Current Projects

PLOT (Profiling Language Learning Over Time)

A study on how children learn words in stories and the skills that support learning. This work is funded by NIH NIDCD R21 DC017226.

See the For Families page for more information!

Equity in Speech-Language Pathology Service Delivery: An Exploration of Perspectives

A qualitative study on barriers and facilitators of equitable service delivery for children with communication disorders from diverse backgrounds.

See our study page for more information!
 

Publications

Mattson, J. T., Thorne, J. C., & Kover, S. T. (2020). Relationship between task-based and parent report-based measures of attention and executive function in children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Journal of Pediatric Neuropsychology, 6(3), 176-188.

del Hoyo Soriano, L., Thurman, A. J., Harvey, D., Kover, S. T., & Abbeduto, L. (2020). Expressive language development in adolescents with Down syndrome and fragile X syndrome: change over time and the role of family-related factors. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 12(1), 1-18.

Kover, S. T., & Abbeduto, L. (2019). Syntactic ability of girls with fragile X syndrome: Phonological memory and discourse demands on complex sentence use. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 124(6), 511-534.

Edmunds, S.R., Kover, S.T., & Stone, W. (2019). The relation between parent verbal responsiveness and child communication in children with or at risk for autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Autism Research, 12, 715-731.

Venker, C., Bean, A., & Kover, S.T. (2018). Auditory-visual misalignment: A theoretical perspective on vocabulary delays in children with ASD. Autism Research, 11(12), 1621-1628.

Abdel-Aziz, Ahmed*, Kover, S.T., Wagner, M., Fein, D., & Naigles, L. (2018). The shape bias in children with ASD: Potential sources of individual differences. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 61(11), 2685-2702.

Kover, S.T. (2018). Distributional cues to language learning in children with intellectual disabilities. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 49, 653-667.

Thurman, A.J., Kover, S.T., Brown, W.T., Abbeduto, L. (2017). Noncomprehension signaling in males and females with fragile X syndrome. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 60, 1606-1621. [PMCID: PMC5544413]

Rausch, T., Kendall, D., Kover, S.T., Louw, L., Zsilavecz, U., van der Merwe, A. (2017). The effect of Methylphenidate-OROS® on the narrative macrostructure of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.  The South African Journal of Communication Disorders, 64(1), 1-12.

Kover, S.T., Edmunds, S.R., & Ellis Weismer, S. (2016). Brief Report: Ages of language milestones as predictors of developmental trajectories in young children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46(7), 2501-2507.

Venker, C.E., Kover, S.T., & Ellis Weismer, S. (2016). Brief Report: Fast mapping predicts differences in concurrent and later language abilities among children with ASD.  Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46(3), 1118-1123.

Ellis Weismer, S. & Kover, S.T. (2015). Preschool language variation, growth, and predictors in children on the autism spectrum. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 56(12), 1327-1337. 

Venker, C.E. & Kover, S.T. (2015). An open conversation on using eye-gaze methods in studies of neurodevelopmental disorders. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 58, 1719-1732. 

Thurman, A.J., McDuffie, A., Kover, S.T., Hagerman, R.J., Channell, M.M., Mastergeorge, A., & Abbeduto, L. (2015). Use of emotional cues for lexical learning: A comparison of autism spectrum disorder and fragile X syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

Kover, S.T., McCary, L.M., Ingram, A.M., Hatton, D.D., & Roberts, J.E. (2015). Early language development in infants and toddlers with fragile X syndrome: Change over time and the role of attention. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Kover, S.T., Davidson, M.M., Sindberg, H.A., & Ellis Weismer, S. (2015). Use of the ADOS for assessing spontaneous expressive language in young children with ASD: A comparison of sampling contexts. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.

Channell, M.M., Thurman, A.J., Kover, S.T., & Abbeduto, L. (2014). Patterns of change in nonverbal cognition in adolescents with Down syndrome. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 35(11), 2658-2672.

Benjamin, D.P., Mastergeorge, A.M., McDuffie, A.S., Kover, S.T., Hagerman, R.J., & Abbeduto, L. (2014). Effects of labeling and pointing on object gaze in boys with fragile X syndrome or autism spectrum disorder: An eye-tracking study. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 35(11), 2658-2672.

Hauser, C.T., Kover, S.T., & Abbeduto, L. (2014). Maternal well-being and child behavior in families with fragile X syndrome. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 35(10), 2477-2486.

Kover, S.T., & Ellis Weismer, S. (2014). Lexical characteristics of expressive vocabulary in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 57(4), 1428-1441. [PMCID: PMC4126844]

Kover, S.T., Haebig, E., Oakes, A., McDuffie, A., Hagerman, R.J., & Abbeduto, L. (2014). Sentence comprehension in boys with autism spectrum disorder. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 23(3), 385-394. [PMCID: PMC4119529]

Oakes, A., Kover, S.T., & Abbeduto, L. (2013). Language comprehension profiles of young adolescents with fragile X syndrome. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 22(4), 615-626. [PMCID: PMC3950769]

Kover, S.T., McDuffie, A., Hagerman, R.J., & Abbeduto, L. (2013). Receptive vocabulary in boys with autism spectrum disorder: Cross-sectional developmental trajectories. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43, 2696-2709. [PMCID: PMC3797266]

Kover, S.T., Pierpont, E.I., Kim, J.-S., Brown, W.B., & Abbeduto, L. (2013). A neurodevelopmental perspective on the acquisition of nonverbal cognitive skills in adolescents with fragile X syndrome. Developmental Neuropsychology, 38(7), 445-460. [PMCID: PMC3886837]

McDuffie, A., Kover, S.T., Hagerman, R.J., & Abbeduto, L. (2013). Investigating word learning in fragile X syndrome: A fast-mapping study. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43, 1676-1691. [PMCID: PMC3620772]

Berry-Kravis, E., Dolly, E., Sterling, A., Kover, S.T., Schroeder, S.M., Mathur, S., & Abbeduto, L. (2013). Development of an expressive language sampling procedure in fragile X syndrome: A pilot study. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 34(4), 245-251. [PMCID: PMC3654391]

Kover, S.T., & Atwood, A.K. (2013). Establishing equivalence: Methodological progress in group-matching design and analysis [Invited review]. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 118(1), 3-15.

Kover, S.T., McDuffie, A., Abbeduto, L., & Brown, W.T. (2012). Effects of sampling context on spontaneous expressive language in male adolescents with fragile X syndrome or Down syndrome. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 55, 1022-1038. [PMCID: PMC3337358]

McDuffie, A., Kover, S.T., Abbeduto, L., Lewis, P., & Brown, W.T. (2012). Profiles of receptive and expressive language abilities in males with comorbid fragile X syndrome and autism. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 117(1), 18 – 32. [PMCID: PMC3265023]

Pierpont, E., Richmond, E.K., Abbeduto, L., Kover, S. T., & Brown, W.T. (2011). Contributions of phonological and working memory to language development in adolescents with fragile X syndrome. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 3(4), 335-347. [PMCID: PMC3261261]

McDuffie, A., Abbeduto, L., Lewis, P., Kover, S.T., Kim, J.-S., Weber, A., & Brown, W.T. (2010). Autism spectrum disorder in children and adolescents with fragile X syndrome: Within-syndrome differences and age-related changes. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 115(4), 307-326. [PMCID: PMC2887668]

Kover, S.T. & Abbeduto, L. (2010). Expressive language in male adolescents with fragile X syndrome with and without co-morbid autism. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 54(3), 246-265.

Abbeduto, L., Murphy, M.M., Kover, S.T., Giles, N.D., Karadottir, S., Amman, A., et al. (2008). Signaling noncomprehension of language: A comparison of fragile X syndrome and Down syndrome. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 113(3), 214-230.

Abbeduto, L., Brady, N, & Kover, S.T. (2007). Language development and fragile X syndrome: Profiles, syndrome-specificity, and within-syndrome differences [Invited review]. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 13(1), 36-46.

Mazzocco, M.M. & Kover, S.T. (2007). A longitudinal assessment of executive function skills and their association with math performance. Child Neuropsychology, 13, 18-45.

Kirk, J., Mazzocco, M.M., & Kover, S.T. (2005). Assessing executive dysfunction in girls with fragile X or Turner syndrome using the Contingency Naming Test (CNT). Developmental Neuropsychology, 28(3), 755-777.

Selected Conference Presentations

Venker, C.E. & Kover, S.T. (2019, April). Using eye-gaze methods to measure language comprehension in children with autism spectrum disorder. In A. Key (Chair). Using eye tracking and brain data to evaluate speech and language processing in neurodevelopmental disorders: New options for difficult to test populations. Symposium at the 50th annual Gatlinburg Conference on Research and Theory in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, San Antonio, TX.

Kover, S.T., & Thorne, J.C. (2019, March). Language development in children with FASD: What do we know about learning processes in light of cognitive profiles? Paper presented at the 8th International Conference on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Research, Results, and Relevance, Vancouver, CA.

Kover, S.T., Choi, E.A., & Naigles, L.R. (2018, June). Assessing vocabulary in young children with ASD: Underestimations in parent report compared to spontaneous language samples. Poster presented at the annual Symposium on Research in Child Language Disorders, Madison, WI.

Kover, S.T., Fein, D., & Naigles, L.R. (2018, May). Categories of word comprehension in toddlers with ASD or typical development: An extension of Beckage, Smith, and Hills (2011). Poster presented at the annual meeting of the International Society for Autism Research, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Kover, S.T., Saffran, J., & Abbeduto, L. (2015, November). Syntactic comprehension in boys with fragile X syndrome or autism spectrum disorder: A looking-while-listening study. Poster presented at the annual American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention, Denver, CO.

Dunley, K., Kover, S.T., & Abbeduto, L. (2015, November). Sentence comprehension and phonological memory in boys with fragile X syndrome. Poster presented at the annual American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention, Denver, CO.

Kover, S.T., Saffran, J., & Abbeduto, L. (2015, June). Interpretation of novel verbs using syntactic cues by boys with fragile X syndrome. Poster presented at the annual Symposium on Research in Child Language Disorders, Madison, WI.

Kover, S.T. & Ellis Weismer, S. (2015, May). Lexical characteristics account for vocabulary size in toddlers with ASD: A comparison of comprehension and production. Poster presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research, Atlanta, GA.

Kover, S.T., McCary, L., & Roberts, J. (2015, March). Visual attention as a predictor of language development in toddlers with fragile X syndrome. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Philadelphia, PA.

Kover, S.T. & Ellis Weismer, S. (2014, June). Lexical characteristics as predictors of later expressive vocabulary size. Poster presented at the annual Symposium on Research in Child Language Disorders, Madison, WI.

Kover, S.T. & Ellis Weismer, S. (2014, May). Ages of language milestones as predictors of developmental trajectories in young children with ASD. Poster presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research, Atlanta, GA.