TOPIC

Paediatric language research

Everything we have read on paediatric language. Each paper is summarised from the full article rather than its abstract, so the limitations are in there too, and the funding wherever the paper declares it.

479 PAPERS · PAGE 6 OF 10 · NEWEST FIRST

• SLPOther2023The impact of developmental language disorder in a defendant's description on mock jurors' perceptions and judgements.International journal of language & communication disordersTelling mock jurors a defendant had developmental language disorder did not change guilty verdicts or sentence length. It did make jurors view him as more honest, likeable and less blameworthy, but also as having worse cognitive ability.
• SLPCohort2022Child language and autism diagnosis impact hierarchical temporal structure of parent-child vocal interactions in early childhood.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchIn typical development, parent-child vocal interactions became less rigidly structured as children's expressive language grew. Dyads of autistic toddlers showed more rigid interaction structure than matched typical dyads, even when language levels were similar, suggesting a difference in social reciprocity rather than language ability alone.
• SLPQualitative2023Speech, language and communication needs and mental health: the experiences of speech and language therapists and mental health professionals.International journal of language & communication disordersClinicians report that children with speech, language and communication needs are often missed in mental health services because their difficulties are not immediately visible. They describe traditional talking therapies as too language-heavy for these patients and call for adapted, visual and play-based approaches.
• SLPPilot2022Home language environment in relation to language outcome in Brazilian toddlers who are hard of hearing and controls with typical hearing - a pilot study including reliability analyses of the LENA recording system.CoDASHome language counts did not differ between Brazilian toddlers with typical hearing and those who are hard of hearing. The home recording system tracked adult and child speech in Portuguese, but it counted more adult words and fewer child sounds than people did.
• SLPCohort2023Caregiver object labels within supported and coordinated joint engagement during interaction with toddlers at elevated and typical likelihood of autism.International journal of language & communication disordersParents of toddlers at elevated likelihood for autism used more repetitive labels and fewer prompts than typical parents. Sentence-final labels helped language in supported play but hurt it in coordinated play. Prompts correlated with current speech but not future growth.
• SLPCohort2022Executive functioning and verbal fluency performance in youth with Down syndrome.Research in developmental disabilitiesIn 69 children with Down syndrome, verbal fluency scores tracked closely with direct tests of inhibition, shifting, and working memory, even after accounting for vocabulary and IQ. Parent-reported executive function did not match these scores, so clinicians should rely on performance-based assessments.
• SLPOther2023Native American Caregiver-Child Shared Book Reading Interactions: A Descriptive Study and Integrative Review.Language, speech, and hearing services in schoolsNative American caregivers frequently used shared book reading to maintain attention and teach words, but rarely asked recall or prediction questions. These observed behaviors align with caregiver reports, offering a starting point for culturally responsive early literacy strategies.
• SLPNarrative Review2022Inner Speech and Executive Function in Children With Developmental Language Disorder: Implications for Assessment and Intervention.Perspectives of the ASHA special interest groupsChildren with developmental language disorder may struggle to use inner speech to guide their actions. For them, visual cues like removing target cards often help executive function tasks more than verbal prompts. Assessing their thinking skills requires accounting for this language difference.
• SLPCohort2023Vietnamese children with and without DLD: Classifier use and grammaticality over time.Journal of communication disordersVietnamese children with DLD used fewer classifiers and simpler structures than peers through second grade. Classifier omission errors were inconsistent and not a reliable marker, but limited classifier variety and lack of complex three-element phrases persisted.
• SLPOther2022Family and Caregiver Characteristics Contribute to Caregiver Change in Use of Strategies and Growth in Child Spoken Language in a Parent-Implemented Language Intervention in Fragile X Syndrome.Perspectives of the ASHA special interest groupsParents of children with Fragile X syndrome reported high levels of mental health symptoms and stress. Higher parental distress and lower competence were linked to less use of language strategies and smaller gains in child speech, suggesting that supporting parent well-being may be necessary for intervention success.
• SLPOther2023Phonological and Articulatory Deficits in the Production of Novel Signs in Children With Developmental Language Disorder.Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHRChildren with developmental language disorder imitated novel signs less accurately than peers, especially in hand orientation. Adding a meaningful object did not improve sign production. Movement was less stable only for a sign requiring opposite hand motion.
• SLPOther2023Learning a Sign Language Does Not Hinder Acquisition of a Spoken Language.Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHRFor deaf or hard-of-hearing children with hearing parents, learning sign language did not hinder spoken English. Higher sign language scores predicted better spoken English vocabulary. Families should not be advised to avoid sign language to protect spoken language.
• SLPSystematic Review2023Language and communication skills in multilingual children on the autism spectrum: A systematic review.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceMultilingual autistic children showed no evidence of language disadvantage from multilingual exposure, but vocabulary findings were mixed. Twelve studies reported scores for only one language, so scores may miss words known across both languages.
• PTOTSLPOther2023Abilities and Disabilities Among Children With Developmental Language Disorder.Language, speech, and hearing services in schoolsLanguage impairment severity did not predict disability. Children with DLD who accumulated multiple risks like low nonverbal IQ or poor health were more likely to be disabled, while those with one or no risks functioned well. Strengths in daily living and socialization persisted.
• SLPOther2023What predicts individual response to language treatment in bilingual children with developmental language disorder?Perspectives of the ASHA special interest groupsFor bilingual children with developmental language disorder, starting English skills and some cognitive skills were linked to gains in Spanish, but not English. Home-language progress was more tied to child factors than school-language progress.
• SLPCase Report2023A First-Person Account of Developmental Language Disorder.American journal of speech-language pathologyA patient describes her lifelong experience with Developmental Language Disorder, from early signs to university success. It is a personal story, not a study, so it provides no evidence that any specific treatment works.
• SLPOther2023Comparing Scores on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and Receptive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test in Preschoolers With and Without Hearing Loss.American journal of speech-language pathologyThe PPVT and ROWPVT did not differ in standard scores or age equivalents in preschoolers with and without hearing loss. Either test can be used, but children with hearing loss scored lower than children with normal hearing.
• SLPCohort2023Fundamental Frequency Contour (Melody) of Infant Vocalizations across the First Year.Folia phoniatrica et logopaedica : official organ of the International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics (IALP)Infant vocal melodies shift from simple single arcs to complex patterns by month three, then stabilize. Canonical babbling shows significantly higher complexity than marginal babbling. This progression reflects growing vocal control and may serve as a risk marker for reduced vocal ability.
• SLPCase-Control2023Atypical functional connectivity of temporal cortex with precuneus and visual regions may be an early-age signature of ASD.Molecular autismNo overall brain connectivity difference between groups was found. In toddlers without ASD, language brain-region connectivity was linked to language and social scores. In toddlers with ASD, those links were absent, and unusual visual and precuneus links were found instead.
• SLPOther2023Auditory assessment and central auditory processing script for preschool children.CoDASA new script was created to screen preschool auditory processing and language risks. Experts reviewed it, removed age-inappropriate tasks and suggested additions. No children were assessed, so it is not known to identify problems correctly.
• SLPRCT2023Spoken language outcomes in limited language preschoolers with autism and global developmental delay: RCT of early intervention approaches.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchBoth Discrete Trial Teaching and JASPER significantly improved spoken language in preschoolers with autism and severe delays. Neither approach was superior for the primary outcome, though DTT showed slight advantages in word diversity and play level at follow-up.
• OTSLPCohort2023Executive Functioning, Language, and Behavioral Abilities Related to Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Down Syndrome.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPYouth with Down syndrome and untreated sleep apnea showed significantly more emotional regulation and internalizing behavior challenges than those with treated or no apnea. No significant differences were found for language, attention, or overall social functioning scores, though untreated groups trended worse.
• SLPCohort2023ICF and perception of functioning according to children/adolescents in follow-up with speech/language disorders.CoDASChildren with speech disorders reported that therapy made speaking and socializing easier. They also noticed family and friends becoming more supportive. This suggests asking patients directly about their daily life can reveal improvements that standard clinical tests might miss.
• SLPOther2024Brief Report: Response to Joint Attention and Object Imitation as Predictors of Expressive and Receptive Language Growth Rate in Young Children on the Autism Spectrum.Journal of autism and developmental disordersChildren on the autism spectrum who followed adult points better gained expressive language faster during the study. This did not predict faster receptive language growth, and object imitation no longer predicted expressive growth once response to joint attention was included.
• SLPPilot2024Brief Report: Assessment of a Caregiver-Implemented Intervention for Improving Social Communication Skills in Toddlers and Young Children with Autism.Journal of autism and developmental disordersIn eight toddlers, a four-week caregiver coaching program was linked to increased caregiver knowledge and improvements in social affect and language skills during the treatment period. Changes were not seen before or after the intervention. This small pilot suggests the approach is feasible and warrants a controlled trial.
• SLPCohort2024Touching while listening: Does infants' haptic word processing speed predict vocabulary development?Journal of child languageIn bilingual toddlers, faster touch-screen word processing was linked to vocabulary at the same time and at 3;0, but it did not predict later vocabulary once early word knowledge was considered.
• SLPNarrative Review2024Vocabulary changes in adulthood: Main findings and methodological considerations.International journal of language & communication disordersThis paper reviews how vocabulary knowledge changes with age and critiques the methods used to measure it. It finds no new clinical evidence but warns that using vocabulary scores to estimate pre-injury intelligence in dementia patients is unreliable.
• SLPOther2024Phonological Working Memory and Sentence Production in School-Age Children with Typical Language, Dyslexia, and Comorbid Dyslexia and Developmental Language Disorder.Journal of child languagePhonological working memory scores showed only weak links to novel sentence production in 289 school-age children. In matched comparisons, children with dyslexia plus developmental language disorder produced shorter, less varied, and less complex sentences than dyslexia-only peers.
• SLPCohort2023Parental Imitations and Expansions of Child Language Predict Later Language Outcomes of Autistic Preschoolers.Journal of autism and developmental disordersParents who repeated back their autistic child's sounds and words, then added one or two more, had children with better later language skills. Simple comments or questions did not predict progress. Focus on echoing and expanding your child's speech.
• SLPCase-Control2023Social Cognition in Adolescents with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD): Evidence from the Social Attribution Task.Journal of autism and developmental disordersAdolescents with developmental language disorder described a social animation with fewer emotional terms and missed key social cues compared to peers. However, these social cognition scores did not predict parent-reported peer or emotional problems, suggesting the task measures language-linked interpretation rather than social difficulty directly.
• SLPOther2023Content Analysis of Abstracts Published in Autism Journals in 2021: The year in Review.Journal of autism and developmental disordersMental health was the most common autism research topic in 2021, with 221 articles. Social communication and social skills followed. This maps abstract counts, not treatment effects.
• SLPCase-Control2023Disentangling Language Disorder and Bilingualism in Children with Developmental Language Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence from Writing.Journal of autism and developmental disordersBilingual children with ASD misplaced stress marks and punctuation far more often than peers with DLD, who instead omitted them and made more spelling errors. Vocabulary size predicted spelling accuracy in both groups, while Greek exposure predicted punctuation use.
• PTOTSLPCohort2023Social-Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Emotion Perception in Daily Life and in a Formal Assessment Context.Journal of autism and developmental disordersChildren with ASD, ADHD, and DLD showed similar delays in emotion discrimination and high rates of behavioural problems. Poor voice tone discrimination was linked to having no friends, affecting 32% of the clinical group. These difficulties appeared regardless of specific diagnosis.
• SLPNarrative Review2024Sources of Misinterpretation in the Input and Their Implications for Language Intervention With English-Speaking Children.American journal of speech-language pathologyPreschoolers with DLD may interpret subject plus nonfinite verb sequences and frequent bare verb stems as acceptable forms. The review suggests pairing statements with questions and using many different verbs, but these are not tested fixes.
• SLPOther2023The Influence of Caregiver Language on the Association Between Child Temperament and Spoken Language in Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.Ear and hearingIn 59 deaf and hard-of-hearing children, caregiver word variety was linked to better comprehension. When caregivers used fewer different words, children with better self-control scored higher; when they used many different words, self-control mattered less.
• SLPQualitative2023Capability of Children with Hearing Devices: A Mixed Methods Study.Journal of deaf studies and deaf educationIn interviews, 34 children with hearing devices described doing many of the same things as 30 typical hearing peers, but needed devices, family support, school settings, and acceptance to keep doing them.
• SLPPilot2024Preliminary feasibility and effectiveness of a novel community language intervention for preschool children in the United Kingdom.International journal of language & communication disordersThe main language outcomes did not show a clear group difference: expressive and receptive vocabulary did not improve more in the intervention group than controls. Joint attention improved more, but this was a secondary measure.
• SLPCohort2023Predictors of Susceptibility to Noise and Speech Masking Among School-Age Children With Hearing Loss or Typical Hearing.Ear and hearingChildren with hearing loss understood speech in noise worse than peers with normal hearing, even with hearing aids on. Vocabulary predicted how well they did in steady background noise. Attention predicted how well children with normal hearing did when competing talkers were present, but it did not predict performance in children with hearing loss.
• SLPCohort2023Spanish Bilingual Morphosyntactic Development in Bilingual Children With and Without Developmental Language Disorder: Articles, Clitics, Verbs, and the Subjunctive Mood.Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHRBilingual Spanish children with DLD showed significantly lower accuracy than peers with typical development, and this gap did not close by age 8. Both groups improved over time, but older children learned more slowly. Articles and verbs were easier than clitics and the subjunctive.
• SLPOther2023Exploring Assumptions of the Bilingual Delay in Children With and Without Developmental Language Disorder.Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHRTesting bilingual children in only one language misses their true ability because they often have mixed dominance, scoring higher in one language for vocabulary and the other for grammar. Using the best score across both languages removes the bias of language exposure and prevents misdiagnosis of developmental language disorder.
• SLPNarrative Review2023A Narrative Approach to Synthesizing Research on Vietnamese Bilingual and Monolingual Children.Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHRThis paper is a personal and professional narrative reviewing the author's past research on Vietnamese bilingual and monolingual children. It describes the context of the work and the development of assessment tools but presents no new data or findings.
• SLPOther2024'We manage, but yeah, it's challenging': A mixed-methods study of enablers and barriers to hearing assessments for parents of children in metropolitan and regional Australia.International journal of language & communication disordersParents identified family circumstances like health literacy, income, and advocacy skills as bigger barriers to hearing assessments than geography. Key enablers were flexible scheduling, private coverage, and knowing how to navigate the health system.
• SLPOther2023Matricial support for community health agents on the auditory and language development milestones in early childhood.CoDASCommunity health agents had fragile knowledge of hearing and language milestones, with only 22% using the health record to track them. A workshop improved their reporting of milestone knowledge and home visit questioning, though they still did not report changes in hearing-specific practices.
• SLPCase-Control2024Dissociation Between Linguistic and Nonlinguistic Statistical Learning in Children with Autism.Journal of autism and developmental disordersChildren with autism learned speech and letter patterns more slowly and remembered them less well than typical peers, but showed no such difficulty with nonlinguistic tones or images. This linguistic-specific gap was larger in older children and correlated with poorer sentence repetition skills.
• SLPQualitative2024Collaborative working in speech and language therapy for children with DLD-What are parents' needs?International journal of language & communication disordersParents of children with DLD described current speech therapy as one-way, with therapists deciding goals and assigning homework. They want clarity on progress, emotional support, and dedicated time to ask questions, rather than just instructions for home practice.
• OTSLPCohort2023Associations between executive function and attention abilities and language and social communication skills in young autistic children.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceIn young autistic children, weaker working memory and planning were linked to poorer social communication, and poorer inhibition and shifting were linked to more social pragmatic problems. Stronger expressive vocabulary was linked to better sustained attention during a video.
• SLPCohort2024Pre-school Skills and School-Age Reading Comprehension in Children on the Autism Spectrum: A Preliminary Investigation.Journal of autism and developmental disordersIn children on the autism spectrum, pre-school receptive vocabulary significantly predicted reading comprehension in the third year of schooling. By year three, most children had reading accuracy within the average range, but only 36.8% showed reading comprehension within the average range, indicating a persistent gap between decoding and understanding text.
• SLPCohort2024Verbal Responsiveness in Parents of Toddlers With and Without Autism During a Home Observation.Journal of autism and developmental disordersParents of toddlers with autism and developmental delay were already highly responsive, mirroring parents of typically developing children. Differences in speech therapy targets should focus on the child's current language level rather than diagnosis alone, as parents naturally adjust their input.
• SLPCohort2024Do parent-reported early indicators predict later developmental language disorder? A Raine Study investigation.International journal of language & communication disordersParent-reported early language concerns from ages 1 to 3 did not predict developmental language disorder at age 10 in 1626 children. Concerns were common in typical children and absent in many children who later met criteria.
• SLPCohort2023Children With Developmental Language Disorder Show Deficits in the Production of Musical Rhythmic Groupings.Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHRPreschoolers with developmental language disorder struggled to copy a simple musical rhythm by hand. They missed the pause and produced inconsistent patterns. This deficit was not explained by poor motor skills or speech sound errors, suggesting a specific difficulty with organizing rhythmic sequences.