Emerging Verbal Functions in Early Infancy: Lessons from Observational and Computational Approaches on Typical Development and Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Abstract

Objectives Research on typically developing (TD) children and those with neurodevelopmental disorders and genetic syndromes was targeted. Specifically, studies on autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, Rett syndrome, fragile X syndrome, cerebral palsy, Angelman syndrome, tuberous sclerosis complex, Williams-Beuren syndrome, Cri-du-chat syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, and West syndrome were searched. The objectives are to review observational and computational studies on the emergence of (pre-)babbling vocalisations and outline findings on acoustic characteristics of early verbal functions. Methods A comprehensive review of the literature was performed including observational and computational studies focusing on spontaneous infant vocalisations at the pre-babbling age of TD children, individuals with genetic or neurodevelopmental disorders. Results While there is substantial knowledge about early vocal development in TD infants, the pre-babbling phase in infants with neurodevelopmental and genetic syndromes is scarcely scrutinised. Related approaches, paradigms, and definitions vary substantially and insights into the onset and characteristics of early verbal functions in most above-mentioned disorders are missing. Most studies focused on acoustic low-level descriptors (e.g. fundamental frequency) which bore limited clinical relevance. This calls for computational approaches to analyse features of infant typical and atypical verbal development. Conclusions Pre-babbling vocalisations as precursor for future speech-language functions may reveal valuable signs for identifying infants at risk for atypical development. Observational studies should be complemented by computational approaches to enable in-depth understanding of the developing speech-language functions. By disentangling features of typical and atypical early verbal development, computational approaches may support clinical screening and evaluation.

Learning about neurodiversity from parents – auditory gestalt perception of prelinguistic vocalisations

“…It is important to bear in mind that typically developing children also produce vocalisations that sound conspicuous from time to time. For example, transient high-pitched crying in pain, pressed voice, or articulations with inspiratory airstream during pleasure bursts are observable (Marschik et al, 2022; Nathani & Oller, 2001; Oller, 2000). Could humans and computer algorithms also in those cases detect the “origin-revealing” features and correctly identify the producers of the conspicuously-sounding vocalisations?…”

Combined extended reality and reinforcement learning to promote healthcare and reduce social anxiety in fragile X syndrome: a new assessment tool and a rehabilitative strategy

“…Conversely, it is usually repeated over 200 times in FXS (i.e., full mutation). Individuals whose CGG repletion is comprised between 55 and 200 times present the premutation (Symons et al, 2003 ; Crawford et al, 2020 ; Marschik et al, 2022 ). The disease affects ~1 in 2,500 male individuals and 1 in 4,000–6,000 female individuals (Oliver et al, 2017 ).…”

Early Assessment and Intervention: Introduction to the Special Issue

“…In the lead paper, for example, Marschik et al (2022) focus on assessing the emergence of pre-babbling vocalizations in infants with developmental concerns. The novelty of this work lies in the description of observational and computational methods including acoustic characteristics of infant vocalizations.…”