Drama therapy is applied to children and adolescents with psychosocial problems. Drama therapy is... more Drama therapy is applied to children and adolescents with psychosocial problems. Drama therapy is an experimental form of treatment which methodologically uses drama and theatre processes to achieve psychological growth. Although in clinical practice, drama therapy has been applied successfully, little is known about how and why drama therapy contributes to a decrease in psychosocial problems. A systematic narrative review was performed to obtain more insight into this issue. Eight databases were systematically searched. Ten out of 3742 studies were included, of which there were four random controlled trails, three non-controlled trials, and three pre-and post-test design studies. We identified the results, drama therapeutic means, attitude, and mechanism of change. Positive effects were found on overall psychosocial problems, internalizing and externalizing problems, social functioning, coping and regulation processes, social identity, and cognitive development. An adaptive approac...
ABSTRACT Number sense and working memory contribute to mathematical development throughout primar... more ABSTRACT Number sense and working memory contribute to mathematical development throughout primary school. However, it is still unclear how the contributions of each of these predictors may change across development and whether the cognitive contribution is the same for children with and without mathematical difficulties. The aim of the two studies in this paper was to shed light on these topics. In a cross-sectional design, a typically developing group of children (study 1; N = 459, Grades 1–4) and a group with mathematical difficulties (study 2; N = 61, Grades 4–6) completed a battery of number sense and working memory tests, as well as a measure of arithmetic competence. Results of study 1 indicated that number sense was important in first grade, while working memory gained importance in second grade, before predictive value of both predictors waned. Number sense and working memory supported mathematics development independently from one another from Grade 1. Analysis of task demands showed that typically developing children rely on comprehension and visualization of quantity-to-number associations in early development. Later in development, pupils rely on comparing larger numerals and working memory until automatization. Children with mathematical difficulties were less able to employ number sense during mathematical operations, and thus might remain dependent on their working memory resources during arithmetic tasks. This suggests that children with mathematical difficulties need aid to employ working memory for mathematics from an early age to be able to automatize mathematical abilities later in development.
We tested if the newly designed ToMotion task reflects a single construct and if the atypical gro... more We tested if the newly designed ToMotion task reflects a single construct and if the atypical groups differ in their performance compared to typically developing peers. Furthermore, we were interested if ToMotion maps a developmental sequence in a Theory of Mind (ToM) performance as exemplified by increasing difficulty of the questions asked in every item. The sample consisted of 13 adolescents that have been diagnosed with a developmental language disorder (DLD) and 14 adolescents that are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH). All of these adolescents were in special schools for secondary vocational education. The control group existed of 34 typical developing adolescents (TD) who were in regular intermediate vocational education, ranging from level 2 to 4. The ToMotion, available in a spoken Dutch version and in a version in Sign Language of the Netherlands (SLN), was used to map ToM abilities. An attempt has been made to fill the gap of missing studies of ToM in adolescents by developin...
All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you... more All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately.
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 2022
Purpose: This study investigated the roles of cross-language transfer of first language (L1) and ... more Purpose: This study investigated the roles of cross-language transfer of first language (L1) and attentional control in second-language (L2) speech perception and production of sequential bilinguals, taking phonological overlap into account. Method: Twenty-five monolingual Dutch-speaking and 25 sequential bilingual Turkish–Dutch-speaking 3- and 4-year-olds were tested using picture identification tasks for speech perception in L1 Turkish and L2 Dutch, single-word tasks for speech production in L1 and L2, and a visual search task for attentional control. Phonological overlap was manipulated by dividing the speech tasks into subsets of phonemes that were either shared or unshared between languages. Results: In Dutch speech perception and production, monolingual children obtained higher accuracies than bilingual peers. Bilinguals showed equal performance in L1 and L2 perception but scored higher on L1 than on L2 production. For speech perception of shared phonemes, linear regression an...
All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you... more All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately.
The pathogenesis of Specific Language Impairment (SLI) is still largely beyond our understanding.... more The pathogenesis of Specific Language Impairment (SLI) is still largely beyond our understanding. In this review, a neuropsychological perspective on language impairments in SLI is taken, focusing specifically on executive functioning (EF) in preschoolers (age range: 2.6-6.1 years) with SLI. Based on the studies described in this review, it can be concluded that similar to school-aged children with SLI, preschoolers with SLI show difficulties in working memory, inhibition and shifting, as revealed by both performance based measures and behavioral ratings. It seems plausible that a complex, reciprocal relationship exists between language and EF throughout development. Future research is needed to examine if, and if yes how, language and EF interact in SLI. Broad neuropsychological assessment in which both language and EF are taken into account may contribute to early detection of SLI. This in turn can lead to early and tailored treatment of children with (suspected) SLI aimed not onl...
Joint attention is important for children’s language development. We report two meta-analyses tha... more Joint attention is important for children’s language development. We report two meta-analyses that demonstrate that the congruency in hearing status between parent and child affects the establishment and maintenance of joint attention. Dyads consisting of hearing parents and children with hearing loss, achieve fewer and briefer moments of joint attention in comparison to dyads of hearing parents and hearing children and dyads of deaf parents and deaf children. The theoretical and practical implications of these differences are discussed and placed in the context of two narrative syntheses. The first one focusing on parental strategies used to achieve and maintain moments of joint attention and the second one on the relation between joint attention and spoken language proficiency. We also expect that this review may serve as the start of quest towards a more detailed description (taxonomy) and operationalization of joint attention in the context of hearing loss.
The current research investigated the effectiveness of a narrative intervention method aiming to ... more The current research investigated the effectiveness of a narrative intervention method aiming to improve oral narrative ability in 8- to 10-year-old children with developmental language disorder (DLD) ( n = 6). Oral narrative ability was assessed through a narrative retelling and a narrative generation task of which both the narrative microstructure and narrative macrostructure were analysed. A debating intervention was included as a control condition ( n = 6). It was found that, after 10 weeks of narrative intervention, children significantly ( p < .05) improved their storytelling abilities at a microstructural level: mean length of utterance; grammaticality; fluency; and complexity, as well as at a macrostructural level: the number of story grammar elements. The alternative intervention only yielded significant results on the number of story grammar elements, not on any microstructural skills. The narrative intervention is effective in targeting and improving both narrative mic...
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, Jan 9, 2018
It is assumed that learning on the Serial Reaction Time (SRT) task is related to learning involve... more It is assumed that learning on the Serial Reaction Time (SRT) task is related to learning involved in social skill development affected in autism, but this assumption has hardly been investigated. We have therefore examined associations between SRT task learning and social impairment measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale in 72 autistic and non-autistic adults. Results revealed a positive correlation between deterministic sequence learning, putatively involving explicit learning, and social impairment in autistic adults but not in non-autistic adults. No correlations with probabilistic learning were found. These results suggest that the type of learning that helps autistic adults during a deterministic SRT task hinders them during social development, and call for further investigating the ecological validity of the SRT task.
Drama therapy is applied to children and adolescents with psychosocial problems. Drama therapy is... more Drama therapy is applied to children and adolescents with psychosocial problems. Drama therapy is an experimental form of treatment which methodologically uses drama and theatre processes to achieve psychological growth. Although in clinical practice, drama therapy has been applied successfully, little is known about how and why drama therapy contributes to a decrease in psychosocial problems. A systematic narrative review was performed to obtain more insight into this issue. Eight databases were systematically searched. Ten out of 3742 studies were included, of which there were four random controlled trails, three non-controlled trials, and three pre-and post-test design studies. We identified the results, drama therapeutic means, attitude, and mechanism of change. Positive effects were found on overall psychosocial problems, internalizing and externalizing problems, social functioning, coping and regulation processes, social identity, and cognitive development. An adaptive approac...
ABSTRACT Number sense and working memory contribute to mathematical development throughout primar... more ABSTRACT Number sense and working memory contribute to mathematical development throughout primary school. However, it is still unclear how the contributions of each of these predictors may change across development and whether the cognitive contribution is the same for children with and without mathematical difficulties. The aim of the two studies in this paper was to shed light on these topics. In a cross-sectional design, a typically developing group of children (study 1; N = 459, Grades 1–4) and a group with mathematical difficulties (study 2; N = 61, Grades 4–6) completed a battery of number sense and working memory tests, as well as a measure of arithmetic competence. Results of study 1 indicated that number sense was important in first grade, while working memory gained importance in second grade, before predictive value of both predictors waned. Number sense and working memory supported mathematics development independently from one another from Grade 1. Analysis of task demands showed that typically developing children rely on comprehension and visualization of quantity-to-number associations in early development. Later in development, pupils rely on comparing larger numerals and working memory until automatization. Children with mathematical difficulties were less able to employ number sense during mathematical operations, and thus might remain dependent on their working memory resources during arithmetic tasks. This suggests that children with mathematical difficulties need aid to employ working memory for mathematics from an early age to be able to automatize mathematical abilities later in development.
We tested if the newly designed ToMotion task reflects a single construct and if the atypical gro... more We tested if the newly designed ToMotion task reflects a single construct and if the atypical groups differ in their performance compared to typically developing peers. Furthermore, we were interested if ToMotion maps a developmental sequence in a Theory of Mind (ToM) performance as exemplified by increasing difficulty of the questions asked in every item. The sample consisted of 13 adolescents that have been diagnosed with a developmental language disorder (DLD) and 14 adolescents that are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH). All of these adolescents were in special schools for secondary vocational education. The control group existed of 34 typical developing adolescents (TD) who were in regular intermediate vocational education, ranging from level 2 to 4. The ToMotion, available in a spoken Dutch version and in a version in Sign Language of the Netherlands (SLN), was used to map ToM abilities. An attempt has been made to fill the gap of missing studies of ToM in adolescents by developin...
All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you... more All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately.
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 2022
Purpose: This study investigated the roles of cross-language transfer of first language (L1) and ... more Purpose: This study investigated the roles of cross-language transfer of first language (L1) and attentional control in second-language (L2) speech perception and production of sequential bilinguals, taking phonological overlap into account. Method: Twenty-five monolingual Dutch-speaking and 25 sequential bilingual Turkish–Dutch-speaking 3- and 4-year-olds were tested using picture identification tasks for speech perception in L1 Turkish and L2 Dutch, single-word tasks for speech production in L1 and L2, and a visual search task for attentional control. Phonological overlap was manipulated by dividing the speech tasks into subsets of phonemes that were either shared or unshared between languages. Results: In Dutch speech perception and production, monolingual children obtained higher accuracies than bilingual peers. Bilinguals showed equal performance in L1 and L2 perception but scored higher on L1 than on L2 production. For speech perception of shared phonemes, linear regression an...
All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you... more All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately.
The pathogenesis of Specific Language Impairment (SLI) is still largely beyond our understanding.... more The pathogenesis of Specific Language Impairment (SLI) is still largely beyond our understanding. In this review, a neuropsychological perspective on language impairments in SLI is taken, focusing specifically on executive functioning (EF) in preschoolers (age range: 2.6-6.1 years) with SLI. Based on the studies described in this review, it can be concluded that similar to school-aged children with SLI, preschoolers with SLI show difficulties in working memory, inhibition and shifting, as revealed by both performance based measures and behavioral ratings. It seems plausible that a complex, reciprocal relationship exists between language and EF throughout development. Future research is needed to examine if, and if yes how, language and EF interact in SLI. Broad neuropsychological assessment in which both language and EF are taken into account may contribute to early detection of SLI. This in turn can lead to early and tailored treatment of children with (suspected) SLI aimed not onl...
Joint attention is important for children’s language development. We report two meta-analyses tha... more Joint attention is important for children’s language development. We report two meta-analyses that demonstrate that the congruency in hearing status between parent and child affects the establishment and maintenance of joint attention. Dyads consisting of hearing parents and children with hearing loss, achieve fewer and briefer moments of joint attention in comparison to dyads of hearing parents and hearing children and dyads of deaf parents and deaf children. The theoretical and practical implications of these differences are discussed and placed in the context of two narrative syntheses. The first one focusing on parental strategies used to achieve and maintain moments of joint attention and the second one on the relation between joint attention and spoken language proficiency. We also expect that this review may serve as the start of quest towards a more detailed description (taxonomy) and operationalization of joint attention in the context of hearing loss.
The current research investigated the effectiveness of a narrative intervention method aiming to ... more The current research investigated the effectiveness of a narrative intervention method aiming to improve oral narrative ability in 8- to 10-year-old children with developmental language disorder (DLD) ( n = 6). Oral narrative ability was assessed through a narrative retelling and a narrative generation task of which both the narrative microstructure and narrative macrostructure were analysed. A debating intervention was included as a control condition ( n = 6). It was found that, after 10 weeks of narrative intervention, children significantly ( p < .05) improved their storytelling abilities at a microstructural level: mean length of utterance; grammaticality; fluency; and complexity, as well as at a macrostructural level: the number of story grammar elements. The alternative intervention only yielded significant results on the number of story grammar elements, not on any microstructural skills. The narrative intervention is effective in targeting and improving both narrative mic...
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, Jan 9, 2018
It is assumed that learning on the Serial Reaction Time (SRT) task is related to learning involve... more It is assumed that learning on the Serial Reaction Time (SRT) task is related to learning involved in social skill development affected in autism, but this assumption has hardly been investigated. We have therefore examined associations between SRT task learning and social impairment measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale in 72 autistic and non-autistic adults. Results revealed a positive correlation between deterministic sequence learning, putatively involving explicit learning, and social impairment in autistic adults but not in non-autistic adults. No correlations with probabilistic learning were found. These results suggest that the type of learning that helps autistic adults during a deterministic SRT task hinders them during social development, and call for further investigating the ecological validity of the SRT task.
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