Specific language impairment (SLI), or developmental language disorder, is the most prevalent development disorder in childhood. However, most children with SLI are detected late. Predictive... Show moreSpecific language impairment (SLI), or developmental language disorder, is the most prevalent development disorder in childhood. However, most children with SLI are detected late. Predictive properties of language milestones and risk factors for having SLI later in life were investigated in a nested case-control study. The outcomes showed that from the age of two years, children not meeting language milestones at the norm age are at risk for having SLI at school age. A concise tool was developed to enable young children with SLI to be detected. This uses five language milestones and has acceptable predictive values. Of all investigated risk factors, only maternal age, the place in the birth order and being breastfeed directly after birth had a relationship with having SLI later. It was also established that children with SLI were more likely to be late, not only in reaching language milestones, but also in reaching motor milestones at the norm age. Suggestions are made to improve the early detection of children with SLI using this concise tool. The concise tool is easy to implement in the Dutch healthcare system because it uses data already collected during visits in the well-child healthcare system in the Netherlands. Show less
For decades children with moderate hearing loss (MHL) were “forgotten children”. Most research focused on deaf children and the needs of children with MHL were underestimated. Children with MHL... Show moreFor decades children with moderate hearing loss (MHL) were “forgotten children”. Most research focused on deaf children and the needs of children with MHL were underestimated. Children with MHL have inconsistent access to linguistic input and social-emotional experiences and that place them at risk for developmental difficulties. In the present thesis the psychosocial functioning of toddlers with moderate hearing loss was examined within the context of the caregiving environment. No risk factors were found in the parent-child affective domain: Toddlers with MHL were affected by the emotions of others, they were affectively available to their parents and their parents to them, and their parents did not feel more parental stress than parents of toddlers without hearing loss. Challenges were found in the domain of meaningful social interactions: Toddlers with MHL had more difficulties in understanding the intentions of others and exchanged fewer social-communicative signals. The episodes of joint engagement during parent-child interactions were briefer and parents used less rich language during these interactions than parents of toddlers without hearing loss. To overcome these challenges parents could ready storybooks with their children. An interactive reading program for parents of toddlers with hearing loss showed to be effective in increasing joint engagement. Show less
Bergstra, M.; Mulder, H.N.M. de; Coopmans, P. 2018
This study investigated how speaker certainty (a rational cue) and speaker benevolence (an emotional cue) influence children's willingness to learn words in a selective learning paradigm. In two... Show moreThis study investigated how speaker certainty (a rational cue) and speaker benevolence (an emotional cue) influence children's willingness to learn words in a selective learning paradigm. In two experiments four- to six-year-olds learnt novel labels from two speakers and, after a week, their memory for these labels was reassessed. Results demonstrated that children retained the label-object pairings for at least a week. Furthermore, children preferred to learn from certain over uncertain speakers, but they had no significant preference for nice over nasty speakers. When the cues were combined, children followed certain speakers, even if they were nasty. However, children did prefer to learn from nice and certain speakers over nasty and certain speakers. These results suggest that rational cues regarding a speaker's linguistic competence trump emotional cues regarding a speaker's affective status in word learning. However, emotional cues were found to have a subtle influence on this process. Show less
Based on the available empirical evidence, it was investigated in the present dissertation which features of electronic storybooks are beneficial for young children's language and literacy... Show moreBased on the available empirical evidence, it was investigated in the present dissertation which features of electronic storybooks are beneficial for young children's language and literacy development. In a meta-analysis interactive features like 'hotspots' and games were found to distract children from the story. Switching between listening to a story and playing with interactive elements requires multitasking and might be too demanding for young children's cognitive capacities. In contrast, multimedia elements like animation, background music and sound effects that illustrate the abstract language of narrative stories were found to facilitate children's comprehension of the story and word learning. For instance, motion in animated illustrations were found to attract children's attention to the part of the picture that is relevant to the oral narration and thus facilitate story comprehension. Guidelines for developers, parents and teachers are discussed. Show less
Between 150 and 200 deaf children are born in the Netherlands each year. Deafness has major consequences for these children’s development, as it deprives them of access to spoken language. Since... Show moreBetween 150 and 200 deaf children are born in the Netherlands each year. Deafness has major consequences for these children’s development, as it deprives them of access to spoken language. Since the 1990s, deaf children have been able to have a cochlear implant (CI), which enables them to experience sound. The questions central to this thesis concern the way in which a CI affects children’s development, and the factors that play an important role in this. The framework for this thesis is provided by Bronfenbrenner’s social-ecological model, which proposes that children’s development is influenced by the quality and quantity of their interpersonal interactions. These interactions are influenced indirectly by the environment in which children live. In young children with a CI, language development and the social-emotional development are both delayed compared to their hearing peers. However, it is not yet cl ear how these children will develop in the future. The children who participated in this study were still very young, and a number of them received their CI relatively late. It is possible that they will catch up with hearing children when they are older and have had a longer period of access to spoken language Show less
