<p>This work presents two studies of language processing and development in children. The first study focuses on passive sentence comprehension in 4-5-year-old children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and same-age peers with typical development (TD). We explore the effect of animacy, morphosyntactic, vocabulary, and event probability cues on children’s offline comprehension and online processing of passive sentences using an eye-tracked looking-while-listening design. The children were first exposed to short videos of agents doing characteristic actions (e.g., hard physical activities or passively observant activities). The children then engaged in an eye-tracked online processing task in which they heard reversible and nonreversible passive sentences describing events that matched or did not match the characteristics set up in the exposure videos. During these sentences, images on-screen were displayed that corresponded to the potential interpretations of the sentence. Online processing data was collected using eye tracking. After each sentence, the children were asked to point to the image corresponding to their interpretation to measure their offline comprehension. The offline comprehension data indicated that compared to the children with TD, the children with DLD were less likely to correctly interpret the passive sentences and made comprehension errors that suggested poorer attention to and integration of potentially informative sentence cues. The eye-tracked online processing data was examined in two ways. First, we analyzed the online processing data to determine to what extent the children’s processing was consistent with the use of the sentence cues. We found that the children in the two groups were just as likely to demonstrate looking patterns consistent with the use animacy cues but children with DLD were less likely to use morphosyntactic, vocabulary, and event probability cues. We then analyzed the online processing data in correctly interpreted sentences only to examine how the sentence cues were integrated over the course of the sentence. We found that in correctly interpreted sentences, children with DLD demonstrated a slower, less robust response to most of the informative cues in the sentences but quicker and less linguistically mediated use of event probability cues. Finally, we examined the relationship between the children’s use of event probability cues and their stimuli-specific vocabulary knowledge but found no strong associations. </p><p><br></p><p> The second study focuses on the semantic network structure of the vocabularies of young 18-30-month-old children and its influence on noun and verb learning. Prior work had examined how noun semantic network structure affects noun learning. Here, we extended that work to ask how noun and verb semantic network structures differ in their influence on noun and verb learning. We examined vocabulary network structure at the word, semantic neighborhood, and lexicon levels in a large sample of child vocabulary checklist data using semantic features. We analyzed the data in three ways. First, we charted the relationship between verb and noun semantic network structure and vocabulary size across children. We found that early-learned nouns tended to have strong network relationships with other nouns and other verbs across network levels. We also found that early-learned verbs tended to have strong network relationships with other nouns but, in contrast, were unlikely to have strong relationships with other verbs. Next, we examined patterns of normative vocabulary development, asking whether the cross-sectional patterns seen in the first analysis influenced the time at which nouns and verbs tended to be learned. We found similar patterns. Nouns with strong semantic connections to other nouns and other verbs tended to be learned early. Verbs with strong semantic connections to other nouns tended to be learned early but verbs with strong semantic connections to other verbs tended to be learned later. Finally, in an effort to determine how the very earliest vocabulary knowledge sets the stage for later word learning, we examined how word knowledge gaps formed and were filled by nouns and verbs in normative vocabulary development. These gaps corresponded to structured “cavities” in the semantic networks. We found that nouns tended to form semantic cavities that were later filled by nouns and verbs, reinforcing the findings from the first analyses that early noun knowledge is a prerequisite for later verb learning. </p>

Le présent projet vise à mieux comprendre les difficultés reliées à l’acquisition de la coréférence chez les enfants francophones présentant un trouble développemental du langage (TDL) et à déterminer les différents facteurs influençant son acquisition et sa maitrise. La définition actuelle du TDL indique qu’il s’agit d’une difficulté du langage oral qui affecte à la fois la compréhension et l’expression. Il s’agit d’un trouble neurodéveloppemental caractérisé par des retards développementaux très variables dans une ou plusieurs sphères langagières. Deux théories sont vues en détail : la théorie de la complexité des structures syntaxiques (van der Lely et Stollwerck, 1997) et la théorie du déficit de la mémoire de travail (Montgomery et Evans, 2009). La première propose que les difficultés d’utilisation de la coréférence soient dues à la représentation innée de la syntaxe qui serait immature pour les enfants TDL et, en particulier, le principe B qui ne serait pas acquis. En revanche, Montgomery et Evans soutiennent que cette difficulté de compréhension et d’utilisation provient d’une limitation quant à la mémoire de travail plus précisément avec l’allocation et la capacité des ressources attentionnelles. Nous concluons que les différents facteurs influençant l’acquisition de la coréférence chez les enfants ayant un TDL sont les suivants : premièrement, l’enfant doit posséder les connaissances lexicales et sémantiques reliées aux pronoms et aux anaphores ; deuxièmement, l’enfant doit acquérir des connaissances syntaxiques afin de connaitre les antécédents possibles pour les pronoms et les anaphores ainsi que les règles les reliant. Finalement, la mémoire de travail et l’allocation et la capacité des ressources mentales jouent un rôle important dans la résolution des anaphores. Il est donc clair, selon nous, que les théories ne sont pas totalement suffisantes pour expliquer les troubles de la coréférence, mais qu’elles permettent d’expliquer en partie d’autres types de problèmes qui sont nécessaires pour la résolution de l’anaphore. La résolution des anaphores est un phénomène important surtout chez les enfants francophones puisqu’il s’agirait d’un marqueur clinique du trouble en français. / This project aims to understand the difficulties related to the acquisition of coreference of French speaking children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and to determine the various factors influencing its acquisition and mastery. The current definition of DLD indicates that it is a spoken language difficulty that affects both comprehension and expression. It is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by highly variable developmental delays in one or more language spheres. Two theories are seen in detail: the computational grammatical complexity (CGC) hypothesis (van der Lely and Stollwerck, 1997) and the working memory–based account (Montgomery and Evans, 2009). The CGC theory proposes that the difficulties of using coreference are due to the innate representation of the syntax which would be immature for DLD children and particularly the principle B which would not be acquired. In contrast, Montgomery and Evans argue that this difficulty in understanding and using anaphoras stems from a limitation in working memory and specifically with the allocation and capacity of attentional resources. Different factors influencing the acquisition of coreference in children with are discussed. First, the child must have lexical and semantic knowledge related to pronouns and anaphoras. Second, the child must acquire syntactic knowledge in order to know the possible antecedents for pronouns and anaphoras as well as the rules connecting them. Finally, working memory and the allocation and capacity of mental resources play an important role in the resolution of anaphoras. It is thus clear, according to us, that the theories are not totally sufficient to explain the deficit in coreference, but they partly explain other types of problems which are necessary for the resolution of the anaphora. The resolution of anaphoras is an important phenomenon for a good understanding of developmental language disorder, especially in French speaking children, since it is a clinical marker of the disorder in French.

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Studiens syfte är att ge en bild av grundskollärares uppfattningar av deras arbete med flerspråkiga elever med språkstörning. Utgångspunkten i studien är frågeställningarna: Hur uppfattar grundskollärare begreppen språkstörning och flerspråkighet? Vilka kunskaper och resurser uppfattar grundskollärare att de behöver för att kunna tillgodose flerspråkiga elever med språkstörning i undervisningen? Hur uppfattar grundskollärare att de anpassar sin undervisning så att flerspråkiga elever med språkstörning tillgodoses i undervisningen? Studien utgick från ett sociokulturellt perspektiv. I studien användes en kvalitativ, fenomenografisk metodansats. Datainsamlingen bestod av fenomenografiska intervjuer med åtta grundskollärare med erfarenhet av att undervisa flerspråkiga elever med språkstörning. I resultatet presenterades de kategorier som utgör den fenomenografiska metodansatsens utfallsram. Språkstörning uppfattades i uttalanden om impressiva och expressiva svårigheter, talsvårigheter, komorbiditet, att diagnosen är icke-språkspecifik samt att den upplevs som relativt ny och svårtolkad berördes också. Flerspråkighet uppfattades utifrån att det rör flera aktiva språk, behärskning av flera språk och att det ses som en värdefull resurs, kopplat till värderingar. Informanterna uppfattar ett behov av kunskaper inom språkstörning, flerspråkighet och andraspråksinlärning, ämnen och strategier, IKT och hjälpmedel, relationer samt test- och kartläggningsmaterial. Likväl uppfattades ett behov av personella och materiella resurser, flerspråkigt stöd, SVA-satsningar samt anpassade lokaler. Multimodalt lärande, ord- och begreppsförklaringar, kollaborativt lärande, hjälpmedel, förenklingar, rutiner samt grupperingar uppfattades som viktiga anpassningar för att tillgodose flerspråkiga elever med språkstörning. Resultatet tyder på att informanterna uppfattade språkstörning som svårdefinierat och något som ger problem inom olika språkliga domäner. Informanternas uppfattningar av undervisningen av flerspråkiga elever med språkstörning är förenliga med ett sociokulturellt perspektiv på lärande samt att kunskaper inom en rad områden och kompetenta resurser ses som viktiga för lärares arbete. Kunskap om språkstörning i kombination med flerspråkighet utgör förutsättningar om lärare ska kunna göra anpassningar som stöttar flerspråkiga elever med språkstörning i sin språk- och kunskapsutveckling.

Historically, social communication approaches to intervention for children with developmental language disorders (DLD) have been limited. However, several recent studies have shown that these interventions can produce positive changes in children with DLD. One weakness that children with DLD demonstrate is the production of words to express emotion. This thesis evaluates the effectiveness of a story-based social communication intervention to increase the production of emotion words in three elementary school-age children diagnosed with DLD. Data were collected and analyzed in pre-treatment baseline sessions, throughout the intervention, and in post-treatment follow-up data for the seven target emotion word categories of happiness, surprise, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, and contempt. The specific targeted emotion word categories were determined based on individual participants limited proficiency during baseline sessions. Thus, the emotions targeted were unique to each child. Intervention consisted of 40 intervention sessions using a combination of storybook therapeutic strategies (e.g., story enactment, story sharing, and modeling by the clinician to help increase the child's emotion understanding) as well as emotion recognition and emotion inferencing tasks. Each participants data were analyzed and presented in figures. The percentage of non-overlapping data (PND) was used in data analysis, quantifying how successful the intervention was for each of the targeted emotions. While the target emotion word categories varied between participants, all of the children showed improvement in the targeted emotions. While the intervention was more effective for some children than others, all increased in their ability to use the target emotion words more accurately as a result of participating in intervention.

Children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) often have difficulties with social and emotional learning, including emotion understanding and inferencing. Five children with DLD, ages 6;4 to 11;9, identified emotions depicted in pictured scenarios over a period of 10 weeks. Emotion categories included happy, sad, anger, fear, surprise, and disgust. Each child's responses were analyzed and plotted on a confusion matrix. In a few cases, children did not interpret the scenario accurately. Even when they interpreted the scenario accurately, all of the children misapplied, overgeneralized, or confused emotion labels in some cases. These errors represented limitations in social and emotional learning that could negatively impact the ability to interact with others, to establish and maintain relationships, and to succeed academically.

This study employed the Teacher Behavior Rating Scale (TBRS) to investigate two aspects of sociability, likeability and prosocial behavior, in 143 children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and 131 of their typically developing peers. Initially, measurement invariance analysis was performed to determine if teachers evaluated likeability and sociability in a similar manner for both children with DLD and their typically developing peers. Likeability items on the TBRS were invariant, and 4 of the 5 prosociability items were invariant. Subsequent analysis revealed that teachers rated children with DLD lower in both likeability and prosociability in comparison to their typically developing peers. The results of this study suggest that children with DLD are not fully accepted by their peers, nor do they engage in the helpful, comforting behaviors that encourage peer acceptance and build friendships.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur pedagoger i förskolan arbetar för att skapa en lärmiljö som främjar barnens språkutveckling. Studien fokuserar på hur pedagogerna använder lärmiljön och litteraturen för att stötta barn i språklig sårbarhet. Studien utgår ifrån samspel ur ett sociokulturellt perspektiv där vi fokuserar på Bruners begrepp scaffolding. Studien använder sig även av literacy med fokus på begreppen literacyevent, literacy practice samt emergent literacy.  För att undersöka vårt syfte använder vi oss av kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer och en kvalitativ enkät. Resultatet pekar på att samspelet spelar en stor roll i barns språkutveckling och att pedagogerna kan dra nytta av samspelet för att främja barnens språkutveckling när de planerar verksamheten och utformar lärmiljöer. Resultatet visar även att pedagoger i många fall arbetar på samma sätt med barn i språklig sårbarhet som med övriga barn. Detta beror på att de arbetssätt man använder med barn i språklig sårbarhet anses vara givande för alla barns språkutveckling.  Pedagoger anser att det mest betydande för barns språkutveckling är att man är närvarande och tydlig i sin ledarroll och att man använder sig av TAKK och bildstöd. Pedagogerna betonar även att kunskapen om hur man använder material och arbetar språkfrämjande är nödvändig för att skapa en språkfrämjande lärmiljö. Studien kommer fram till att högläsning är oerhört betydelsefullt för barns språkutveckling och att pedagogerna lägger stort fokus på hur man arbetar med litteraturens innehåll genom musik, dans, skapande, dramatisering och boksamtal.

<p dir="ltr">The goal of the study was to investigate vowel accuracy in preschoolers with and without speech sound disorders (SSD) on nonword repetition tasks. Children ages 4 and 5 years completed a battery of speech and language measures, as well as two nonword repetition tasks, the Syllable Repetition Task (SRT) and the Nonword Repetition Task (NRT). A total of 41 children participated in the study divided among 3 groups: 14 children with typical speech and language skills (TD), 14 children with isolated speech sound disorders (SSD-only), and 13 children with SSD and comorbid Developmental Language Disorder (SSD+DLD). Ultimately, it appears that children with SSD+DLD make more vowel errors on the Nonword Repetition Task, and that vowel accuracy on nonword repetition tasks and phonological awareness may share underlying mechanisms.</p>

The purpose of this study was to examine special needs teachers´ knowledge about visual scaffolding and their opportunities for supporting teachers in creating an accessible learning environment. Special needs teachers were given questions formulated and connected to how they experience their own professional qualifications when they support other teachers in using visual scaffolding, in what way they think visual scaffolding can be used in order to create an accessible learning enviroment and what sort of visual scaffolding they find recommendable in different learning environments and school subjects. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten special needs teachers in Swedish compulsory school. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed in relation to the research questions. The results showed that special needs teachers recommend that visual scaffolding ought to be used in order to make learning environments accessible by visualizing what pupils are asked to do, how they are supposed to perfom different tasks as well as making words and expressions clear. Using pictures was pointed out as the best support, followed by using symbols, drawings and tangible concrete materials. Further education in visual scaffolding, time for collegial learning, discussions and competent guidance also emerged as critical factors for special needs teachers in their support and guidance to class tecahers.