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Purpose This systematic review and meta-analysis critically evaluated the research evidence on the effectiveness of conversational recasts on grammatical development for children with language impairments. Method Two different but complementary reviews were conducted and then integrated. Systematic searches of the literature resulted in 35 articles for the systematic review. Studies that employed a wide variety of study designs were involved but all examined interventions where recasts were the key component. The meta-analysis only included studies that allowed the calculation of effect sizes, but it did include package interventions in which recasts were a major part. Fourteen studies were included, 7 of which were also in the systematic review. Studies were grouped according to research phase and rated for quality. Results Study quality and thus strength of evidence varied substantially. Nevertheless, across all phases, the vast majority of studies provided support for the use of recasts. Meta-analyses found average effect sizes of .96 for proximal measures and 0.76 for distal measures, reflecting a positive benefit of about ¾ to one standard deviation. Conclusion The available evidence is limited but it is supportive of the use of recasts in grammatical intervention. Critical features of recasts in grammatical interventions are discussed.

Purpose Spoken language skills of 3- and 6-year-old children who are hard of hearing (HH) were compared to those of children with normal hearing (NH). Method Language skills were measured via MLU in words and percent correct use of finite verb morphology in obligatory contexts based on spontaneous conversational samples gathered from 185 children (145 HH; 40 NH). Aided speech intelligibility index (aided SII), better ear pure tone average (BE-PTA), maternal education, and age of amplification were used to predict outcomes within the HH group. Results On average, the HH group had MLUws that were .25-.5 words shorter than the NH group at both ages and they produced fewer obligatory verb morphemes. After age, aided SII and age of amplification predicted MLUw. Aided SII and PTA were not interchangeable in this analysis. Age followed by either PTA or aided SII best predicted verb morphology use. Conclusions Children who are HH lag behind their NH peers in grammatical aspects of language. Although some children appear to catch up, more than half the children who were HH fell below the 25th percentile. Continued monitoring of language outcomes is warranted since children who are HH are at increased risk for language learning difficulties.

When targeting grammatical morphemes, it may be most efficient for clinicians to select harder rather than easier exemplars of the target.

Two experiments used classical conditioning to examine transfer of response features specific to the warning interval between a conditioned stimulus (CS) and an unconditioned stimulus (US). Rabbits were given initial training with a stimulus (CSA) in one modality (tone) at a designated interval (e.g., 200 ms). In a second stage, the conditioned response (CR) to CSA was extinguished. Finally, training was shifted to a new stimulus (CSB) in another modality (light) at a new interval (e.g., 400 ms). Compared to rest controls, there was an enhanced rate of CR acquisition to CSB and a tendency for early CRs to CSB to reflect the CSA-US interval. However, the extinction procedure and the change in CS-US interval together reduced these two aspects of transfer across stimulus modalities. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for theories of cross-modal transfer. A layered network with real-time features is offered.

Purpose The CATALISE group (Bishop, Snowling, Thompson, Greenhalgh, & CATALISE Consortium, 2016; Bishop, Snowling, Thompson, Greenhalgh, & CATALISE-2 Consortium, 2017) recommended that the term developmental language disorder (DLD) be used to refer to neurodevelopmental language deficit. In this tutorial, we explain the appropriate application of the term and present advantages in adhering to the CATALISE recommendations. Conclusion Both specific language impairment and DLD refer to a neurodevelopmental condition that impairs spoken language, is long-standing and, is not associated with any known causal condition. The applications of the terms specific language impairment and DLD differ in breadth and the extent to which identification depends upon functional impact. Use of the term DLD would link advocacy efforts in the United States to those in other English-speaking countries. The criteria for identifying DLD presented in the CATALISE consensus offer opportunities for scientific progress while aligning well with practice in U.S. public schools.

Real-time models contend that a conditioned stimulus (CS) gives rise to a cascade of hypothetical stimuli that govern conditioned responses (CRs) on a moment-by-moment basis. Experiments with the rabbit nictitating membrane response successfully extended these models to external stimuli. CSs were trained in sequence with an unconditioned stimulus (CSA-CSB-US). When the CSA-CSB interval was shortened, the CR was compressed; when the CSA-CSB interval was lengthened, the CR was broadened. Peaks appeared at 2 places, namely, 1 following CSA by a period equal to its CS-US interval and another following CSB by its CS-US interval. Outside the sequence, the individual CSs evoked CRs located between their respective CS-US intervals. When, however, the 2 CSs were trained separately, the CRs were appropriate to their respective CS-US intervals when tested alone or in sequence. The results are discussed in terms of the J.E. Desmond and J.W. Moore (1988) and S. Grossberg and N.A. Schmajuk (1989) models.

Purpose Production accuracy of s-related morphemes was examined in 3-year-olds with mild-to-severe hearing loss, focusing on perceptibility, articulation, and input frequency. Method Morphemes with /s/, /z/, and /ɪz/ as allomorphs (plural, possessive, third person singular –s, and auxiliary and copula ‘is’) were analyzed from language samples gathered from 51 children (ages: 2;10–3;8) who are hard of hearing (HH), all of whom used amplification. Articulation was assessed via the Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation, 2nd edition (GFTA-II) and monomorphemic word final /s/ and /z/ production. Hearing was measured via better ear pure tone average (BE-PTA), unaided Speech Intelligibility Index (SII), and aided sensation level of speech at 4 kHz (4kHz SL). Results Unlike results reported for NH children, the HH group correctly produced the /ɪz/ allomorph more than /s/ and /z/ allomorphs. Relative accuracy levels for morphemes and sentence positions paralleled that of NH children. 4kHz SL scores (but not BE-PTA or SII), GFTA-II, and word final s/z use all predicted accuracy. Conclusions Both better hearing and higher articulation scores are associated with improved morpheme production, and better aided audibility in the high frequencies and word final production of s/z are particularly critical for morpheme acquisition in children who are HH.