Most children aged 1;6 to 2;0 begin to use utterances of two words or more. It is therefore important for child phonologists to consider the development of phonetic and phonological phenomena that characterize connected speech. The longitudinal case study reported here investigated three juncture types – assimilation, elision and liaison – in the speech of a typically-developing child between the ages of 2;4 and 3;4. Attempts at production of these adult juncture types occurred from the onset of two-word utterances. However, for some juncture types, the child still had to perfect the intergestural relationships and gestural articulations that the adult between-word junctures demand. This process of phonetic development was largely accomplished by the age of 3;4. With one exception, between-word junctures appear not to be the result of learned phonological rules or processes. The exception is liaison involving /r/, which did not occur until the child was three years old.
The aim of this study was to conduct a preliminary analysis of relations between child and environmental variables, including factors related to communication aid provision, and participation in informal everyday activities in a sample of children with complex communication needs.Ninety-seven caregivers of children provided with communication aids responded to a questionnaire survey. Child variables assessed were level of ability, trait emotional selfefficacy, and competence in communication aid use. Environmental variables assessed were the impact of childhood disability on the family, family socio-economic category, perceived reliability of electronic communication aids provided to children, and ease of use of the aid.The outcome measure was the intensity of child participation in informal activities.Significant correlations were observed between participation scores and the following variables: child age, level of ability, trait emotional self-efficacy, and family impact of childhood disability. Regression analyses highlighted trait emotional self-efficacy and, to a lesser degree, family impact of childhood disability as the strongest potential predictors of participation.While aspects of child personality may be difficult to disentangle from behaviours related to disability type or developmental age, this research highlights a clinical requirement to assess systematically child behaviours relating to their general emotional functioning.
UK professionals use a range of intervention approaches to promote communication development in pre-school deaf children by influencing the family's' interaction style. This investigation surveyed the approaches used and explored how these translated into specific practices.An online questionnaire was developed and reviewed by a panel of experts. Part 1 explored professional background and approaches used. Findings showed that the main approaches were: Auditory Verbal Therapy, Hanen, "Parent-Child Interaction Therapy" (PCIT) and guidance from the Monitoring Protocol for deaf babies and children (GMP). Of the 158 professionals who completed Part 1, 142 used a combination of these approaches, with each approach selected at least 93 times. When participants were asked which approach or combination of approaches influenced their practice most strongly, over 25% chose GMP (mainly teachers of the deaf) and over 25% chose Hanen and/or PCIT (mainly speech and language therapists). Part 2, completed by 117 professionals, required participants to rate how frequently they suggested particular strategies to parents and how frequently they used particular methods to encourage parents to adopt those strategies. There was no evidence of an association between the approaches selected and methods used and very little evidence of an association between the approaches and strategies selected. Many professionals were recommending similar strategies and using similar methods but there was also some variation in practice.The overall findings suggest that future research comparing named approaches may be of less value than studies that seek to explore the potential effectiveness of particular strategies and methods.3
Evidence also suggests that those younger children with partial intelligibility participated more frequently in recreational and social activities than both younger children without speech and older children. Results and limitations are discussed within the context of participation research in childhood disability, highlighting the impact of communicative resources and maturation on everyday participation.
PARTICIPATION, COMMUNICATION AND AGE
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