Tiffany P. Hogan

Statistical frequency in perception affects children’s lexical production

Childrens early word production is influenced by the statistical frequency of speech sounds and combinations. Three experiments asked whether this production effect can be explained by a perceptual learning mechanism that is sensitive to word-token frequency and/or variability. Four-year-olds were exposed to nonwords that were either frequent (presented 10 times) or infrequent (presented once). When the frequent nonwords were spoken by the same talker, children showed no significant effect of perceptual frequency on production. When the frequent nonwords were spoken by different talkers, children produced them with fewer errors and shorter latencies. The results implicate token variability in perceptual learning.

The Dimensionality of Language Ability in Young Children

The purpose of this study was to empirically examine the dimensionality of language ability for young children (4-8 years) from prekindergarten to third grade (n = 915), theorizing that measures of vocabulary and grammar ability will represent a unitary trait across these ages, and to determine whether discourse skills represent an additional source of variance in language ability. Results demonstrated emergent dimensionality of language across development with distinct factors of vocabulary, grammar, and discourse skills by third grade, confirming that discourse skills are an important source of variance in childrens language ability and represent an important additional dimension to be accounted for in studying growth in language skills over the course of childhood.

Is weak oral language associated with poor spelling in school-age children with specific language impairment, dyslexia or both?

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that word reading accuracy, not oral language, is associated with spelling performance in school-age children. We compared fourth grade spelling accuracy in children with specific language impairment (SLI), dyslexia or both (SLI/dyslexia) to their typically developing grade-matched peers. Results of the study revealed that children with SLI performed similarly to their typically developing peers on a single-word spelling task. Alternatively, those with dyslexia and SLI/dyslexia evidenced poor spelling accuracy. Errors made by both those with dyslexia and SLI/dyslexia were characterized by numerous phonologic, orthographic and semantic errors. Cumulative results support the hypothesis that word reading accuracy, not oral language, is associated with spelling performance in typically developing school-age children and their peers with SLI and dyslexia. Findings are provided as further support for the notion that SLI and dyslexia are distinct, yet co-morbid, developmental disorders.

A Short Report: Word-Level Phonological and Lexical Characteristics Interact to Influence Phoneme Awareness

In this study, we examined the influence of word-level phonological and lexical characteristics on early phoneme awareness. Typically developing children, ages 61 to 78 months, completed a phoneme-based, odd-one-out task that included consonant—vowel—consonant word sets (e.g., “chair—chain—ship”) that varied orthogonally by a phonological characteristic, sound contrast similarity (similar vs. dissimilar), and a lexical characteristic, neighborhood density (dense vs. sparse). In a subsample of the participants—those with the highest vocabularies—results were in line with a predicted interactive effect of phonological and lexical characteristics on phoneme awareness performance: word sets contrasting similar sounds were less likely to yield correct responses in words from sparse neighborhoods than words from dense neighborhoods. Word sets contrasting dissimilar sounds were most likely to yield correct responses regardless of the words’ neighborhood density. Based on these findings, theories of early phoneme awareness should consider both word-level and child-level influences on performance. Attention to these influences is predicted to result in more sensitive and specific measures of reading risk.

The influence of neighborhood density and word frequency on phoneme awareness in 2nd and 4th grades

PURPOSEnThe purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that two lexical characteristics - neighborhood density and word frequency - interact to influence performance on phoneme awareness tasks.nnnMETHODSnPhoneme awareness was examined in a large, longitudinal dataset of 2nd and 4th grade children. Using linear logistic test model, the relation between words neighborhood density, word frequency, and phoneme awareness performance was examined across grades while co-varying type and place of deletion.nnnRESULTSnA predicted interaction was revealed: words from dense neighborhoods or those with high frequency were more likely to yield correct phoneme awareness responses across grades.nnnCONCLUSIONSnFindings support an expansion of the lexical restructuring model to include interactions between neighborhood density and word frequency to account for phoneme awareness.nnnLEARNING OUTCOMESnThe reader will be able to (1) describe the lexical restructuring model; (2) define neighborhood density; (3) define word frequency; (4) identify how these variables interact to impact phoneme awareness performance; (5) identify ways in which future clinical practice may be impacted by the studys findings.

Word Learning Deficits in Children With Dyslexia

PurposenThe purpose of this study is to investigate word learning in children with dyslexia to ascertain their strengths and weaknesses during the configuration stage of word learning.nnnMethodnChildren with typical development (N = 116) and dyslexia (N = 68) participated in computer-based word learning games that assessed word learning in 4 sets of games that manipulated phonological or visuospatial demands. All children were monolingual English-speaking 2nd graders without oral language impairment. The word learning games measured childrens ability to link novel names with novel objects, to make decisions about the accuracy of those names and objects, to recognize the semantic features of the objects, and to produce the names of the novel words. Accuracy data were analyzed using analyses of covariance with nonverbal intelligence scores as a covariate.nnnResultsnWord learning deficits were evident for children with dyslexia across every type of manipulation and on 3 of 5 tasks, but not for every combination of task/manipulation. Deficits were more common when task demands taxed phonology. Visuospatial manipulations led to both disadvantages and advantages for children with dyslexia.nnnConclusionnChildren with dyslexia evidence spoken word learning deficits, but their performance is highly dependent on manipulations and task demand, suggesting a processing trade-off between visuospatial and phonological demands.

Use of internal consistency coefficients for estimating reliability of experimental task scores

Reliabilities of scores for experimental tasks are likely to differ from one study to another to the extent that the task stimuli change, the number of trials varies, the type of individuals taking the task changes, the administration conditions are altered, or the focal task variable differs. Given that reliabilities vary as a function of the design of these tasks and the characteristics of the individuals taking them, making inferences about the reliability of scores in an ongoing study based on reliability estimates from prior studies is precarious. Thus, it would be advantageous to estimate reliability based on data from the ongoing study. We argue that internal consistency estimates of reliability are underutilized for experimental task data and in many applications could provide this information using a single administration of a task. We discuss different methods for computing internal consistency estimates with a generalized coefficient alpha and the conditions under which these estimates are accurate. We illustrate use of these coefficients using data for three different tasks.

Phonological and lexical influences on phonological awareness in children with specific language impairment and dyslexia

Children with dyslexia and/or specific language impairment have marked deficits in phonological processing, putting them at an increased risk for reading deficits. The current study sought to examine the influence of word-level phonological and lexical characteristics on phonological awareness. Children with dyslexia and/or specific language impairment were tested using a phoneme deletion task in which stimuli differed orthogonally by sound similarity and neighborhood density. Phonological and lexical factors influenced performance differently across groups. Children with dyslexia appeared to have a more immature and aberrant pattern of phonological and lexical influence (e.g., favoring sparse and similar features). Children with SLI performed less well than children who were typically developing, but followed a similar pattern of performance (e.g., favoring dense and dissimilar features). Collectively, our results point to both quantitative and qualitative differences in lexical organization and phonological representations in children with SLI and in children with dyslexia.

Epilogue to Journal of Learning Disabilities Special Edition “Advances in the Early Detection of Reading Risk”: Future Advances in the Early Detection of Reading Risk: Subgroups, Dynamic Relations, and Advanced Methods

43(4) 383 –386

Influence of computerized sounding out on spelling performance for children who do and do not rely on AAC

Abstract Purpose: Spelling is an important skill for individuals who rely on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). The purpose of this study was to investigate how computerized sounding out influenced spelling accuracy of pseudo-words. Computerized sounding out was defined as a word elongated, thus providing an opportunity for a child to hear all the sounds in the word at a slower rate. Methods: Seven children with cerebral palsy, four who use AAC and three who do not, participated in a single subject AB design. Results: The results of the study indicated that the use of computerized sounding out increased the phonologic accuracy of the pseudo-words produced by participants. Conclusion: The study provides preliminary evidence for the use of computerized sounding out during spelling tasks for children with cerebral palsy who do and do not use AAC. Future directions and clinical implications are discussed. Implications for Rehabilitation We investigated how computerized sounding out influenced spelling accuracy of pseudowords for children with complex communication needs who did and did not use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Results indicated that the use of computerized sounding out increased the phonologic accuracy of the pseudo-words by participants, suggesting that computerized sounding out might assist in more accurate spelling for children who use AAC. Future research is needed to determine how language and reading abilities influence the use of computerized sounding out with children who have a range of speech intelligibilityabilities and do and do not use AAC.