In Infants' Hands: Identification of Preverbal Infants at Risk for Primary Language Delay

Lüke, Carina; Grimminger, Angela; Rohlfing, Katharina J.; Liszkowski, Ulf; Ritterfeld, Ute

doi:10.1111/cdev.12610

Cited by 71 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 51 publications

(43 reference statements)

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“…In contrast, open‐hand pointing (both produced alone and combined with non‐CV vocalizations) was a reliable negative predictor of language. This provides convergent evidence with recent studies that suggest that open‐handed pointing is a marker for risk of delay (Lüke, Grimminger, Rohlfing, Liszkowski, & Ritterfeld, ). Furthermore, as there was no evidence that gaze‐coordination affected the negative value of this predictor, we conclude that this may be a marker of a motoric delay rather than a social‐cognitive one.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Infants’ intentionally communicative vocalizations elicit responses from caregivers and are the best predictors of the transition to language: A longitudinal investigation of infants’ vocalizations, gestures and word production

Donnellan

Bannard

McGillion

et al. 2019

Developmental Science

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What aspects of infants’ prelinguistic communication are most valuable for learning to speak, and why? We test whether early vocalizations and gestures drive the transition to word use because, in addition to indicating motoric readiness, they (a) are early instances of intentional communication and (b) elicit verbal responses from caregivers. In study 1, 11 month olds (N = 134) were observed to coordinate vocalizations and gestures with gaze to their caregiver's face at above chance rates, indicating that they are plausibly intentionally communicative. Study 2 tested whether those infant communicative acts that were gaze‐coordinated best predicted later expressive vocabulary. We report a novel procedure for predicting vocabulary via multi‐model inference over a comprehensive set of infant behaviours produced at 11 and 12 months (n = 58). This makes it possible to establish the relative predictive value of different behaviours that are hierarchically organized by level of granularity. Gaze‐coordinated vocalizations were the most valuable predictors of expressive vocabulary size up to 24 months. Study 3 established that caregivers were more likely to respond to gaze‐coordinated behaviours. Moreover, the dyadic combination of infant gaze‐coordinated vocalization and caregiver response was by far the best predictor of later vocabulary size. We conclude that practice with prelinguistic intentional communication facilitates the leap to symbol use. Learning is optimized when caregivers respond to intentional vocalizations with appropriate language.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Infants’ intentionally communicative vocalizations elicit responses from caregivers and are the best predictors of the transition to language: A longitudinal investigation of infants’ vocalizations, gestures and word production

Donnellan

Bannard

McGillion

et al. 2019

Developmental Science

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“…Infants’ language skills are predicted both by the age of emergence (Butterworth & Morissette, ; Carpenter, Nagell, Tomasello, Butterworth, & Moore, ; Desrochers, Morissette, & Ricard, ), and the frequency of pointing (Esseily, Jacquet, & Fagard, ; Mundy et al., ; Özçalışkan, Adamson, & Dimitrova, ; Rowe, ), although most studies have focused on the latter as an indicator. Specifically, the frequency of the canonical index‐finger pointing gesture, as opposed to the whole‐hand pointing gesture which emerges a few months earlier (Liszkowski & Tomasello, ; Lock, Young, Service, & Chandler, ), is positively predictive of language acquisition (Lüke, Grimminger, Rohlfing, Liszkowski, & Ritterfeld, ).…”

Section: Factors Influencing the Development Of Pointing Frequencymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To address child‐level and caregiver‐level factors, and how they may interact in development, we adopted a longitudinal approach and observed caregivers and their infants at 10 and 12 months in a semi‐natural setting previously shown to elicit pointing (Liszkowski & Tomasello, ; Liszkowski et al., ; Lüke et al., ). We analyzed infants’ and caregivers’ points, and caregivers’ verbal and nonverbal responses.…”

Section: Factors Influencing the Development Of Pointing Frequencymentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of Infant Pointing from 10 to 12 months: The Role of Relevant Caregiver Responsiveness

Ger

Altınok²,

Liszkowski³

et al. 2018

Infancy

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Infants’ pointing frequency is a predictor of their later language abilities. Yet, predictors of pointing frequency in the first year of life are not well understood. Study 1 explored what factors in infants and caregivers at 10 months would predict the pointing frequency of infants at 12 months (N = 35). Infant‐driven predictors were infants’ fine‐motor skills and point‐following abilities. Caregiver‐mediated predictors were caregivers’ pointing frequency and responsiveness toward infants’ pointing. Relevant caregiver responsiveness at 10 months predicted infants’ pointing frequency at 12 months, controlling for the other factors and infants’ prior pointing frequency. Study 2 explored whether child‐level factors influence caregivers’ responsiveness (N = 49). We examined the hand shape of infants’ pointing (whole‐hand versus index‐finger) and the presence of point‐accompanying vocalizations. Infants’ vocalization‐accompanied points were more likely to elicit relevant responses from caregivers, while hand shapes played a less pronounced role. Together, the findings reveal an early emerging mutual relationship between infant pointing and caregiver behavior such that certain characteristics of infant pointing predict caregivers’ responsiveness, and relevant responsiveness toward infants’ pointing predicts the increase in infants’ pointing frequencies.

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“…First, infants use so called whole-hand points, in which the arm and the hand are extended toward a referent, followed by index-finger points, in which the arm and the index finger are clearly extended toward a referent (Lock et al, 1990;Liszkowski and Tomasello, 2011;Lüke et al, 2017b). Based on the large number of studies it is undisputable that the production of pointing gestures is a strong predictor for later language skills (for a meta-analysis see Colonnesi et al, 2010 (for recent research see Murillo and Belinchón, 2012;Beuker et al, 2013;Kuhn et al, 2014;Lüke et al, 2017aLüke et al, , 2019Salo et al, 2018). Yet, there is some debate about the specific aspect of pointing gestures responsible for this predictive value.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The following features are analyzed and discussed: 1. Onset or ability to produce pointing gestures at a certain age (Lüke et al, 2017a(Lüke et al, , 2019McGillion et al, 2017); 2. Number of pointing gestures (Beuker et al, 2013;Kuhn et al, 2014;Lüke et al, 2017b); 3.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated Communication System: Gesture and Language Acquisition in Typically Developing Children and Children With LD and DLD

et al. 2020

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Gesture and language development are strongly connected to each other. Two types of gestures in particular are analyzed regarding their role for language acquisition: pointing and iconic gestures. With the present longitudinal study, the predictive values of index-finger pointing at 12 months and the comprehension of iconic gestures at 3;0 years for later language skills in typically developing (TD) children and in children with a language delay (LD) or developmental language disorder (DLD) are examined. Forty-two monolingual German children and their primary caregivers participated in the study and were followed longitudinally from 1;0 to 6;0 years. Within a total of 14 observation sessions, the gestural and language abilities of the children were measured using standardized as well as ad hoc tests, parent questionnaires and semi-natural interactions between the child and their caregivers. At the age of 2;0 years, 10 of the 42 children were identified as having a LD. The ability to point with the extended index finger at 1;0 year is predictive for language skills at 5;0 and 6;0 years. This predictive effect is mediated by the language skills of the children at 3;0 years. The comprehension of iconic gestures at 3;0 years correlates with index-finger pointing at 1;0 year and also with earlier and later language skills. It mediates the predictive value of index-finger pointing at 1;0 year for grammar skills at 5;0 and 6;0 years. Children with LD develop the ability to understand the iconicity in gestures later than TD children and score lower in language tests until the age of 6;0 years. The language differences between these two groups of children persist partially until the age of 5;0 years even when the two children with manifested DLD within the group of children with LD are excluded from analyses. Beyond that age, no differences in the language skills between children with and without a history of LD are found when children with a manifest DLD are excluded. The findings support the assumption of an integrated speech-gesture communication system, which functions similarly in TD children and children with LD or DLD, but with a time delay.

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In Infants' Hands: Identification of Preverbal Infants at Risk for Primary Language Delay

Cited by 71 publications

References 51 publications

Infants’ intentionally communicative vocalizations elicit responses from caregivers and are the best predictors of the transition to language: A longitudinal investigation of infants’ vocalizations, gestures and word production

Infants’ intentionally communicative vocalizations elicit responses from caregivers and are the best predictors of the transition to language: A longitudinal investigation of infants’ vocalizations, gestures and word production

Development of Infant Pointing from 10 to 12 months: The Role of Relevant Caregiver Responsiveness

Integrated Communication System: Gesture and Language Acquisition in Typically Developing Children and Children With LD and DLD

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