Academic literature on the topic 'MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories. Toddler'

The MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories (CDIs) are a pair of widely used parent-report instruments for assessing communicative skills in infants and toddlers. This report describes short-form versions of the CDIs and their development, summarizes newly available normative data and psychometric properties of the instruments, and discusses research and clinical applications. The infant short form (Level I, for 8- to 18-month-olds) contains an 89-word checklist for vocabulary comprehension and production. The two parallel versions of the toddler short form (Level II, Forms A and B, for 16- to 30-month-olds) each contain a 100-word vocabulary production checklist and a question about word combinations. The forms may also be useful with developmentally delayed children beyond the specified age ranges. Copies of the short forms and the normative tables appear in the appendices.

In this article, the authors examined the genetic and environmental factors influencing expressive language development in a sample of 386 toddler twin pairs participating in the Wisconsin Twin Project. Expressive language was assessed using 2 measures from the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories-Short Form: Total Vocabulary and Two-Word Combination Use (L. Fenson et al., 2000). A sex-limitation structural equation model estimated the contribution of genetics, shared environment, and nonshared environment to individual variation. For vocabulary, heritability was higher for boys than for girls (20% vs. 8%). For word combination use, heritability was higher for girls (28% vs. 10%). However, the majority of individual variation in both boys and girls could be attributed to shared environment (54%–78%). KEY WORDS: twins, language, toddlerhood, gender differences

This study examined the concurrent validity of the Language Development Survey (LDS), a 310-word parent report screening tool for language delay in toddlers, by testing its associations with the MacArthur—Bates Communicative Development Inventories: Words and Sentences (CDI:WS), a 680-word parent report instrument. Participants were 239 toddlers 23–25 months of age. The correlation between total vocabulary score on the 2 instruments was .95, and correlations across comparable semantic categories ranged from .84 to .94. The correlation between the LDS and the CDI:WS for mean length of phrases calculated on 3 examples of the child’s longest and best phrases was .90. Both instruments demonstrated that parents reported higher vocabulary and mean phrase length scores for girls. The study indicates that information obtained from the LDS about rank ordering of toddlers in terms of their reported vocabulary and mean length of phrases is equivalent to that obtained from the longer CDI:WS.

ABSTRACTA large body of research shows that vocabulary does not develop independently of grammar, representing a better predictor of the grammatical complexity of toddlers' utterances than age. This study examines for the first time the characteristics of vocabulary and grammar development in Slovenian-speaking infants and toddlers using the Slovenian adaptation of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDI). The sample included 512 Slovenian-speaking infants and toddlers aged 0 ; 8 to 2 ; 6. The findings suggest that between age 0 ; 8 and 2 ; 6 the development of vocabulary is best described using a quadratic function. The results also show that nouns predominate in the vocabularies of infants and toddlers of various ages; as they age and with the increasing size of their vocabularies, the share of interjections decreases and the share of verbs and adjectives increases. The size of vocabulary was also found to be related to the grammatical structure of toddlers' utterances.

Abstract Objectives The objective of this study was to investigate associations between key nutrients identified as critical for central nervous system development and function, but which are limited in the diet of toddlers, and neurodevelopmental outcomes in toddler-aged children. We hypothesize that higher concentrations of key nutrients are associated with higher neurocognitive development scores. Methods Cross-sectional baseline data were drawn from 18-month old toddlers residing in Vancouver, Canada, who participated in a partially randomized controlled trial investigating associations between feeding patterns, nutrient biomarker status, and neurodevelopmental outcomes. Cognitive and behavioural outcomes considered for this analysis included: The Bayley Scale of Infant Development (3rd Ed; BSID-III); Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL); Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire Very Short Form (ECBQ); and the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (Words & Gestures and Words & Sentences; MCDI-WG & WS). Blood biomarkers of nutrients of interest included plasma concentration of ferritin, lutein, choline, vitamins A and D, and betaine, as well as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) measured as a percentage of total fatty acids in red blood cells. Results Sixty-nine toddlers (34 boys, 35 girls) with preliminary data available had a mean gestational age at birth and birthweight of 39.5 weeks and 3.48 kg, respectively. Preliminary (unadjusted) findings show higher levels of DHA corresponded with lower scores of effortful control on the ECBQ (rho = –.35, P < .01) while higher levels of lutein were associated with higher scores on the MCDI-WG (rho = .33, P < .05). Conclusions These preliminary findings may reflect an important association between nutritional status and optimal brain function at 18-months of age, a period of life which is particularly sensitive to nutrient inadequacies. These findings require confirmation in a larger sample size and causality testing of the relationship in a dose-dependency trial. Funding Sources This study is supported by The University of British Columbia, and the British Columbia Children's Hospital Research Institute, Canada, and is funded by Société des Produits Nestlé S.A.

This study explored participation- and impairment-based outcomes for 24 late-to-talk toddlers ( M age = 20.46 months, SD = 3.09, 62.5% male) whose parents participated in Target Word™, The Hanen Program® for Parents of Children who are Late Talkers in community clinics across Ontario. Parents completed the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventories (MBCDI), The Focus on the Outcomes of Communication Under Six (FOCUS-34), and a speech sound checklist: (1) prior to starting the program, (2) at the end of direct intervention, and (3) after a consolidation period. Speech-language pathologists classified children’s communicative function using the Communication Function Classification System (CFCS) at all assessment points and provided FOCUS scores from an initial assessment. No change was recorded in CFCS levels between initial assessment and start of the program, but many children moved to a more advanced level by the end of the program ( n = 12) or consolidation period ( n = 19). Significant changes in children’s communicative participation skills (FOCUS) were found between initial assessment and the start of the program, and during the 12-week direct intervention (75% made clinically meaningful change). Significant growth in expressive vocabulary and consonant inventory occurred during direct intervention. Correlations between change on impairment- and participation-based measures were not significant. The Target Word program appears to improve communicative function for late-to-talk preschoolers. Children also made gains in communicative participation skills, expressive vocabulary, and consonant inventory during the program, but further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of Target Word in these areas.

Background and aims Young children with language delays or other factors that heighten risk for autism spectrum disorder often show reduced gesture use. In particular, deictic gestures such as pointing and showing are reported to be deficient in young children with autism spectrum disorder, and their use has been found to predict expressive vocabulary development. The first aim of this study was to examine the production of two types of gestures (deictic and conventional) for two communicative functions (behavior regulation and joint attention) across two observational contexts in a sample of 18-month-old toddlers with significant language delays compared to typical controls. The second aim was to examine if and how gesture use (type and communicative function) at 18 months is associated with later receptive and expressive language. Methods Toddlers with significant language delays ( n = 30) or typical development ( n = 62) were drawn from longitudinal studies of early language delay as a risk factor for autism spectrum disorder. Toddlers identified with early language delay were classified based on a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder ( n = 12) or non-autism spectrum disorder ( n = 18) after an evaluation at 36 months. Gestures were coded from video recordings of the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile–Behavior Sample and a naturalistic parent–child interaction obtained at 18 months. Language outcomes included receptive and expressive age equivalents from the Mullen Scales of Early Learning and the number of words produced on the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventories. Results At 18 months, toddlers with language delay showed reduced deictic and conventional gesture use in both the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile–Behavior Sample and parent–child interaction compared to toddlers with typical development. Within the language delay group, toddlers with an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis at outcome also produced significantly fewer deictic gestures than those without an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis across both communicative functions and observational contexts. While all groups of toddlers gestured more in the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile–Behavior Sample, the mean difference in gesture use between the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile–Behavior Sample and parent–child interaction was significantly larger in toddlers with typical development than language delay for deictic gestures, as compared to the difference between the two contexts for conventional gestures. In the combined sample, a significant association was found between deictic gestures used in the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile–Behavior Sample and change in the number of words produced from 18 to 36 months, accounting for significant demographic and developmental confounders. Conclusions Findings show that early language delay is associated with reduced deictic and conventional gestures across observational contexts. Importantly, deictic gesture use, but not conventional, was associated with the development of expressive language in toddlers with and without language delays. Implications Deictic gestures play an important role in the development of expressive language in toddlers, including those with language delays. Assessment of young children with language delays should include evaluation of types of gestures used and communicative function of gestures, with assessments utilizing communicative temptations yielding higher rates of gesture production. Directly targeting both gesture type and function in early intervention may be important in facilitating the development of language.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine information about two-word combinations of 18-36-month-old toddlers and identify predictors of the two-word combinations in 18-36-month-old late talkers, and age-matched, and expressive vocabulary-matched typically developing toddlers.Methods: A total of 1,051 toddlers participated in this study, including 25-36-month-old late-talkers (LT) (N= 43), typically developing age-matched (AM) toddlers (N = 847), and typically developing expressive vocabulary-matched (VM) toddlers aged 18-24 months (N= 161). The study examines the data collected from Korean MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (K M-B CDI; Pae & Kwak, 2011). The dataset was obtained through the Wordbank website (wordbank.stanford.edu).Results: There were significant differences in the two-word combination utterance for each group. The most frequently represented group of the two-word combinations was the AM group with 12.6%, followed by the LT group with 4.7%, and the VM group with 0.6%. The factor significantly correlated with the two-word combinations was consistently found to be receptive vocabulary in all groups. In addition, the receptive vocabulary factor showed significant explanatory power for the two-word combinations only in the AM group.Conclusion: The LT group showed more two-word combinations yields than the younger VM group, suggesting that the age effect cannot be ignored for two-word combinations. Regarding the production of word classes, the percentage of noun production was the highest out of all the word classes, however the LT group’s production was significantly lower than the AM groups. In addition, the LT group lacked the proportion of adjectives compared with the VM group, which suggests that adjectives may be particularly difficult as they are used for describing abstract properties.

Purpose To extend our knowledge about factors influencing early vocabulary development for infants with cochlear implants (CIs), we investigated the impact of positive parenting behaviors (PPBs) from the Indicator of Parent Child Interaction, used in parent–child interactions during everyday activities. Method Implantation age for the sample recruited from CI clinics in Australia ranged from 6 to 10 months for 22 children and from 11 to 21 months for 11 children. Three observation sessions at three monthly intervals were coded for use of PPBs. Children's productive vocabulary, based on the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventories parent checklist, was collected approximately 6 and 9 months later. A repeated-measures negative binomial generalized linear mixed-effects model was used to investigate associations between the total PPBs per session, covariates (maternal education, gender, and time since implant), and the number of words produced. In follow-up analyses with the PPBs entered separately, variable selection was used to retain only those deemed informative, based on the Akaike information criterion. Results As early as Session 1, associations between the PPBs and vocabulary were identified. Time since implant had a positive effect. For different sessions, specific PPBs (descriptive language, follows child's lead, and acceptance and warmth) were identified as important contributors. Conclusions Complementing previous findings, valuable information was identified about parenting behaviors that are likely to impact positively the early vocabulary of infants with CIs. Of importance is providing parents with information and training in skills that have the potential to help create optimal contexts for promoting their child's early vocabulary development.

The question as to whether there is a threshold value for input below which bilinguals do not achieve a monolingual-like development often arises. Although input does not seem to be determining for learning syntax, according to Juan-Garau and Pérez-Vidal, the amount of vocabulary acquired is proportional to the time of exposure. This article contributes to the current discussion with data from very young children exposed either to monolingual input of Basque or to different degrees of bilingual input of Basque and Spanish/French. The corpus for the present investigation has been extracted from the adaptation to Basque of the MacArthur–Bates communicative development inventories 1 and 2 questionnaires based on parental reports. These questionnaires, adapted to more than 40 languages throughout the world ( www.sci.sdsu.edu/cdi ), involve monthly data collection from different children for each age interval between ages 8 and 30 months and have proved to be a powerful instrument to establish normal linguistic development and deviance at an early stage. This study finds that the development of productive vocabulary in the four input groups established follows the tendencies described by Bates et al. but at different paces corresponding to different vocabulary sizes. In other words, the ‘nominal bias’ lasts to a higher age in the lower input groups, and the lexical diversity appears earlier in the higher input groups. Furthermore, lexical verbs, not predicates, are analysed as a separate category based on the study by Barreña and Serrat, which showed a higher proportion of verbs appeared in Basque as compared to the surrounding Romance languages. This tendency towards the use of verbs is confirmed in the data collected from input groups with higher exposure to Basque.

Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 1999.
"A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, May 14, 1999." Also available in print.

Tese de Doutoramento em Ciências da Educação (especialidade em Psicologia da Educação)
Em Portugal, apesar da importância que a linguagem tem no desenvolvimento da criança e de existir um crescente interesse pela avaliação neste domínio durante a primeira infância, são ainda escassos os instrumentos que avaliam o desenvolvimento da comunicação e da linguagem em idades mais precoces (até aos 24 meses). Na presente investigação procurou-se adaptar e validar os Inventários de Desenvolvimento Comunicativo de MacArthur-Bates para o Português Europeu. Ao longo de quatro capítulos são apresentados os seguintes objetivos: i) revisão de conceitos relacionados com o desenvolvimento da linguagem oral, metodologias de avaliação e análise dos instrumentos existentes em Portugal para crianças em idade pré-escolar; ii) adaptação e validação para o Português Europeu do Inventário de Desenvolvimento Comunicativo MacArthur-Bates: Palavras e Gestos (IDC – PG), para crianças entre os 8 e os 15 meses; iii) adaptação e validação para o Português Europeu do Inventário de Desenvolvimento Comunicativo MacArthur-Bates: Palavras e Frases (IDC – PF), para crianças entre os 16 e os 30 meses; e iv) análise da relação entre o desenvolvimento dos gestos e da linguagem entre os 8 e os 15 meses. No primeiro capítulo, após uma revisão sobre os conceitos teóricos, é feita uma análise das diferentes metodologias de avaliação da linguagem e dos instrumentos existentes em Portugal, constatando-se a necessidade de desenvolver instrumentos para avaliação precoce de crianças até aos 24 meses. O primeiro estudo (capítulo 2) apresenta a adaptação e validação para o Português Europeu do IDC – PG, numa amostra de 1314 crianças, com idades compreendidas entre os 8 e os 15 meses. Os resultados indicam que a compreensão e a produção de palavras, e o uso de gestos aumentam com a idade. Apenas foi encontrado um efeito principal do sexo para o total de gestos, tendo as meninas obtido pontuações mais elevadas do que os meninos, apesar do tamanho do efeito ser pequeno. Obtiveram-se correlações positivas entre todas as subescalas, mesmo depois de controlar os efeitos da idade e do sexo. Estes resultados são discutidos em termos de sua consistência com os obtidos para outros países e línguas. O segundo estudo (capítulo 3) apresenta a adaptação e validação para o Português Europeu do IDC – PF, numa amostra de 3012 crianças, com idades compreendidas entre os 16 e os 30 meses. Os resultados indicam um aumento no desenvolvimento lexical e das cinco medidas de desenvolvimento gramatical (morfologia regular, morfologia irregular, sobregeneralizações, MLU e complexidade morfossintática) ao longo do tempo. Foi encontrado um efeito principal do sexo no desenvolvimento lexical, e em quatro subescalas de desenvolvimento gramatical (morfologia regular, morfologia irregular, sobregeneralizações e complexidade morfossintática), com as meninas a obterem resultados mais elevados do que os meninos. Obtiveram-se correlações positivas entre todas as subescalas, mesmo depois de se controlar os efeitos de idade e sexo. Estes resultados são discutidos em termos de sua consistência com os obtidos para outros países e línguas. O terceiro estudo (capítulo 4) analisa as relações entre diferentes tipos de gestos (totais, iniciais e tardios) e duas dimensões lexicais: número de palavras produzidas e compreendidas, utilizando um design longitudinal. A amostra é constituída por 48 crianças cujos pais preencheram o IDC – PG quando estas tinham 9, 12 e 15 meses de idade. Os resultados obtidos mostram que o número total de ações e gestos e o número de gestos iniciais, aos 9 e aos 12 meses, previram o número de palavras compreendidas três meses depois. O poder preditivo das ações e gestos em relação ao número de palavras produzidas apenas foi encontrado no intervalo entre os 9 e os 12 meses. A compreensão e a produção de palavras não previram ações e gestos três meses depois. Estes resultados destacam a importância do comportamento nãoverbal comunicativo no desenvolvimento da linguagem. Na conclusão são analisados os resultados obtidos e o contributo das versões adaptadas para o Português Europeu dos IDC. São ainda analisadas as limitações dos estudos realizados e apontadas direções para futuras investigações.
In Portugal, despite of the importance that language has in child´s development and the existence of an increasing interest in this evaluation domain during the first infancy, still scarce the instruments that evaluate the development of communication and language in early years (under 24 months). In the present investigation we tried to adapt and validate the Macarthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories for European Portuguese. Throughout four chapters the following objectives are presented: i) review of concepts related to oral language development, evaluation methodologies and analysis of the existing instruments in Portugal for preschool children; ii) adaptation and validation of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory: Words and Gestures (IDC - PG) to European Portuguese, for children between 8 and 15 months; iii) adaptation and validation of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory: Words and Sentences (IDC-PF) to European Portuguese, for children between 16 and 30 months; and iv) analysis of the relationship between the development of gestures and language between 8 and 15 months. In the first chapter, after a review on the theoretical concepts, an analysis of the different language evaluation methodologies and of the existing instruments in Portugal, findings showed the need to develop instruments for early evaluation of children up to 24 months. First study (chapter 2) presents the adaptation and validation of the IDC - PG to European Portuguese, with a sample of 1314 children, aged between 8 and 15 months. The results indicate that the comprehension and production of words, and the use of gestures increase with age. Only one main sex effect was found for total gestures, with girls achieving higher scores than boys, despite the small effect size. There were positive correlations between all subscales, even after controlling the effects of age and sex. These results are discussed in terms of their consistency with those obtained for other countries and languages. Second study (chapter 3) presents the adaptation and validation of the IDC – PF to European Portuguese, with a sample of 3012 children, aged between 16 and 30 months. The results indicate an increase in lexical development and in the five measures of grammatical development (regular morphology, irregular morphology, overgeneralizations, MLU and morphosyntactic complexity) over the time. A main effect of sex in lexical development and in four grammatical development subscales (regular morphology, irregular morphology, overgeneralizations and morphosyntactic complexity) was found, with girls achieving higher results than boys. Positive correlations were obtained between all subscales, even after the effects of age and sex were controlled. These results are discussed in terms of their consistency with those obtained for other countries and languages. Third study (chapter 4) analyzes the relationships between different types of gestures (total, early and later) and two lexical dimensions: number of words produced and understood, using a longitudinal design. The sample consisted of 48 children whose parents filled the IDC - PG when they were 9, 12 and 15 months old. The results show that the total number of actions and gestures and the number of early gestures, at 9 and 12 months, predicted the number of words comprised three months later. The predictive power of actions and gestures in relation to the number of words produced was only found in the interval between 9 and 12 months. The understanding and production of words did not predict actions and gestures three months later. These results highlight the importance of communicative non-verbal behavior in language development. In the conclusion, the results obtained and the contribution of the adapted versions to the European Portuguese of the IDC are analyzed. We also analyze the limitations of the studies carried out and point out directions for future investigations.
Esta investigação foi financiada através da Bolsa de Doutoramento SFRH/BD/86795/2012 atribuída pela FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia e integrou o projeto de investigação “AVALIAR PARA PREVENIR: Estudos de Tracking e Validação dos Inventários de Desenvolvimento Comunicativo de MacArthur-Bates para o Português Europeu” também ele financiado pela FCT (PTDC/MHC-PED/4725/2012) e pelo Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER) através do Programa Europeu COMPETE (Programa Operacional para os Fatores de Competitividade) e do Quadro de Referência Estratégica Nacional (QREN) (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-029556).