Callier Center for Communication Disorders Research Scholar
PhD, University of Washington
Child Language, Preliteracy
My research focuses primarily on preliteracy development, socialization, assessment, and intervention, both in children who are typically developing and those with language disorders. Recent work has focused on establishing the importance of an academic language register beginning in the preschool years. In my lab, we are studying how educated parents foster this register across the years from infancy to age four. We are also developing an interview to determine the kinds of parent-child interaction that go on during routine events in the home, and how must academic talk the adults in the home engage their young children in.
Schwarz, A. L., van Kleeck, A., Beaton, D., Horne, E., McKenzie, H., & Abdi, H. (2015). A read-aloud storybook selection system for pre-readers at the preschool language level: A pilot study. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 58, 1273 — 1291.
van Kleeck, A. (2014). Distinguishing between casual talk and academic talk beginning in the preschool years: An important consideration for speech-language pathologists. American Journal of Speech Language Pathology, 23 (4) 1 18. Recipient of 2014 Editor’s Award for Best Article of the Year in this journal. Free Online at: http://ajslp.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=1901925
van Kleeck, A. (2014). Intervention activities and strategies for promoting academic language in preschoolers and kindergartners. Journal of Communication Disorders, Deaf Studies & Hearing Aids, 2; 13 pages (open access doi: 10.4172/2375-4427.1000126)
van Kleeck, A., Lange, A. & Schwarz, A.L. (2011) The effects of race and maternal education level on children’s retells of the Renfrew Bus Story — North American Edition. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 54, 1546 — 1561.
van Kleeck, A. (2013). Guiding parents from diverse cultural backgrounds to promote language skills in preschoolers with language disorders: Two challenges and proposed solutions for them. Perspectives on Language Learning and Education, 20 (3), 78 — 85.
van Kleeck, A. (2015). The academic talk register: A critical preschool oral language foundation for later reading comprehension. In A. DeBruin,, A. van Kleeck, & S. B. Gear (Eds.), Developing early comprehension: Laying the foundation for reading success Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes (pp. 52 — 76).
DeBruin, A., van Kleeck, A. & Gear, S. B. (Eds., 2015), Developing early comprehension: Laying the foundation for reading success. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.