0000000000068867

AUTHOR

Trude Nergård-nilssen

The effects of book exposure and reading interest on oral language skills of children with and without a familial risk of dyslexia

The potential role of home literacy environment (HLE) in children's language development has been widely studied. However, data on the HLE of children with familial risk (FR) of dyslexia are limited. In this longitudinal study, we examined (a) whether amount of book exposure and reading interest at age 4 were different in samples of Norwegian FR and no FR‐children, respectively, (b) whether these home literacy‐related factors exerted different effects depending on family‐risk status on vocabulary and grammar skills at school entry age (6 years) and (c) whether they contributed independently to language outcomes at age 6, after controlling for the 4;6‐year language skills. Results showed no …

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Early markers of language delay in children with and without family risk for dyslexia

Accepted manuscript version. Published version at http://doi.org/10.1177/0142723715596122. This study examined the extent to which receptive and productive vocabulary between ages 12 and 18 months predicted language skills at age 24 months in children born with family risk for dyslexia (FR) and a control group born without that risk. The aim was to identify possible markers of early language delay. The authors monitored vocabulary growth in 32 FR children and 21 control children longitudinally by using the Norwegian adaption of the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventories. The results show different patterns in the two groups: the study found a stronger interdependence of early…

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Evaluation of the psychometric properties of “the Norwegian screening test for dyslexia”

The aim of this study was to develop and investigate the psychometric properties of a screening protocol for Norwegian students in upper secondary school. The protocol was designed to assess skills that are at stake in dyslexia. It was administered to 232 students. In the absence of a “gold standard,” comparisons were made between students who reported normal literacy skills (n = 184) and literacy problems (n = 48). Significant group differences were found across all areas. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curve analyses demonstrated good discriminatory power. The screening protocol met the standards for reliability and validity. It has the potential to be a useful …

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Early communicative gestures and play as predictors of language development in children born with and without family risk for dyslexia

The present study investigated early communicative gestures, play, and language skills in children born with family risk for dyslexia (FR) and a control group of children without this inheritable risk at ages 12, 15, 18, and 24 months. Participants were drawn from the Tromsø Longitudinal study of Dyslexia (TLD) which follows children's cognitive and language development from age 12 months through Grade 2 in order to identify early markers of developmental dyslexia. Results showed that symbolic play and parent reported play at age 12 months and communicative gestures at age 15 months explained 61% of the variance in productive language at 24 months in the FR group. These early nonlinguistic …

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School-entry language outcomes in late talkers with and without a family risk of dyslexia.

Children with familial risk (FR) of dyslexia and children with early language delay are known to be at risk for later language and literacy difficulties. However, research addressing long‐term outcomes in children with both risk factors is scarce. This study tracked FR and No‐FR children identified as late talkers at 2 years of age and reports development from 4;6 through 6 years. We examined the possible effects of FR‐status and late talking (LT) status, respectively, on language skills at school entry, and whether FR‐status moderated the associations between 4;6‐year and 6‐year language scores. Results indicated an effect of LT status on language at both ages, while FR status affected lan…

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Lexical and grammatical development in children at family risk of dyslexia from early childhood to school entry: a cross-lagged analysis.

AbstractThe aim of this study was to examine (a) the development of vocabulary and grammar in children with family-risk (FR) of dyslexia and their peers with no such risk (NoFR) between ages 1;6 and 6;0, and (b) whether FR-status exerted an effect on the direction of temporal relationships between these two constructs. Groups were assessed at seven time-points using standardised tests and parental reports. Results indicated that although FR and NoFR children had a similar development in the earlier years, the FR group appeared to perform significantly more poorly on vocabulary at the end of the preschool period. Results showed no significant effect of FR status on the cross-lagged relations…

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