Training parents to implement strategies to support child language development is crucial to support long-term outcomes, given that as many as 2 of 5 children younger than 5 years have difficulty learning language.OBJECTIVE To examine the association between parent training and language and communication outcomes in young children.

Children with language disorders display greater rates of problem behaviors compared with their typically developing peers, and this difference is more pronounced in older children.

Researchers examined whether a parent-implemented language intervention improved problem behaviors 1 year after intervention. Ninety-seven children with language delays (mean age at 12-month follow-up = 48.22 months) were randomized to receive Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) language intervention or business as usual treatment. Twelve months after the intervention ended, children in the EMT intervention condition displayed lower rates of parent-reported externalizing, internalizing, and total problem behaviors. A mediation analysis revealed that the relation between EMT and problem behaviors was partially mediated by child rate of communication for both internalizing and total problem behaviors. A developmental framework is proposed to explain the impact of EMT on problem behaviors, and future lines of research are discussed.

Purpose: The coordination of respiration with swallowing is critical for facilitation of airway protection and the efficiency of movements that propel ingested material through the upper aerodigestive tract. Confirmation of a predominant pattern in healthy adults provides a platform for comparison to aberrant patterns observed in the population with swallowing impairment (dysphagia).

Objective The goal of this paper is to investigate the association between the two most commonly reported parental concerns about young children - disruptive behavior (e.g., irritable, aggressive, and noncompliant behaviors) and language delay in toddlers. To test for salient sub-group differences, individual differences by child sex and family poverty status were examined. Methods Participants included 1,259 mothers of children between 18 and 36 months of age. Mothers completed questions about their child’s language development and disruptive behavior. Information regarding poverty status as well as child age and sex were also collected. Results Stronger language skills were associated with fewer disruptive behavior for children between 18 and 36 months of age. This negative association was stronger for girls than boys (b = −0.243, t(1251) = −3.555, p < .001) and stronger for children living in poverty than those above the poverty line (b = −2.04, t(1251) = −2.531, p = .011). Conclusions Findings from our study suggest a developmental co-occurrence pattern that begins at a very early age. Individual differences suggest that there is substantial heterogeneity in these patterns; longitudinal investigation is needed to uncover causal pathways and underlying mechanisms. Awareness of the association between these two developmental domains about which parents frequently express concerns is critical to maximizing early detection and intervention.