Research indicates that infants lose the capacity to perceive distinctions in nonnative sounds as they become sensitive to the speech sounds of their native language (i.e., by 10- to 12-months of age). However, investigations into the decline in nonnative phonetic perception have neglected to examine the role of non-linguistic information. Exaggerated prosodic intonation and facial input are prominent in the infants' language-learning environment, and both have been shown to ease the task of speech perception. The current investigation was designed to examine the impact of infant-directed (ID) speech and facial input on infants' ability to discriminate phonemes that do not contrast in their native language. Specifically, 11-month-old infants were tested for discrimination of both a native phoneme contrast and a nonnative phoneme contrast across four conditions, including an auditory manipulation (ID speech vs. AD speech) and a visual manipulation (Face vs. Geometric Form). The results indicated that infants could discriminate the native phonemes across any of the four conditions. Furthermore, the infants could discriminate the nonnative phonemes if they had enhanced auditory and visual information available to them (i.e., if they were presented in ID speech with a synchronous facial display), and if the nonnative discrimination task was the infants' first test session. These results suggest that infants do not lose the capacity to discriminate nonnative phonemes by the end of the first postnatal year, but that they rely on certain language-relevant and non-linguistic sources of information to discriminate nonnative sounds. / Ph. D.

Infants’ gestures feature prominently in early language. The observation that accomplishments in gesture presage verbal milestones prompted the question of whether encouraging infants to gesture would bring on language gains. This thesis addressed this question, remedying many of the shortfalls of previous research. In a yearlong longitudinal study, high-SES mother-infant dyads (n = 40) were randomly allocated to one of four conditions: Symbolic Gesture training, British Sign Language (BSL) training, Verbal training and a Non-Intervention Control group. Infants’ language was continually assessed between the ages of 8 to 20 months to determine the impact of encouraged gesture on language development. With the exception of a small number of boys, encouraging gesture did not affect infants’ language development. However, the expressive language of boys who started the study with a low language ability was improved by gesture. A gesture-training intervention was delivered to low-SES mothers at a Sure Start children’s centre. Infants of mothers trained to gesture showed greater gains in their receptive and expressive vocabularies than infants of mothers who attended sessions aimed to improve general communication (without gesture instruction). Gesture helped reduce the discrepancy between the language abilities of infants from low and high-SES backgrounds. Qualitative investigations revealed how encouraging mothers to use gestures with their infants led to perceived wider, non-linguistic benefits. However, a comparison of maternal and infant stress scores revealed no difference between gesturing and non-gesturing mother-infant dyads. Infants, who because of biological and/or environmental factors have lower language abilities than their peers, stand to benefit from encouraged gesture in infancy. Through early intervention, gesture has the potential to reduce the disadvantage that children from lower-SES families face from impoverished language abilities. By changing the course of their early development, encouraged gesture could ultimately bring about lasting benefits.

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro / O contato com membros de sua comunidade lingüística desde os primeiros dias de vida da criança é de fundamental importância para que ela desenvolva a linguagem. Assumindo a perspectiva sociopragmática, as interações lingüísticas mãe-bebê podem ser consideradas como uma das bases fundamentais do desenvolvimento da linguagem. Pressupondo que a fala materna tem um papel fundamental no processo de desenvolvimento lingüístico infantil, este estudo longitudinal teve como proposta analisar a fala materna e o desenvolvimento lingüístico infantil em cenários comunicativos específicos (atencional, convencional e simbólico). Aspectos sintáticos e semânticos da fala materna foram analisados e a trajetória desses cenários comunicativos ao longo do desenvolvimento foi identificada. Quatro díades mães-bebê (dois meninos e duas meninas) foram filmadas em suas residências dos 13 aos 24 meses da criança. A fala da mãe foi analisada e transcrita. A compreensão e a produção do vocabulário da criança foram medidas pelo MacArthur Inventary of Communicative Abilities (Inventário do Desenvolvimento de Habilidades Comunicativas). A partir dos resultados, semelhanças e diferenças entre as díades foram observadas. Identificou-se um predomínio na percentagem de sentenças maternas afirmativas ao longo do período estudado para as quatro díades. Apesar de apresentarem tendências de trajetórias específicas, as sentenças negativas foram o tipo de sentença menos utilizado pelas mães. Identificou-se, em todas as díades, uma tendência de trajetória linear positiva para fala materna relacionada ao contexto. Constatou-se, também, um aumento significativo de palavras compreendidas e produzidas pela criança ao longo do período e que os substantivos prevaleceram no vocabulário infantil. A média de engajamento das díades nos cenários comunicativos específicos do estudo foi de 76% do tempo total de observação. Percebeu-se que há uma tendência do cenário comunicativo atencional diminuir ao longo do desenvolvimento e do cenário comunicativo simbólico aumentar sua percentagem de tempo. Entre todas as correlações encontradas, nas quatro díades, pode-se destacar que a idade da criança se correlacionou, positivamente, com o total de palavras compreendidas e produzidas pela criança; o total de palavras compreendidas pela criança se correlacionou, positivamente, com o total de palavras produzidas pela criança e a fala materna relacionada à criança se correlacionou, negativamente, com a fala materna relacionada ao contexto. Acredita-se que este estudo pode colaborar para o conhecimento acerca do desenvolvimento da linguagem infantil nos primeiros dois anos da ontogênese das crianças e traz uma contribuição para a literatura relativa à fala materna no desenvolvimento inicial, com dados do contexto brasileiro / The contact with members of her linguistic community since the first days of a childs life is of fundamental importance for his/her language development. Assuming the social-pragmatic perspective, mother-infant linguistic interactions can be considered as one of the bases of the initial language development. Assuming that mother speech has a fundamental role in the process of child linguistic development, this longitudinal study aims to analyzing characteristics syntactic and semantics of maternal speech directed to children (MSDC), identifying transitions of mother-child communicational frames (attentional, conventional and symbolic). Syntactic and semantic aspects of maternal speech were analyzed and the trajectories of those frames throughout the development were identified. Four children, two boys and two girls, and their mothers were observed longitudinally from 13 to 24 months of age. The instances of maternal speech directed to children were identified, transcribed and classified in affirmative sentences, negative sentences, imperative sentences and interrogative sentences. The transitions from attentional to symbolic mother-child communication frames were identified. The percentage of maternal affirmative sentences was predominant in all dyads and the negative sentences, although, showing specifics tendencies of trajectories, were less emitted by mothers. MSDC showed transformations following the babys development. Different types of maternal sentences presented diverse patterns of development across time and in the four dyads. Speech related to the context increases linearly across time. Babiescomprehension and production vocabulary showed a linear increase across the 12 months observed, and the substantives words were predominant. The mean of engagement in all dyads was 76%. The percentage of time in attentional and symbolic frames showed a linear relation with the increase of babys age in all dyads. Some correlations, in all dyads, were identified: babiesage to comprehension and production vocabulary by children; the infant comprehension to infant production vocabulary; and maternal speech related to the child was correlated, negatively, to maternal speech related to the context. The study brings a contribution to the literature on maternal speech and initial language development with data from a Brazilian context

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro / O contato com membros de sua comunidade lingüística desde os primeiros dias de vida da criança é de fundamental importância para que ela desenvolva a linguagem. Assumindo a perspectiva sociopragmática, as interações lingüísticas mãe-bebê podem ser consideradas como uma das bases fundamentais do desenvolvimento da linguagem. Pressupondo que a fala materna tem um papel fundamental no processo de desenvolvimento lingüístico infantil, este estudo longitudinal teve como proposta analisar a fala materna e o desenvolvimento lingüístico infantil em cenários comunicativos específicos (atencional, convencional e simbólico). Aspectos sintáticos e semânticos da fala materna foram analisados e a trajetória desses cenários comunicativos ao longo do desenvolvimento foi identificada. Quatro díades mães-bebê (dois meninos e duas meninas) foram filmadas em suas residências dos 13 aos 24 meses da criança. A fala da mãe foi analisada e transcrita. A compreensão e a produção do vocabulário da criança foram medidas pelo MacArthur Inventary of Communicative Abilities (Inventário do Desenvolvimento de Habilidades Comunicativas). A partir dos resultados, semelhanças e diferenças entre as díades foram observadas. Identificou-se um predomínio na percentagem de sentenças maternas afirmativas ao longo do período estudado para as quatro díades. Apesar de apresentarem tendências de trajetórias específicas, as sentenças negativas foram o tipo de sentença menos utilizado pelas mães. Identificou-se, em todas as díades, uma tendência de trajetória linear positiva para fala materna relacionada ao contexto. Constatou-se, também, um aumento significativo de palavras compreendidas e produzidas pela criança ao longo do período e que os substantivos prevaleceram no vocabulário infantil. A média de engajamento das díades nos cenários comunicativos específicos do estudo foi de 76% do tempo total de observação. Percebeu-se que há uma tendência do cenário comunicativo atencional diminuir ao longo do desenvolvimento e do cenário comunicativo simbólico aumentar sua percentagem de tempo. Entre todas as correlações encontradas, nas quatro díades, pode-se destacar que a idade da criança se correlacionou, positivamente, com o total de palavras compreendidas e produzidas pela criança; o total de palavras compreendidas pela criança se correlacionou, positivamente, com o total de palavras produzidas pela criança e a fala materna relacionada à criança se correlacionou, negativamente, com a fala materna relacionada ao contexto. Acredita-se que este estudo pode colaborar para o conhecimento acerca do desenvolvimento da linguagem infantil nos primeiros dois anos da ontogênese das crianças e traz uma contribuição para a literatura relativa à fala materna no desenvolvimento inicial, com dados do contexto brasileiro / The contact with members of her linguistic community since the first days of a childs life is of fundamental importance for his/her language development. Assuming the social-pragmatic perspective, mother-infant linguistic interactions can be considered as one of the bases of the initial language development. Assuming that mother speech has a fundamental role in the process of child linguistic development, this longitudinal study aims to analyzing characteristics syntactic and semantics of maternal speech directed to children (MSDC), identifying transitions of mother-child communicational frames (attentional, conventional and symbolic). Syntactic and semantic aspects of maternal speech were analyzed and the trajectories of those frames throughout the development were identified. Four children, two boys and two girls, and their mothers were observed longitudinally from 13 to 24 months of age. The instances of maternal speech directed to children were identified, transcribed and classified in affirmative sentences, negative sentences, imperative sentences and interrogative sentences. The transitions from attentional to symbolic mother-child communication frames were identified. The percentage of maternal affirmative sentences was predominant in all dyads and the negative sentences, although, showing specifics tendencies of trajectories, were less emitted by mothers. MSDC showed transformations following the babys development. Different types of maternal sentences presented diverse patterns of development across time and in the four dyads. Speech related to the context increases linearly across time. Babiescomprehension and production vocabulary showed a linear increase across the 12 months observed, and the substantives words were predominant. The mean of engagement in all dyads was 76%. The percentage of time in attentional and symbolic frames showed a linear relation with the increase of babys age in all dyads. Some correlations, in all dyads, were identified: babiesage to comprehension and production vocabulary by children; the infant comprehension to infant production vocabulary; and maternal speech related to the child was correlated, negatively, to maternal speech related to the context. The study brings a contribution to the literature on maternal speech and initial language development with data from a Brazilian context

The presented thesis deals with the topic of development of communication abilities in preterm infants from the perspective of special education. The thesis is for clarity divided into several parts. In the first part of the text the issue of incidence of premature births in the Czech Republic is discussed, following subsections are devoted to the definition and distribution of characteristics bonding with immaturity of child and approach selected health problems associated with postpartum adaptation and subsequent psychomotor development of child. The following chapter which analyzes the system of care for premature newborns in the Czech Republic focuses on two forms of care, acute care and followed-up. Next part has been devoted to issue of premature infants from logopedical perspective and describes the physiological process of development of communication abilities of child and based on current knowledge, especially foreign research, analyzes the peculiarities of speech development of preterm infants. The last and key part of the work, based on case studies, analyzes the specifics of development of communication abilities of four originally extremely and very preterm children of multiple pregnancies in the background of the their overall psychomotor development. KEYWORDS premature infant,...

The intent of this thesis was to study, in depth, the experiences of four adolescent mothers who underwent a home intervention program. I studied two mothers who did well with teaching their 12-month old children during play, and two mothers who did not do as well. All four mothers received weekly intervention from the time of their child's birth through 12-months of age. I studied the following variables: 1) how much time the home visitors spent on selected child development and parenting topics; 2) the mother's perceived social support; 3) how many community resources the mother used; and 4) if the infant was healthy and within normal developmental range. All of the mothers struggled in their lives, yet varied in the quality and time of most of the variables. It was striking how different each one was from the other. The implications of the study are important for child development specialists who can use the qualitative data within this document to better understand first time adolescent mothers in order to improve the outcomes of the home visitation services that they provide to mothers and infants. After spending time studying these four adolescent mothers, I would recommend that adolescent women not get pregnant. Adolescence is a time that is meant for experiences and self-discovery and should be spent free from a dependent child who critically needs them. Future research and funding should be spent on preventing adolescent pregnancy and ensuring that flexible curriculum be utilized by the home visitors in order to meet the varying needs of adolescent mothers.

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