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N J Scherer

Publications and source records attributed to N J Scherer.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Analysis of speech characteristics in children with velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS) and children with phenotypic overlap without VCFS.

OBJECTIVE: To address two questions of theoretical importance regarding the profile and course of communication impairment associated with velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS): (1) do speech characteristics of children with VCFS differ from a group of children with some of the phenotypic characteristics of VCFS who do not have the syndrome, and (2) do younger children with VCFS demonstrate speech patterns that differ from older children with VCFS? DESIGN: Prospective, cross-sectional study comparing two groups of children at two age levels. PATIENTS: Thirteen children with VCFS and eight children with some of the phenotypic features of VCFS who did not have the syndrome. Children ranged in age from 3 to 10 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: (1) Broad phonetic transcription of speech yielding measures of number of consonant types, Percent Consonant Correct, and percentage of glottal stops used; and (2) composite ratings of velopharyngeal function made from perceptual, aerodynamic, and endoscopic evaluations. RESULTS: Younger children with VCFS demonstrated greater speech impairment than older children with VCFS or the children without VCFS, such as smaller consonant inventories, greater number of developmental errors, greater severity of articulation disorder, and higher frequency of glottal stop use. The relationship between ratings of velopharyngeal function and the speech variables analyzed was not straightforward. CONCLUSIONS: Some young children with VCFS demonstrated speech impairment that is qualitatively and quantitatively different from older children with VCFS or children without VCFS. This finding supports the hypothesis that some children with VCFS demonstrate a profile of speech production that is different from normal but also may be specific to the syndrome.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1999

Early speech and language development in children with velocardiofacial syndrome.

Speech-language impairment is one of the most common clinical features in velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS). This report describes the speech and language development of four children with VCFS studied longitudinally from 6 to 30 months of age and compares their performance with three groups of children: (1) normally developing children, (2) children with cleft lip and palate, and (3) children with isolated cleft palate. The data show that young children with VCFS show a receptive-expressive language impairment from the onset of language. Further, speech and expressive language development were severely delayed beyond a level predicted by their other developmental or receptive language performance. The children with VCFS showed severe limitations in speech sound inventories and early vocabulary development that far exceeded those shown by the children with cleft lip and palate and children with isolated cleft palate. This study indicates that young children with VCFS emerge from a critical speech and language learning period with severe limitations in their communicative abilities. Further studies are required to describe the later course of these early speech and language impairments and to explore the relationship to learning disabilities described for older children with VCFS. Am. J. Med. Genet. (Neuropsychiatr. Genet.) 88:714-723, 1999.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1995

Parent questionnaire for screening early language development in children with cleft palate.

This study investigated the efficacy of a parent questionnaire as a component for screening early language development of children 16 to 30 months of age with cleft lip and palate. Thirty nonsyndromic children with cleft lip and palate and 30 children without clefts received the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory: Toddler (CDI: Toddler), administered by a pediatrician. In addition, a speech-language screening was performed by a speech-language pathologist. Results of the two assessments indicated that the CDI:Toddler was a valid screener of language development when compared with a comprehensive speech-language screening. Language and speech characteristics of the subject populations are discussed. In particular, differences between the cleft and noncleft groups demonstrated evidence of delays in expressive language development in the children with cleft lip and palate.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1989

Using structured discourse as a language intervention technique with autistic children.

A structured discourse strategy, employing child echoic imitations and adult expansion, was used to teach 5 autistic children two-term semantic relations. The 5 male preschoolers in late Stage I of linguistic development were exposed systematically to two-term semantic relations in a structured dialogue with a clinician. A combined multiple baseline and AB(A) design was used to examine the relationship between the clinician expansions and the children's subsequent spontaneous imitations and spontaneous productions. The results showed that an increase in modeling and expansion was related to an increase in the children's initial spontaneous imitations of two-term relations. Further, following the increase in spontaneous imitations, spontaneous productions of the two-term relations increased and were maintained, whereas spontaneous imitations subsequently decreased.

Autistic Disorder↗
PubMed1984

Role of mothers' expansions in stimulating children's language production.

Mothers' expansions were examined for their role in structuring conversational contributions and facilitating spontaneous imitations and productions of two-term semantic relations not previously used by their children. The subjects were four 2-year-old boys in late Stage 1 of linguistic development and their mothers. The investigation consisted of two studies. Study 1, a descriptive analysis of mother-child conversation, showed a contingent relationship between mothers' expansions and their children's use of spontaneous imitations. Study 2, an experimental procedure using a multiple baseline treatment design, showed that an increase in the mothers' expansions was systematically related to an increase in the children's initial spontaneous imitations of two-term semantic relations. Results also indicated that following the increase in spontaneous imitations, spontaneous productions of the two-term relations increased and were maintained, whereas spontaneous imitations subsequently decreased.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1982

Responses to requests in the dialogues of mothers and their stage 1 children.

The development of conversation requires children to learn to relate their utterances to utterances from other speakers. This investigation examined one method in which children relate their utterances to preceding utterances in conversation, namely, response utterances to request utterances. Late Stage 1 children's responses were examined for their pragmatic and semantic relationships to five types of requests used by mothers. Conditional (child responses to mother's requests) and unconditional (child responses following mother's utterances) probabilities were generated using the lag sequential analysis. The level of significant difference between the conditional and unconditional probabilities was determined with the binomial distribution. The results indicate that the children produced contingent linguistic responses to the mothers' requests based on the pragmatic intent of the requests--specifically, those requesting semantic information, clarifying a misunderstood remark, and requesting agreement or disagreement with a proposition. Further, the children's responses to the mothers' requests for semantic information provided the appropriate semantic information requested by the mothers. The children produced contingent nonlinguistic responses to the mothers' requests for an action to be performed, whereas contingent nonlinguistic or linguistic responses following the mothers' requests for attention failed to achieve significance. These findings indicate that responses to requests are important in the development of early contingent speech and provide one means for structuring conversation with Late Stage I children.

Child Language↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Profiles of communication disorder in children with velocardiofacial syndrome: comparison to children with Down syndrome.

PURPOSE: To describe communication profiles in children with velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS) compared with children with Down syndrome. METHODS: Four children with VCFS and four children with Down syndrome underwent cognitive and speech and language assessment. RESULTS: Communication profiles of children with Down syndrome showed a flat profile, indicating all measures were similar and delayed relative to chronological age. Children with VCFS showed vocabulary, pattern of sound types, and Mean Babbling Length below cognitive and other language ages. CONCLUSION: Communication profiles of children with VCFS differed qualitatively and quantitatively from children with Down syndrome and support the hypothesis that some children with VCFS present with a profile of communication impairment that may be distinctive to the syndrome.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗