Papers by Evangeline Nwokah
Previous studies of the language of retarded children have indicated that their under-standing an... more Previous studies of the language of retarded children have indicated that their under-standing and use of language is poor when compared with their mental age and that they are more preoccupied with the "here and now " rather than past or future events. Fifty 4-year-olds, 50 5-year-olds and 50 E.S.N.(M) (moderately educationally subnormal) children were presented with a story-telling task using a book of pictures. A linguistic analysis was made of each story using a clausal analysis. The types of clauses, number of clauses, use of the past tense, and use of conjunctions were assessed. A longitudinal study of 12 of the E.S.N.(M) and 12 of the normal children was also carried out over one year. The longitu-dinal study showed a rapid increase in the use of the past tense in the normal children only, and that the length of story and use of tense were far less consistent over time in individual E.S.N.(M) children than in the normal children. There was no significant difference ...
Background/significance, Teen mothers have the lowest rates of breastfeeding of any group in the ... more Background/significance, Teen mothers have the lowest rates of breastfeeding of any group in the US. With funding from CDC we developed and evaluated an educational program for teen mothers based on informed decision-making theory and integrated the values and experiences of teen mothers. Objective/purpose This paper describes our educational curriculum and the results of data collected from teen mothers in two comparison cohorts of teen mothers participating in the January and September 2009 childbirth classes at the Greensboro YWCA. Methods We developed our curriculum with input from teen; it integrated story telling to engage the teens in discussions to enhance decision-making abilities and breastfeeding-related knowledge and skills. To evaluate the program we compared a cohort of adolescents exposed to the intervention with a cohort who were not exposed. We collected breastfeeding intentions from all 17 in the Jan cohort. Six participated in the prospective study; we conducted b...
International Breastfeeding Journal, 2012
Background: Teen mothers face many challenges to successful breastfeeding and are less likely to ... more Background: Teen mothers face many challenges to successful breastfeeding and are less likely to breastfeed than any other population group in the U.S. Few studies have investigated this population; all prior studies are cross-sectional and collect breastfeeding data retrospectively. The purpose of our qualitative prospective study was to understand the factors that contribute to the breastfeeding decisions and practices of teen mothers. Methods: This prospective study took place from January through December 2009 in Greensboro, North Carolina in the U.S. We followed the cohort from pregnancy until two weeks after they ceased all breastfeeding and milk expression. We conducted semi-structured interviews at baseline and follow-up, and tracked infant feeding weekly by phone. We analyzed the data to create individual life and breastfeeding journeys and then identified themes that cut across the individual journeys. Results: Four of the five teenagers breastfed at the breast for nine days: in contrast, one teen breastfed exclusively for five months. Milk expression by pumping was associated with significantly longer provision of human milk. Breastfeeding practices and cessation were closely connected with their experiences as new mothers in the context of ongoing multiple roles, complex living situations, youth and dependency, and poor knowledge of the fundamentals of breastfeeding and infant development. Breastfeeding cessation was influenced by inadequate breastfeeding skill, physically unpleasant and painful early experiences they were unprepared to manage, and inadequate health care response to real problems. Conclusions: Continued breastfeeding depends on a complex interplay of multiple factors, including having made an informed choice and having the skills, support and experiences needed to sustain the belief that breastfeeding is the best choice for them and their baby given their life situation. Teenagers in the US context need to have a positive early breastfeeding experience, be able to identify and claim a reliable support system supportive of breastfeeding, and gain through their experience, a belief in their own agency and competency as mothers.
American Journal of Play, 2019
Language play is a key component of many children’s popular graphic novels. The authors analyze t... more Language play is a key component of many children’s popular graphic novels. The authors analyze the sound and word play in Dav Pilkey’s illustrated Captain Underpants series. They argue that Pilkey’s literary devices fall into two main areas of hyperbole and linguistic creativity and that Pilkey’s language shifts the reader into a carnivalesque play frame. In Pilkey’s work, the use of language contributes to a humorous disconnect between a real word and its distorted counterpart and between real worlds and a parallel sphere of hyperbolic pretend play.
American Journal of Play, 2009
This article examines the creation of novel words by two English-speaking male siblings, ages fiv... more This article examines the creation of novel words by two English-speaking male siblings, ages fiveand six-years-old, during a fourteen-month period of weekly play sessions. The questions the article addresses are: Did the boys produce novel words? What types of words? Why were these words created? And did they become a permanent part of the siblings’ vocabularies? The authors categorized all novel words as either developmental substitution, word play, redundant duplication, or word gap, depending on how the words functioned in the boys’ conversations. In this dyad, novel words functioned primarily as word play and filling a word gap (thereby providing a precise way to convey meaning). The novel words were nearly all nonce formations (isolated occurrences) and were composed mainly of compound words (twoor three-word combinations) and pseudowords (fictitious words). When the boys repeated novel words, they usually did so immediately, i.e. within the same play session. The study sugges...
American Journal of Play, 2010
Summer camps provide opportunities for children to experience play, pleasurable activities, and s... more Summer camps provide opportunities for children to experience play, pleasurable activities, and social interaction with other children of similar ages and interests and are an integral part of the modern-day American cultural landscape. The authors discuss the emergence of summer camps for children with special needs, the types of play activities in such camps, and how therapeutic and learning goals are incorporated into this play. They critically examine outcomes of summer camp experiences for children with special needs as reported in the literature. And they provide suggestions for future research that considers the role of play in summer camps.
Play is a major component of early intervention for infants and toddlers with special needs. Many... more Play is a major component of early intervention for infants and toddlers with special needs. Many of these children are from low-income families with limited resources. The authors investigate the attitudes, practices, and concerns of early-intervention providers (professionals whose services support young children with developmental disabilities and delay) concerning their use of toys in their work and their worries about poor youngsters without such playthings. The authors' survey of 320 early-intervention providers revealed that nearly all took play materials with them into the homes of some children but most of them also used items already present there. More than 80 percent of providers gave toys to their clients because of their concern that the family's poverty made toys scarce. As a group, physical therapists and occupational therapists were significantly less likely to use play materials they took into the homes. Most significantly, perhaps, all providers found that...
This workshop provides opportunities for participants to share information on course design and o... more This workshop provides opportunities for participants to share information on course design and opportunities for students to tell their stories about their expectations, experiences, knowledge and skills learned through service-learning in academic coursework. Participants will develop their own preplanning and implementation for a service-learning experience supported through the process of step-by-step plans for their own projects; role-play student oral and written story-telling based on student case studies; discuss changes in student beliefs and perceptions as part of learning; and share solutions for organizational challenges and student support. Information on processes and paperwork related to teaming with community agencies, faculty and service-learning staff will be shared, and opportunities to discuss how to address community need, student learning outcomes, and faculty teaching in service-learning, will be provided.
International Journal of Play
This article examines the creation of novel words by two English-speaking male siblings, ages fiv... more This article examines the creation of novel words by two English-speaking male siblings, ages five-and six-years-old, during a fourteen-month period of weekly play sessions. The questions the article addresses are: Did the boys produce novel words? What types of words? Why were these words created? And did they become a permanent part of the siblings' vocabularies? The authors categorized all novel words as either developmental substitution, word play, redundant duplication, or word gap, depending on how the words functioned in the boys' conversations. In this dyad, novel words functioned primarily as word play and filling a word gap (thereby providing a precise way to convey meaning). The novel words were nearly all nonce formations (isolated occurrences) and were composed mainly of compound words (two-or three-word combinations) and pseudowords (fictitious words). When the boys repeated novel words, they usually did so immediately, i.e. within the same play session. The study suggests that these children spontaneously produced a varied repertoire of novel words to meet and expand the needs of their imaginative or pretend play. The words were created in the moment and arose from the novel concepts and themes of pretend play. Research for this article was funded in part by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
This article examines the creation of novel words by two English-speaking male siblings, ages fiv... more This article examines the creation of novel words by two English-speaking male siblings, ages five-and six-years-old, during a fourteen-month period of weekly play sessions. The questions the article addresses are: Did the boys produce novel words? What types of words? Why were these words created? And did they become a permanent part of the siblings' vocabularies? The authors categorized all novel words as either developmental substitution, word play, redundant duplication, or word gap, depending on how the words functioned in the boys' conversations. In this dyad, novel words functioned primarily as word play and filling a word gap (thereby providing a precise way to convey meaning). The novel words were nearly all nonce formations (isolated occurrences) and were composed mainly of compound words (two-or three-word combinations) and pseudowords (fictitious words). When the boys repeated novel words, they usually did so immediately, i.e. within the same play session. The study suggests that these children spontaneously produced a varied repertoire of novel words to meet and expand the needs of their imaginative or pretend play. The words were created in the moment and arose from the novel concepts and themes of pretend play. Research for this article was funded in part by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Background: Teen mothers face many challenges to successful breastfeeding and are less likely to ... more Background: Teen mothers face many challenges to successful breastfeeding and are less likely to breastfeed than any other population group in the U.S. Few studies have investigated this population; all prior studies are cross-sectional and collect breastfeeding data retrospectively. The purpose of our qualitative prospective study was to understand the factors that contribute to the breastfeeding decisions and practices of teen mothers. Methods: This prospective study took place from January through December 2009 in Greensboro, North Carolina in the U.S. We followed the cohort from pregnancy until two weeks after they ceased all breastfeeding and milk expression. We conducted semi-structured interviews at baseline and follow-up, and tracked infant feeding weekly by phone. We analyzed the data to create individual life and breastfeeding journeys and then identified themes that cut across the individual journeys. Results: Four of the five teenagers breastfed at the breast for nine days: in contrast, one teen breastfed exclusively for five months. Milk expression by pumping was associated with significantly longer provision of human milk. Breastfeeding practices and cessation were closely connected with their experiences as new mothers in the context of ongoing multiple roles, complex living situations, youth and dependency, and poor knowledge of the fundamentals of breastfeeding and infant development. Breastfeeding cessation was influenced by inadequate breastfeeding skill, physically unpleasant and painful early experiences they were unprepared to manage, and inadequate health care response to real problems.
International Journal of Play, 2013
Background/significance, Teen mothers have the lowest rates of breastfeeding of any group in the ... more Background/significance, Teen mothers have the lowest rates of breastfeeding of any group in the US. With funding from CDC we developed and evaluated an educational program for teen mothers based on informed decision-making theory and integrated the values and experiences of teen mothers. Objective/purpose This paper describes our educational curriculum and the results of data collected from teen mothers in two comparison cohorts of teen mothers participating in the January and September 2009 childbirth classes at the Greensboro YWCA. Methods We developed our curriculum with input from teen; it integrated story telling to engage the teens in discussions to enhance decision-making abilities and breastfeeding-related knowledge and skills. To evaluate the program we compared a cohort of adolescents exposed to the intervention with a cohort who were not exposed. We collected breastfeeding intentions from all 17 in the Jan cohort. Six participated in the prospective study; we conducted b...
Humor, 2013
Children with and without hearing loss were compared on their joketelling and humor-related oral ... more Children with and without hearing loss were compared on their joketelling and humor-related oral narrative skills. They were asked to tell a joke, create a funny story, and describe a funny movie they had seen. The ability to use humor in language creatively or in recall, the appropriate use of time reference in verbs, and the sequencing of story schema are advanced language skills for children. The conceptual and language skills of humor could be impacted if children do not hear some of the subtleties of language. Results revealed children with hearing loss used shorter and less complex utterances in jokes. They were significantly more likely to produce knock-knock jokes than other types such as riddles, and the knock-knock jokes were at a pre-joke stage. Children with hearing loss also produced funny stories that were less complex. They scored lower on story structure, total narrative ability, and Applebee's story schema. They were less likely to report bathroom humor as the funny part of a joke, story, or movie. This suggests that some aspects of the development of verbal humor may be impacted by hearing loss even among children mainstreamed in regular schools.
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Papers by Evangeline Nwokah