Language samples are naturalistic sources of information that supersede many of the limitations found in standardized test administration. Although language samples have clinical utility, they are often time intensive. Despite the usefulness of language samples in evaluation and treatment, clinicians may not perform language sample analyses due to the necessary time commitment. Researchers have developed language sample analysis software that automates this process. Coding schemes such as that used by the Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT) software were developed to provide more information regarding appropriate grammatical tag selection. The usefulness of SALT precoding in aiding automated grammatical tagging accuracy was evaluated in this study. Results indicate consistent, overall improvement over an earlier version of the software at the tag level. The software was adept at coding samples from both developmentally normal and language impaired children. No significant differences between tagging accuracy of SALT coded versus non-SALT coded samples were found. As the accuracy of automated tagging software advances, the clinical usefulness of automated grammatical analyses improves, and thus the benefits of time savings may be realized.

Research shows that children with language impairment (LI) often have deficits in social communication. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a social communication intervention targeting emotion understanding on teacher perceptions of withdrawal in six elementary-aged boys with LI. The intervention incorporated four elements into treatment sessions: a) Story sharing of children's literature that was rich in emotional content and prosocial behaviors; b) Story enactment of the same children's literature; c) identification and discussion of pictures of facial expressions; and d) journaling to help internalize and reflect on emotions and social behaviors targeted. Two withdrawal subscales of the Teacher Behavior Rating Scale (TBRS), reticence and solitary-passive behavior, were used as variables with which to measure teacher perception. Pre and postintervention measures of teacher ratings were taken and compared for each participant. Results indicated that four of the six participants improved in ratings of withdrawn behaviors following treatment. Two of the boys improved 2 SD for ratings of reticence. Two additional participants did not show improvement, but remained stable in their pre and posttreatment scores for both reticence and solitary-passive withdrawal. These results indicate a generally favorable outcome of the social communication intervention with regard to social withdrawal in children with LI.

The purpose of this research effort was to examine whether the feature retention patterns and phonological knowledge of children with suspected apraxia of speech (AOSc) in comparison to those of children with phonological impairment (PI). A second purpose was to determine if a relationship exists between phonological knowledge and feature retention. The study consisted of three groups of children: PI, AOSc, and typically developing (TD), ages four to seven. A 245-item speech sample was collected from each group. Feature retention percentages and phonological knowledge, represented by percent correct underlying representations (PCUR) were calculated for each child. All groups retained place the least, followed by manner, with voicing being retained most. The null hypothesis was confirmed, with PI and AOSc groups exhibiting no significant differences across feature retention percentages or phonological knowledge. The positive correlation of voicing retention and PCUR of the AOSc group was the only significant relationship found.

This study seeks to: (1) determine if differences exist between children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) compared to age-matched (AM) and language- matched (LM) children with typical language development (TL) in rates and proportions of five types of metalinguistic productions and (2) test theories of metalinguistic production. Forty-five children, 24 with TL and 21 with SLI, paired for age or language level, formed two groups. Previously collected data from two studies of verb learning (Proctor-Williams & Fey, 2007; Proctor- Williams, unpublished) were analyzed for rates and types of metalinguistic productions. Results yielded no within or between group significant differences in the rates types. There were differences in proportional use of types of metalinguistic utterances in the LM group. This study showed that children as young as 3;0 produce metalinguistic utterances. Further, it disproved the Piagetian-Based Metalinguistic Development Theory. Interesting trends suggest direction for future research.

Background: Fall risk increases with age and visual impairment, yet the oldest-old adults (>85 years) are rarely studied. Partnered dance improves mobility, balance, and quality of life in older individuals with movement impairment. Objective: The aim of the study was to determine the feasibility and participant satisfaction of an adapted tango program amongst these oldest-old adults with visual impairment. Exploratory analyses were conducted to determine efficacy of the program in improving balance and gait. Methods: In a repeated-measures, one-group experimental design, 13 older adults (7 women; age: M = 86.9 years, SD = 5.9 years, range = 77–95 years) with visual impairment (best eye acuity: M = 0.63, SD = 0.6 logMAR) participated in an adapted tango program of twenty 1.5-hour lessons, within 11 weeks. Feasibility included evaluation of facility access, safety, volunteer assistant retention, and participant retention and satisfaction. Participants were evaluated for balance, lower body strength, and quality of life in two baseline observations, immediately after the program and 1 month later. Results: Twelve participants completed the program. The facility was adequate, no injuries were sustained, and participants and volunteers were retained throughout. Participants reported enjoyment and improvements in physical well-being. Exploratory measures of dynamic postural control (p < .001), lower body strength (p = .056), and general vision-related quality of life (p = .032) scores showed improvements following training. Discussion: These older individuals with visual impairment benefitted from 30 hours of tango instruction adapted for their capabilities.

Evidence-based recommendations for interventions to reduce fall risk in older adults with visual impairment are lacking. Adapted tango dance (Tango) and a balance and mobility program (FallProof) have improved mobility, balance, and quality of life (QOL) in individuals with movement impairment. This study compared the efficacy of Tango and FallProof for 32 individuals with visual impairment (age: M = 79.3, SD =11 [51–95 years]). Participants were assigned to Tango or FallProof to complete twenty, 90-min lessons within 12 weeks. Participants underwent assessment of balance, dual-tasking, endurance, gait, and vision-related QOL. The balance reactions of participants in both groups improved (p < .001). Endurance, cognitive dual-tasking, and vision-related QOL may have improved more for Tango than FallProof. Group differences and gains were maintained across time. Both programs could be effective options for motor rehabilitation for older adults with visual impairment because they may improve mobility and QOL while reducing fall risk.

Children with cleft lip and/or palate show early delays in speech and vocabulary development that may have an impact on later communication and social development. While delays in the complexity of babbling may put children at risk for later delays in speech and language development, there is considerable variability in development. This study focused on the rate of children's communication acts, canonical vocalizations, and word use as they made the transition from the pre-linguistic to linguistic development. The study included 15 children with non-syndromic cleft lip and/or palatewho were seen at three time points between 17–34 months age. Communication rates were calculated from parent–child language samples collected during play activities. Assignment to linguistic stages was based on the children's expressive vocabulary, as reported on the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory: Words and Sentences. From the pre-linguistic to linguistic level, the children's average rate per minute of: communicative acts overall increased significantly from 1.49 to 3.07 per minute; canonical vocalizations from 0.21 to 0.90 per minute; and word usefrom 0.16 to 3.61 per minute. Rates of communicative acts were associated with later word use. It appears that children with clefts rely on non-verbal communicative acts when verbal development is delayed.

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