759 research outputs found
Writing Development in Children with Hearing Loss, Dyslexia, or Oral Language Problems: Implications for Assessment and Instruction
No full textWriting plays a key role in society. Yet, many children struggle in learning to write, and often this is related to difficulties in the development of their oral-language skills. For students with oral language difficulties text production is particularly challenging, yet there have been few attempts to consider the impact of different oral language problems on the production of written text. This book focuses on the relationship between oral language problems and writing problems for children with hearing loss, those with oral-language difficulties and those with dyslexia. The causes and nature of their writing problems are examined by experts in the fields. Authors from three continents and nine countries contributed their research to extend our understanding of the problems that these children face. The collection provides timely information across languages and countries, enhancing our understanding of the links between oral language problems and writing, informing both writing assessment and intervention
Longitudinal patterns of behavioral, emotional, and social difficulties and self-concept in adolescents with a history of specific language impairment
No full textPurpose: This study explored the prevalence and stability of behavioral difficulties and self-concepts between 8 and 17 years in a sample of children with a history of specific language impairment (SLI). We investigated whether earlier behavioral, emotional and social difficulties (BESD), self-concepts, language, and literacy abilities predicted behavioral difficulties and self-concepts at 16/17 years.
Method: In this prospective longitudinal study, 65 students were followed up with teacher behavior ratings and individual assessments of language, literacy, and self-concepts at 8, 10, 12, 16, and 17 years.
Results: The students had consistently higher levels of five domains of BESD, which had different trajectories over time, and poorer scholastic competence, whose trajectory also varied over time. Earlier language ability did not predict later behavioral difficulties or self-concepts but the prediction of academic self-concept at 16 by literacy at 10 years approached significance.
Conclusions: We demonstrate the importance of distinguishing domains of behavioral difficulties and self-concept. Language, when measured at 8 or 10 years, was not a predictor of behavior or self-concepts at 16 years, or of self-concepts at 17 years. The study stresses the importance of practitioners addressing academic abilities and different social-behavioral domains in delivering support for adolescents with SLI
The role of oral language in developing written language skills: Questions for European pedagogy?
No full textThe impact of sound field systems on learning and attention in elementary school classrooms
No full textPurpose: An evaluation of the installation and use of sound field systems (SFS) was carried out to investigate their impact on teaching and learning in elementary school classrooms. Methods: The evaluation included acoustic surveys of classrooms, questionnaire surveys of students and teachers and experimental testing of students with and without the use of SFS. Students ’ perceptions of classroom environments and objective data evaluating change in performance on cognitive and academic assessments with amplification over a six month period are reported. Results: Teachers were positive about the use of SFS in improving children’s listening and attention to verbal instructions. Over time students in amplified classrooms did not differ from those in nonamplified classrooms in their reports of listening conditions, nor did their performance differ in measures of numeracy, reading or spelling. Use of SFS in the classrooms resulted in significantly larger gains in performance in the number of correct items on the nonverbal measure of speed of processing and the measure of listening comprehension. Analysis controlling for classroom acoustics indicated that students ’ listening comprehension score
Inclusion versus specialist provision for children with developmental language disorders
No full textThere is a growing debate about the ways in which education of children and young people with special educational needs should be met (Cigman, 2007; House of Commons Education and Skills Committee, 2006). Debates revolve around the rights to be educated in mainstream settings (Lindsay, 2003; Rustemier, 2002), the most appropriate educational placement to raise achievements and well-being (Dyson, Farrell, Polat, Hutcheson, & Gallannaugh, 2004; Zigmond, 2003), and evidence-based pedagogical practices
(Lewis & Norwich, 2005; Lindsay, 2007). The issues raised impact directly on the ways in which the needs of children with specifi c speech and language diffi culties (SSLD) are addressed. This debate was refl ected in a UK national study that highlighted the differences between the views of education and health professionals regarding how best to develop services for children with SSLD. Typically education staff emphasized the development of inclusive education practices (Lindsay, Dockrell, Mackie, & Letchford, 2005a), while speech and language therapy services highlighted the need to develop more specialist provision (Dockrell, Lindsay, Letchford, & Mackie, 2006). The implicit assumption from both groups of
respondents was that, independent of the causal origins of language problems, intervention can mediate or modify the effects of a developmental language disorder. Importantly, in both cases the focus was on the children’s educational placement: mainstream or specialist provision
Population differences in immune responses to Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccination in infancy.
No full textBacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination induces a marked increase in the interferon (IFN)-gamma response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis purified protein derivative (Mtb PPD) in UK adolescents, but not in Malawian adolescents. We hypothesized that Mtb PPD-induced IFN-gamma after BCG vaccination would be similar in infants from these 2 countries. Infants were vaccinated with BCG during the first 3-13 weeks of life. Three months after BCG vaccination, 51 (100%) of 51 UK infants had an IFN-gamma response to Mtb PPD, compared to 41 (53%) of 78 of Malawian infants, in whom responses varied according to their season of birth. We conclude that population differences in immune responses after BCG vaccination are observed among infants, as well as among young adults
Variability between countries in cytokine responses to BCG vaccination: what impact might this have on protection?
No full textVulnerability to bullying in children with a history of specific speech and language difficulties
No full textThis is an electronic version of an article published in Lindsay, Geoff and Dockrell, Julie and Mackie, Clare (2008) Vulnerability to bullying in children with a history of specific speech and language difficulties. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 23 (1). pp. 1-16. European Journal of Special Needs Education is available online at: http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/0885625070179120
Broad heparin-binding haemagglutinin-specific cytokine and chemokine response in infants following Mycobacterium bovis BCG vaccination.
No full text: Heparin-binding haemagglutinin (HBHA)-specific immune responses have been linked to protection against tuberculosis (TB). We investigated the hypothesis that BCG vaccination of human infants primes an HBHA-specific response, using multiplex to measure secreted cytokines and chemokines following HBHA and Mycobacterium tuberculosis purified protein derivative (PPD) stimulation of diluted whole blood samples from BCG-vaccinated or unvaccinated infants. Of 42 analytes measured, 24 and 32 significant, BCG-associated increases were detected in response to HBHA and PPD respectively. Both response profiles included Th-1, Th-2, Th-17 and inflammatory cytokines and chemokines (e.g. IFN-?, TNF-?, IL-5, IL-10, IL-13, IL-17, MIP-1? and MIP-1?). We also found that 6 of the 7 responses most closely correlated with IFN-? were common to both HBHA and PPD. Notably, all HBHA-specific secretion of cytokines and chemokines from infant samples was dependant on previous BCG vaccination. Also, long term persistence of HBHA-specific responses was found in adolescents with evidence of infant BCG vaccination. This study demonstrates for the first time, BCG priming of an HBHA-specific immune response in infants that is characterised by a broad cytokine and chemokine signature. It also suggests a number of BCG vaccination-associated, HBHA-induced responses that should be useful for future studies of biomarkers of protection against TB
The mainstream primary classroom as a language-learning environment for children with severe and persistent language impairment - implications of recent language intervention research
No full textMany UK children with severe and persistent language impairment (SLI) attend local mainstream schools. Although this should provide an excellent language-learning environment, opportunities may be limited by difficulties in sustaining time-consuming, child-specific learning activities; restricted co-professional working, and the complex classroom environment. Two language intervention studies in mainstream Scottish primary schools showed children with SLI receiving intervention from speech and language therapists (SLTs) or their assistants made more progress in expressive language than similar children receiving intervention from education staff. Potential reasons for this difference are sought in the amount of tailored language-learning activity undertaken; how actively school staff initiated contact with SLTs; and the language demands of the classroom. Tailored language learning appears to be a differentiating factor. A language support model, reflecting views of teachers and SLTs about encouraging language development for children with SLI within the ecology of the mainstream primary classroom, is also outlined
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