Monthly Archives: February 2009
Measurements of normal inner ear on computed tomography in children with congenital sensorineural hearing loss
Abstract The objective of this study is to use standardized measurements of the inner ear to see whether there are subtle bony malformations in children with congenital sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) whose temporal bone computed tomography (CT) are grossly normal. The study includes 45 ears with congenital SNHL and grossly normal temporal bone CT scans and 45 ears with normal inner ear structures and normal hearing. Standardized measurements of the inner ear structures were made on axial temporal bone CT scans. Student’s t test was performed to compare the measurements of the two groups. There were significant differences in the measurements of the bony island width of the superior semicircular canal, bony island width of the lateral semicircular canal and maximal height of cochlea between two groups (P < 0.05). In conclusion, standardized measurements of bony labyrinth of inner ear on temporal bone CT can identify subtle abnormalities of inner ear in patients with congenital SNHL having grossly normal radiological images.
Effect of different treatments in young children with language problems
Conclusion
All distinguished forms of treatment were effective. However, only for a proportion of the children this meant a clinical relevant improvement. For the improvement of language comprehension targeted language therapy seems essential, as children without this (children receiving surgical hearing impairment) did not improve their LCQ.
from the International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology
Characteristics of disfluency clusters in adults who stutter
Conclusion. The results obtained in the present study for AWS tend to parallel those found for CWS and serve to validate their occurrence as a feature of the disorder of stuttering.
Anne Sullivan Macy: Miracle Worker
Description:
This exhibit honors Anne Sullivan Macy (1866-1936), who was “a pioneer in the field of education. Her work with Helen Keller became the blueprint for education of children who were blind, deaf-blind, or visually impaired that still continues today.” A detailed biography of her life is accompanied by photos and images of documents, a chronology, and recommended reading. From the American Foundation for the Blind.
from the Librarians’ Internet Index
Infant sign language program effects on synchronic mother–infant interactions
The effects of an intentional infant sign language program on mother–infant interactions were studied. Design was quasi-experimental, longitudinal, descriptive and comparative. The sample was composed of 14 mother–infant dyads, with the infants being between 5 and 9 months at the beginning of the study. The participants were middle or upper-middle socio-economic status. The interactions were evaluated through observations of free play and analyzed using a Grid to analyze early interactions. The frequency and duration of synchronic interactions were compared across experimental and control groups at 12–14 and 18–20 months of age using non-parametric Mann–Whitney tests. The results suggested significant differences between groups on visual and tactile synchronic interactions, and a tendency for vocal interactions, in the direction of higher frequencies in the experimental group.
Neurophysiological Alterations During Strategy-Based Verbal Learning in Traumatic Brain Injury
Conclusion. After TBI, the DLPFC appears to be decoupled from other active brain regions specifically when strategic control is required. We hypothesize that approaches designed to help re-couple DLPFC under such conditions may aid TBI cognitive rehabilitation.
Orienting asymmetries and lateralized processing of sounds in humans
Conclusions
These findings suggest that in adult humans, orienting biases are not necessarily coupled with lateralized processing of acoustic stimuli. Our results – as well as the inconsistent orienting biases found in different animal species – suggest that the orienting assay should be used with caution. Apparently, attention biases, experience, and experimental conditions may all affect head turning responses. Because of the complexity of the interaction of factors, the use of the orienting assay to determine lateralized processing of sound stimuli is discouraged.
from BMC Neuroscience
Hearing impaired (HI) support services and caseload prioritisation
This study considers the process of prioritisation undertaken by Hearing Impaired (HI) Support Services in England in a context of change driven by early screening, early intervention and reform in children’s services. The aim of prioritisation is to identify the relative needs of deaf children and their families fairly, transparently and effectively utilising finite resources. Data were collected by means of a postal survey (27 HI Support Services responded representing 33 local education authorities) and structured interviews (with five peripatetic teachers of the deaf). Qualitative data were analysed using a thematic content approach and quantitative data using non-parametric statistics. The study identified that two thirds of HI Support Services had produced formalised systems for prioritising caseloads. The Newborn Hearing Screening Programme (NHSP) was considered the most important influence on prioritising caseloads. Three quarters of HI Support Services used criteria for prioritisation that predominantly focused on impairment. There was relative inattention to needs relating to the child, the family or the school in determining prioritisation. Findings are discussed in the light of holistic approaches to service delivery adopted by Early Support, the principles of Every Child Matters and the introduction of the Common Assessment Framework. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Functional Neuroimaging Insights Into the Development of Skilled Reading
ABSTRACT—Typically developing children require years of overt training and practice to learn to read with skill. The relatively recent advent of functional neuroimaging methods amenable to the study of children has provided insight into the neurobiological underpinnings of skilled reading development. In this brief review, we discuss how neuroimaging during reading-related tasks has revealed that, when adult and child skilled readers perform identical reading-related tasks with comparable levels of performance, these groups show similar but nonidentical patterns of regional brain activity. Children activate some neural regions that adults do not activate (or activate less), and vice versa. The activity patterns in these regions transition to mature levels with increased proficiency and maturity. The dynamic nature of the reading brain as the child matures is thought to be a demonstration of both the inherent flexibility and the increasing efficiency of brain processing over development.
Concurrent Verbalizations, Pedagogical Conditions, and Reactivity: Two CALL Studies
The article summarizes results from two experimental studies on reactivity. In the first experiment, 24 college-age participants received a computerized treatment that delivered a grammar lesson, practice, and feedback on assignment of semantic functions in Latin. Verbalizations did not induce reactivity on accuracy, but they slowed down posttest performance. The second experiment (N= 24), which did not include a grammar lesson, showed that thinking aloud had a facilitating effect. Our results suggest that reactivity depends not only on the task and on the nature of the assessment tool but also on the nature of the dependent variables (i.e., latency vs. accuracy). In contrast to previous SLA studies (with the exception of Sachs and Polio, 2007), our study advises researchers to exercise caution when implementing verbal protocols in their designs.
from Language Learning
Generalization Across Segments in Second Language Consonant Identification
This article examines the extent of differences between second language (L2) learners in their abilities to identify L2 consonants and provides evidence for linguistic generalization from one consonant to other consonants. It distinguishes among different sorts of models of the relationship between segments: (a) segmentally specific models in which each segment is treated separately and (b) generalized featural models in which segments that share features are treated as a group. It also examines (c) ordered models in which one segment might rely on another previously existing one. The article presents the results of an experiment with 40 Korean learners of English identifying English obstruents in different prosodic locations, and it examines the pattern of variation in perceptual accuracy across the listeners. Results indicate that manner perception varies from person to person as a unit, regardless of the segment, suggesting a single generalized featural skill. Voicing identification, however, does not vary as a unit across the different prosodic positions, suggesting different skills that are applicable to different prosodic positions and are acquired separately. There is also evidence for an implicational relationship between pairs of segments that differ in markedness, providing some evidence for an ordered model; however, such patterns are not pervasive across different contrasts.
from Language Learning
The Ear Foundation Celebrates Its 20th Birthday With A Party, UK
Nottingham-based charity, The Ear Foundation, celebrates its 20 birthday with a party on Sunday 1 March, 2009.
Learners’ Implicit Assumptions About Syntactic Frames in New L3 Words: The Role of Cognates, Typological Proximity, and L2 Status
Learners of third language (L3) German and L3 French studied unfamiliar verbs that were cognate with first language (L1) Spanish equivalents, second language (L2) English equivalents, or neither. We examined whether learners would assume that the verbs shared syntactic frames with cognate forms in the typologically closer language. In immediate tests, verbs were preferentially judged grammatical in cognate frames, with verbs in typologically closer French yielding a stronger effect for Spanish frames than German verbs did for English frames. After a week, the effect had disappeared for German but was maintained for French. Noncognates were judged more grammatical in the L2 frame in both experiments. The results suggest that form similarity, typological proximity, and L2 status can jointly affect preliminary assumptions about new words’ grammatical properties.
from Language Learning
Learning L2 German Vocabulary Through Reading: The Effect of Three Enhancement Techniques Compared
This study investigated three techniques designed to increase the chances that second language (L2) readers look up and learn unfamiliar words during and after reading an L2 text. Participants in the study, 137 college students in Belgium (L1 = Dutch, L2 = German), were randomly assigned to one of four conditions, forming combinations of two between-subject factors: ± prereading test announcement and ± postreading vocabulary task. Comprehension questions were used to direct participants’ attention to half of the 16 target words in this study, creating the within-subject factor (word relevance). Participants accomplished the experimental tasks at computers. They could look up the meaning of unfamiliar words in an online dictionary. The dependent variables are the following: use of online dictionary during reading, performance on a word-form recognition test, and performance on two word-meaning recall tests (immediate and delayed). Test announcement and word relevance substantially prompted participants to use the online dictionary more. Only test announcement and vocabulary task (not word relevance) affected performance in the word recognition test positively. Both word relevance and postreading vocabulary task substantially affected word retention in the recall posttests. These findings, together with those of the studies reviewed, provide robust evidence that the low incidence of vocabulary acquisition through reading (“input only”) can be substantially boosted by techniques that make students look up the meaning of unknown words, process their form-meaning relationship elaborately, and process them again after reading (“input plus”).
from Language Learning
Long-Term Crosslinguistic Transfer of Skills From L1 to L2
This study investigated the relationship of first language (L1) skills in elementary school and second language (L2) learning in high school. Students classified as high-, average-, and low-proficiency L2 learners were compared on L1 achievement measures of reading, spelling, vocabulary, phonological awareness, and listening comprehension administered in the first, second, third, and fifth grades. An L2 aptitude measure was administered in ninth grade and L2 word decoding and L2 spelling measures were administered at the end of the first- and second-year L2 courses. Outcome measures were oral and written L2 proficiency measures in Spanish, French, and German administered at the end of 2 years of L2 study. Results showed overall differences among the three proficiency groups on the L1 achievement measures from second through fifth grades, the L2 aptitude measure, and the L2 word decoding and spelling measures. High-proficiency L2 learners exhibited stronger L1 skills and L2 aptitude than the average and low-proficiency L2 learners. Findings showed that L1 skill differences emerged early in elementary school and are related to L2 proficiency and achievement several years later in high school. The findings provide support for long-term crosslinguistic transfer of L1 to L2 skills.
from Language Learning
