The purpose of this research is to develop a measure of language comprehension for 12 to 20 month old infants using the visual preference technique and to evaluate the relation between this measure and parental report. The relation between experimental and parental report in language production is generally strong but a similarly strong relation has not been obtained between experimental and parental report measures of comprehension. The proposed measure has implications for clinical language assessment. Early assessment of language delay is crucial to undertaking appropriate intervention yet, often, language delay is not identified until deficits in production are observed, as late as three to four years of age. A comprehensive, experimental measure of receptive vocabulary that spans the transition from receptive to expressive language across the first 24-30 months of life does not exist. The present research will develop this measure, based on a sensitive visual preference technique, and will make the following contributions to the literature: 1. The inclusion of vocabulary items based on frequency data from the CDI. 2. The assessment of the convergent validity of parental report and visual preference measures of comprehension. 3. The longitudinal assessment of the predictive validity of the measures.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Small Research Grants (R03)
Project #
1R03HD039751-01A1
Application #
6436951
Study Section
Pediatrics Subcommittee (CHHD)
Program Officer
Mccardle, Peggy D
Project Start
2002-03-01
Project End
2004-02-28
Budget Start
2002-03-01
Budget End
2003-02-28
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2002
Total Cost
$75,500
Indirect Cost
Name
San Diego State University
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
073371346
City
San Diego
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
92182
Friend, Margaret; Schmitt, Sara A; Simpson, Adrianne M (2012) Evaluating the predictive validity of the computerized comprehension task: comprehension predicts production. Dev Psychol 48:136-48
Schmitt, Sara A; Simpson, Adrianne M; Friend, Margaret (2011) A Longitudinal Assessment of the Home Literacy Environment and Early Language. Infant Child Dev 20:409-431