Prosodic features of maternal input to children with sex chromosome trisomies

Provera, Alessandra; Zanchi, Paola; Silibello, Gaia; Dall’Ara, Francesca; Rigamonti, Claudia; Monti, Federico; Ajmone, Paola Francesca; Lalatta, Faustina; Costantino, Maria Antonella; Vizziello, Paola; Zampini, Laura

doi:10.1177/01427237221098553

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…The main aim of the present study was to investigate the maternal input addressed to children with SCTs at 24 months of age. Indeed, two recent studies (Provera et al., 2022; Zampini et al., 2020) highlighted significant differences in the functions and the prosodic features of the utterances used when talking to their babies by mothers of 8‐month‐old children with SCTs compared to TD dyads. The authors hypothesised that being aware of possible future language delays could be the reason for these differences, leading mothers to adopt an input that is less appropriate to sustain language development in their children.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, we did not include in the present study a comparison based on the prosodic features of the input, which have previously demonstrated to be important in supporting language development and to be modified in the CDS addressed to clinical population (e.g., Provera et al., 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The authors suggested that the awareness of a possible delay in language development, even if not yet evident, could influence the maternal input of mothers of children with SCTs. In another recent study on the same participants as Zampini et al (2020), Provera et al (2022) highlighted how the CDS used by mothers of 8-month-old infants with SCTs has different prosodic characteristics (i.e., lower pitch, less marked and modulated melodic contour, and shorter final lengthening) compared to that used by mothers of TD peers. These results suggested the presence of a non-optimal linguistic environment during the first year of infants with SCTs lives.…”

Section: Child-directed Speech To Children With Sctsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(2020), Provera et al. (2022) highlighted how the CDS used by mothers of 8‐month‐old infants with SCTs has different prosodic characteristics (i.e., lower pitch, less marked and modulated melodic contour, and shorter final lengthening) compared to that used by mothers of TD peers. These results suggested the presence of a non‐optimal linguistic environment during the first year of infants with SCTs lives.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Maternal input to 24‐month‐old children with sex chromosome trisomies

Zanchi,

Sacco,

Silibello

et al. 2024

Intl J Lang & Comm Disor

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BackgroundMaternal input plays an important role in influencing linguistic development during the first years of life, and it is evident that mothers adapt their language according to their child's characteristics. Recently, it was demonstrated that maternal input addressed to children with sex chromosome trisomies (SCTs) at 8 months of age is prosodically and functionally different from that addressed to typically developing (TD) peers.AimsThe study aimed at analysing maternal input at 24 months when the presence of a language delay could be more evident than during the preverbal stage. We were interested in examining if maternal input was influenced by a diagnosis of SCT (by comparing children with SCT and TD children) or by children's linguistic level (by comparing children with weak lexical ability versus children with typical lexical ability regardless of the presence of genetic diagnosis).Methods and ProceduresForty‐four mother–child dyads in which the children had an SCT and 20 mother–child dyads in which the children were TD participated in the study. Of these 64 dyads, 23 children (21 with SCTs and two TD children) formed the group of children with weak lexical ability (children with a vocabulary size lower than 50 words at 24 months). Maternal utterances were collected during one video‐recorded play session and were then coded considering both the linguistic and functional features of the input.Outcomes and ResultsThe results showed that the input addressed to 24‐month‐old children with SCTs is as rich and complex as that addressed to TD peers. Moreover, no significant differences in the functions expressed by maternal input were found (all ps > 0.05). Comparing the children with weak lexical ability and the children with typical lexical ability in our sample, having a poor vocabulary at 24 months of age showed a significant influence on the maternal input features: the input addressed to children with weak lexical ability was characterised by a higher presence of attention getters (U = 217.00, p = 0.007) and a lower proportion of questions (U = 236.00, p = 0.017) than that of mothers of typically‐talking children.Conclusions and ImplicationsAt 24 months of age, it seems that the presence of a language delay and not belonging to the clinical group of children with SCTs influences the functional characteristics of the maternal input. It is important to support the parents of children with SCTs during the communication process and later during their child's development, leading them to observe their children's manifested skills rather than looking for possible predicted difficulties.What this paper addsWhat is already known on the subject Studies in the literature demonstrated how mothers can generally adapt their input to their child's characteristics. To our knowledge, only two recent studies analysed the maternal input addressed to children with SCT at 8 months of age, highlighting significant differences.What this paper adds to existing knowledge The maternal input addressed to children with SCT at 24 months of age is not different from that addressed to TD children. At 24 months of age, the mothers adapt their input to the verbal competence shown by their child (weak lexical ability versus typically‐talking), while belonging to the clinical group does not show an influence.What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? All the participants of the present study received prenatal diagnosis disclosure by an expert team of professionals, and they were all involved in a longitudinal study aimed at monitoring the children's development and supporting their parents. These results show that giving clear and complete information about possible development paths to parents of children with SCTs during diagnosis disclosure is crucial. Moreover, supporting the parents during the communication process and later during their child's development is fundamental, leading them to observe their children's manifested skills rather than looking for possible predicted difficulties.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Child-directed Speech To Children With Sctsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Maternal input to 24‐month‐old children with sex chromosome trisomies

Zanchi,

Sacco,

Silibello

et al. 2024

Intl J Lang & Comm Disor

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The role of lexical and prosodic characteristics of mothers’ child‐directed speech for the early vocabulary development of Italian children with cochlear implants

Persici,

Castelletti,

Guerzoni

et al. 2024

Intl J Lang & Comm Disor

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BackgroundVariability in the vocabulary outcomes of children with cochlear implants (CIs) is partially explained by child‐directed speech (CDS) characteristics. Yet, relatively little is known about whether and how mothers adapt their lexical and prosodic characteristics to the child's hearing status (before and after implantation, and compared with groups with normal hearing (NH)) and how important they are in affecting vocabulary development in the first 12 months of hearing experience.AimsTo investigate whether mothers of children with CIs produce CDS with similar lexical and prosodic characteristics compared with mothers of age‐matched children with NH, and whether they modify these characteristics after implantation. In addition, to investigate whether mothers’ CDS characteristics predict children's early vocabulary skills before and after implantation.Methods & ProceduresA total of 34 dyads (17 with NH, 17 with children with CIs; ages = 9–32 months), all acquiring Italian, were involved in the study. Mothers’ and children's lexical quantity (tokens) and variety (types), mothers’ prosodic characteristics (pitch range and variability), and children's vocabulary skills were assessed at two time points, corresponding to before and 1 year post‐CI activation for children with CIs. Children's vocabulary skills were assessed using parent reports; lexical and prosodic characteristics were observed in semi‐structured mother–child interactions.Outcomes & ResultsResults showed that mothers of children with CIs produced speech with similar lexical quantity but lower lexical variety, and with increased pitch range and variability, than mothers of children with NH. Mothers generally increased their lexical quantity and variety and their pitch range between sessions. Children with CIs showed reduced expressive vocabulary and lower lexical quantity and variety than their peers 12 months post‐CI activation. Mothers’ prosodic characteristics did not explain variance in children's vocabulary skills; their lexical characteristics predicted children's early vocabulary and lexical outcomes, especially in the NH group, but were not related to later language development.Conclusions & ImplicationsOur findings confirm previous studies on other languages and support the idea that the lexical characteristics of mothers’ CDS have a positive effect on children's early measures of vocabulary development across hearing groups, whereas prosodic cues play a minor role. Greater input quantity and quality may assist children in the building of basic language model representations, whereas pitch cues may mainly serve attentional and emotional processes. Results emphasize the need for additional longitudinal studies investigating the input received from other figures surrounding the child and its role for children's language development.WHAT THIS PAPER ADDSWhat is already known on the subject Mothers’ CDS is thought to facilitate and support language acquisition in children with various language developmental trajectories, including children with CIs. Because children with CIs are at risk for language delays and have acoustic processing limitations, their mothers may have to produce a lexically simpler but prosodically richer input, compared to mothers of children with NH. Yet, the literature reports mixed findings and no study to our knowledge has concurrently addressed the role of mothers’ lexical and prosodic characteristics for children's vocabulary development before implantation and in the first 12 months of hearing experience.What this study adds to the existing knowledge The study shows that mothers of children with CIs produce input of similar quantity but reduced variety, and with heightened pitch characteristics, compared to mothers of children with NH. There was also a general increase in mothers’ lexical quantity and variety, and in their pitch range, between sessions. Only their lexical characteristics predicted children's early vocabulary skills. Their lexical variety predicted children's expressive vocabulary and lexical variety only in the NH group.What are the practical and clinical implications of this work? These findings expand our knowledge about the effects of maternal input and may contribute to the improvement of early family‐centred intervention programmes for supporting language development in children with CIs.

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Prosodic features of maternal input to children with sex chromosome trisomies

Cited by 2 publications

References 50 publications

Maternal input to 24‐month‐old children with sex chromosome trisomies

Maternal input to 24‐month‐old children with sex chromosome trisomies

The role of lexical and prosodic characteristics of mothers’ child‐directed speech for the early vocabulary development of Italian children with cochlear implants

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