Early childhood services (San Diego, Calif.)最新文献

PURPOSE: This study describes the alignment between the need for AAC among a group of young children with cerebral palsy (CP) who had clinical communication disorders and the speech-language goals/objectives being targeted in the IEPs of these children. METHOD: 22 children with CP who had clinical communication disorders were classified into groups according to their need for AAC based on prospective assessment data. Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) in place at the time of the assessment were analyzed to characterize the type of speech-language goals/objectives being addressed for each child. RESULTS: 95% of children with CP in this sample could benefit from some form of AAC. Among these, 62% had at least some functional speaking ability. Among all children who could benefit from AAC, 57% had AAC-focused speech-language goals/objectives in the IEP. Children who had any functional speaking ability were less likely to have AAC-focused speech language goals/objectives than children who were unable to speak. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that a majority of young children with CP and communication disorders would benefit from some form of AAC, however these children seemed to be under-served with regard to AAC interventions, particularly those who had any functional speaking ability. Additional pre-service and in-service training for speech language pathologists and other professional is necessary to ensure that children with CP receive the AAC-focused speech-language services they need.

Aided augmentative and alternative communication can be used successfully with individuals with communication disabilities. Recent studies suggest that where possible, arranging symbols based on internal color (placing red fruits together) facilitates search for a target symbol by children with and without Down Syndrome (Wilkinson, Carlin, & Thistle, 2008). We explored whether color cuing of symbol background might offer similar benefits for symbols that cannot be readily arranged by internal color. Ten nondisabled preschoolers engaged in computer search tasks for line-drawings representing common animals when the line drawings appeared on white backgrounds compared to color-saturated backgrounds that cued the subcategory to which the target belonged (land mammal, sea creature, bird, insect). Older children showed no consistent enhancement across conditions. Younger children responded significantly more slowly when the color cue was present. Background color cuing may function differently than symbol-internal color cues, impeding responses in younger children rather than facilitating them.

This study reports on the communication produced by 30 children learning to communicate with AAC in their preschool classrooms, as well as the communication input provided by educators. All of the children were communicating with less than 20 different words, symbols, or signs at the time of observation. Characteristics of participants' preschool classrooms were also measured with the ECERS-R. Relationships between ECERS-R scores, communication input to children, and child communication rate were explored through correlation analyses. Results indicated that child communication rates in their classrooms were low and that the majority of child communication was in response to educators' initiations. Only the amount of adult input to children was significantly related to child communication rates. ECERS-R scores were not related to any observed communication variables. Results provide a base of comparison for future studies as well as demonstrating need to provide more communication input within preschool classrooms.

Purpose: This study was conducted to determine whether bilingual children of kindergarten and first grade age were able to recognize cognates of Spanish words, and whether the ability to recognize cognates changed the score on a measure of English vocabulary.

Methods: 89 bilingual children were administered all of the items on the Test of Language Development-Primary:3 (TOLD-P:3) Picture Vocabulary Subtest (Newcomer & Hammill, 1997). Parents and teachers provided information about the child's English and Spanish exposure. Data analysis using repeated measures ANOVA compared performance in bilingual children divided by level of relative exposure to Spanish and English on cognate verses noncognate items.

Results: Sensitivity to cognate status was related to the amount of language exposure. Children exposed to more Spanish knew more of the English cognates of Spanish words than children who were exposed to balanced amounts of Spanish and English and those exposed to more English. Standard scores differences on the TOLD-P:3 across all levels of Spanish-English exposure were found using ceiling rules and total raw scores.

Conclusions: Findings suggest a transfer of vocabulary knowledge from the students' first language (Spanish) to receptive vocabulary in English. Children as early as kindergarten are sensitive to the Spanish/English cognates. Results have implications for understanding bilingual children's' performance on assessment, and for developing intervention strategies to enhance vocabulary in English language learners.