How Does PPVT Affect Children's Language Development?

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During the first years of life, communication is foundational to a child’s healthy development. Most children rapidly acquire speech and language skills to allow them to express needs and wants, interact socially with adults and peers, expand their conceptual development, and develop the foundation for more advanced language and literacy skills. There are many factors that can contribute to speech and language difficulties. It is important when a child is being assessed to rule out any physical or mental disabilities that might be impacting their language. Some children do not develop speech and language skills as expected due to motor, language, cognitive, and sensory impairments that may result from Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Down …show more content…

The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test –IV (Dunn & Dunn, 2007) and The Expressive Vocabulary Test –II (Williams, 2007) are tests given to assess language ability. These tests are used to provide insight into a child’s language development. By analyzing these tests, one is able to collect information about semantics. The purpose of the PPVT is to assess comprehension and measure the success in acquiring vocabulary (Dunn and Dunn, 2007). The test is a test of receptive as well as a screening test of verbal ability. The EVT is an assessment of expressive vocabulary and word retrieval (Williams, 2007). It can be used as an indicator for children who have expressive language problems (Gray, 1999). The PPVT and EVT have the same vocabulary and semantic concepts. These assessments were designed for the PPVT to be administered followed by the EVT. There are multiple reasons why there may be score differences between the two tests. One reason is that the child may give a response that would be acceptable on the EVT but may be unfair with the stimulus words on the …show more content…

According to Sulzby & Teale, 1991; Teale &Sulzby, 1986; Whitehurst & Lonigan, 1998), as cited in Gallagher, Green, & Terry (2014), many children with disabilities struggle to obtain literacy skills that are associated with later literacy achievement such as oral vocabulary, phonological awareness, and print and alphabet knowledge. One reason many children with disabilities may be placed in inclusive preschool classrooms is to improve their academic outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine progress in developing literacy skills of young children with disabilities, compared with their typically developing peers in an inclusive Early Reading First (ERF) preschool

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