speech pathology

1. How does a baby’s brain develop before birth? How does this change after birth? What is the role of myelination and pruning for brains to become more efficient?

Before Birth:

• Brain development starts early in pregnancy, with neurons forming in the first few weeks. By the second trimester, basic brain structures like the brainstem are established. The brain grows rapidly in the third trimester, with neurons making initial connections.

After Birth:

• After birth, the brain continues to develop with synapse formation and strengthening. Brain plasticity allows the infant to respond to sensory input and learn from the environment.

Myelination & Pruning:

• Myelination: The process of coating neurons with myelin, improving the speed of communication between brain cells. This begins in the brainstem and spreads upward after birth.

• Pruning: The process where unused synapses are eliminated, refining brain function for efficiency.

2. Name some of the newborn's perceptual, sensory, and motor skills. What kinds of skills does a baby already have in the first 6 months that support later learning and interaction, particularly for language?

Perceptual/Sensory Skills:

• Newborns can hear and distinguish sounds, especially familiar voices. They have a limited but functional sense of sight, preferring high-contrast patterns.

Motor Skills:

• Reflexes like sucking, rooting, and grasping help newborns survive and interact with their environment.

Skills for Language:

• Babies can distinguish between different speech sounds (phonemes) and show preferences for speech over other sounds. They start developing the ability to detect prosody (patterns in speech).

3. What are some common reflexes & oral skills in newborns? Why are these useful and what might happen if they are not present or if they stay too long in later development?

Common Reflexes:

• Rooting Reflex: Turning head when the cheek is touched, helps with feeding.

• Sucking Reflex: Helps babies feed.

• Moro Reflex: Startle response, helps with protection.

• Grasp Reflex: Helps babies hold onto objects.

Oral Skills:

• Sucking and rooting are crucial for feeding. These reflexes promote survival and proper growth.

Issues if Absent or Delayed:

• If these reflexes are absent or persist too long, it could signal developmental issues or motor control challenges.

4. What types of perceptual skills related to speech and language are shown in infancy? Consider how the environment contributes to an infant’s growth & learning.

Perceptual Skills Related to Speech:

• Infants can distinguish between different speech sounds and show preferences for their mother’s voice and native language sounds.

• Environment's Role: Exposure to language sounds (e.g., speech rhythm, intonation) helps infants tune into their native language, supporting language development.

5. How can we test infant cognitive & perceptual skills, and why are these skills a combination of genetics/brain function and experience?

Testing Methods:

• Habituation (getting used to repeated stimuli) and looking-time paradigms (measuring how long an infant looks at different stimuli) are commonly used to test cognitive abilities.

Genetics vs. Experience:

• Genetics provide the brain’s basic structure, while experience shapes how that structure is used, especially during sensitive periods of development.

6. Why do changes in brain plasticity explain sensitive periods of brain development?

Brain Plasticity & Sensitive Periods:

• Plasticity refers to the brain’s ability to reorganize itself, especially in early development. During sensitive periods, the brain is more adaptable to experiences, making learning easier. For example, language learning is most effective in the first few years of life.

7. How does organization and memory support infant learning from early ages?

Organization & Memory:

• As infants experience and explore, their brain organizes these experiences into mental structures or schemas. Early memory systems support future learning by helping infants recognize patterns and categorize information.

8. How does experience with a home language change an infant’s sound processing? What is prosody and phonotactic probability and how is this built from experience? How do parents make use of multimodal input to the child to enhance learning?

Sound Processing & Home Language:

• Infants’ sound processing becomes more attuned to the sounds of their native language after exposure.

• Prosody: The rhythm and melody of speech that helps infants recognize emotions and speech patterns.

• Phonotactic Probability: Refers to the likelihood of certain sound combinations occurring in a language, which infants learn to recognize.

• Parental Input: Parents provide multimodal input (e.g., speech, gestures, facial expressions) to enhance learning, helping babies make connections between sounds and meanings.

9. What is canonical babbling and when does it begin? What sounds can babies make before this? Compare and contrast the infant speech terms in your class handout with examples. Which phonemes are acquired the earliest and why?

Canonical Babbling:

• Begins around 6-10 months and consists of repeating consonant-vowel combinations like "ba-ba."

Pre-Babbling Sounds:

• Before canonical babbling, infants make cooing sounds like "oo" and "ah."

Early Phoneme Acquisition:

• Phonemes like /m/, /b/, and /p/ are typically acquired early because they involve easier movements of the mouth and lips.

10. How does the infant make use of attention, processing speed, and memory to build representations? Why are these predictive of later language skills?

Cognitive Skills & Language Development:

• Infants use attention to focus on stimuli, processing speed to recognize and respond to patterns, and memory to build representations of objects, people, and events. These cognitive skills form the foundation for later language development because they help babies organize and store language-related experiences.

11. What is representational competence and how does it relate to language? Why does the number of words actively experienced predict language outcomes?

Representational Competence:

• The ability to use symbols (e.g., gestures or words) to represent objects or events. It is critical for language development as it underlies the ability to understand and use words meaningfully.

Word Experience & Language Outcomes:

• The more words an infant is exposed to, the more likely they are to develop strong language skills. Active engagement with language (e.g., through listening, imitation, and interaction) enhances language development.

12. At what approximate ages are these key language milestones typically reached: First word, language explosion, two-word combinations, adult-like language structure/grammar, reading/writing? Why are these such key milestones? What types of skills contribute to when and why the language explosion starts?

Key Milestones:

• First Word: Around 12 months. The beginning of symbolic communication.

• Language Explosion: Around 18-24 months, where vocabulary rapidly expands.

• Two-Word Combinations: Around 2 years.

• Adult-like Grammar: Around 3-4 years.

• Reading/Writing: Starts around 4-6 years.

Skills Contributing to the Language Explosion:

• The language explosion is triggered by increased cognitive abilities, exposure to language, and the ability to combine learned words into more complex structures.

13. Describe some key “benchmark” skills at each of the 4 periods of child development in Appendix C (i.e. Examiner, experimenter, explorer, exhibitor) for each of the 4 domains. Be able to create a logical sequence of key skills within a given domain.

Benchmark Skills:

• Examiner: Sensory exploration and basic motor skills.

• Experimenter: Problem-solving, object exploration.

• Explorer: Social interaction, early communication.

• Exhibitor: Symbolic play, verbal communication.

These periods outline developmental growth in cognitive, social, motor, and communication domains.

14. Compare & contrast skills within social, motor, cognitive and communicative domains. Give examples of each, and how skills in each domain get gradually harder.

Skills in Domains:

• Social: Eye contact, social smiles, and simple interactions evolve into complex conversations.

• Motor: Reflexes lead to voluntary motor control and complex movements.

• Cognitive: From basic sensory input to problem-solving and abstract thinking.

• Communication: From non-verbal cues to full sentence use and complex grammar.

15. Describe imitation, object permanence, causality, means-end, and symbolization and give examples of easier and harder skills for each. How do these skills relate to language and communication acquisition?

Skills:

• Imitation: Copying others' actions (e.g., waving when someone waves).

• Object Permanence: Understanding that objects exist even when out of sight (e.g., looking for a hidden toy).

• Causality: Understanding cause-and-effect (e.g., pressing a button makes a sound).

• Means-End: Using an object to achieve a goal (e.g., pulling a string to get a toy).

• Symbolization: Using symbols to represent objects (e.g., using a stick as a pretend sword).

These skills are foundational for language acquisition because they enable infants to understand the world and represent it using words and gestures.

16. What does Piaget assume to be a fundamental cognitive prerequisite for language acquisition? Why do we now question this as an absolute prerequisite?

Piaget’s Assumption:

• Piaget believed that object permanence (the understanding that objects continue to exist even when not visible) was a fundamental cognitive prerequisite for language acquisition.

Current Understanding:

• While object permanence is important, we now recognize that infants can learn language before fully understanding object permanence, suggesting that other cognitive factors also contribute to language development.

17. What are Piaget's four overall stages of cognitive development? Why are conservation, egocentrism, concrete vs. formal reasoning important to understand?

Piaget’s Stages:

1. Sensorimotor (0-2 years)

2. Preoperational (2-7 years)

3. Concrete Operational (7-11 years)

4. Formal Operational (12+ years)

Important Concepts:

• Conservation: Understanding that quantity doesn’t change even if its appearance does.

• Egocentrism: Difficulty in seeing things from others’ perspectives.

• Concrete vs. Formal Reasoning: The ability to think logically about tangible objects (concrete) versus abstract concepts (formal).

These concepts are important to understand how children’s thinking evolves and how they learn language and problem-solving skills.

1. What kinds of social preferences and behaviors do infants have in the first months? How do the roles of the parent and infant differ in this interaction in the early ages?

Social Preferences & Behaviors:

• In the first few months, infants show preferences for human faces, especially their mother's face. They exhibit reflexive social behaviors like crying to signal needs and responding to familiar voices.

Roles of Parent and Infant:

• Parent: The parent is the active responder, interpreting the infant's cues (e.g., crying, cooing) and providing comfort or stimuli.

• Infant: The infant is the initiator, expressing needs and preferences, although their communication is limited to non-verbal cues.

2. How does gaze and social smiling develop and what role does it have in interaction? How do infants learn that their sounds & behaviors have social purposes?

Gaze & Social Smiling:

• Gaze: Infants develop the ability to focus and engage visually around 1-2 months. They use gaze to connect with others and track objects or faces.

• Social Smiling: At around 6-8 weeks, infants begin to smile in response to social interaction, signaling recognition and engagement.

Learning Social Purposes:

• Infants learn the social purpose of their behaviors through repeated interactions with caregivers, who respond to infant sounds and behaviors with attention, affection, and reinforcement.

3. When do infants start to deliberately imitate adult actions and follow adult point and gaze signals? How does this relate to the timing of infant gesture development?

Deliberate Imitation:

• Infants begin to intentionally imitate adult actions around 6-9 months, such as copying facial expressions or simple hand movements.

Following Adult Signals:

• Around 9-12 months, infants follow adult pointing and gaze as a way of participating in shared attention.

Relation to Gesture Development:

• Imitation and following adult signals are linked to the development of early gestures, such as pointing or waving, as these behaviors allow for more complex forms of communication.

4. Distinguish between partner-perceived communication (pre-intentional), intentional communication, and symbolic communication and give examples of communicative behaviors that would be typical of each stage. How do we know that behaviors are intentional communication and not just intentional behaviors (class handout)?

Pre-intentional (Partner-perceived) Communication:

• Behaviors are not intended to communicate, but caregivers interpret them as communicative (e.g., reflexive crying for attention).

Intentional Communication:

• Infants begin to communicate intentionally, such as reaching for an object or making eye contact to get a caregiver’s attention, though they may not yet use words.

Symbolic Communication:

• Infants use symbols (e.g., words, gestures) to represent objects or actions (e.g., saying "bottle" for the drink or pointing to indicate interest).

Intentional vs. Intentional Behaviors:

• Intentional communication involves an infant directing their behavior to another person to convey a specific message, while intentional behaviors are actions aimed at achieving a goal but not necessarily intended for communication.

5. Give examples of protodeclaratives and protoimperatives, and relate these to behavior regulation, joint attention, deictic gestures and social interaction gestures. How do these behaviors relate to more conventional linguistic forms of these behaviors?

Protodeclaratives:

• Behaviors that involve pointing or showing to draw attention to an object or event (e.g., pointing at a toy to share interest with a caregiver). These relate to later declarative sentences like "Look!"

Protoimperatives:

• Behaviors that involve requesting or demanding something (e.g., reaching for an object). These lead to later imperative sentences like "Give me that."

Relation to Linguistic Forms:

• Both types of gestures form the foundation for later verbal communication, such as making requests (imperatives) and sharing information or directing attention (declaratives).

6. What is the role of phonetically consistent forms in late infancy?

Phonetically Consistent Forms:

• These are word-like sounds or early "words" used consistently by the infant to refer to specific objects or people (e.g., saying "ba-ba" for bottle). They help infants communicate with familiar adults before full words are developed.

7. Identify key social/behavioral milestones from 0-6 mo. and 6-12 months.

0-6 Months:

• Social/Behavioral Milestones: Social smiling, responding to voices, cooing, and beginning to engage in joint attention.

6-12 Months:

• Social/Behavioral Milestones: Imitating simple actions, following adult gaze and pointing, using gestures to communicate, and beginning to understand simple commands.

8. What types of actions do parents produce to prompt infant participation? Describe protoconversations and be able to give examples of how parents as well as infants can start and respond to protoconversations before the infants have words.

Actions to Prompt Participation:

• Parents use actions like exaggerated facial expressions, varied intonation, and gestures to engage infants. They also prompt participation through eye contact and turn-taking.

Protoconversations:

• These are early interactions where both the parent and infant take turns in vocalizations and gestures, even before the infant can speak. For example, a parent coos, and the infant responds with a gurgle.

9. Describe characteristics of infant directed speech (IDS) and other related facial and gaze behaviors. What are purposes of IDS - how does this help infants process and respond to parent language input? How can IDS be similar/different across cultures?

Characteristics of IDS:

• IDS is marked by higher pitch, exaggerated intonation, slower rate, and clearer enunciation. Facial expressions are more animated, and eye contact is frequent.

Purpose of IDS:

• IDS helps infants differentiate speech from other sounds and makes language more engaging, supporting word learning.

Cultural Variations:

• While IDS is common across cultures, its style and frequency may differ. For instance, some cultures may use more or less exaggerated expressions or change the tone of IDS based on the social context.

10. What cultural and individual variations in family patterns may have an impact on early language interaction? (See information from several places in chapters 5 & 6)

Cultural Variations:

• Cultural differences in child-rearing practices, such as whether parents prioritize direct verbal interaction or non-verbal communication, can affect early language development. For example, cultures with a more communal parenting style may have different interaction patterns compared to more individualistic cultures.

11. Compare/contrast joint attention, joint action, joint reference, and turn taking and GIVE EXAMPLES. Explain how these routine interactions become more complex over the first 12 months (e.g. Table 5.6). What routines are possible in the first 6 mo.?

Joint Attention:

• Infants and caregivers focus on the same object or event (e.g., looking at a toy together). This develops into shared attention for communication purposes.

Joint Action:

• Shared actions that involve both the infant and caregiver, such as playing peek-a-boo, where both contribute to the activity.

Joint Reference:

• The ability to focus on the same thing at the same time, usually referring to objects in conversation or pointing.

Turn-taking:

• A back-and-forth exchange of vocalizations or gestures, even before words. For example, the infant coos, and the parent responds.

Routines:

• Early routines, like simple "turn-taking" during games like peek-a-boo, lay the foundation for more complex interactions as the infant grows.

12. What are the purposes of mutual/dyadic gaze vs. gaze coupling in infancy?

Mutual/Dyadic Gaze:

• This occurs when both the infant and caregiver look at each other. It helps establish connection and emotional bonding.

Gaze Coupling:

• This happens when the infant alternates gaze between the caregiver and an object or event, which helps establish shared attention and is an early form of communication.

1. Define and give examples of: modeling, prompting, extensions, expansions, and other reformulations/recasts. Which of these are adult-initiated vs. respondent to child behaviors?

Modeling (Adult-Initiated)

• The caregiver provides an example of correct language use.

• Example: A parent says, “Look at the big dog!” to demonstrate sentence structure and vocabulary.

Prompting (Adult-Initiated)

• A technique used to encourage the child to respond.

• Example: A parent asks, “What’s this?” while pointing to an object.

Expansions (Respondent to Child)

• The adult repeats what the child says but adds grammatical completeness.

• Example: Child: “Dog run.” Parent: “Yes, the dog is running.”

Extensions (Respondent to Child)

• The adult adds new information to the child’s utterance.

• Example: Child: “Car fast.” Parent: “Yes, the red car is driving very fast.”

Reformulations/Recasts (Respondent to Child)

• The adult rewords a child's sentence into a correct structure while maintaining meaning.

• Example: Child: “Him goed outside.” Parent: “Oh, he went outside?”

2. What are some parenting differences between mothers and fathers, or between parents of deaf and hearing children?

• Mothers vs. Fathers:
  
  

  • Mothers tend to use more infant-directed speech (IDS), longer sentences, and more questions.

  • Fathers often use shorter, more directive speech and introduce more new vocabulary.

• Parents of Deaf vs. Hearing Children:
  
  

  • Parents of deaf children who use sign language adjust their communication style similarly to IDS, exaggerating gestures and facial expressions.

  • Hearing parents of deaf children who do not sign may struggle with early language input, leading to language delays.

3. How do parents of preschoolers encourage appropriate language with their feedback responses, and what features of language do they correct the most?

• Types of Feedback:

  • Expansions, recasts, and corrections help shape correct grammar and meaning.

  • Parents rarely correct pronunciation but focus on word choice, sentence structure, and meaning.

  • If a child says, “I goed to the store,” a parent might respond with “Oh, you went to the store?”

4. Give examples of different types of turnabouts and related parent prompting responses to children, including contingent queries.

Turnabouts keep a conversation going by prompting a child to respond.

• Yes-No Turnabout:
  
  

  • Parent: “Did you have fun at school today?”

  • Child: “Yes.”

• Wh- Question Turnabout:
  
  

  • Parent: “What did you do?”

  • Child: “Played.”

• Fill-in Turnabout:
  
  

  • Parent: “We went to the…?”

  • Child: “Park!”

• Contingent Query:
  
  

  • A parent asks for clarification if they don’t understand.

  • Example: Child: “He go there.” Parent: “Who went there?”

5. Why is play important for language development and why can it be an easier context for children to practice language? Be able to relate language and other cognitive skills that you might see at different developmental play strategies (see table 6.7).

• Play and Language:
  
  

  • Play is a low-pressure environment where children practice using language without fear of correction.

  • Play promotes turn-taking, vocabulary growth, and social interaction.

• Cognitive & Language Skills in Play:
  
  

  • Object manipulation (12-18 months) → Naming objects (“ball, car”)

  • Pretend play (18-24 months) → Simple role-playing (“Baby eat”)

  • Complex pretend play (2-3 years) → Full sentences, storytelling (“The doll is sleeping”)

6. Compare and contrast the following kinds of play, and consider the differences in the types of language likely to occur in each of them: solitary play, parallel play, associative play, cooperative play.

• Solitary Play:
  
  

  • Child plays alone with minimal language use.

  • Example: A toddler stacking blocks and talking to themselves.

• Parallel Play:
  
  

  • Two children play side by side but don’t interact much.

  • Example: Two toddlers playing with toy cars next to each other but not talking.

• Associative Play:
  
  

  • Children begin interacting but still play separately.

  • Example: Sharing toys but not working toward a common goal.

• Cooperative Play:
  
  

  • Fully interactive play with shared goals and rules.

  • Example: A group of kids role-playing “house,” with assigned family roles.

7. How are play and language related in the early years? How many combined play actions would you expect from a child using one-word utterances? Two-word utterances?

• Play and language develop together. The complexity of play reflects cognitive and linguistic growth.

• One-word stage (~12 months): Simple play actions, such as banging blocks together.

• Two-word stage (~18-24 months): More coordinated play, such as feeding a doll and saying “baby eat.”

8. What factors can influence individual differences in rate of language development? (class) Why is socioeconomic status not necessarily a root cause of difference?

• Factors Influencing Language Development:
  
  

  • Genetics, parental input, exposure to language, cognitive abilities, and social interactions.

• Socioeconomic Status (SES):
  
  

  • While SES correlates with language differences, it is not the cause. The quality and quantity of language exposure matter more than income level.

9. What might parents from other cultures do differently in raising children, and how can cultural values influence child-rearing principles? Think about how that might affect children's language from bilingual/bicultural homes. Give some examples.

• Cultural Differences in Child Rearing:
  
  

  • Some cultures encourage independence in communication, while others prioritize group interactions.

  • Some parents talk directly to infants, while others expect children to learn by listening to adults.

• Bilingual/Bicultural Homes:
  
  

  • Children may develop code-switching (switching between languages) based on context.

  • Example: A Spanish-English bilingual child might say, “Quiero juice” (I want juice).

10. How does media input affect language development of children, particularly in affecting the amount of child-directed speech they hear?

• Negative Effects:
  
  

  • Excessive screen time can reduce face-to-face interaction, which is crucial for early language development.

  • Studies show that TV does not teach language as effectively as live interaction.

• Positive Effects (if interactive):
  
  

  • Video calls or interactive educational programs can enhance vocabulary if parents engage with the child.

  • Example: A child watching a show with a caregiver who asks, “What color is that?”