Natacha Trudeau

Preschool-aged children have difficulty constructing and interpreting simple utterances composed of graphic symbols

Children who require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems while they are in the process of acquiring language face unique challenges because they use graphic symbols for communication. In contrast to the situation of typically developing children, they use different modalities for comprehension (auditory) and expression (visual). This study explored the ability of three- and four-year-old children without disabilities to perform tasks involving sequences of graphic symbols. Thirty participants were asked to transpose spoken simple sentences into graphic symbols by selecting individual symbols corresponding to the spoken words, and to interpret graphic symbol utterances by selecting one of four photographs corresponding to a sequence of three graphic symbols. The results showed that these were not simple tasks for the participants, and few of them performed in the expected manner - only one in transposition, and only one-third of participants in interpretation. Individual response strategies in some cases lead to contrasting response patterns. Children at this age level have not yet developed the skills required to deal with graphic symbols even though they have mastered the corresponding spoken language structures.

Gender differences in language development in French Canadian children between 8 and 30 months of age

The purpose of this article is to examine the language of girls and boys between 8 and 30 months of age, using the Quebec French version of The MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories. The findings from this parental report measure confirm those of earlier research, which showed the linguistic superiority of girls over boys at a young age. More specifically, the results show that girls produce significantly more words than boys; their utterances contain a greater number of grammatical forms, and are more complex syntactically. On the qualitative level, the data illustrate distinctive characteristics associated with gender in the acquisition of the first 100 words. These findings suggest that caution is necessary when assessing young children to interpret performance in light of factors that may contribute to it, including gender. These results are discussed in light of whether separate normative data are warranted for young boys and girls learning Canadian French.

Enhancing vocabulary, print awareness and phonological awareness through shared storybook reading with low-income preschoolers:

The current study compares the effects of two shared storybook reading (SSR) interventions on language and emergent literacy skills of low-income preschoolers. The control intervention targeted language and print awareness, skills for which there is strong evidence of the effect of SSR. The experimental intervention added a focus on phonological awareness, a skill for which there is less evidence of the effect of SSR. Following the interventions, results indicated that the experimental group (n = 10) outperformed the control group (n = 13) on phonological awareness scores, but not on vocabulary and print awareness scores. The study also compared the outcomes of the experimental intervention for the low-income participants with the skills of higher-income preschoolers who did not receive intervention. The low-income children in the experimental condition outperformed their higher-income peers (n = 12) on all three measures. The experimental intervention offers promising techniques for SSR activities in childcare centres.

The acquisition of consonants in Québécois French: A cross-sectional study of pre-school aged children

This study provides a systematic description of French consonant acquisition in a large cohort of pre-school aged children: 156 children aged 20–53 months participated in a picture-naming task. Five analyses were conducted to study consonant acquisition: (1) consonant inventory, (2) consonant accuracy, (3) consonant acquisition, (4) a comparison of consonant inventory to consonant acquisition, and (5) a comparison to English cross-sectional data. Results revealed that more consonants emerge at an earlier age in word initial position, followed by medial position, and then word final position. Consonant accuracy underwent the greatest changes before the age of 36 months, and achieved a relative plateau towards 42 months. The acquisition of consonants revealed that four early consonants were acquired before the age of 36 months (i.e., /t, m, n, z/); 12 intermediate consonants were acquired between 36 and 53 months (i.e., /p, b, d, k, , ν, f, v, , l, w, ч/); and four consonants were acquired after 53 months (/s, з, ∫, j/). In comparison to English data, language specific patterns emerged that influence the order and pace of phonological acquisition. These findings highlight the important role of language specific developmental data in understanding the course of consonant acquisition.

Expressive vocabulary and early grammar of 16- to 30-month-old children acquiring Quebec French

This article reports on data obtained through the Quebec-French adaptation of the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventories – Words and Sentences (N = 826). Results from parent questionnaires show a steady increase in expressive vocabulary and the use of morphology and syntax with age, as well as links between the three components. Strong correlations between parent reports and sample analysis confirm the concurrent validity of the parental reports.

Using augmentative and alternative communication approaches to promote participation of preschoolers during book reading: a pilot study

Literacy development is important, especially for individuals using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Early exposure to reading and writing through joint book reading is important in this development. This article describes a project examining the impact of an interactive book reading programme on four preschool-aged children and their mothers. Two of the children were typically developing and two relied on nonverbal communication means. The program used AAC techniques and adaptations to promote the participation of all children. The childrens participation was examined in the group and during book reading in the home before and after the group programme.

Intervention for improving comprehension in 4–6 year old children with specific language impairment: practicing inferencing is a good thing

Few studies report on therapy to improve language comprehension in children with specific language impairment (SLI). We address this gap by measuring the effect of a systematic intervention to improve inferential comprehension using dialogic reading tasks in conjunction with pre-determined questions and cues. Sixteen children with a diagnosis of SLI aged 4–6 participated in 10 weekly treatment sessions carried out by their regular therapists. Baseline and maintenance periods were also tabulated. Two experimental measures and a standardized test revealed that childrens total scores and the quality of their responses post-treatment were better than those obtained pre-treatment. However, perhaps due to the use of non-equivalent probes, this change could not be interpreted solely as a significant effect of intervention. These results nevertheless suggest that a systematically designed intervention focusing on the comprehension of specific types of questions requiring inferencing and using a carefully scaffolded cueing strategy can be beneficial.

Strategies in Construction and Interpretation of Graphic-Symbol Sequences by Individuals who use AAC Systems

Given the frequent use of graphic symbols in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems, some individuals who use AAC may have greater familiarity with constructing graphic-symbol sequences than do speaking individuals without disabilities. Whether this increased familiarity has an impact on the interpretation of such sequences or on the relationship between construction and interpretation is fundamental to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying communication using graphic symbols. In this study, individuals who use graphic-symbol AAC systems were asked to construct and interpret graphic-symbol sequences representing the same target content (simple and complex propositions). The majority of participants used stable response patterns on both tasks; a minority were inconsistent on both tasks. Asymmetrical patterns (stable on one task but not the other) were rare, suggesting that neither channel (construction or interpretation) preceded the other, in contrast to earlier findings with participants without disabilities (i.e., novice users of graphic symbols). Furthermore, there were differences between stable and less stable responders on measures of syntactic comprehension and cognitive level but not on chronological age, receptive vocabulary, or AAC system characteristics and length of use.

Language following functional left hemispherectomy in a bilingual teenager.

A detailed language assessment was conducted with MM, a 17-year-old bilingual teenager with Rasmussen syndrome who had undergone a left functional hemispherectomy. Results revealed important deficits in French and English, affecting expressive and receptive language in both the written and the oral modality. MMs linguistic profile was coherent with previous description of language function following left hemispherectomy, and what is known of the linguistic potential of the right hemisphere (RH). The impairment pattern showed overall similarities between French and English, thus supporting the existence of a common underlying system for these two languages. However, the profiles in each language were not identical, implying that distinct subsystems may also be at play. These findings support previous descriptions of acquired language impairments and recovery in bilingual individuals.

Feeding–swallowing difficulties in children later diagnosed with language impairment

The aim of this retrospective study was to assess the relationship between feeding–swallowing difficulties (FSDs) and later language impairments in children.