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Robustness, risk and responsivity in early language acquisition

Language is a robust developmental phenomenon, characterised by rapid and prodigious growth.

Does cerebral lateralization develop? A study using functional transcranial Doppler ultrasound assessing

In the majority of people, language production is lateralized to the left cerebral hemisphere and visuospatial skills to the right.

Arcuate fasciculus and pre-reading language development in children with prenatal alcohol exposure

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) contributes to widespread neurodevelopmental challenges, including reading, and has been associated with altered white matter. Here, we aimed to investigate whether arcuate fasciculus development is associated with pre-reading language skills in young children with PAE.

Language and reading impairments are associated with increased prevalence of non-right-handedness

Handedness has been studied for association with language-related disorders because of its link with language hemispheric dominance. No clear pattern has emerged, possibly because of small samples, publication bias, and heterogeneous criteria across studies.

Caregiver sensitivity predicts infant language use, and infant language complexity predicts caregiver language complexity, in the context of possible emerging autism

While theory supports bidirectional effects between caregiver sensitivity and language use, and infant language acquisition-both caregiver-to-infant and also infant-to-caregiver effects-empirical research has chiefly explored the former unidirectional path. In the context of infants showing early signs of autism, we investigated prospective bidirectional associations with 6-min free-play interaction samples collected for 103 caregivers and their infants (mean age 12-months; and followed up 6-months later).

Discovery of 42 genome-wide significant loci associated with dyslexia

Reading and writing are crucial life skills but roughly one in ten children are affected by dyslexia, which can persist into adulthood. Family studies of dyslexia suggest heritability up to 70%, yet few convincing genetic markers have been found.

Human Development and Community Wellbeing

The Human Development and Community Wellbeing (HDCW) Team focuses on improving outcomes for children, family, and the community.

Maternal life events during pregnancy and offspring language ability in middle childhood

There is accumulating evidence for a link between maternal stress during pregnancy and later behavioural and emotional problems in children.

Is there a sex ratio difference in the familial aggregation of specific language impairment? A meta analysis

This meta-analysis examined whether there is a sex ratio difference in the risk for impairment among family members of an SLI proband

Early motor development is part of the resource mix for language acquisition -

Early motor development is part of the resource mix for language acquisition - a commentary on Iverson's 'Developing language in a developing body: the relat...