Language Intervention Study Guide 2025 PDF

Lori Swanson Study Guide - 2025 Language Intervention Format of Questions -- multiple choice and three essay questions Study class notes and textbook for multiple choice! Possible topics for essay questions include the following: **Self-talk/Parallel talk:** - Self-talk and parallel talk ar...

Lori Swanson Study Guide - 2025 Language Intervention Format of Questions -- multiple choice and three essay questions Study class notes and textbook for multiple choice! Possible topics for essay questions include the following: **Self-talk/Parallel talk:** - Self-talk and parallel talk are child-centered language intervention strategies. - Used by parents, educators, and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to enhance language development. - Helps children with language delays, ASD, and speech disorders develop communication skills. Self-Talk - Adult describes their own actions while engaging in an activity. - Example: *\"I'm building a tower. I put a red block. Oops! It fell!\"* - Helps children connect words to actions. - Encourages vocabulary growth and sentence structure development. Parallel Talk - Adult narrates the child's actions instead of their own. - Example: *\"You're rolling the car. It's going fast! Now it stopped.\"* - Increases word-object associations and turn-taking in conversation. - Helps nonverbal or minimally verbal children engage with language. Role in Language Development - Expands Vocabulary -- Children hear descriptive language in context. - Builds Sentence Structure & Grammar -- Models correct verb usage, plurals, and syntax. - Encourages Engagement -- Promotes joint attention and social interaction. - Reduces Pressure to Speak -- Great for late talkers and children with speech anxiety. - Develops Narrative & Conversational Skills -- Helps children learn to describe, explain, and tell stories. Effectiveness & Research Findings - Studies show self-talk and parallel talk increase spontaneous speech in children with speech delays. - Highly effective for bilingual children -- Provides language exposure in context. - Used alongside other techniques like modeling, recasting, and expansion for best results. Self-Talk = \"I describe what I do.\" Parallel Talk = \"I describe what you do.\" **Expansions** - Expansions are a child-centered language intervention technique in which an adult takes a child's incomplete or grammatically simple utterance and reformulates it into a more mature, grammatically correct sentence. - Example: - Child: "Doggy house." - Adult (Expansion): "The doggy is in the house." - Purpose: Provides the child with a model of a correct grammatical structure without requiring them to repeat it. Enhances Grammatical Development - Research indicates that expansions increase the likelihood that a child will spontaneously imitate or internalize more complex grammatical structures - Helps children with language delays develop syntax and sentence structure. Provides Contingent Feedback - Helps children learn how to encode their ideas in a more linguistically mature way. - Gives them additional language input while maintaining the meaning of their original utterance. Encourages Spontaneous Speech - Expansions help increase the probability that a child will attempt to produce a more complex sentence Supports Various Diagnostic Groups - Expansions have been linked to improvements in grammatical development across different language disorders. - Used for children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and speech delays **Extensions/expatiations** - Extensions, also known as expatiations (Fey, 1986), are comments that add new semantic information to a child's remark​. - Unlike expansions, which focus on correcting grammatical structure, extensions expand the meaning of the child's utterance by introducing additional details. - Example: - Child: "Doggy house." - Adult (Extension): "Yes, he went inside because he was cold." Difference from Expansions: - Expansion: "The doggy is in the house." (grammatical correction) - Extension: "Yes, he went inside because it's raining." (adds meaning) [Benefits:] Increases Sentence Length - Studies show that adults' extensions are associated with significant increases in children's sentence length (Cazden, 1965; Barnes, Gutfreund, Satterly, & Wells, 1983)​. Enhances Expressive Language Skills - Encourages richer conversation skills by adding new semantic content to a child\'s utterance. - Helps children learn how to elaborate on their ideas. Facilitates Narrative Development - Supports storytelling skills by encouraging children to add more context and details to their speech. Improves Turn-Taking in Conversation - Encourages children to continue the dialogue, leading to more meaningful interactions. Supports Semantic Growth - Helps develop vocabulary and conceptual understanding by introducing related ideas and new words. Expansions = "I fix what you say." Extensions = "I add more to what you say." **Buildups/breakdowns** - Buildups and Breakdowns are a language intervention technique used to help children understand how sentences are constructed. - The approach involves: - Building up a child's simple utterance into a fully grammatical sentence. - Breaking it down into shorter, phrase-sized segments before reconstructing it back into a full sentence. - Example (using \"doggy house\" from a child's utterance): - Adult (Buildup): "Yes, the doggy is in the house." - Adult (Breakdown): "The house. He's in the house. In the house. The doggy is in the house. The doggy. The doggy's in the house." - Helps Children Understand Sentence Construction - Demonstrates how sentences are built from smaller components. - Provides a clear model for sentence formation in a natural, conversational way. - Supports Language Growth in Young Children - Cross (1978) found that this method supports natural language acquisition in typically developing children​. - Encourages Sentence Expansion in Language-Delayed Children - Helps children with short or fragmented speech expand their sentences gradually. - Facilitates Grammatical Development - Helps children with limited grammar skills learn correct structures through implicit modeling. - Useful for Children with Developmental Language Disorders (DLD) - A low-pressure strategy that exposes children to grammatically complete sentences without requiring immediate repetition. **Recast sentences** - Recasts are a language intervention technique where an adult responds to a child's utterance by repeating it with grammatical modifications, either changing the syntax, grammar, or expanding the meaning while maintaining the child's original intent​. - Unlike expansions, which maintain the same sentence type but correct grammar, recasts modify sentence structure while preserving meaning. - Example - Child: \"Doggy house.\" - Adult (Recast as a question): \"Is the doggy in the house?\" - Adult (Recast as a negative sentence): \"The doggy is not in the house!\" - Adult (Recast as a statement): \"Yes, the doggy is in the house.\" - Supports Grammatical Development - Effective for children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) in acquiring new grammatical structures​. - Helps children learn syntax implicitly through natural conversation. - Encourages Sentence Variety - Recasts expose children to different grammatical forms, increasing their flexibility in sentence construction. - Maintains Engagement Without Pressure - Does not require the child to repeat or imitate---it simply provides a corrected model within a conversation. - Increases Spontaneous Speech Improvement - Research shows children benefit from frequent recasts, with higher rates leading to greater language improvement​. - Works Well for Children with Language Delays - Particularly effective for children with ASD and DLD, who often struggle with morphosyntactic structures​. Expansion = \"I fix what you say.\" Recast = \"I change how you say it.\" **Focused stimulation** **Responsivity Education/Prelinguistic Milieu Teaching (Paul textbook, page 260; McCauley, Fey, & Gillam textbook, chapter 3)** - RE/PMT is an early intervention approach designed to improve prelinguistic communication skills in young children, particularly those with language delays, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or developmental disabilities. - Two components: - Prelinguistic Milieu Teaching (PMT) -- Focuses on teaching children to increase the frequency, clarity, and complexity of their nonverbal communicative acts. - Responsivity Education (RE) -- Trains parents or caregivers to respond more effectively to their child's communicative attempts, creating an enabling context for communication development Key Principles of RE/PMT - Creating Enabling Contexts - Arranging the environment to encourage communication. - Following the child's attentional lead to maximize engagement​. - Focus on Nonlinguistic Communication - PMT targets behavior regulators (e.g., requests) and social acts (e.g., comments)​ - Encourages children to use gestures, vocalizations, and gaze shifts to communicate. - Parent and Caregiver Involvement - RE teaches parents to recognize and respond to their child's nonverbal communication. - Parents are taught to use parallel talk, linguistic mapping, and responsive interaction. - Use of Prompts and Models - Time delays, linguistic prompts, and nonlinguistic cues (e.g., expectant gazes, gestures) encourage children to initiate communication​. - Adults gradually fade prompts as the child's skills improve. - Natural Rewards for Communication - Adults reinforce child initiations by responding naturally (e.g., giving a requested toy or continuing an interaction). Theoretical Foundations and Research Support - Based on Social Interactionist Theory - Focuses on the role of social interactions in language acquisition. - Emphasizes that children learn communication through responsive interactions with caregivers. - Research Evidence Supporting Effectiveness - Fey et al. (2006, 2013) -- Found that RE/PMT did not add significant stress to parents despite time commitment. - Yoder & Warren (1998, 2002) -- Demonstrated that PMT increases the frequency and complexity of intentional communication acts in young children. - Cleave et al. (2015) -- Showed that linguistic mapping and recasting (used in RE) contribute to vocabulary and grammar development. Techniques Used in PMT - Environmental Arrangement → Placing objects out of reach to create communication opportunities. - Time Delay → Waiting several seconds before responding to encourage child-initiated communication. - Prompting and Modeling → Providing verbal and nonverbal models (e.g., pointing, gesturing). - Linguistic Mapping → Adult verbalizes what the child is communicating nonverbally. Techniques Used in RE - Parallel Talk → Describing what the child is doing. - Recasting → Expanding the child's utterance with correct grammar or increased complexity. - Following the Child's Lead → Ensuring that the adult does not dominate the interaction. - Building Turn-Taking → Encouraging balanced participation (if the adult initiates more than 4-5 times per child initiation, the strategy is ineffective). Target Population - Children with Language Delays → Particularly those with limited expressive communication. - Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) → Helps build joint attention and nonverbal communication. - Children at Risk for Speech-Language Disorders → Used for late talkers and children with intellectual disabilities. PMT = \"Teach the child to communicate nonverbally first.\" RE = \"Train parents to respond effectively.\" Key PMT Strategies → Time delay, prompting, modeling, linguistic mapping. Key RE Strategies → Parallel talk, recasting, following the child's lead. Biggest Challenge → Time commitment & need for consistent implementation. **Enhanced Milieu Teaching (Paul textbook, page 79; McCauley, Fey, & Gillam textbook, chapter 4)** Definition of EMT - Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) is a naturalistic language intervention designed to promote functional communication in everyday contexts. - It combines Milieu Teaching (MT) strategies with Responsive Interaction (RI) techniques to support language development in young children, particularly those with language delays, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or developmental disabilities. - EMT is child-centered and play-based, focusing on modeling, prompting, and reinforcing language in a meaningful way. Core Components of EMT - EMT is structured around six main components, each contributing to the child's ability to learn and use language naturally. 1\. Environmental Arrangement - Increases opportunities for communication by structuring the physical environment. - Selecting materials that encourage communication (e.g., toys with multiple pieces). - Arranging materials to require interaction (e.g., placing favorite toys out of reach). - Managing materials to maintain engagement and motivation. 2\. Responsiveness - Caregivers and interventionists respond contingently to the child's communication to reinforce language use. - Emphasizes following the child's lead and engaging in reciprocal interactions. 3\. Target-Level Language - Adults model language at the child's current ability level and slightly above it (+1.5 MLU). - Example: If the child says, \"Car,\" the adult expands with, \"Red car!\" or \"Car goes fast!\" 4\. Expansions - Adults expand the child's utterance into a more grammatically correct and complex form. Example: - Child: \"Want cookie.\" - Adult (Expansion): \"You want a cookie!\" 5\. Time Delays - Encourages child-initiated communication by pausing before responding. - Four time-delay strategies: - Pause in routine -- Stopping a familiar routine and waiting for the child to request continuation. - Visual choice -- Presenting two options and waiting for a response. - Assistance delay -- Creating a situation where the child needs help (e.g., giving a tightly closed jar). - Inadequate portion -- Giving less than expected to encourage requesting. 6\. Milieu Teaching Prompts - Used to prompt functional use of target language through structured interactions. - Four key prompting strategies: - Modeling -- Providing a verbal model of the correct response. - Mand-Model -- Asking a question or giving a directive to elicit language. - Time Delay -- Creating opportunities for the child to initiate communication. - Incidental Teaching -- Encouraging communication in naturally occurring situations. How EMT is Implemented - Delivered by trained therapists, parents, and educators in natural environments (home, clinic, or school). - Uses play-based and conversation-based activities to teach language within meaningful interactions. - Promotes spontaneous communication by embedding language learning into everyday routines. Blended EMT Approaches - EMT has been combined with other interventions to enhance its effectiveness, particularly for children with ASD. - EMT + JASPER (Joint Attention, Symbolic Play, Engagement, and Regulation) - Focuses on building joint attention and symbolic play skills in children with autism. - Uses structured play and social interactions to improve communication. - Found to increase spontaneous spoken language use in minimally verbal children. - EMT + Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) - Adapted for children using sign language or speech-generating devices. - Involves modeling both verbal and AAC responses during communication. Research Support for EMT - Hart & Rogers-Warren (1978) -- Showed that EMT strategies follow behavioral principles of language learning (stimulus-response-reinforcement). - Kasari et al. (2014) -- Demonstrated that EMT combined with JASPER significantly improves social communication in children with ASD. - Kaiser et al. (1996) -- Found that parent-implemented EMT improves expressive language skills in preschoolers with developmental disabilities. - Halle et al. (1981) -- Provided experimental evidence for the effectiveness of time-delay procedures in teaching language skills. Target Population for EMT - Children with Language Delays -- Supports development of expressive and receptive language skills. - Children with ASD -- Enhances joint attention, symbolic play, and social engagement. - Minimally Verbal Children -- Helps increase spontaneous communication through structured interactions. - Children Using AAC -- Supports verbal and nonverbal communication through multimodal approaches. Strengths of EMT - Naturalistic and Play-Based → Makes language learning fun and engaging. - Encourages Spontaneous Language Use → Focuses on functional communication in real-life contexts. - Can Be Implemented by Parents and Educators → Easily integrated into daily routines. - Effective Across Multiple Populations → Useful for children with ASD, speech delays, and those using AAC. Challenges & Considerations - Requires Training for Caregivers → Parents and therapists need coaching to implement EMT strategies effectively. - Needs Consistent Implementation → Must be used frequently in daily interactions to be effective. - May Not Work for Children with Severe Disabilities → Some children may need additional structured interventions. - Time-Intensive → Can be resource-heavy for therapists and families. **Key Differences Between EMT, MT, and RI** Focus on Prompting vs. Responsiveness - Milieu Teaching (MT) is structured → Uses prompts, models, and reinforcement to teach specific language targets. - Responsive Interaction (RI) is child-led → Follows child's interests without explicit prompts or reinforcement. - Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) blends both → Provides structured prompts when needed but also follows child's lead in natural conversation. Who Leads the Interaction? - MT → Adult-led (adult creates opportunities for language use through environmental arrangement and prompting). - RI → Child-led (adult responds contingently to child-initiated communication). - EMT → Balanced (uses structured prompts while maintaining natural child-led interactions). Best for Different Language Profiles - MT → Best for children who need direct language instruction and explicit reinforcement. - RI → Best for children who struggle with social communication and engagement, like those with ASD. - EMT → Best for children who benefit from both structured language input and natural conversational learning. Examples of EMT, MT, and RI in Action Scenario: A Child Wants a Toy Car - Milieu Teaching (MT) - Adult places the car out of reach. - Adult: \"What do you want?\" (Mand-Model). - Child: \"Car!\" - Adult: \"You want the car? Say \'I want the car.\'\" (Prompting full sentence). - Responsive Interaction (RI) - Child reaches for car. - Adult gives the car without requiring a verbal response and says, \"You want the car! Red car!\" - No direct prompting, only natural expansion of child's communication. - Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) - Child reaches for car. - Adult: \"Oh! You want the car?\" (Responsive Expansion). - Waits a few seconds (time delay) to encourage verbalization. - If child doesn't speak, adult prompts with a model: \"Say \'Car, please!\'\" - If child says \"Car,\" adult expands: \"You want the red car!\" Tip: How to Remember the Differences - Milieu Teaching (MT) = \"Teach through structured prompts.\" - Responsive Interaction (RI) = \"Follow the child's lead and respond.\" - Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) = \"Blend structured teaching with responsive interaction.\" **Emergent Literacy** - Emergent literacy refers to the early skills, knowledge, and attitudes that precede and develop into conventional reading and writing abilities. - It is not just learning letters or words, but includes a child's exposure to print, oral language, and story concepts before formal instruction in school. - The term was introduced by Marie Clay (1966) to describe the developmental continuum of literacy skills from infancy to early childhood. Key Components of Emergent Literacy - Emergent literacy includes both oral and written language skills that build the foundation for later reading and writing. 1\. Print Awareness - Understanding that print has meaning and that text is read from left to right and top to bottom (in English). - Recognizing letters, words, and sentences in books and the environment (e.g., signs, labels). 2\. Phonological Awareness - The ability to recognize and manipulate sounds in spoken language. - Includes rhyming, syllable segmentation, and identifying beginning sounds in words. - Example: Knowing that \"cat\" and \"hat\" rhyme or clapping out syllables in \"ba-na-na\". 3\. Letter Knowledge - Understanding that letters have names and represent specific sounds (letter-sound correspondence). - Example: Recognizing the letter B and knowing it makes the /b/ sound. 4\. Vocabulary Development - Knowing the meaning of words and how to use them in speech. - Strong vocabulary skills are predictive of later reading success. 5\. Narrative Skills & Story Comprehension - The ability to understand and retell stories. - Includes recognizing characters, settings, and plot sequences. 6\. Writing Development - Begins with scribbling, drawing, and pretend writing before forming letters and words. - Children start to understand that writing represents spoken language. Importance of Emergent Literacy - Strong Predictive Factor for Later Reading Success - Research shows that early literacy skills correlate with later reading fluency and comprehension. - Supports Language and Cognitive Development - Helps children develop critical thinking, vocabulary, and communication skills. - Enhances School Readiness - Children with strong emergent literacy skills transition more easily into formal education. - Encourages a Love for Reading - Early exposure to books fosters reading enjoyment and motivation. Ways to Support Emergent Literacy - For Parents & Caregivers: - Read to children daily using interactive read-alouds. - Encourage play with letters and sounds (e.g., rhyming games, alphabet puzzles). - Provide opportunities for drawing and scribbling to support early writing. - Label objects around the home to build print awareness. - For Educators & Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs): - Use shared reading strategies to improve comprehension and vocabulary. - Teach phonological awareness activities (e.g., clapping syllables, blending sounds). - Incorporate songs and storytelling to enhance language skills. Stages of Emergent Literacy - Awareness & Exploration Stage (Birth--3 years) - Children explore books by looking at pictures, turning pages, and pointing at words. - Begin to scribble and pretend to write. - Show interest in listening to stories and nursery rhymes. - Early Emergent Literacy Stage (Ages 3--4) - Recognize letters and start learning letter names. - Engage in rhyming and wordplay (e.g., noticing that \"cat\" and \"hat\" sound alike). - Pretend to read by reciting memorized phrases from books. - Begin to grasp print concepts (e.g., understanding that print moves from left to right). - Developing Emergent Literacy Stage (Ages 4--5) - Identify letters and their corresponding sounds. - Recognize environmental print (e.g., stop signs, logos). - Start writing letters and simple words, often their name. - Engage in storytelling and sequencing (e.g., retelling a familiar story). - Develop an understanding of book structure (e.g., cover, pages, words). - Transitional Literacy Stage (Ages 5-7) ‚Üí Early Comprehension Begins - Children start moving from \"learning to read\" to \"reading to learn.\" - They decode words but also begin to understand meaning. - Recognize story elements like characters, setting, and main events. - Answer basic comprehension questions (e.g., \"What happened first?\"). - Retell stories in their own words, showing they grasp basic narrative structure. - Learn to connect text to personal experiences (e.g., \"That happened to me too!\"). - Comprehension is still heavily supported by pictures and oral discussion Reading to Learn Stage (Ages 7-9) ‚Üí Deeper Comprehension Develops - Children move beyond simple decoding and focus on understanding ideas. - Can predict outcomes and make inferences based on context clues. - Recognize the author\'s purpose (e.g., to entertain, inform, or persuade). - Start using self-monitoring strategies (e.g., rereading when confused). - Develop metacognitive skills (thinking about their thinking while reading). - Engage in basic text analysis (e.g., \"Why do you think the character felt that way?\"). Reading for Analysis & Critical Thinking (Ages 9+) - Reading becomes a tool for learning new information (academic and personal). - Can compare and contrast texts, recognizing different perspectives. - Begin to evaluate arguments and detect bias in nonfiction texts. - Learn to synthesize information from multiple sources. - Comprehension strategies become more independent and complex. Exam Tip: Key Terms to Remember - Emergent Literacy → Early literacy skills before formal instruction. - Phonological Awareness → Understanding and manipulating sounds in spoken language. - Print Awareness → Recognizing that print has meaning and follows a sequence. - Letter Knowledge → Knowing letter names and sounds. **Phonological Awareness** - Phonological awareness is the ability to recognize, manipulate, and work with sounds in spoken language. - It is an auditory skill (not related to recognizing letters or print) and develops before formal reading instruction. - A strong predictor of future reading success---children who develop phonological awareness tend to become proficient readers. Key Components of Phonological Awareness - Phonological awareness consists of multiple skills that range from basic sound awareness to complex manipulation of sounds in words. A. Word Awareness (Basic Level) - Recognizing that sentences are made of words. - Understanding word boundaries (e.g., knowing that \"the cat runs fast\" has four words). B. Syllable Awareness - Understanding that words are made of syllables. - Ability to clap or tap out syllables (e.g., ba-na-na = 3 claps). C. Rhyming Awareness - Recognizing and producing words that rhyme. - Example: Knowing that \"cat\" and \"hat\" rhyme. - Rhyming is one of the earliest phonological awareness skills to develop. D. Onset and Rime Awareness - Onset: The beginning consonant(s) of a syllable (c in cat). - Rime: The vowel and remaining sounds (-at in cat). - Helps children recognize word families (e.g., cat, bat, sat). E. Phonemic Awareness (Most Advanced Level) - Phonemic awareness is a subset of phonological awareness that focuses on the individual sounds (phonemes) in words. - Blending Sounds → Combining individual sounds to make a word (e.g., /c/ + /a/ + /t/ = \"cat\"). - Segmenting Sounds → Breaking a word into its individual sounds (e.g., \"dog\" = /d/ - /o/ - /g/). - Deleting Sounds → Removing a sound from a word (e.g., \"cat\" without /c/ = \"at\"). - Substituting Sounds → Changing one sound to make a new word (e.g., \"bat\" → \"pat\"). Why Is Phonological Awareness Important? - Directly linked to reading success---children with strong phonological awareness learn to read faster. - Helps children decode words (breaking down written words into sounds). - Essential for spelling and writing---allows children to map sounds to letters. - Prevents reading difficulties, particularly for children at risk for dyslexia or other learning disabilities. Developmental Progression of Phonological Awareness - Birth -- 3 Years - Enjoys rhyming games and songs. - Recognizes familiar sounds and words. - Ages 3--4 - Begins to identify rhyming words (e.g., cat/hat). - Starts clapping syllables in words. - Ages 4--5 - Segments words into syllables. - Recognizes onset and rime (e.g., \"c-at\"). - Ages 5--6 - Begins blending sounds into words. - Can isolate and delete beginning sounds in words. - Ages 6+ - Fully develops phonemic awareness (blending, segmenting, and manipulating sounds). - Can play with phonemes in words (e.g., changing \"top\" to \"mop\"). Exam Preparation: Key Terms to Remember - Phonological Awareness → Understanding and manipulating spoken sounds. - Phonemic Awareness → Focusing on individual sounds (phonemes) in words. - Blending → Combining sounds to make a word (c-a-t → \"cat\"). - Segmenting → Breaking words into individual sounds (\"dog\" → d-o-g). - Onset & Rime → Splitting words into beginning sounds and endings (\"c-at\"). **Narratives** Types of Narratives - According to Goldstein (2000) and Heath (1986), there are four primary narrative genres - Recast/Recount: Retells past events with sequential chronology. - Example: Summarizing a textbook chapter. - Event Cast: Describes ongoing or future events, often instructional. - Example: Explaining how to bake a cake. - Account: Shares a personal experience. - Example: Telling a story about a family vacation. - Story: Fictional accounts featuring characters overcoming problems with social or moral significance. - Example: The Three Little Pigs. Narrative Structure (Story Grammar) A well-structured narrative typically follows the Story Grammar Model by Stein & Glenn (1979)​: - Setting → Introduces characters, location, and time. - Initiating Event → Something happens that causes the main character to take action. - Internal Response → The character's emotions and thoughts about the event. - Plan → The character's goal or strategy to address the event. - Attempt → Actions taken to solve the problem. - Consequence → The result of the attempt. - Reaction → The character's emotional or evaluative response to the outcome. Assessing Narrative Skills - Narrative assessments are crucial for identifying language impairments. Three main types of narrative tasks include​: - Personal Narratives → Ask children to recount personal experiences (e.g., "Tell me about a time you got hurt."). - Script Narratives → Have children explain a routine event (e.g., \"Describe what happens at lunchtime.\"). - Fictional Narratives → Ask children to generate or retell a fictional story (e.g., \"Tell me the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears\"). - Children with language disorders often struggle with: - Story Macrostructure → Poor organization, cohesion, and grammar elements. - Story Microstructure → Reduced word diversity, sentence length, and complexity​. 5\. Strategies for Improving Narrative Skills - Research suggests the following evidence-based strategies for improving narrative comprehension and production​: - Prewriting Activities → Using drawing, story mapping, or brainstorming before writing. - Questioning Techniques → Having students formulate and answer questions about a story before, during, and after reading. - Graphic Organizers → Using visual tools to structure narrative components (e.g., story grammar maps). - Story Retelling & Summarization → Encouraging students to summarize stories verbally or in writing. - Self-Monitoring → Teaching students to check their understanding and structure while composing a narrative. - A popular mnemonic strategy for structuring narratives is SPACE: - Setting - Problem - Action - Consequence - Ending​ 6\. Narrative Complexity in Adolescence - By adolescence, narrative skills become more advanced, including​: - Embedded episodes → Using flashbacks and multiple storylines. - Deeper character insights → Understanding motivations and personality traits. - Increased use of literate language → Using conjunctions, elaborated noun phrases, and adverbs. - Teenagers with LLD often struggle with: - Producing coherent personal narratives. - Using complex syntax in storytelling. - Understanding abstract story elements, such as character intentions. - Intervention programs should focus on story analysis, retelling, and writing scaffolds to help adolescents refine narrative skills​. 7\. Cultural Differences in Narratives - Different cultures use different narrative structures​: - Low-context cultures (e.g., U.S., Western Europe) → Use linear, topic-centered stories with clear structure. - High-context cultures (e.g., African, Asian, Indigenous communities) → Use topic-associated storytelling, which is more anecdotal and nonlinear. - Some cultures emphasize oral storytelling over written narratives, while others focus on concise, well-organized accounts​. - Developmental Progression of Narratives - Narrative abilities develop in stages, becoming more complex over time. - Heap Stories (Ages 2--3 years) - List of unrelated ideas with no clear connections. - No logical sequence or story structure. - Example: \"I have a dog. I like ice cream. My toy is blue.\" - Sequence Stories (Ages 3--4 years) - Events are loosely linked but lack a true story structure. - No clear beginning, middle, or end. - Example: \"We went to the park. Then we ate food.\" - Primitive Narratives (Ages 4--5 years) - Events are connected, but the story lacks a full resolution. - Includes characters and actions but no cause-and-effect relationships. - Example: \"I lost my toy. I looked everywhere. Then Mommy found it.\" - Chain Narratives (Ages 5--7 years) - Events are logically sequenced with cause-and-effect relationships. - Some use of feelings and character motivations. - Example: \"I lost my toy. I was sad. I looked for it. Then I found it and was happy.\" - True Narratives (Ages 7+ years) - Fully developed story structure with problem-solving and emotional resolution. - Events follow a logical order with a clear beginning, middle, and end. - Example: \"I lost my toy outside. I searched everywhere. Then I saw my dog playing with it. I was happy again!\" Exam Preparation: Key Terms to Remember - Narrative → A structured monologue that conveys events, experiences, or fictional stories. - Story Grammar → The structure of a well-formed narrative (Setting, Problem, Attempt, Consequence, Resolution). - Macrostructure → The overall organization and cohesion of a narrative. - Microstructure → The linguistic details (word diversity, sentence complexity) within a story. - SPACE Strategy → A mnemonic for structuring stories (Setting, Problem, Action, Consequence, Ending). **Children with ASD** 1\. Language Development in ASD - Delayed Speech & Language Acquisition - Many children with ASD show delayed spoken language development​. - Some children remain preverbal throughout early childhood, with 20-40% continuing as nonverbal into school age​. - Two Language Profiles in ASD - Autism Language Normal (ALN) → Language development is within normal limits. - Autism Language Impaired (ALI) → Shows difficulties in phonology, grammar, and processing similar to children with developmental language disorder (DLD)​. - Common Language Difficulties in ASD - Speech Sound Development: Some children have clear articulation, while others show delays in phonological processing. - Syntax & Grammar: Many children with ASD struggle with grammatical morphemes (e.g., past tense \"-ed\", third-person singular \"-s\")​. - Semantic Processing: Some children have strong vocabulary but show atypical semantic organization, leading to difficulty in word comprehension​. - Prosody & Intonation: Atypical speech patterns, including monotone or exaggerated intonation​. 2\. Pragmatic and Social Communication in ASD - Impairments in Social Interaction - Reduced eye contact, joint attention, and conversational reciprocity. - Difficulty initiating and maintaining conversations​. - Difficulty with Figurative Language - Struggle with sarcasm, idioms, and metaphors due to literal language processing​. - Narrative Challenges - Some children with ASD produce grammatically correct stories but lack coherence. - Trouble integrating characters\' intentions, emotions, and social relationships​. 3\. Cognitive Characteristics of ASD - IQ Variation - 50-70% of children with ASD have intellectual disability (ID). - Others may have average or above-average intelligence, but IQ does not always predict adaptive behavior​. - Executive Functioning Deficits - Poor cognitive flexibility → Struggles with adapting to new situations. - Weak central coherence → Focus on details rather than the bigger picture​. - Attention & Processing Differences - Delayed attentional learning impacts language comprehension and social skills. - Atypical visual and auditory processing affects speech perception​. 4\. Evidence-Based Interventions for ASD - Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) - Includes discrete trial training (DTT) and naturalistic interventions to increase communication skills​. - Milieu Communication Training (MCT) - Focuses on naturalistic, child-led interactions to encourage spontaneous communication. - Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) - Some children with ASD benefit from picture exchange communication systems (PECS) or speech-generating devices​. - Parent-Implemented Interventions - Training parents to use joint attention, shared book reading, and modeling strategies helps improve language and social skills​ **Children with Down syndrome** Cognitive and Physical Characteristics - Genetic Basis: Down syndrome is caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21 (Trisomy 21). - Physical Features: Hypotonia (low muscle tone), short stature, macroglossia (large tongue), and epicanthal folds​. - Cognitive Profile - Mild to moderate intellectual disability (IQ between 40-70)​. - Better visuospatial memory than verbal memory, leading to strengths in picture-based learning​. - Executive Functioning Deficits: Problems with impulse control, cognitive flexibility, and planning​. 2\. Language Development in Down Syndrome - Expressive Language is More Impaired Than Receptive Language - Children with Down syndrome understand more than they can express​. - Speech Intelligibility Challenges - Many children have poor articulation due to structural anomalies and low muscle tone. - Common phonological errors include cluster reduction and final consonant deletion​. - Grammar and Syntax Deficits - Shorter, less complex sentences compared to typically developing peers. - Difficulty with verb tense and sentence structure (e.g., omitting \"-ed\" past tense)​. - Stronger Pragmatic and Social Communication Skills - Children with Down syndrome engage well in social conversations. - Good topic maintenance and contingent responding, but may struggle with requesting clarification in conversations​. 3\. Literacy Skills in Down Syndrome - Reading Profiles - Some children with Down syndrome develop strong sight word reading skills. - Phonological awareness is weak, making decoding difficult​. - Reading Comprehension Challenges - Many children can recognize words but struggle with comprehension. - Comprehension depends heavily on oral language skills​. 4\. Effective Interventions for Children with Down Syndrome - Milieu Communication Training (MCT) - Encourages early gestures, vocalizations, and eye gaze to develop communication​. - Oral Language and Literacy Interventions - Targeting vocabulary and complex sentence structures improves both oral language and literacy skills​. - Sign Language and Visual Supports - Many children with Down syndrome benefit from sign language to support early communication​. - Use of Written Language - Because of their strong visual memory, written language can support speech and memory development​. - Executive Functioning Support - Teaching strategies for attention, staying on task, and self-monitoring comprehension improves academic success Both children with ASD and children with Down syndrome experience language and cognitive challenges, but their strengths and weaknesses differ. - ASD → Challenges in social communication, pragmatics, and abstract language, but some have strong vocabulary and decoding skills. - Down Syndrome → Strengths in social interaction and sight-word reading, but difficulties with expressive language, phonology, and grammar.