Oral language skills form the foundation for the development of literacy and are essential to social, academic, and economic success across the lifespan. Language processing forms the link between the realm of auditory experience (whistles, pops, buzzes and hisses) and the world of discrete symbols of communication (speech sounds, syllables, words and sentences). Many aspects of language ability are correlated with reading ability. In particular, the knowledge that spoken words can be segmented into abstract units that represent individual speech sounds (i.e., phonological awareness) is the best known predictor of the rate of reading acquisition.
The goals of Theme III are 1) to expand knowledge of the relationships between children's skills in the areas of auditory processing, oral language, and literacy; 2) to identify ways to facilitate the development of oral language skills; and 3) to find ways to identify, and intervene effectively with, children who are at risk for delayed or disordered language development.
Theme Leader: Patricia Cleave
Theme Leader: Megan Hodge
Project Abstracts
Preventing Literacy Deficits in Children with Articulation/Phonological Disorders
Efficacy Research with Down Syndrome: Four Interventions Designed to Impact Reading Ability
Language Stimulation and Intervention in the Home and in Day Care Centres
Impact of Early Onset Otitis Media on Speech Perception and Speech Production Skills During Infancy
Acoustic Properties of Children's Voices and Their Impact on Communication
Language Development in Preschool-aged French-speaking Children
LAST MODIFIED: February 06 2004 13:25:35