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Kristine M Jensen de López, Heidi Thirup Møller Department of Communication and Psychology, Center for Developmental & Applied Psychological Science, Aalborg University, Aalborg, DenmarkCorrespondence: Kristine M Jensen de López, Email kristine@ikp.aau.dkAim: This study aims to identify and describe prevalence rates for ASD in the Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden), as well as the Nordic countries (Finland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland).Methods: A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA (2009) guidelines and based on the two databases: APA PsycINFO and MEDLINE (PubMed).Results: A total of 13 studies were included in the analyses. It was not possible to identify ASD prevalence studies for Greenland. However, for the remaining countries descriptive increases in ASD prevalence figures were observed. Increases were evident both in relation to age and birth cohort. Studies varied regarding which age group and cohort prevalence figures were reported. The most reported age group was the 7– 12-year-olds. In this group, recent prevalence figures for Denmark ranged from 0.26% to 1.47%, in Norway 0.6%, in Sweden 0.23– 0.68%, in Finland 0.22– 0.86%, and in Iceland 2.40– 3.13%. Iceland stood out in terms of higher prevalence figures compared to the other Scandinavian and Nordic countries. Two studies from the Faroe Islands reported ASD prevalence rates between 0.50% and 0.94% for 7– 24-year-olds. These studies were based on nationwide figures, but not from national or official registers.Discussion and conclusion: This study documented increasing prevalence of ASD in Scandinavian and Nordic countries. Several explanations of aspects that may contribute to the increases were discussed, eg, heightened awareness of ASD and earlier diagnosis. The importance of considering differences in data sources was discussed, with an emphasis on the importance of using national registries when available as this source is the most reliable and valid. The absence of prevalence figures for Greenland may be attributed to structural as well as cultural aspects, eg, two parallel systems assessing ASD, cultural taboos as well as lack of awareness of ASD. Suggestions or how to gain knowledge on ASD prevalence in Greenland is presented.Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, prevalence, Scandinavia, Nordic

Nikki M Skjoldborg, Patrick K Bender, Kristine M Jensen de López Center for Developmental & Applied Psychological Science, Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, DenmarkCorrespondence: Kristine M Jensen de López, Email kristine@ikp.aau.dkAbstract: Challenges in life skills in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are associated with dependency on others and increased isolation from peers. In recent years, interventions using virtual reality (VR) technology have been proposed to improve life skills in ASD populations. This systematic review seeks to evaluate the efficacy of employing VR interventions mediated via head-mounted displays (HMD) for the improvement of life skills in individuals with ASD. Several databases were searched and a narrative synthesis was conducted to examine the findings of the included studies. Eight studies including a total of 58 participants were deemed relevant for this systematic review. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed via the use of critical appraisal tools. Results were generally positive, with one study reporting statistically significant results, and one study not reporting any change in abilities. The remaining six studies reported varying degrees of life skill improvement. The studies were characterized by methodological issues, such as very low sample sizes. The findings of this systematic review indicate some potential for HMD VR interventions in the improvement of life skills in individuals with ASD. However, this review also highlights the current lack of methodologically strong study designs, which prohibits any firm conclusions. Findings are discussed regarding methodological recommendations for further research as well as practical implications for life skills interventions for individuals with ASD.Keywords: virtual reality, autism spectrum disorder, life skills, social skills, head-mounted displays, intervention

Objective: To provide an in-depth examination of whether pragmatic, expressive, receptive, and narrative language are associated with the social and academic functioning of children with ADHD. Method: Children with ADHD (n = 46) and neurotypical comparison (NC) children (n = 40) aged 7 to 11 years completed tasks measuring expressive, receptive, and narrative language, while parents rated pragmatic language and social- and academic functioning. Results: Children with ADHD differed significantly from NC children on pragmatic language, expressive language, receptive language, and narrative coherence. An examination of indirect effects revealed that a significant proportion of the association between ADHD and social functioning was shared with pragmatic language, while a significant proportion of the association between ADHD and academic difficulties was shared with pragmatic language as well as with expressive language. Conclusion: This preliminary study supports the clinical relevance of language in relation to the academic- and social functioning of children with ADHD. (J. of Att. Dis. 2024; 28(12) 1542-1554)

Problem-based learning (PBL) involves using problems as a starting point of learning rather than relying on traditional learning settings. In the present paper we present the theoretical framework behind a specific PBL setting we have developed since 2012 for training Danish psychologist students in a small university children's clinic (Børnesprogklinikken) at Aalborg University, Denmark. We argue that our approach can serve as students' enculturation into a specific profession, and that concepts from the theory of cultural learning and the concept of mediation can elucidate why this type of learning is effective for human beings, and specifically for students learning a profession. Finally, we discuss some of the learning outcomes of the PBL programme.

Background: It is widely acknowledged that children with developmental language disorder (DLD) predominantly have difficulties in the areas of grammar and vocabulary, with preserved pragmatic skills. Consequently, few studies focus on the pragmatic skills of children with DLD, and there is a distinct lack of studies examining the effectiveness of pragmatic interventions. Aims: To carry out a systematic review of the literature on pragmatic interventions for children with DLD. Methods & Procedures: This systematic review was registered with PROSPERO (ID = CRD42017067239). A systematic search in seven databases yielded 1031 papers, of which 11 met our inclusion criteria. The included papers focused on interventions for children with DLD (mean = 3-18 years), enhancing oral language pragmatic skills, published between January 2006 and May 2020, and were based on a group-study design such as randomized control trial or pre-post-testing. Study participants were monolingual speakers. The quality of papers was appraised using the Cochrane Risk of bias tool for randomized controlled trials. Outcomes & Results: There was a high degree of variability between the included intervention studies, especially regarding intensity, intervention targets and outcomes. The evidence suggested that pragmatic intervention is feasible for all models of delivery (individual, small and large group) and that interventions for pragmatic language are mostly focused on encouragement of conversation and narrative skills observed through parent-child interaction or shared book-reading activities. Conclusions & Implications: This study highlights the importance of promoting and explicitly teaching pragmatic skills to children with DLD in structured interventions. A narrative synthesis of the included studies revealed that in addition to direct intervention, indirect intervention can also contribute to improving oral pragmatic skills of children with DLD.

Purpose: Although researchers have explored parental perspectives of childhood speech and language disorders, most studies have been conducted in English-speaking countries. Little is known about parental experiences across countries, where procedures of language screening and services for language disorders differ. The authors participated in the COST Action network IS1406, "Enhancing Children's Oral Language Skills Across Europe and Beyond," which provided an opportunity to conduct cross-country qualitative interviews with parents. The aim of this pilot study was to explore ways in which parents construed and described speech and language disorders across countries. Method: Semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted with parents from 10 families in 10 different countries. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings: The overall theme was "acknowledging parental expertise." The parents described, in detail, ways in which their children's speech and language (dis)abilities had an impact on the children's everyday life. Three subthemes were identified: impairment, disability, and changes over time. Conclusions: The findings suggest that, across a range of countries, parents demonstrated contextualized understandings of their children's speech and language (dis)abilities, along with the everyday functional implications of the disorders. Hence, despite not holding professional knowledge about language disorders, the voices, views, understandings, and personal experiences of parents in relation to their child's disorder should be listened to when planning therapy services.

Background Aims Methods & Procedures Outcomes & Results Conclusions & Implications WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS What is already known on this subject What this study adds to the existing knowledge What are the practical and clinical implications of this work? Research on the grammatical characteristics of children with developmental language disorder (DLD) across languages has challenged accounts about the nature of DLD. Studies of the characteristics of DLD in different languages can reveal which components of DLD emerge irrespective of language and which components are language specific.To examine the grammatical characteristics of children with DLD acquiring Danish (microstructure and error types) in order to contribute to research on language‐general and language‐specific characteristics of DLD.Language samples from two telling narratives, one retelling narrative and one session of semi‐spontaneous talk were collected from 39 Danish‐speaking children aged 5;0–8;6, comprising one group of children with DLD (n = 15) and two control groups (age‐ and language‐matched: n = 15 and = 9, respectively). The data were analysed with reference to microstructure and grammatical errors. The DLD children's performance was compared with that of their peers with typical language development (AM) and to that of a younger group matched on language comprehension (LM). Task effects were also analysed.A significant group difference in microstructure was present in the results for mean length of utterance (MLU), where the AM group had significant higher MLU compared with the DLD group. Two variables clearly distinguished DLD children from both AM and LM children in terms of errors, namely word order errors and omission errors. The analysis of grammatical errors also revealed that the most salient challenges for Danish‐speaking children with DLD were not clearly morphological in nature. Although the children with DLD, as expected, made more morphological errors compared with the AM group, they did not produce more errors compared with the LM group. Task effects were present for some but not all results.This research emphasizes the importance of cross‐linguistic comparisons of the linguistic error profiles in the elicited language of children with DLD and the importance of considering the methodological context when analysing the grammatical language abilities of children with DLD. The results are relevant for clinicians and for developing screening tools. DLD is characterized by challenges in producing and comprehending language. Ample research is available on English‐speaking children with DLD, and which has reported on challenges acquiring morphology. Studies of children with DLD acquiring other languages than English show challenges related to specific grammatical features of the respective language. This study is the first to investigate microstructure abilities and grammatical errors produced by Danish‐speaking children with DLD and using different language samples (narrative telling, narrative retelling and spontaneous language). It enhances our knowledge about DLD in Scandinavian languages and cross‐linguistically and reinforces cross‐linguistic findings that grammatical and structural challenges in language acquisition for children with DLD might not be reducible exclusively to morphology. While some components of DLD children's language challenges may appear universal and be attributed to overarching factors other components seem more specific to the structure of the target language. Results from this study additionally draw attention to the importance of considering contextual constraints when investigating productive grammatical abilities in children with DLD. More detailed analysis of grammatical error types seen in children with DLD acquiring languages other than English and of individual differences contribute to clinical advancement in the field. A better insight into grammatical difficulties of Danish‐speaking children with DLD may contribute to improved assessment procedures and planning of therapy for children with DLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To provide an in-depth examination of whether pragmatic, expressive, receptive, and narrative language are associated with the social and academic functioning of children with ADHD. Method: Children with ADHD (n = 46) and neurotypical comparison (NC) children (n = 40) aged 7 to 11 years completed tasks measuring expressive, receptive, and narrative language, while parents rated pragmatic language and social- and academic functioning. Results: Children with ADHD differed significantly from NC children on pragmatic language, expressive language, receptive language, and narrative coherence. An examination of indirect effects revealed that a significant proportion of the association between ADHD and social functioning was shared with pragmatic language, while a significant proportion of the association between ADHD and academic difficulties was shared with pragmatic language as well as with expressive language. Conclusion: This preliminary study supports the clinical relevance of language in relation to the academic- and social functioning of children with ADHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study aims to identify and describe prevalence rates for ASD in the Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden), as well as the Nordic countries (Finland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland). Methods: A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA (2009) guidelines and based on the two databases: APA PsycINFO and MEDLINE (PubMed). Results: A total of 13 studies were included in the analyses. It was not possible to identify ASD prevalence studies for Greenland. However, for the remaining countries descriptive increases in ASD prevalence figures were observed. Increases were evident both in relation to age and birth cohort. Studies varied regarding which age group and cohort prevalence figures were reported. The most reported age group was the 7– 12-year-olds. In this group, recent prevalence figures for Denmark ranged from 0.26% to 1.47%, in Norway 0.6%, in Sweden 0.23– 0.68%, in Finland 0.22– 0.86%, and in Iceland 2.40– 3.13%. Iceland stood out in terms of higher prevalence figures compared to the other Scandinavian and Nordic countries. Two studies from the Faroe Islands reported ASD prevalence rates between 0.50% and 0.94% for 7– 24-year-olds. These studies were based on nationwide figures, but not from national or official registers. Discussion and conclusion: This study documented increasing prevalence of ASD in Scandinavian and Nordic countries. Several explanations of aspects that may contribute to the increases were discussed, eg, heightened awareness of ASD and earlier diagnosis. The importance of considering differences in data sources was discussed, with an emphasis on the importance of using national registries when available as this source is the most reliable and valid. The absence of prevalence figures for Greenland may be attributed to structural as well as cultural aspects, eg, two parallel systems assessing ASD, cultural taboos as well as lack of awareness of ASD. Suggestions or how to gain knowledge on ASD prevalence in Greenland is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple cognitive skills support the acquisition of proficient reading skills. Higher order processing abilities allowing the engagement and integration of multiple ideas collectively referred to as executive functions may be particularly important in reading comprehension. In the present study, 39 Danish school age children completed executive function tasks tapping cognitive flexibility and working memory, as well as measures of reading comprehension, nonword reading, receptive language and nonverbal intelligence. Results revealed that unique variance in children's sentence reading comprehension was explained by their abilities in the cognitive flexibility tasks even after differences in age, decoding, naming speed, receptive language, working memory and nonverbal intelligence were taken into account. The results are discussed in relation to the generalisability of the relationship between cognitive flexibility and reading comprehension across different languages and future research investigating the potential of these findings for reading intervention.

Several early literacy programmes have documented their effectiveness in enhancing children's early literacy and language development. Despite recent interest in implementing evidence-based programmes, only a few studies have set out to capture the implementation process of early literacy programmes as seen from the programme users' perspectives. The current study's purpose is to identify best practice for the successful implementation of early literacy programmes in Danish day-care centres. The empirical study presents results from a pre-post design interviewing 18 early educators to identify changes in their professional practice after the implementation of the first Danish early literacy programme based on dialogical reading. The results suggest that after the implementation (1) early educators report having changed their shared book reading practices, taken ownership of the programme and successfully integrated it into current practices, (2) the early literacy programme has supported early educators in their professional development and (3) early educators see the early literacy programme as a tool for improving social inclusion among children in day-care centres. Based on the results we conclude that reflecting on current practices, the development of a new professionalism and taking ownership are crucial processes in changing practices and in the successful implementation of new programmes.

Purpose: Therapists' insights into practising narrative therapy (NT) with children can elucidate the strengths and challenges associated with this practice. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate how therapists experience the application of NT with children. Method: Nine Danish narrative therapists working with children participated in semi‐structured qualitative interviews. The data were analysed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis. Results: Three overall themes were identified; "you have to be crazy about children," "practised ethics" and "practical challenges." Two subthemes were generated: "acting is the key" and "the importance of the system surrounding the child." Conclusion: The narrative therapists experienced NT as applicable for children due to its potential to facilitate a safe place that integrates the child's current stage of development. NT does not serve to "fit" the child but should be perceived as a practised ethic. Therapists accentuated challenges working with NT, specifically related to outsider‐witnessing and staying in a decentred position. The results are discussed regarding their contribution to the evolvement of the narrative therapy profession and to the training and supervision of novice practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is essential that early educators in day-care services possess adequate pedagogical tools for supporting children's communicative development. Early literacy programmes (ELPs) are potential tools. However, studies investigating the effects of ELPs seldom address implementation processes or the programme users' perspectives. This study sheds light on the practices of Danish pedagogues when engaging in shared book reading with children with the aim of: (1) foreseeing the success of the implementation of the first Danish ELP; and (2) comparing day-care centres' practices to Danish "New Nordic School" (NNS) political statements on early learning. This study presents results from 18 pre-programme interviews with pedagogues and illustrates their daily practices prior to the ELP implementation. Results suggest that: (1) there is a potential gap between practice and politics concerning Danish practices for promoting early learning; and (2) certain aspects related to existing pedagogical practices may be foreseen as potential challenges for the implementation of structured ELPs.

This study examines the comprehension and production of subject and object relative clauses (SRCs, ORCs) by children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) and their typically developing (TD) peers. The purpose is to investigate whether relative clauses are problematic for Danish children with SLI and to compare errors with those produced by TD children. Eighteen children with SLI, eighteen TD age-matched (AM) and nine TD language matched (LM) Danish-speaking children participated in a comprehension and in a production task. All children performed better on the comprehension compared with the production task, as well as on SRCs compared to ORCs and produced various avoidance strategies. In the ORC context, children with SLI produced more reversal errors than the AM children, who opted for passive ORCs. These results are discussed within current theories of SLI and indicate a deficiency with the assignment of thematic roles rather than with the structural make-up of RCs.