publications
publications by categories in reversed chronological order. generated by jekyll-scholar.
2024
- AJSLPFour cases of children with phonological impairment and precocious vocabulary: making sense of a clinical conundrumH. Hearnshaw , E. Baker , R. Pomper, and 3 more authorsAmerican Journal of Speech-Language Pathology,, Jul 2024
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the speech production, speech perception, vocabulary, and word learning abilities of lexically precocious 4-year-old children with phonological impairment, in an effort to better understand the underlying nature of phonological impairment in children. Method: Using a case series approach, we identified four children with phonological impairment and precocious vocabulary abilities. Each child completed routine speech production and vocabulary assessments, as well as experimental speech perception and word learning tasks. The results from these tasks were then used to create profiles of each child’s individual strengths and needs across the abilities assessed. Results: Although all four children presented with phonological impairment and lexically precocious receptive and expressive vocabulary, they differed in their specific speech errors. One child presented with phonological speech errors only, while the other three children presented with an interdental lisp alongside their phonological errors. Three children presented with average speech perception abilities, and one child presented with poorer speech perception. The same three children also showed some learning of novel nonwords 1 week post–initial exposure, while the other child showed no evidence of word learning 1 week post–initial exposure. Conclusions: The clinical profiles of lexically precocious children with phonological impairment offered different insights into the nature of the problem. Although one child appeared to present with underspecified underlying representations of words, the other three children appeared to present with well-specified underlying representations. Of the three children with well-specified underlying representations, two appeared to have difficulty abstracting particular rules of the ambient phonological system. Further research is needed to improve our understanding of the underlying nature of phonologica
- IJLCDI remembered the chorm! Word learning abilities of children with and without phonological impairmentH. Hearnshaw , E. Baker , R. Pomper, and 3 more authorsInternational Journal of Language & Communication Disorders,, May 2024
Background: Children with phonological impairment present with pattern-based errors in their speech production. While some children have difficulties with speech perception and/or the establishment of robust underlying phonological representations, the nature of phonological impairment in children is still not well understood. Given that phonological and lexical development are closely linked, one way to better understand the nature of the problem in phonological impairment is to examine word learning abilities in children. Aims: To examine word learning and its relationship with speech perception, speech production and vocabulary knowledge in children aged 4–5 years. There were two variables of interest: speech production abilities ranging from phonological impairment to typical speech; and vocabulary abilities ranging from typical to above average (‘lexically precocious’). Methods & Procedures: Participants were 49 Australian-English-speaking children aged 48–69 months. Children were each taught four novel non-words(out of a selection of eight) through stories, and word learning was assessed at 1 week post-initial exposure. Word learning was assessed using two measures: confrontation naming and story retell naming. Data were analysed by group using independent-samples t-tests and Mann–Whitney U-tests, and continuously using multiple linear regression. Outcomes & Results: There was no significant difference in word learning ability of children with and without phonological impairment, but regardless of speech group, children with above average vocabulary had significantly better word learning abilities than children with average vocabulary. In multiple linear regression, vocabulary was the only significant predictor of variance in word learning ability.
2023
- JSLHRThe relationship between speech perception, speech production, and vocabulary abilities in children: Insights from by-group and continuous analysesH. Hearnshaw , E. Baker , R. Pomper, and 3 more authorsJournal of Speech Language and Hearing Research,, Mar 2023
Purpose: To explore the relationship between speech perception, speech production, and vocabulary abilities in children with and without speech sound disorders (SSDs), analyzing the data both by group and continuously. Method: Sixty-one Australian-English speaking children aged 48-69 months participated in this study. Children’s speech production abilities ranged along the continuum from SSDs through to typical speech. Their vocabulary abilities ranged along the continuum from typical to above average (“lexically precocious”). Children completed routine speech and language assessments in addition to an experimental Australian-English lexical and phonetic judgment task. Results: When analyzing data by group, there was no significant difference between the speech perception ability of children with versus without SSDs. Children with above average vocabularies had significantly better speech perception ability than children with average vocabularies. When analyzing data continuously, speech production and vocabulary were both significant positive predictors of variance in speech perception ability; both individually in simple linear regression and when combined in multiple linear regression. There was also a significant positive correlation between perception and production of two of the four target phonemes tested⸺/k/ and /ʃ/⸺among children in the SSD group. Conclusion: Results from this study provide further insight into the complex relationship between speech perception, speech production, and vocabulary abilities in children. While there is a clinical and important need for categorical distinctions between SSDs and typically developing speech, findings further highlight the value of investigating speech production and vocabulary abilities continuously as well as categorically. By capturing the heterogeneity among children’s speech production and vocabulary abilities, we can advance our understanding of SSDs in children.
2022
- JSLHRDirect instruction improves word learning for children with Developmental Language DisorderR. Pomper, K. K. McGregor , T. Arbisi-Kelm , and 2 more authorsJournal of Speech Language and Hearing Research,, Nov 2022
Purpose: The current study compared the effects of direct instruction vs. indirect exposure on multiple aspects of novel word learning for children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and children with typical language development (TLD). Method: Participants included 36 children with DLD and 45 children with TLD. All children were in the first grade and 6 to 8 years of age (median = 7 years; 2 months). Using a between-subjects design, children were randomly assigned to be exposed to novel words and their unfamiliar referents via either direct instruction (each referent presented in isolation with an explicit goal of learning) or indirect exposure (multiple referents presented with the goal of answering yes/no questions). Results: In alternative forced choice measures of recognition, children with DLD were less accurate than their TLD peers in linking words to referents, encoding semantic categories for words, and encoding detailed representations of word forms. These differences in word learning were accounted for by a constellation of cognitive measures, including receptive vocabulary, phonological memory, visuo- spatial memory, and sustained attention. All children were similarly accurate in retaining word forms over a 24- to 48-hour delay. Children with TLD were more accurate in all aspects of word learning following direct instruction compared to indirect exposure. Benefits from direct instruction were observed for children with DLD in link and semantic, but not word form, learning. Conclusions: These results suggest that vocabulary interventions with direct instruction can help children with DLD learn some, but not all, aspects of novel words. Additional support is necessary to help children with DLD encode rich phonological representations.
- JADDUse of mutual exclusivity and its relationship to language ability in toddlers with autism spectrum disorderJ. Mathée-Scott , C. Larson , C. Venker , and 4 more authorsJournal of Autism and Developmental Disorders,, Oct 2022
To efficiently learn new words, children use constraints such as mutual exclusivity (ME) to narrow the search for potential referents. The current study investigated the use of ME in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and neurotypical (NT) peers matched on nonverbal cognition. Thirty-two toddlers with ASD and 26 NT toddlers participated in a looking-while-listening task. Images of novel and familiar objects were presented along with a novel or familiar label. Overall, toddlers with ASD showed less efficient looking toward a novel referent when a novel label was presented compared to NT toddlers, controlling for age and familiar word knowledge. However, toddlers with ASD and higher language ability demonstrated more robust use of ME than those with lower language ability.
- ICDValid points and looks: Reliability and validity go hand-in-hand when improving infant methodsM. Zettersten , R. Pomper, and J. SaffranInfant and Child Development,, May 2022
In this commentary, we suggest that infancy researchers should carefully consider validity when taking steps to improve reliability. Zooming in to focus on looking-time methods, we argue that limitations in validity represent perhaps an even more fundamental issue in infancy research than reliability. At the same time, focusing single-mindedly on reliability comes with two possible pitfalls: maximizing reliability at the expense of construct validity and overvaluing parental report measures compared to direct measures of infant behavior. Finally, we articulate several promising avenues for improving validity in infant research: experimental and modeling efforts to characterize the functional relationship between measures such as looking time and infant cognition, using multiple measures to establish convergent validity, and improving our understanding of how measures vary across a broader set of stimulus characteristics.
- LLDChange is hard: Individual differences in children’s lexical processing and executive functions after a shift in dimensionsR. Pomper, M. Kaushanskaya , and J. R. SaffranLanguage Learning and Development,, Apr 2022
Language comprehension involves cognitive abilities that are specific to language as well as cognitive abilities that are more general and involved in a wide range of behaviors. One set of domain-general abilities that support language comprehension are executive functions (EFs), also known as cognitive control. A diverse body of research has demonstrated that EFs support language comprehension when there is conflict between competing, incompatible interpretations of temporarily ambiguous words or phrases. By engaging EFs, children and adults are able to select or bias their attention toward the correct interpretation. However, the degree to which language processing engages EFs in the absence of ambiguity is poorly understood. In the current experiment, we tested whether EFs may be engaged when comprehending speech that does not elicit conflicting interpretations. Different components of EFs were measured using several behavioral tasks and language comprehension was measured using an eye-tracking procedure. Five-year-old children (n = 56) saw pictures of familiar objects and heard sentences identifying the objects using either their names or colors. After a series of objects were identified using one dimension, children were significantly less accurate in fixating target objects that were identified using a second dimension. Further results reveal that this decrease in accuracy does not occur because children struggle to shift between dimensions, but rather because they are unable to predict which dimension will be used. These effects of predictability are related to individual differences in children’s EFs. Taken together, these findings suggest that EFs may be more broadly involved when children comprehend language, even in instances that do not require conflict resolution.
- CogSciWhat children with Developmental Language Disorder teach us about cross-situational word learningK. K. McGregor , E. Smolak , E. Jones , and 4 more authorsCognitive Science,, Feb 2022
Children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) served as a test case fordetermining the role of extant vocabulary knowledge, endogenous attention, andphonological working memory abilities in cross-situational word learning. First-graders (M age = 7 years; 3 months), 44 with typical development (TD) and 28 with DLD,completed a cross-situational word-learning task comprised 6 cycles, followed byretention tests and independent assessments of attention, memory, and vocabulary.Children with DLD scored lower than those with TD on all measures of learning andretention, a performance gap that emerged in the first cycle of the cross-situationalprotocol and that we attribute to weaknesses in initial encoding. Over cycles, childrenwith DLD learned words at a similar rate as their TD peers but they were less flexible intheir strategy use, demonstrating a propose-but-verify approach but never a statisticalaggregation approach. Also, they drew upon different mechanisms to support theirlearning. Attention played a greater role for the children with DLD, whereas extantvocabulary size played a greater role for the children with TD. Children navigate theproblem space of cross-situational learning via varied routes. This conclusion is offeredas motivation for theorists to capture all learners, not just the most typical ones.
2021
- LDRChildren’s language abilities predict success in remote communication contextsK. K. McGregor , R. Pomper, N. Eden , and 3 more authorsLanguage Development Research,, Oct 2021
Remote communicative contexts are part of everyday social, familial, and academic interactions for the modern child. We investigated the ability of second-graders to engage in remote discourse, and we determined whether language ability, theory of mind, and shy temperament predicted their success. Fifty 7-to-9-year-old monolingual English speakers with a wide range of language abilities participated in standardized testing and an expository discourse task in which they taught two adults to solve the Tower of London, one in an audiovisual condition to simulate video chat and a second in an audio-only condition to simulate phone communication. The discourse was scored with a rubric of 15 items deemed relevant to the explanation. Children included 27% to 87% of the items, with more items communicated via gesture than spoken word in both conditions. Gesture scores and spoken scores were highly correlated. Children specified more rubric items overall in the audio condition and more rubric items in the spoken modality when in the audio condition than the audiovisual condition. Performance in both conditions was positively associated with scores on independent measures of language ability. There was no relationship between performance and theory of mind, shy temperament, ability to solve the Tower of London, age, or sex. We conclude that 7-to-9-year-olds adjust the modality and content of their message to suit their remote partner’s needs, but their success in remote discourse contexts varies significantly from individual to individual. Children with below-average language skills are at risk for functional impairments in remote communication.
- CognCoarticulation facilitates lexical processing for toddlers with autismR. Pomper, S. Ellis Weismer , J. R. Saffran , and 1 more authorCognition,, Sep 2021
Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are delayed in learning language. The mechanisms underlying these delays are not well understood but may involve differences in how children process language. In the current experiment, we compared how 3- to 4-year-old children with ASD (n = 58) and 2- to 3-year-old children who are typically developing (TD, n = 44) use phonological information to incrementally process speech. Children saw pictures of objects displayed on a screen and heard sentences labeling one of the objects (e.g., Find the ball). For some sentences, the determiner the contained coarticulatory information about the onset of the target word. For other sentences, the determiner the did not contain any coarticulatory information. Children were faster to fixate the target object for sentences with vs. without coarticulation. This effect of coarticulation was the same for children with ASD compared to their TD peers. When controlling for group differences in receptive language ability, the effect of coarticulation was stronger for children with ASD compared to their TD peers. These results suggest that phonological processing is an area of relative strength for children with ASD.
2020
- Autism ResComparing automatic eye tracking and manual gaze coding methods in young children with autism spectrum disorderC. E. Venker , R. Pomper, T. Mahr , and 3 more authorsAutism Research,, Feb 2020
Eye-gaze methods offer numerous advantages for studying cognitive processes in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but data loss may threaten the validity and generalizability of results. Some eye-gaze systems may be more vulnerable to data loss than others, but to our knowledge, this issue has not been empirically investigated. In the current study, we asked whether automatic eye-tracking and manual gaze coding produce different rates of data loss or different results in a group of 51 toddlers with ASD. Data from both systems were gathered (from the same children) simultaneously, during the same experimental sessions. As predicted, manual gaze coding produced significantly less data loss than automatic eye tracking, as indicated by the number of usable trials and the proportion of looks to the images per trial. In addition, automatic eye-tracking and manual gaze coding produced different patterns of results, suggesting that the eye-gaze system used to address a particular research question could alter a study’s findings and the scientific conclusions that follow. It is our hope that the information from this and future methodological studies will help researchers to select the eye-gaze measurement system that best fits their research questions and target population, as well as help consumers of autism research to interpret the findings from studies that utilize eye-gaze methods with children with ASD.
2019
- JADDSpecificity of phonological representations for children with autism spectrum disorderR. Pomper, S. Ellis Weismer , J. R. Saffran , and 1 more authorJournal of Autism and Developmental Disorders,, Aug 2019
This study investigated whether children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are sensitive to mispronunciations of familiar words and compared their sensitivity to children with typical-development. Sixty-four toddlers with ASD and 31 younger, typical controls participated in a looking-while-listening task that measured their accuracy in fixating the correct object when it was labelled with a correct pronunciation versus mispronunciation. A cognitive style that prioritizes processing local, rather than global features, as claimed by the weak central coherence theory, predicts that children with ASD should be more sensitive to mispronunciations than typical controls. The results, however, reveal no differences in the effect of mispronunciations on lexical processing between groups, even when matched for receptive language or non-verbal cognitive skills.
- JSLHRPhonological learning influences label-object mapping in toddlersE. Breen , R. Pomper, and J. R. SaffranJournal of Speech Language and Hearing Research,, Jun 2019
Purpose Infants rapidly acquire the sound patterns that characterize their native language. Knowledge of native language phonological cues facilitates learning new words that are consistent with these patterns. However, little is known about how newly acquired phonological knowledge-regularities that children are in the process of learning-affects novel word learning. The current experiment was designed to determine whether exposure to a novel phonological pattern affects subsequent novel word learning. Method Two-year-olds ( n = 41) were familiarized with a list of novel words that followed a simple phonotactic regularity. Following familiarization, toddlers were taught 4 novel label-object pairs. Two of the labels were consistent with the novel regularity, and 2 of the labels were inconsistent with the regularity. Results Toddlers with smaller vocabularies learned all of the novel label-object pairings, whereas toddlers with larger vocabularies only learned novel label-object pairings that were consistent with the novel phonological regularity. Conclusion These findings demonstrate that newly learned phonological patterns influence novel word learning and highlight the role of individual differences in toddlers’ representations of candidate word forms.
- Child DevFamiliar object salience affects novel word learningR. Pomper, and J. R. SaffranChild Development,, Mar 2019
Children use the presence of familiar objects with known names to identify the correct referents of novel words. In natural environments, objects vary widely in salience. The presence of familiar objects may sometimes hinder rather than help word learning. To test this hypothesis, 3-year-olds (N = 36) were shown novel objects paired with familiar objects that varied in their visual salience. When the novel objects were labeled, children were slower and less accurate at fixating them in the presence of highly salient familiar objects than in the presence of less salient familiar objects. They were also less successful in retaining these word-referent pairings. While familiar objects may facilitate novel word learning in ambiguous situations, the properties of familiar objects matter.
2016
- PLoS OneRoses are red, socks are blue: Switching dimensions disrupts young children’s language processingR. Pomper, and J. R. SaffranPLoS One,, Jun 2016
Language is used to identify objects in many different ways. An apple can be identified using its name, color, and other attributes. Skilled language comprehension requires listeners to flexibly shift between different dimensions. We asked whether this shifting would be difficult for 3-year-olds, who have relatively immature executive function skills and struggle to switch between dimensions in card sorting tasks. In the current experiment, children first heard a series of sentences identifying objects using a single dimension (either names or colors). In the second half of the experiment, the labeling dimension was switched. Children were significantly less accurate in fixating the correct object following the dimensional switch. This disruption, however, was temporary; recognition accuracy recovered with increased exposure to the new labeling dimension. These findings provide the first evidence that children’s difficulty in shifting between dimensions impacts their ability to comprehend speech. This limitation may affect children’s ability to form rich, multi-dimensional representations when learning new words.