This study examined the relationship between language skills and reticence in 37 children with language impairment (LI) and 37 typically developing peers matched for age (ranging from 6;11 to 10;1 years) and gender. Subtests of the Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language (E. Carrow-Woolfolk, 1999) were used to evaluate language ability. The Teacher Behavior Rating Scale (C. H. Hart & C. C. Robinson, 1996) was used to evaluate reticence. The current study replicated previous research by documenting significantly higher levels of reticence in children with LI when compared to typical peers. Significant group differences were also found in paragraph comprehension, syntax construction, and pragmatic judgment skills, with children with LI performing poorer on each language subtest compared to typical peers. No significant gender differences were observed on any of the comparisons. Multiple regression analyses were applied to evaluate the relationship between the language subtests and reticence in the group with LI and the typical group. Results for both groups indicated that paragraph comprehension, syntax construction, and pragmatic judgment skills were not significant predictors of reticent withdrawal behavior, either in combination or independently. Results suggest that language alone cannot predict reticence in either children with LI or their typical peers.

This study examines the effects of intervention using a robot on the social interactions of two children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Robots have been shown to facilitate human-robot interaction in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, yet research has not fully investigated the use of robots to enhance interactions between children with ASD and human conversational partners. The purpose of this study was to investigate the ability of a low-dose intervention procedure using a robot to increase social engagement between each child and his communication partner. Although variable, results were promising and suggested that additional investigation is warranted.

Spectral Moment Analysis has helped further our understanding of the spectral properties of obstruent speech production; however, the physiologic correlates of these spectral measures are not well understood. The aim of the present study was to examine the possible correlations between the linguapalatal contact patterns used to produce the fricatives /s/ and /ʃ/ and the resulting spectral characteristics. Using spectral moment analysis and electropalatography (EPG), the real-word productions of eight speakers of American English were investigated. The spectral measures for the fricative tokens in the present study were found to be similar to data reported in previous research with adult speakers. Although the majority of the correlations examined in this study were found to be statistically significant, none of the correlations accounted for a large proportion of the variance in the data. Generally the strongest correlations were found between the spectral mean and the symmetry of the contact pattern in the anterior region of the hard palate and the width of the contact pattern in the medial region of the palate. These findings may indicate that although the width and symmetry of linguapalatal contact contributes to the spectral signature /s/ and /ʃ/ fricatives, they are likely only part of a much more complex process that may involve other mechanisms such as lip rounding, tongue groove depth and shape, aerodynamic factors, and the shape of the vocal tract in other regions.

Mean length of utterance (MLU) is widely used in child language sample analysis as a way to quantify language development. The current study examines the split-half reliability of MLU and two alternative measures: MLU2 and median length of utterance (MdLU). The effects of utterance segmentation into phonological units (P-units) or communication units (C-units) on reliability were also studied. Sixty conversational child language samples were used which included ten children with language impairment. All measures were found to have high levels of split-half reliability, with MLU and MLU2 having higher levels of reliability than MdLU. There was no significant difference between MLU and MLU2. The differences in reliability when segmented into P-units or C-units were inconsistent. Overall, MLU and MLU2 are adequately reliable measures for clinical use.

The study presents the use of a humanoid robot to facilitate social engagement behaviors in four children with autism. These children were enrolled in a semester long treatment program based on components of the SCERTS model designed to facilitate social communication (Prizant, 2003). Following baseline, children received intervention sessions with and without the robot. During sessions involving the robot, each child would participate in a 10 minute interaction (as part of a 50 minute sessions) using a robot to facilitate interaction with a graduate clinician or parent. The interactions were recorded and analyzed for occurrences of social engagement behaviors. This study focused specifically on the triadic interaction that occurred in the pre-and post-intervention sessions. The triadic interaction was a structured play sequence involving three individuals (the child, the graduate clinician, and the assisting graduate clinician). The results suggest that the robot has potential to facilitate reciprocal action between children with autism and adults.

Spectral moment analysis has helped further our understanding of the spectral properties of obstruent speech production; however, the physiologic correlates of these spectral measures are not well understood. The aim of the present study was to examine the possible correlations between the linguapalatal contact patterns used to produce the stops /t/ and /k/ and the resulting spectral characteristics. Using spectral moment analysis and electropalatography, the real-word productions of eight speakers of American English were investigated. The spectral measures for the stop consonant tokens in the present study were found to be similar to data reported in previous research with adult speakers. The majority of the correlations examined in this study were found to be statistically insignificant, although significant correlations were found between the anterior vertical and posterior vertical indices with spectral variance and spectral skewness, respectively. Despite the significance of these correlations, this did not account for a large proportion of variance in the data. Further analysis using curve estimates revealed significant curvilinear relationships among the data. These findings may indicate that although the anterior-posterior tongue placement and symmetry of linguapalatal contact contribute to the spectral signature of /t/ and /k/ stop consonants, this articulatory movement is only part of a more complex process that may involve aerodynamic factors and the overall shape of the vocal tract.

The current study presents the use of a humanoid robot to facilitate compliant behaviors to two types of directives in four children with autism. The children participated in a three-month intervention program that incorporated core components of the SCERTS model in order to facilitate social communication (Prizant, Wetherby, Rubin, & Laurent, 2003). Treatment sessions were comprised of 40 minutes of traditional treatment and 10 minutes of interaction with a humanoid robot. Pre- and post-intervention assessment were conducted, each involving a 5 minute interaction with the child's mother, in which they were presented with directives in the form of physical manipulation and verbal requests accompanied by a gesture or model. These pre- and post-intervention sessions were recorded, analyzed, and coded for compliant and non-compliant behavior to the directives, as well as any eye contact, language, or reciprocal action that accompanied their behavior. The overall results were variable, revealing that two participants made notable gains, one child remained consistent, and another participant showed a decrease in compliant behavior in the post-intervention sessions. Further research should be conducted to include a longer period of baseline and intervention, more systematic identification of the most effective probes for the child, and documentation of the child's physical and emotional state.

Electropalatography (EPG) is a computer-based device that uses a fitted pseudopalate (similar to an orthodontic retainer) with embedded electrodes to track tongue-to-palate contact during speech for the purposes of providing treatment for a variety of communication disorders. This study evaluated six elementary school-aged children's ability to adapt their speech to the presence of the pseudopalate in their mouth. The participants' adaptation for the consonants /t/ and /k/ was examined over eight time intervals throughout a two and half hour time period. Adaptation was evaluated by measuring the duration, spectral mean, spectral variance, and relative intensity of the target sounds. The participants demonstrated significant changes in speech patterns upon initial placement of the pseudopalate across the spectral parameters of mean, variance, and relative intensity. However, no significant differences in duration were found for either phoneme in the pseudopalate versus no pseudopalate conditions. Therefore, temporal parameters for consonant duration were relatively unaffected by the pseudopalate. The children in the study were able to make some speech adaptations to the pseudopalate, however evidence from the /t/ and /k/ productions indicated that the majority of participants were not able to fully adapt to the EPG device during the two and a half hour time period. Clinicians using EPG must take adaptation effects into consideration.

Selective mutism (SM), an anxiety disorder wherein children have difficulty speaking or communicating when they are uncomfortable, is relevant for the early childhood population as symptoms often manifest upon school entry (Steinhausen & Juzi, 1996) and early treatment leads to better treatment prognosis (Oerbeck, Stein, Wentzel-Larsen, Langsrud & Kristensen, 2014). Bergman, Gonzalez, Piacentini and Keller, (2013) utilized an integrative behavioral treatment for children (ages 4-8) with SM and reported a 75% treatment responder status after 24 weeks of therapy. Their mothers are the focus of this study. This exploratory study examined the content of Five Minute Speech Samples at baseline and end of treatment condition for 9 mothers whose children had participated in the randomized controlled trial. Via a content analysis of language samples, this study examined emergent themes and a priori codes of Expressed Emotion (a construct associated with a variety of disorders) and parental overcontrol (a construct associated with the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders). Results revealed five categories of content expressed by mothers: (a) child characteristics (b) child's activities, (c) relationships with others, (d) difficulties other than SM, and (e) thoughts related to SM. Analysis revealed mothers who had children with SM had higher levels of expressed emotion and emotional overinvolvement than samples of mothers of children without SM. The implication of this finding is unknown and is a direction for future research. Overcontrol was overtly present in one mother and subtle in other mothers. Levels of expressed emotion largely remained unchanged over the course of treatment. Overall, information garnered from giving mothers the five minutes speech sample provides insight for therapists to design intervention. Giving the mothers a chance to discuss their views and experiences with their children is valuable in determining the behavioral and emotional support they need as they parent their child with SM.

We explored the level of technology utilization in supporting children with cognitive disabilities at schools, speech clinics, and with assistive communication at home. Anecdotal evidence, literature research, and our own survey of special needs educators in Central Florida reveal that use of technology is minimal in classrooms for students with special needs even when scientific research has shown the effectiveness of video modeling in teaching children with special needs new skills and behaviors. Research also shows that speech and language therapists utilize a manual approach to elicit and analyze language samples from children with special needs. While technology is utilized in augmentative and alternative communication, many caregivers utilize paper-based picture exchange systems, storyboards, and daily schedules when assisting their children with their communication needs. We developed and validated three software frameworks to aid language therapists, teachers, and caregivers in supporting children with cognitive disabilities and related special needs. The Analysis of Social Discourse Framework proposes that language therapists use social media discourse instead of direct elicitation of language samples. The framework presents an easy-to-use approach to analyzing language samples based on natural language processing. We validated the framework by analyzing public social discourse from three unrelated sources. The Applied Interventions for eXceptional-needs (AIX) framework allows classroom teachers to implement and track interventions using easy-to-use smartphone applications. We validated the framework by conducting a sixteen-week pilot case study in a school for students with special needs in Central Florida. The Language Enhancements for eXceptioanl Youth (LEXY) framework allows for the development of a new class of augmentative and alternative communication tools that are based on conversational chatbots that assist children with special needs while utilizing a model of the world curated by their caregivers. We validated the framework by simulating an interaction between a prototype chatbot that we developed, a child with special needs, and the child's caregiver.