Browsing by Author "Ryökkynen, Sanni"

Background and Objectives: It is crucial to identify children's linguistic and communicative challenges as early as possible. Previous research indicates that early vocabulary and gesture-object expression skills are strong predictors of later linguistic and communicative abilities. By assessing these skills, it is possible to identify children in need of support at an early stage. Various methods have been developed to assess early language and communication development, one of which is Finnish version of Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales, Developmental Profile (FinCSBS). It is a screening method where parents evaluate a child's social communication, speech comprehension, and speech production skills between the ages of 6 to 24 months. While the FinCSBS has been standardized up to two years of age, there is limited research on its application in assessing this age group. The aim of this master's thesis was to investigate whether a child's mastery of vocabulary and gestures at the age of one is related to their linguistic and communicative development at the age of two, as assessed using the FinCSBS. Additionally, the study aimed to examine the usability of the FinCSBS in assessing children's linguistic development at two years of age. Participants and Methods: This study included 50 typically developing Finnish-speaking children. The study sample was part of the validation study of short form of the MacArthur Communication Inventories Finnish version (Sanaseula study). Children's mastery of vocabulary and gesture-object functions was assessed at one year of age using the Finnish Long Form version of the Communicative Development Inventories (FinCDI-LF), while their linguistic and communicative skills at two years of age were assessed using the FinCSBS. The connections between one-year-old children's vocabulary and gesture-object skills and two-year-old children's linguistic and communicative skills were initially examined by analyzing the Spearman correlation coefficient. Subsequently, the connections were further explored through linear regression analysis. Results and Discussion: Based on the correlation coefficients, it was found that vocabulary mastery at one year of age was associated with later vocabulary comprehension, and gesture-object functions were related to later social communication skills. More information is needed to understand the connections between these skills in greater detail. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the FinCSBS may not necessarily be suitable for assessing two-year-old children, as its ability to identify children in need of support at this age may be weaker compared to earlier age groups. Therefore, its usage is advisable to be focused on younger age groups. At the age of two, the FinCSBS could be most beneficial when used alongside another method that provides a more detailed assessment of vocabulary. In the future, it is essential to develop a method that allows for a more precise assessment of a two-year-old child's comprehension of vocabulary.