Using dynamic assessment to evaluate the expressive syntax of children who use augmentative and alternative communication.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: King MR
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4634893 | biostudies-other | 2015 Mar
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
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Project description:PurposeThis research explored syntactic growth in children with fragile X syndrome (FXS) over a 5-year period, and variability in growth in relation to autism symptoms, nonverbal cognition, maternal responsivity, and gender.MethodLanguage samples at 4 time points from 39 children with FXS, 31 boys and 8 girls, were analyzed using the Index of Productive Syntax (Scarborough, 1990) and mean length of utterance (Brown, 1973). The degree of autism symptoms was evaluated using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (Schopler, Reichler, & Renner, 1988) at the first time point. Maternal responsivity estimates were averaged across time points.ResultsChildren with FXS showed significant syntactic growth over time and a significant plateau (quadratic trend) in the later observations. Children who exhibited more autism symptoms at Time 1 had significantly lower syntactic abilities over time than children who exhibited fewer autism symptoms. Nonverbal cognition significantly predicted mean length of utterance scores but not Index of Productive Syntax scores. Maternal responsivity was not a significant predictor of syntactic outcomes. Girls with FXS generally demonstrated better expressive syntax than boys with FXS with notable individual differences.ConclusionDespite significant growth over time, expressive syntax is a vulnerable domain for children with FXS, especially for those with severe autism symptoms. Clinical implications arising from the current findings are discussed.
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Project description:Purpose:This study investigated the early rule-based sentence productions of 3- and 4-year-old children with severe speech disorders who used single-meaning graphic symbols to communicate. Method:Ten 3- and 4-year-olds requiring the use of augmentative and alternative communication, who had largely intact receptive language skills, received instruction in producing up to four different semantic-syntactic targets using an Apple iPad with a communication app. A single-case, multiple-probe, across-targets design was used to assess the progress of each participant and target. Generalization to new vocabulary was assessed, and a subgroup also was taught to produce sentences using grammatical markers. Results:Some targets (primarily possessor-entity) were mastered in the baseline phase, and the majority of the remaining targets were mastered during intervention. All four children who completed intervention for grammatical markers quickly learned to use the markers accurately. Conclusions:Expressive language potential for preschoolers using graphic symbol-based augmentative and alternative communication systems should not be underestimated. With appropriate presentation and intervention techniques, some preschoolers with profound speech disorders can readily learn to produce rule-based messages via graphic symbols.
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Project description:BACKGROUND:The use of technology to assist in the communication, socialization, language, and motor skills of children with Down's syndrome (DS) is required. The aim of this study was to analyse research findings regarding the different instruments of 'augmentative and alternative communication' used in children with Down's syndrome. METHODS:This is a systematic review of published articles available on PubMed, Web of Science, PsycInfo, and BVS using the following descriptors: assistive technology AND syndrome, assistive technology AND down syndrome, down syndrome AND augmentative and alternative communication. Studies published in English were selected if they met the following inclusion criteria: (1) study of children with a diagnosis of DS, and (2) assistive technology and/or augmentative and alternative communication analysis in this population. RESULTS:A total of 1087 articles were identified. Thirteen articles met the inclusion criteria. The instruments most used by the studies were speech-generating devices (SGDs) and the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). CONCLUSION:Twelve instruments that provided significant aid to the process of communication and socialization of children with DS were identified. These instruments increase the interaction between individuals among this population and their peers, contributing to their quality of life and self-esteem.
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Project description:Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) is a major cause of moderate to severe diarrhoea in low-middle income countries (LMICs) and affects mostly children and travelers to endemic regions. ETEC are highly diverse pathovar with over 25 colonisation factors (fimbriae) described. The development of a broadly protective vaccine to cover most of the ETEC variants is critical for disease control. This study evaluated whether vaccination with ETVAX®; the most clinically advanced ETEC vaccine candidate results in IgG responses that cross-react with other ETEC antigens/ colonisation factors not overexpressed in the vaccine. A proteome microarray was used to assess IgG responses before and after vaccination to gain insight in the antigenic composition of ETEC that children in Zambia are exposed to and to see whether ETVAX® provides a level of cross-protection against antigens not expressed in the vaccine. The study shows that ETVAX® containing CFA/1, elicits antibodies that cross-react with other class 5 fimbriae and has the potential to offer broad protection. We also see that other antigens apart from classical antigens are immunodominant and possibly play a role in ETEC pathogenesis and may need to be investigated for their role in protection
2023-05-31 | GSE220814 | GEO
Project description:Purpose:This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of a conversation-based intervention on the expressive vocabulary and grammatical skills of children with severe motor speech disorders and expressive language delay who use augmentative and alternative communication. Method:Eight children aged from 8 to 13 years participated in the study. After a baseline period, a conversation-based intervention was provided for each participant, in which they were supported to learn and use linguistic structures essential for the formation of clauses and the grammaticalization of their utterances, such as pronouns, verbs, and bound morphemes, in the context of personally meaningful and scaffolded conversations with trained clinicians. The conversations were videotaped, transcribed, and analyzed using the Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT; Miller & Chapman, 1991). Results:Results indicate that participants showed improvements in their use of spontaneous clauses, and a greater use of pronouns, verbs, and bound morphemes. These improvements were sustained and generalized to conversations with familiar partners. Conclusion:The results demonstrate the positive effects of the conversation-based intervention for improving the expressive vocabulary and grammatical skills of children with severe motor speech disorders and expressive language delay who use augmentative and alternative communication. Clinical and theoretical implications of conversation-based interventions are discussed and future research needs are identified. Supplemental Materials:https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5150113.
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Project description:Background: Down syndrome (DS) is associated with poor language skills that seem disproportionate to general nonverbal ability, but the nature and causes of this deficit are unclear. We assessed how individuals with DS understand complex linguistic constructions, and considered how cognitive ability and memory and impact the ability of those with DS to process these sentence types. Methods: There were three groups participating in the study: children with DS (n = 33) and two control groups composed of children with cognitive impairment of unknown aetiology (CI) (n = 32) and children with typical development (n = 33). The three groups did not differ on raw scores on a test of non-verbal cognitive ability. Using a newly devised animation task, we examined how well individuals with DS (n = 33) could understand relative clauses, complement clauses and adverbial clauses compared to children with CI and typically developing controls. Participants also completed the Test for the Reception of Grammar-2, three measures of memory (forward and backward digit recall, visuo-spatial memory) and a hearing screen. Results: Results indicated that (1) with the exception of intransitive subject relative clauses, children with DS performed at floor on all other complex sentences, (2) they performed at a significantly lower level than both control groups, and (3) DS status accounted for a significant proportion of the variance over and above memory skills. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that children with DS have a disproportionate difficulty understanding complex sentences compared to two control groups matched on mental age. Furthermore, their understanding of syntax is not completely explained by poor cognitive or memory skills, rather it appears to be a specific deficit that may distinguish children with DS from other neurodevelopmental disorders.
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