A Sentence Repetition Task in Spanish language: a valid tool for early language assessment.

PURPOSE: Sentence Repetition Tasks (SRT) have been widely used to assess early language abilities in different languages and populations. In addition, it has been proved that performance in SRTs serve as a clinical marker to detect language difficulties. However, most of the research has been conducted in English language and with children older than 4 years of age. Despite this scarcity, [1] developed a SRT for monolingual Spanish-speaking children between 2 and 4 years of age. Initial findings showed that it is a useful tool for discriminating children with different linguistic levels. In addition, the task showed concurrent validity with a nonword repetition task. In the current study we want to explore the predictive validity of this task. METHODS: We conducted a longitudinal study including 20 monolingual Spanish-Speaking children who were tested twice, at 33 months of age and six months later. In addition to the SRT, participants completed a nonword repetition task [2] and the Spanish version of the Merrill-Palmer-R Developmental Scales [3]. RESULTS: showed strong and positive relationships between the different tests when first assessed. We also found strong and predictive relationships between the SRT at time 1 and SRT and the Merrill-Palmer-R at time 2. CONCLUSION: We conclude that the SRT developed [1] is a valid tool for examining early language abilities and its changes over time.

Breastfeeding: How is it related to food insecurity and other factors among low-income mothers?

A cross-sectional study was conducted to (1) examine breastfeeding initiation and continuation rates, and; (2) investigate association between food insecurity and breastfeeding status, among low-income mothers. Mothers of infants two-months or younger were recruited from a local pediatric clinic serving primarily low-income families. Upon giving consent, mothers were interviewed in-person or over the phone in either English or Spanish. Of the total 92 mothers interviewed, 90% initiated breastfeeding, but only 24% were doing exclusive breastfeeding at 2 months of infant's age. After controlling for socio-demographics, it was found that food-insecure mothers were less likely to continue with breastfeeding (ß = -1.51, p = .024). Future research is warranted to understand pathways through which food insecurity affects breastfeeding and how this disparity can be prevented to ensure a safe and secure start for infants worldwide.

A Sentence Repetition Task in Spanish language: a valid tool for early language assessment

ABSTRACT Purpose Sentence Repetition Tasks (SRT) have been widely used to assess early language abilities in different languages and populations. In addition, it has been proved that performance in SRTs serve as a clinical marker to detect language difficulties. However, most of the research has been conducted in English language and with children older than 4 years of age. Despite this scarcity, [1] developed a SRT for monolingual Spanish-speaking children between 2 and 4 years of age. Initial findings showed that it is a useful tool for discriminating children with different linguistic levels. In addition, the task showed concurrent validity with a nonword repetition task. In the current study we want to explore the predictive validity of this task. Methods We conducted a longitudinal study including 20 monolingual Spanish-Speaking children who were tested twice, at 33 months of age and six months later. In addition to the SRT, participants completed a nonword repetition task [2] and the Spanish version of the Merrill-Palmer-R Developmental Scales [3]. Results showed strong and positive relationships between the different tests when first assessed. We also found strong and predictive relationships between the SRT at time 1 and SRT and the Merrill-Palmer-R at time 2. Conclusion We conclude that the SRT developed [1] is a valid tool for examining early language abilities and its changes over time.

Can individuals with Down syndrome improve their grammar?

Morphosyntax constitutes one of the most complex areas of language. It takes into account the structure of the word and that of the sentence, and its development allows one to establish adequately agreements both within the nominal phrase and in the rest of the sentence. Morphosyntax is particularly impaired in individuals with Down syndrome. To improve their morphosyntactic skills, an intervention programme was designed and carried out with a total of 20 Spanish-speaking children with Down syndrome; half of them composed the experimental group and the other half the control group. The results obtained show that the children in the experimental group improved more than the children in the control group in the areas of syntax, morphology and semantics, but not in pragmatics, where both groups improved to the same extent. Overall, the results obtained support the effectiveness of the programme implemented as a clinical and educational tool for intervention in individuals with Down syndrome.

The effects of base frequency and affix productivity in Spanish.

In this study we present the results of a lexical decision experiment where the variables manipulated are Base frequency and Affix productivity. The results show significant main effects for both variables for the first time in Spanish, as well as for the interaction between the two. However, pair analysis shows that the Base Frequency effect is not significant when the Affix Productivity is low, while the Affix Productivity effect is produced regardless of the Base Frequency. The results for the main effects show a morphological representation in the lexicon, whilst the results of pair comparisons suggest a different representation of stems and affixes in the lexicon. These results support the idea that complex words incorporating unproductive affixes are processed differently from words incorporating productive affixes. The results are finally explained in terms of a hierarchical model of morphological processing.

The effects of base frequency and affix productivity in Spanish

In this study we present the results of a lexical decision experiment where the variables manipulated are Base frequency and Affix productivity. The results show significant main effects for both variables for the first time in Spanish, as well as for the interaction between the two. However, pair analysis shows that the Base Frequency effect is not significant when the Affix Productivity is low, while the Affix Productivity effect is produced regardless of the Base Frequency. The results for the main effects show a morphological representation in the lexicon, whilst the results of pair comparisons suggest a different representation of stems and affixes in the lexicon. These results support the idea that complex words incorporating unproductive affixes are processed differently from words incorporating productive affixes. The results are finally explained in terms of a hierarchical model of morphological processing (AU)

En este estudio presentamos los resultados de un experimento de decisión léxica en el que se manipulan las variables de Frecuencia de base y de Productividad de los afijos. Los resultados muestran por primera vez en español efectos principales significativos de ambas variables, así como de la interacción de las mismas. Sin embargo, un análisis por pares demuestra que el efecto de Frecuencia de Base no es significativo cuando la productividad de los afijos es baja, sino tan solo cuando la productividad de los afijos es alta. El efecto de Productividad de los afijos se produce, no obstante, de forma independiente a la Frecuencia de la base. Los resultados de los efectos principales demuestran una representación morfológica en el léxico, mientras que los resultados de las comparaciones por pares sugieren una distinta representación en el léxico de lexemas y morfemas. Estos resultados avalan el hecho de que las palabras complejas compuestas de afijos poco productivos sean procesadas de distinta manera que las palabras compuestas por afijos productivos. Los resultados son finalmente explicados a la luz de un modelo jerárquico de procesamiento morfológico (AU)