Leslie Rescorla

Leslie Altman Rescorla (15 August 1945 – 12 October 2020[1]) was a developmental psychologist and expert on language delay in toddlers.[2] Rescorla was Professor of Psychology on the Class of 1897 Professorship of Science and Director of the Child Study Institute at Bryn Mawr College. She was a licensed and school certified psychologist known for her longitudinal research on late talkers. In the 1980s, she created the Language Development Survey,[3] a widely used tool for screening toddlers for possible language delays. Rescorla worked with Thomas M. Achenbach in developing the manual for the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA)[4] used to measure adaptive and maladaptive behavior in children.[5]

Leslie Rescorla
BornAugust 15, 1945
DiedOctober 12, 2020
Spouse(s)Robert Rescorla (divorced); Thomas M. Achenbach
AwardsJanet L. Hoopes Award
Academic background
Alma mater
Academic work
DisciplinePsychologist
Sub-disciplineDevelopmental psychology
InstitutionsBryn Mawr College
Main interestslanguage development, language delay

Rescorla has published extensively in the field of child language development and co-edited (with Philip Dale) the volume Late Talkers: Language Development, Interventions, and Outcomes.[6] She was awarded the 2018 Janet L. Hoopes Award from the Pennsylvania Branch of the International Dyslexia Association for her research on literacy, reading, and learning disabilities.[7]

Biography

Rescorla received a B.A. degree magna cum laude in Modern European History and Literature at Radcliffe College of Harvard University in 1967. She continued her studies at the London School of Economics, where she earned a M.Sc. in Economic History in 1968. Rescorla later attended graduate school at Yale University, where she obtained a Ph.D in Child Development and Clinical Psychology in 1976. While at Yale, Rescorla conducted research on early vocabulary development with Katherine Nelson.[8] She also collaborated with Edward Zigler on the Yale Child Welfare Research Program, an early intervention study aimed at supporting economically disadvantaged families.[9]

Rescorla was supported by a University of Pennsylvania Research Foundation Grant from 1982 to 1985.[10] She joined the Faculty of Psychology at Bryn Mawr College in 1985,[7] and subsequently served as Chair of the Psychology Department and Director of the School Psychology program. Rescorla's research has been funded by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders,[11] and the Spencer Foundation.[12]

Rescorla married her research collaborator, Thomas Achenbach, in 2000. Her previous marriage in the 1970s to psychologist Robert Rescorla ended in divorce. They had two sons together.[13][14]

Research

Rescorla specialized in the epidemiology of language disorders. Her publication summarizing the development and validation of the Language Development Survey, a 10-minute parental report survey for identifying early language delay, was named best paper in 1990 by the editor of the Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders.[3][15] Her goal in developing this instrument was to understand the characteristics and consequences of language delay so that educators and other professionals could provide adequate supports. Rescorla took a different approach from previous screening language tools by asking parents to complete a quick and efficient survey, rather than requiring input from a physician or other professional. Rescorla had strong confidence that a parent-report instrument was the best means for acquiring fast, authentic, and valid information about their child's language development.[3] Note that a similar approach was used in developing the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories,[16][17][18] with research indicating strong correlations in vocabulary scores across the two parent-report instruments.[19]

Rescorla conducted a 15-year longitudinal research study of the development of late speaking toddlers, focusing on their language and literacy skills from ages 2 to 17 years.[20][21][22] She found that the late talkers tended to score in the average range on standardized assessments of language and reading by age 5.[20] However, at the ages of 9, 13, and 17 years, the late talkers scored significantly lower on tests of vocabulary, grammar, verbal memory, and reading comprehension when compared to peers who were matched on socioeconomic status and nonverbal ability. The results indicated that language delays in early childhood (24–31 months) were associated with measurable deficits in language-related skills into adolescence.[21][22]

In collaborative work with Thomas Achenbach, Rescorla has focused on valid assessment of behavioral and emotional problems in children growing up in various countries, using ASEBA scales.[23][24] In one of their studies, Rescorla and Achenbach administered both the Language Development Survey and the Child Behavior Checklist of the ASEBA to toddlers of ages 18 to 35 months, but did not find any close association between language delay and emotional/behavior problems.[25]

Representative publications
  • Rescorla, L (1989). "The Language Development Survey: A screening tool for delayed language in toddlers". Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders. 54 (4): 587–599. doi:10.1044/jshd.5404.587. PMID 2811339.
  • Rescorla, L. (2002). Language and reading outcomes to age 9 in late-talking toddlers. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.
  • Rescorla, L (2009). "Age 17 language and reading outcomes in late-talking toddlers: Support for a dimensional perspective on language delay". Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 52 (1): 16–30. doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2008/07-0171). PMID 18723598.
  • Rescorla, L.; Achenbach, T.; Ivanova, M. Y.; Dumenci, L.; Almqvist, F.; Bilenberg, N.; Verhulst, F. (2007). "Behavioral and emotional problems reported by parents of children ages 6 to 16 in 31 societies". Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. 15 (3): 130–142. doi:10.1177/10634266070150030101. hdl:20.500.11815/3626. S2CID 142993723.
  • Rescorla, L. A.; Achenbach, T. M.; Ivanova, M. Y.; Harder, V. S.; Otten, L.; Bilenberg, N.; Dobrean, A. (2011). "International comparisons of behavioral and emotional problems in preschool children: parents' reports from 24 societies". Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology. 40 (3): 456–467. doi:10.1080/15374416.2011.563472. PMC 4247339. PMID 21534056.
  • Rescorla, L.; Schwartz, E. (1990). "Outcome of toddlers with specific expressive language delay". Applied Psycholinguistics. 11 (4): 393–407. doi:10.1017/s0142716400009644. S2CID 145301606.

References
  1. Cook, Bonnie. "Leslie A. Rescorla, psychologist and expert on delayed speech in toddlers, dies at 75". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
  2. Evans, Heidi. "Every 2-year-old should know at least these 25 words: researchers". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  3. Rescorla Leslie (1989). "The Language Development Survey". Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders. 54 (4): 587–599. doi:10.1044/jshd.5404.587. PMID 2811339.
  4. Achenbach, Thomas M.; Rescorla, Leslie (2001). Manual for the ASEBA school-age forms & profiles : an integrated system of multi-informant assessment. Burlington, VT. ISBN 978-0938565734. OCLC 53902766.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. "ASEBA - The Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment". ASEBA. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  6. Rescorla, Leslie; Dale, Philip S. (2013). Late talkers : language development, interventions, and outcomes. Rescorla, Leslie. Baltimore. ISBN 9781598572537. OCLC 830646517.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. "Professor of Psychology Leslie Rescorla is Awarded the 2018 Janet L. Hoopes Award". Bryn Mawr College. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  8. Nelson, Katherine; Rescorla, Leslie; Gruendel, Janice; Benedict, Helen (1978). "Early Lexicons: What Do They Mean?". Child Development. 49 (4): 960. doi:10.2307/1128735. JSTOR 1128735.
  9. Rescorla, Leslie A.; Zigler, Edward (1981). "The Yale Child Welfare Research Program: Implications for Social Policy". Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. 3 (6): 5–14. doi:10.3102/01623737003006005. ISSN 0162-3737. S2CID 144848007.
  10. "Lesile Rescorla". Bryn Mawr College. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  11. Rescorla, Leslie. "Expressive Language Delay at Two - Epidemiology/Outcome". Grantome. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  12. Hechinger, Fred M. (1989-11-22). "EDUCATION; About Education". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  13. "WEDDINGS; Leslie Rescorla, Thomas Achenbach". The New York Times. 2000-05-07. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  14. Cook, Bonnie L. (15 October 2020). "Leslie A. Rescorla, psychologist and expert on delayed speech in toddlers, dies at 75". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  15. "Editor's Awards | | ASHA Publication Websites". pubs.asha.org. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  16. Goldsmith, Lynn; Reznick, J. Steven (1989). "A multiple form word production checklist for assessing early language*". Journal of Child Language. 16 (1): 91–100. doi:10.1017/S0305000900013453. ISSN 1469-7602. PMID 2925817. S2CID 26395455.
  17. Fenson, Larry; Pethick, Steve; Renda, Connie; Cox, Jeffrey L.; Dale, Philip S.; Reznick, J. Steven (2000). "Short-form versions of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories". Applied Psycholinguistics. 21 (1): 95–116. doi:10.1017/S0142716400001053. ISSN 0142-7164. S2CID 144324229.
  18. "MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories". mb-cdi.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  19. Rescorla, Leslie; Ratner, Nan Bernstein; Jusczyk, Peter; Jusczyk, Anne Marie (2005). "Concurrent Validity of the Language Development Survey: Associations With the MacArthur—Bates Communicative Development Inventories: Words and Sentences". American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. 14 (2): 156–163. doi:10.1044/1058-0360(2005/016). ISSN 1058-0360. PMID 15989390.
  20. Rescorla, Leslie (2002). "Language and Reading Outcomes to Age 9 in Late-Talking Toddlers". Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 45 (2): 360–371. doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2002/028). ISSN 1092-4388. PMID 12003517.
  21. Rescorla, Leslie (2005). "Age 13 Language and Reading Outcomes in Late-Talking Toddlers". Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 48 (2): 459–472. doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2005/031). ISSN 1092-4388. PMID 15989404.
  22. Rescorla, Leslie (2009). "Age 17 Language and Reading Outcomes in Late-Talking Toddlers: Support for a Dimensional Perspective on Language Delay". Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 52 (1): 16–30. doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2008/07-0171). ISSN 1092-4388. PMID 18723598.
  23. Rescorla, Leslie; Achenbach, Thomas; Ivanova, Masha Y.; Dumenci, Levent; Almqvist, Fredrik; Bilenberg, Niels; Bird, Hector; Wei Chen; Dobrean, Anca (2007). "Behavioral and Emotional Problems Reported by Parents of Children Ages 6 to 16 in 31 Societies". Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. 15 (3): 130–142. doi:10.1177/10634266070150030101. hdl:20.500.11815/3626. ISSN 1063-4266. S2CID 142993723.
  24. Rescorla, Leslie; Achenbach, Thomas M.; Ivanova, Masha Y.; Dumenci, Levent; Almqvist, Fredrik; Bilenberg, Niels; Bird, Hector; Broberg, Anders; Dobrean, Anca (2007). "Epidemiological comparisons of problems and positive qualities reported by adolescents in 24 countries". Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 75 (2): 351–358. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.75.2.351. ISSN 1939-2117. PMID 17469893.
  25. Rescorla, Leslie; Achenbach, Thomas M. (2002). "Use of the Language Development Survey (LDS) in a National Probability Sample of Children 18 to 35 Months Old". Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 45 (4): 733–743. doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2002/059). ISSN 1092-4388. PMID 12199403.
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