UC Spark

Professor Stephanie Stokes

Communication Disorders

Phone: +64 3 364 2987 ext. 7084
 Office: Communication Disorders Unit 11 101

Fields of Research

  • Early identification of language impairment in children/late talkers
  • Cognition, psycholinguistic processing and language development
  • Statistical learning in emerging lexicons

Researcher Summary

Professor Stokes’s research explores the relationships among cognitive abilities, psycholinguistic processing and language development in young children. Her work explores statistical regularities in emerging lexicons, early identification of language impairment in children and the emergence of language impairment in the preschool period.

Subject Area: Disciplines

Affiliations

Publications

(Selected outputs for 2006-2012)

Journal Article
  • Ciccone, N., Hennessey, N. and Stokes, S.F. (2012) Community based early intervention for language delay: A preliminary investigation. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders 47(4): 467-470. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-6984.2012.00149.x.
  • Stokes, S.F., Bleses, D., Basbøll, H. and Lambertsen, C. (2012) Statistical learning in emerging lexicons: The case of Danish. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 55: 1265-1273. http://dx.doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2012/10-0291).
  • Wong, A.M-Y., Klee, T., Stokes, S.F., Fletcher, P. and Leonard, L.B. (2010) Differentiating Cantonese-speaking pre-school children with and without SLI using MLU and lexical diversity (D). Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 53(3): 794-799. http://dx.doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2009/08-0195).
  • Liu, P.D., McBride-Chang, C., Wong, A.M-Y., Tardif, T., Stokes, S.F., Fletcher, P. and Shu, H. (2010) Early oral language markers of poor reading performance in Hong Kong Chinese children. Journal of Learning Disabilities 43(4): 322-331. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022219410369084.
  • Marks, I. and Stokes, S.F. (2010) Narrative-based intervention for word-finding difficulties: A case study. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders 45(5): 586-599. http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/13682820903277951.
  • Wong, A.M-Y., Chow, D.C-C., McBride-Chang, C. and Stokes, S.F. (2010) Optional elements and variant structure on the productions of two bei2 'to give' dative constructions in Cantonese-speaking adults and three-year-old children. Journal of Child Language 37(1): 175-196. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0305000909009416.
  • Stokes, S.F. and Griffiths, R. (2010) The use of facilitative vowel contexts in the treatment of post-alveolar fronting: A case study. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders 45(3): 368-380. http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/13682820903094737.
  • Stokes, S.F. and Klee, T. (2009) The diagnostic accuracy of a new test of early nonword repetition for differentiating late talking and typically developing children. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 52(4): 872-882. http://dx.doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2009/08-0030).
  • McBride-Chang, C., Tardif, T., Cho, J-R., Hua, S., Fletcher, P., Stokes, S.F., Wong, A.M-Y. and Leung, K. (2008) What's in a word? Morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge in three languages. Applied Psycholinguistics 29(3): 437-462. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S014271640808020X.
  • Leonard, L.B., Deevy, P., Wong, A.M-Y., Stokes, S.F. and Fletcher, P. (2007) Modal verbs with and without tense: A study of English- and Cantonese-speaking children with specific language impairment. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders 42(2): 209-228. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13682820600624240.
  • Stokes, S.F., Wong, A.M-Y., Fletcher, P. and Leonard, L.B. (2006) Nonword repetition and sentence repetition as clinical markers of Specific Language Impairment: The case of Cantonese. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research 49(2): 219-236. http://dx.doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2006/019).
  • Leonard, L.B., Wong, A.M-Y., Deevy, P., Stokes, S.F. and Fletcher, P. (2006) The production of passives by children with specific language impairment: Acquiring English or Cantonese. Applied Psycholinguistics 27(2): 267-299. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0142716406060280.
Chapter in Book
  • Klee, T. and Stokes, S.F. (2011) Language development. In D. Skuse, H. Bruce, L. Dowdney, D. Mrazek (Ed.), Child Psychology and Psychiatry: Frameworks for Practice (2nd ed.): 45-50. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781119993971.
  • Wong, A.M-Y. and Stokes, S.F. (2009) A Construction Account of Question Acquisition in Cantonese-speaking Children with Specific Language Empairment. In S-P. Law, B. Weekes and A.M-Y. Wong (Ed.), Language Disorders in Speakers of Chinese: 53-74. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
  • Klee, T., Wong, A.M-Y., Stokes, S.F., Fletcher, P. and Leonard, L.B. (2009) Assessing Cantonese-speaking Children with Language Difficulties from the Perspective of Evidence-based Practice: Current Practice and Future Directions. In S-P. Law, B.S. Weekes and A.M-Y. Wong (Ed.), Language Disorders in Speakers of Chinese: 89-111. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
  • Fletcher, P., Leonard, L.B., Stokes, S.F. and Wong, A.M-Y. (2009) Morphosyntactic Deficits in Cantonese-speaking Children with Specific Language Impairment. In S-P. Law, B. Weekes and A.M-Y. Wong (Ed.), Language Disorders in Speakers of Chinese: 75-88. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
  • Klee, T., Gavin, W.J. and Stokes, S.F. (2007) Utterance length and lexical diversity in American- and British-English speaking children: what is the evidence for a clinical marker of SLI? In R. Paul (Ed.), Language Disorders From a Developmental Perspective: Essays in Honor of Robin S. Chapman: 103-140. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum.
  • Stokes, S.F. and Wong, A.M-Y. (2006) Building questions in Cantonese. In B.F. Kelly and E.V. Clark (Ed.), Constructions in Acquisition: 283-310. Stanford: CSLI Publications.
  • Stokes, S. (2006) Interaction of biological and environmental factors in phonological learning. In P. Li, L.H. Tan, E. Bates and O.J.L.Tzeng (Ed.), Handbook of East Asian Psycholinguistics. Volume 1: Chinese: 114-123. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Fletcher, P., Stokes, S.F. and Wong, A. M-Y. (2006) Specific language impairment in Chinese. In P. Li, L.H. Tan, E. Bates and O.J.L. Tzeng (Ed.), Handbook of East Asian Psycholinguistics. Volume 1: Chinese: 296-307. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Conference Contribution - Full conference paper
  • Kern, S., dos Santos, C. and Stokes, S. (2011) De l'invariant dans la variation: la fréquence et la densité de voisinage comme facteurs explicatifs (Invariance in variation: frequency and neighborhood density as explanatory factors). Paris, France: ADYLOC 2011, 7-9 Jun 2011.
  • Stokes, S.F. and Klee, T. (2011) Verbal and Visual-spatial Short-term Memory in Preschool Children. Montreal, Canada: 12th International Congress for the Study of Child Language (IASCL), 19-23 Jul 2011.
  • Stokes, S.F., Klee, T., Cruickshank, A. and Pleass, J. (2009) Verbal and Visual-Spatial Short Term Memory in Preschool Children. New Orleans, LA, USA: American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Annual Convention 2009, 19-21 Nov 2009.
Conference Contribution - Poster presentation
  • Davies, P.L., Gavin, W.J., Stokes, S.F. and Klee, T. (2012) Auditory sensory memory and language development in 2 to 5 year olds. City University of New York, NY, USA: 6th Conference on Mismatch Negativity and its Clinical and Scientific Application (MMN), 1-4 May 2012.
  • Ellis, E.M., Evans, J.L., Thal, D., Elman, J. and Stokes, S.F. (2012) Implicit word learning and verb knowledge in infants with typical and delayed language. Lyon: 3rd Early Language Acquisition Conference (ELA), 4-7 Dec 2012.
  • Stokes, S.F. (2012) Toddlers' receptive and expressive lexicons differ on lexical statistical characteristics. Madison,WI, USA: Symposium on Research in Child Language Disorders (SRCLD 2012), 7-9 Jun 2012.
  • dos Santos, C., Kern, S. and Stokes, S. (2011) Frequency and Neighborhood Density Effects During First Word Acquisition in French. Montreal, Canada: 12th International Congress for the Study of Child Language (IASCL), 19-23 Jul 2011.
  • Stokes, S., Kern, S., Bleses, D., dos Santos, C., Basboll, H. and Lambertsen, C. (2011) Statistical bootstrapping in emerging lexicons: Late talkers do it differently. Montreal, Canada: 12th International Congress for the Study of Child Language (IASCL), 19-23 Jul 2011.
  • Stokes, S.F., Kern, S. and dos Santos, C. (2010) Extended statistical learning as an account for slow vocabulary growth. Madison, WI, USA: Symposium on Research in Child Language Disorders 2010, 3-5 Jun 2010.
  • Klee, T. and Stokes, S.F. (2009) Diagnostic accuracy of a new nonword repetition test for differentiating late-talking and typically-developing children. Madison, WI, USA: Symposium on Research in Child Language Disorders (SRCLD 2009), 5-6 Jun 2009.
  • Marks, I. and Stokes, S. F. (2009) Narrative therapy for word finding difficulties: a case study using trend analysis. Madison WI: Symposium on Research in Child Language Disorders, June.
  • Wong, A.M-Y., Klee, T., Stokes, S.F., Fletcher, P. and Leonard, L.B. (2006) Differentiating Cantonese-speaking children with and without SLI: A validation study. University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA: Symposium on Research in Child Language Disorders 2006 (SRCLD), 1-3 Jun 2006.
Conference Contribution - Oral presentation
  • Gavin, W.J., Davies, P.L., Stokes, S.F. and Klee, T. (2012) Measuring auditory sensory memory in 2 to 5 year old children with the time-saving oddball paradigm. City University of New York, NY, USA: 6th Conference on Mismatch Negativity and its Clinical and Scientific Application (MMN), 1-4 May 2012.
  • Stokes, S.F. (2012) Statistical learning in emerging lexicons: Crosslinguistic evidence. Lyon, France: 3rd Early Language Acquisition Conference (ELA), 4-7 Dec 2012.
  • Ciccone, N., Hennessey, N. and Stokes, S.F. (2010) Community based early intervention for language delay: preliminary outcome data. Melbourne, Australia: Participation 2010: Speech Pathology Australia National Conference, 16-19 May 2010.
  • Kern, S., dos Santos, C. and Stokes, S.F. (2010) Influence de la fréquence et de la densité de voisinage sur les mots produits par le jeune enfant français. Centre de Langues et Littérature a Lund, Sweden: Atelier sur l'influence de la fréquence dans l'input sure l'acquisition du français L1 et L2, Sep 2010.
  • Stokes, S.F. and Klee, T. (2009) Diagnostic accuracy of nonword repetition in toddlers. Adelaide, Australia: Speech Pathology Australia: Advancing Speech Pathology Innovation Research and Excellence (ASPIRE), 17-21 May 2009.
  • Klee, T. and Stokes, S.F. (2007) Differences between late-talking and typically-developing toddlers on child, processing and lexical factors. Cork, Ireland: European Child Language Disorders Group, 12-14 Jul 2007.
  • Stokes, S.F. and Klee, T. (2007) Influences on lexical acquisition in toddlers. University College, Cork, Ireland: European Child Language Disorders Group, 12-14 Jul 2007.
  • Wong, A.M-Y., Klee, T., Stokes, S.F., Fletcher, P., Leonard, L.B. and Yung, E. (2006) Differentiating Cantonese-speaking children with and without SLI: Further validation. Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK: Child Language Seminar 2006, 19-21 Jul 2006.
  • Masdottir, T. and Stokes, S.F. (2006) Normal phonological development: Study of Icelandic. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Child Language Seminar 2006, 19-21 Jul 2006.
  • Stokes, S.F. (2006) Phonological influences on lexical acquisition. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Child Language Seminar 2006, 19-21 Jul 2006.
Oral Presentation
  • Klee, T. and Stokes, S.F. (2006) Screening children for language delay: an evidence-based perspective. Reykjavik, Iceland: Icelandic Association of Speech Therapists, 2 Jun 2006.