on observed parent-child interactions as well as maternal responses on the Parenting Stress Index, the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory, and a behavior-related structured interview. ELD children, when compared with normally developing children, exhibited higher levels of negative behavior and were perceived as different by their parents.

Verbal Interaction in Families of Normal and Expressive-Language-Delayed Children.

Developmental expressive language disorder (ELD) is a condition characterized by a delay in the development of expressive language compared with receptive language and IQ. Conditions that might contribute to the origins or maintenance of ELD are poorly understood. Unusual verbal interactions between parents and ELD children might be implicated in the origins of ELD or might represent parental reactivity to the childs limited expressive skills. We compared verbal interactions in the homes of 28-month-old ELD children, 28-month-old normal children matched on receptive ability with the ELD children, and 17-month-old normal children matched on expressive ability with the ELD children. We analyzed frequencies of major pragmatic categories of parent and child verbal behavior as well as sequential relations involving those categories. Pragmatic interactions in the ELD families were substantially similar to those in the families of the normal younger children and different from those in the older normal children. A measure of the structural complexity of maternal speech (MLU) did not differ across the groups. These results indicate that pragmatic language interactions in the families of ELD children are determined largely by the childrens level of expressive ability rather than by their age or receptive abilities. In this regard, the child directed speech of parents of ELD children cannot be considered deviant and cannot be implicated in the etiology of ELD. The sensitivity of parents to their childs level of expressive ability suggests the need for refinement in current hypotheses concerning child directed speech.

Evaluation of Curricular Approaches to Enhance Preschool Early Literacy Skills

Two curricula designed to enhance the early literacy skills of 4-year-old preschool children were evaluated against a third, comparison condition. Thirty-five Head Start preschool classrooms were assigned randomly to incorporate one of two early literacy curricular approaches, Lets Begin with the Letter People® or Waterford Early Reading Program® Level 1, into their current curriculum, the High/Scope® Educational Approach, or to use the High/Scope method alone. Results indicated that children in the literacy intervention classrooms demonstrated significantly stronger outcomes in the areas of emergent writing, book and print knowledge, and general reading readiness skills. Minority language status also played a significant role in outcome, regardless of intervention condition. Implications for early childhood literacy interventions, especially important for children of low-income families, are discussed.

Pediatric transplantation of the kidney, liver and heart: Summary report

Abstract:  The following is a summary report of an extensive review of the literature from 1966 to 2001 on growth and development in children receiving kidney, liver and heart transplants. The literature was assessed for relevancy to current clinical practice and for reliability and generalizability of the inferences based on the study design, controls, sample size, age distribution, confounding factors, use of standardized instruments, and consistency with other findings. While studies on growth are included in the review, the main emphasis is on research in cognitive and psychosocial development since these areas have been far less thoroughly studied and contain various methodological deficiencies. On the basis of the literature review both general methodological recommendations and specific recommendations for future research studies are made. Access to the full is provided on the World Wide Web at http://light.emmes.com/pedstransplantation/.

The role of otitis media in the development of expressive language disorder

The role of otitis media (OM) was investigated in a group of preschool children with a rigorously defined language impairment: developmental expressive language disorder (ELD)

Acute otitis media in children: Are decongestants or antihistamines necessary?

This study was designed to investigate the efficacy of a decongestant-antihistamine preparation in combination with antibiotic treatment of acute otitis media. The effectiveness of a new Dimetapp (DIM) preparation was assessed in comparison with each of its components (brompheniramine maleate [BPM] and phenylephrine hydrochloride [PEH] as well as a placebo (PL) vehicle in the treatment of acute otitis media. In a randomized double blind study, 98 children were treated in the emergency department or outpatient medical clinics at Childrens Hospital of Michigan with amoxicillin and either DIM, BPM, PEH, or PL. They were evaluated at two weeks by clinical examination, pneumatoscopy, and tympanometry. Fifty-eight patients (59%) continued to have evidence of fluid in the middle ear. These patients were continued on the test medications for another two weeks and then reevaluated. There were significant differences between the treatment groups (DIM, BPM, and PEH) and the control PL group; the patients receiving Dimetapp or placebo fared better than those receiving BPM or PEH. However, there was no difference in the overall response between Dimetapp and placebo. Antihistamine-decongestant therapy does not appear to be necessary in the treatment of acute otitis media in children.

Evidence for different parent–child strategies while reading

This study examined the strategies parents use naturally to help early readers at difficult points of text or pronunciation. Forty-two children were videotaped reading to a parent. Results suggest parents are not likely to provide specific instructional feedback when listening to their children read. When given, parental feedback tends to be well tuned to the childs reading ability, with parents of less skilled readers providing richer and more varied feedback than parents of more skilled readers. A tree clustering analysis placed parents in one of three groups: 1) ‘Learner centred’ parents use a variety of feedback strategies; 2) ‘Inactive’ parents allow their children to continue uncorrected; 3) ‘Direct’ parents supply the miscued word. The children of ‘learner centred’ parents did not perform as well as children of ‘inactive’ parents on measures of reading ability, possibly because parents of better readers no longer need to be ‘learner centred’.

Relationships between Social Skills, Behavioral Problems, and School Readiness for Head Start Children.

ABSTRACT This study followed 515 4-year-olds from Head Start entry to exit to investigate their social and behavioral skills and the impact of these skills on school readiness outcomes. Results indicated that, on average, social skills improved across the preschool year, while behavior problems remained relatively stable. Social skills and behavior problems were significantly related to multiple child school readiness outcomes in the areas of oral language, early literacy, and early math. In addition, the effects of different preschool literacy curricula on childrens social and behavioral skills were examined. A greater percentage of children in the literacy intervention classrooms were categorized as lower risk (better social skills and fewer behavior problems) at the end of the preschool year, compared with children in classrooms without an added literacy curriculum. Implications for promoting cognitive and social development in preschool are discussed.