Kerry Danahy Ebert

Spanish Nonword Repetition: Stimuli Development and Preliminary Results.

Purpose: The current study presents preliminary nonword repetition data from Spanish-speaking preschool children using a new set of stimuli. Method: Twenty nonwords were constructed to be phonotactically possible in Spanish and to conform to published guidelines for nonword repetition stimuli. Fourteen Spanish-speaking typically developing preschool children repeated the nonwords. Results: Both age and word length affected repetition accuracy, and there was an age-by-length interaction. Younger children were less accurate overall and showed steeper decreases in accuracy as length increased. Conclusions: The results provide promising evidence that the stimuli may be developed into a Spanish nonword repetition task for both research and clinical purposes.

Relationships Between Narrative Language Samples and Norm-Referenced Test Scores in Language Assessments of School-Age Children

PURPOSE Both narrative language samples and norm-referenced language tests can be important components of language assessment for school-age children. The present study explored the relationship between these 2 tools within a group of children referred for language assessment. METHOD The study is a retrospective analysis of clinical records from 73 school-age children. Participants had completed an oral narrative language sample and at least one norm-referenced language test. Correlations between microstructural language sample measures and norm-referenced test scores were compared for younger (6- to 8-year-old) and older (9- to 12-year-old) children. Contingency tables were constructed to compare the 2 types of tools, at 2 different cutpoints, in terms of which children were identified as having a language disorder. RESULTS Correlations between narrative language sample measures and norm-referenced tests were stronger for the younger group than the older group. Within the younger group, the level of language assessed by each measure contributed to associations among measures. Contingency analyses revealed moderate overlap in the children identified by each tool, with agreement affected by the cutpoint used. CONCLUSIONS Narrative language samples may complement norm-referenced tests well, but age combined with narrative task can be expected to influence the nature of the relationship.

Non‐linguistic cognitive treatment for primary language impairment

Children with primary or ‘specific’ language impairment (PLI) demonstrate subtle deficits in non‐linguistic cognitive processing skills that may play a causal or contributing role in PLI. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility that short‐term treatment of non‐linguistic cognitive processing skills improves language abilities in school‐aged children with PLI. Two children with severe PLI participated in a treatment study following a single‐subject multiple‐baseline design across participants and skill areas. Treatment activities targeted auditory memory and speed of processing for visual information. Results of both repeated dependent measures and pre‐ and post‐ standardized language testing indicated that participants made gains in expressive language skills, particularly naming. This preliminary evidence suggests that treatment of non‐linguistic cognitive processing skills may facilitate change in some areas of language skill. Treatment of non‐linguistic processing skills should be further explored as a complement to more traditional language interventions.

Nonlinguistic cognitive treatment for bilingual children with primary language impairment

Substantial evidence points to the presence of subtle weaknesses in the nonlinguistic cognitive processing skills of children with primary (or specific) language impairment (PLI). It is possible that these weaknesses contribute to the language learning difficulties that characterize PLI, and that treating them can improve language skills. To test this premise, we treated two nonlinguistic cognitive processing skills, processing speed and sustained selective attention, in two Spanish–English bilingual children with PLI. The study followed a single-subject multiple baseline design, with both repeated measures and standardized pre- and post-testing as outcome measures. Results from the repeated measures tasks showed that both participants made gains in nonlinguistic cognitive processing skills as well as in Spanish and English. These results both replicate and extend prior work showing that nonlinguistic cognitive processing treatment can positively affect language skills in children with PLI.

Culturally Consistent Treatment for Late Talkers

The authors discuss cultural influences on clinical interactions when treating late talkers, 2- to 3-year-old children with primary language delays. They use the literature to examine the cultural relevance of core components of early language treatment and propose alternative professional actions in the cases of cultural mismatches. Alternative actions include triadic or multiparty treatments, the inclusion of siblings or others, more structured tasks or group settings for language training, and shaping of culturally congruent directive language techniques. Also discussed is the need for an emphasis on social language use and professional clarity regarding links between early child language ability and later achievements in order to motivate treatment.

Lexical profiles of bilingual children with primary language impairment

This study used lexical tasks to examine associations between languages, tasks, and age in bilingual children with primary language impairment. Participants (n = 41, mean age 8;8 years) lived in the United States, spoke primarily Spanish (L1) at home and English (L2) at school, and were identified with moderate to severe impairments in both languages. A total of eight tasks (four in each language) measured breadth of vocabulary knowledge (receptive and expressive vocabulary) and aspects of lexical processing (rapid automatic naming and nonword repetition). Correlational analyses revealed older children outperformed younger children on lexical tasks in L2 but not L1, as well as relative L2 dominance for most individuals and tasks. Positive associations were found between languages on processing-based tasks but not vocabulary measures. Findings were consistent with literature on typical bilingual learners, albeit with a notable increased risk of plateau in L1 growth. Results are interpreted within a Dynamic Systems framework.

Bilingual children with primary language impairment: 3 months after treatment

BACKGROUND Evidence on the treatment effectiveness for bilingual children with primary language impairment (PLI) is needed to advance both theory and clinical practice. Of key interest is whether treatment effects are maintained following the completion of short-term intense treatments. AIMS To investigate change in select language and cognitive skills in Spanish-English bilingual children with PLI 3 months after children have completed one of three experimental treatment conditions. There are two main study aims. First, to determine if skills in Spanish, English and cognitive processing decline, improve or are maintained after treatment has been completed. Second, to determine if differential rates of change are a function of the type of treatment children received. METHODS & PROCEDURES Participants were 48 children, aged 5:6-11:3, who spoke Spanish and English and were diagnosed with moderate to severe PLI. Participants received 6 weeks of treatment focused on English only (EO), bilingual skills in Spanish and English (BI) or nonlinguistic cognitive processing (NCP). Treatment effects reported in a previous study were determined by comparing pre- and post-treatment performance on a variety of language and cognitive measures. Here we re-administered each measure 3 months after completion of the experimental treatments. Hierarchical linear models were calculated for each measure using pre-, post- and follow-up testing scores to estimate change trajectories and compare outcomes between treatment conditions. OUTCOMES & RESULTS Participants in all three treatment conditions either maintained skills or showed improvement even after treatment was discontinued for 3 months. Main findings included (1) comparable, positive rates of change on all English language outcomes for EO and BI conditions; (2) maintenance of Spanish language skills, and (3) modest improvements in NCP following the discontinuation of treatment. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS This study is the first to examine longer-term treatment effects for bilingual school-age children with PLI. Differences in rates of change between languages and between treatment conditions are discussed in terms of social and cognitive processes that impact childrens language systems. The main findings have at least two implications for clinical practice: (1) therapy that emphasizes focused practice in language and cognitive processing skills may promote gains in childrens language learning abilities; and (2) bilingual treatment does not detract from outcomes in English, the language of the majority community for study participants.

Role of Auditory Non-Verbal Working Memory in Sentence Repetition for Bilingual Children with Primary Language Impairment.

BACKGROUND Sentence repetition performance is attracting increasing interest as a valuable clinical marker for primary (or specific) language impairment (LI) in both monolingual and bilingual populations. Multiple aspects of memory appear to contribute to sentence repetition performance, but non-verbal memory has not yet been considered. AIMS To explore the relationship between a measure of non-verbal auditory working memory (NVWM) and sentence repetition performance in a sample of bilingual children with LI. METHODS & PROCEDURES Forty-seven school-aged Spanish-English bilingual children with LI completed sentence repetition and non-word repetition tasks in both Spanish and English as well as an NVWM task. Hierarchical multiple linear regression was used to predict sentence repetition in each language using age, non-word repetition and NVWM. OUTCOMES & RESULTS NVWM predicted unique variance in sentence repetition performance in both languages after accounting for chronological age and language-specific phonological memory, as measured by non-word repetition. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS Domain-general memory resources play a unique role in sentence repetition performance in children with LI. Non-verbal working memory weaknesses may contribute to the poor performance of children with LI on sentence repetition tasks.

Synthesizing Information From Language Samples and Standardized Tests in School-Age Bilingual Assessment

Purpose Although language samples and standardized tests are regularly used in assessment, few studies provide clinical guidance on how to synthesize information from these testing tools. This study extends previous work on the relations between tests and language samples to a new population-school-age bilingual speakers with primary language impairment-and considers the clinical implications for bilingual assessment. Method Fifty-one bilingual children with primary language impairment completed narrative language samples and standardized language tests in English and Spanish. Children were separated into younger (ages 5;6 [years;months]-8;11) and older (ages 9;0-11;2) groups. Analysis included correlations with age and partial correlations between language sample measures and test scores in each language. Results Within the younger group, positive correlations with large effect sizes indicated convergence between test scores and microstructural language sample measures in both Spanish and English. There were minimal correlations in the older group for either language. Age related to English but not Spanish measures. Conclusions Tests and language samples complement each other in assessment. Wordless picture-book narratives may be more appropriate for ages 5-8 than for older children. We discuss clinical implications, including a case example of a bilingual child with primary language impairment, to illustrate how to synthesize information from these tools in assessment.

Language learning impairment in sequential bilingual children

We review and synthesize empirical evidence at the intersection of two populations: children with language learning impairment (LLI) and children from immigrant families who learn a single language from birth and a second language beginning in early childhood. LLI is a high incidence disorder that, in recent years, has been referred to by researchers and clinical educators as specific language impairment (SLI), primary language impairment (PLI), developmental language disorder or language disorder not otherwise specified. Over the past two decades, significant international attention has been directed at the LLI-sequential bilingual learner interface. Researchers have developed linguistic profiles of children with LLI who are learning different language pairs, investigated the diagnostic accuracy of various measures and, more recently, examined the relative efficacy of different treatment protocols. Participants in these studies range in age from 3 to 12 years. A main goal of this review is to relate available evidence to key theoretical and pedagogical issues. An additional aim is to indicate main areas of need for future research.