Education Research Lectureship Series: Ann P. Kaiser
November 13, 2009
11:00 am
Curry Library Innovation Commons
Ann P. Kaiser, PhD
Susan W. Gray Professor of Education and Human Development
Department of Special Education
Vanderbilt University
Good Talk, Bad Talk: The Relationship Between Language and Behavior in Preschool Children
(right-click on this link to download)
Powerpoint Slides from Presentation
Abstract
Young children with low language skills are more likely to exhibit problem behavior than children with typical language. Although the co-occurrence of language and behavior problems is frequently noted among both children at risk due to poverty and among children with specific language impairments, the mechanisms that connect language and behavior problems in development are not well understood. In this presentation, I will report preliminary findings from a meta analysis of the language behavior relationship in young children characterizing the strength of this relationship in different populations of preschoolers and child characteristics associated with comorbid language and behavior problems. I will also discuss findings from an ongoing longitudinal study of 440 children enrolled in Head Start. The particular role of behavior for children who evidence persistent language delays will be examined in terms of how the presence of behavior problems may moderate language and related reading development.
Biography
Ann P. Kaiser, PhD is the Susan W. Gray Professor of Education and Human Development at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. Dr. Kaiser’s primary area of research is early language interventions for children with developmental disabilities and children at risk due to poverty. Her research has investigated the effects of social communication interventions implemented by early childhood educators, parents, siblings, and peers. She has developed and researched a parent and therapist implemented communication program (KidTalk) to improve the language outcomes for young children with mental retardation and developmental disabilities, children with autism, and children at risk due to behavior problem.
Dr. Kaiser has served on a the National Advisory Board for Reading Interventions for Students with Mental Retardation, the Advisory Board for the Center on Early Childhood Outcomes, and the National Advisory Committee on Child Outcomes in Head Start .She is the past president of American Psychological Association Division 33 (Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities). She has received numerous awards for her research and mentoring including the Harvey Branscomb Distinguished Professorship atVanderbilt University.
Dr. Kaiser received her PhD in Developmental and Child Psychology from the University of Kansas. She has been a faculty member at Vanderbilt since l983.
This talk is sponsored by the Virginia Education Science Training (VEST) Program. Please contact Jen Mashburn at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with any questions.