Silje Hokstad

• Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegård; Hokstad, Silje; Furnes, Bjarte Reidar; Hesjedal, Elisabeth & Østvik, Jørn (2024). Inclusive Education for Students With Special Education Needs in Norway. Remedial and special education. ISSN 0741-9325. 45(6), s. 351–358. doi: 10.1177/07419325241260750. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  This narrative review aims to present and discuss the Norwegian school system as a context for inclusive education. Despite its clear political intentions, Norway lacks a common definition of inclusion and has limited insight into the quality of inclusive practices that are commonly implemented for students with special education needs (SEN) and the results of such practices. This study reveals that students with SEN are often educated in segregated settings and by staff lacking educational competence. Hence, future policy actions should prioritize the development of a common terminology and a report system that includes students with SEN. As SEN resources in Norway are allocated based on a lack of satisfactory learning outcomes from mainstream education and often result in segregated actions, an increased focus on school society, learning environments, educational practices, and individual learning outcomes is required. Additional research is needed to identify practices that can promote high-quality inclusion of students in Norwegian schools.

• Hokstad, Silje & Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegård (2023). Stuttering in individuals with Down syndrome: a systematic review of earlier research. Frontiers in Psychology. 14, s. 1–16. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1176743. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  The main objective of this systematic review was to synthesize the evidence on the occurrence and characteristics of stuttering in individuals with Down syndrome and thus contribute knowledge about stuttering in this population. Group studies reporting outcome measures of stuttering were included. Studies with participants who were preselected based on their fluency status were excluded. We searched the Eric, PsychInfo, Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science Core Collection databases on 3rd January 2022 and conducted supplementary searches of the reference lists of previous reviews and the studies included in the current review, as well as relevant speech and language journals. The included studies were coded in terms of information concerning sample characteristics, measurement approaches, and stuttering-related outcomes. The appraisal tool for cross-sectional studies (AXIS) was used to evaluate study quality. We identified 14 eligible studies, with a total of 1,833 participants (mean  =  131.29, standard deviation  =  227.85, median  =  45.5) between 3 and 58  years of age. The estimated occurrence of stuttering ranged from 2.38 to 56%, which is substantially higher than the estimated prevalence (1%) of stuttering in the general population. The results also showed that stuttering severity most often was judged to be mildto-moderate and that individuals with Down syndrome displayed secondary behaviors when these were measured. However, little attention has been paid to investigating the potential adverse effects of stuttering for individuals with Down syndrome. We judged the quality of the evidence to be moderate-to-low. The negative evaluation was mostly due to sampling limitations that decreased the representability and generalizability of the results. Based on the high occurrence of stuttering and the potential negative effects of this condition, individuals with Down syndrome who show signs of stuttering should be referred to a speech and language pathologist for an evaluation of their need for stuttering treatment.

• Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegård; Hokstad, Silje; Engevik, Liv Inger; Lervåg, Arne & Smith, Elizabeth (2022). A Randomized Trial of the Digital Down Syndrome LanguagePlus (DSL+) Vocabulary Intervention Program. Remedial and special education. ISSN 0741-9325. 43(5). doi: 10.1177/07419325211058400. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  This study investigated the effect of the digital Down Syndrome LanguagePlus (DSL+) intervention on vocabulary outcomes through a school-delivered randomized controlled trial. A national sample of first graders with Down syndrome from 91 schools was allocated to an intervention group (n = 50), which received daily intervention for 15 weeks, or a business-as-usual control group (n = 53). The intervention involved picture book sharing and structured tasks and was organized as one-to-one, small-group, and full-class lessons. Children in the intervention group made greater gains than children in the control group in expressive vocabulary breadth (d = .429, CI [.160, .699]) and receptive vocabulary breadth (d = .447, CI [.193, .700]). The outcomes indicate that the novel DSL+ intervention is an effective intervention to increase trained vocabulary among first graders with Down syndrome, and it takes only 15 minutes of effort 5 days a week.

• Hokstad, Silje; Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegård; Yaruss, J. Scott; Hoff, Karoline; Melle, Ane H. & Lervåg, Arne (2022). Stuttering Behavior in a National Age Cohort of Norwegian First-Graders With Down Syndrome. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research. ISSN 1092-4388. 65(11), s. 4133–4150. doi: 10.1044/2022_JSLHR-21-00605. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Purpose: The aims of this study were to investigate the occurrence of stuttering behavior across time and to evaluate the relationship between stuttering behavior and language ability in children with Down syndrome. Method: A national age cohort of Norwegian first graders with Down syndrome (N = 75) participated in the study. Speech samples from a story-retelling task and a picture book dialogue as well as standardized measures of vocabulary, grammar, and nonverbal mental ability were collected at two time points approximately 5 months apart. Stuttering behavior was evaluated through counting stuttering-like disfluencies and stuttering severity ratings. The relationship between stuttering behavior and language ability was investigated through hierarchical regression analysis. Results: The participants had stuttering severity ratings ranging from no stuttering behavior to severe and displayed all types of stuttering-like disfluencies. There were significant relationships between stuttering behavior and language ability at the first time point, whereas the relationships were not significant at the second time point. The stuttering severity ratings were significantly predicted by language ability across time, whereas the frequency of stuttering-like disfluencies was not. Conclusions: The occurrence of stuttering behavior was high across the measures and time points; however, the relationship between stuttering behavior and language ability varied across these variables. Thus, the nature of the relationship does not seem to follow a strict pattern that can be generalized to all children across time.

• Haraldseid, Ingrid T; Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegård; Guttormsen, Linn Stokke & Hokstad, Silje (2021). Stamming forekommer hyppig hos barn med Down syndrom: Resultater fra en landsomfattende empirisk studie. Norsk tidsskrift for logopedi. ISSN 0332-7256. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Barn med Down syndrom har risiko for vansker med språk og kommunikasjon, og vanligvis er det ekspressive språket og talen betydelig affisert. Det finnes få studier av taleflyt hos barn med Down syndrom, og det er omdiskutert hvorvidt deres taleflytbrudd kan karakteriseres som stamming, hvor mange som faktisk stammer og hvilke variabler som er assosiert med stamming. For å få mer kunnskap om stamming hos barn med Down syndrom, har vi i denne studien analysert typer taleflytbrudd, frekvens av taleflytbrudd, samt sammenheng mellom frekvens av taleflytbrudd og ekspressivt vokabular hos en nasjonal alderskohort med barn med Down syndrom. Til sammen kan dette gi oss indikasjoner om behovet for behandling.

• LeJeune, Lauren; Lemons, Christopher; Hokstad, Silje; Aldama, Rebeca & Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard (2021). Parent-Implemented Oral Vocabulary Intervention for Children With Down Syndrome. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education. ISSN 0271-1214. doi: 10.1177/02711214211005846. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Young children with Down syndrome (DS) often demonstrate impaired oral vocabulary development; however, few intervention studies have focused on this population. One promising method to improve the oral vocabulary of young children with DS may be to train their parents to intervene at home. In this study, we used tele-education methods (e.g., videoconferences, email) to coach parents to implement an adapted version of Down Syndrome LanguagePlus (DSL+). Four children with DS (aged 5–6 years) participated in the multiple probe across behaviors (i.e., stories) single-case research design study. Increasing trends during baseline and data variability precluded confirmation of a functional relation; however, results indicated that all participants increased their scores on mastery measures of targeted vocabulary. Three of the four parents implemented DSL+ with high fidelity and responded favorably to social validity interviews.

• Smith, Elizabeth; Hokstad, Silje & Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegård (2020). Children with Down syndrome can benefit from language interventions; Results from a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Communication Disorders. ISSN 0021-9924. 85:105992, s. 1–12. doi: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2020.105992. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard; Engevik, Liv Inger & Hokstad, Silje (2017). Prioriteres språkstimulering i opplæringstilbudet til 3. klasse-elever med Down syndrom? Norsk tidsskrift for logopedi. ISSN 0332-7256. 63(3), s. 6–13. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Språklige ferdigheter virker inn på mulighetene til sosial samhandling,selvbestemmelse og aktiv deltakelse i lek- og læringssituasjoner. Barn med Down syndrom er i risiko for utvikling av språkvansker og har derfor behov for tilpassede og systematiske språkstimuleringstiltak. Vi vil i denne artikkelen se nærmere på hvilke prioriteringer som gjøres knyttet til språkstimuleringstiltak for barn med Down syndrom.

• Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard; Engevik, Liv Inger; Hokstad, Silje & Mjøberg, Anne Grethe (2017). Vokabularstimuleringstiltak for barn med Down syndrom: Hva sier forskningen? Norsk tidsskrift for logopedi. ISSN 0332-7256. 2017(1), s. 6–17. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Vokabular synes å være av avgjørende betydning for hvordan barn med Down syndrom utvikler seg og fungerer innenfor en rekke områder, som f.eks. språk- og leseferdigheter, sosial fungering samt kvaliteten på inkluderingen i skolen. Forskning avdekker samtidig at det er få intervensjoner utviklet med tanke på stimulering av vokabular hos denne elevgruppen til tross for betydelige utfordringer knyttet til vokabulartilegnelse. Denne artikkelen gir en kort gjennomgang av vokabularutviklingen til barn med Down syndrom og hvorfor vokabularstimulering er spesielt viktig for dem. Videre beskrives sentrale faktorer som kan påvirke vokabularutviklingen og til sist følger en oversikt over relevante forskningsbaserte tiltak.

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• Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegård; Hesjedal, Elisabeth; Østvik, Jørn; Hokstad, Silje & Furnes, Bjarte Reidar (2025). Inkludering. I Befring, Edvard (Red.), Spesialpedagogikk. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISSN 9788202839888. s. 168–186. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Spesialpedagogikk, som er det mest omfattende og allsidige verket om spesialpedagogikk i Norge, kommer nå i sin 7. utgave. Bokas fire deler omhandler disse temaene:Spesialpedagogikkens identitet som et mangfoldig lærings- og verdifag: faglige perspektiver og forståelsesmåter, etikk, opplæringsrettigheter, historiske grunntrekk og spesialpedagogisk kompetanseutvikling. Spesialpedagogiske grunnleggende arbeidsoppgaver: inkludering, kartlegging, forebygging, den spesialpedagogiske tiltakskjeden og samarbeid med foreldre, PPT og andre. Spesialpedagogiske støtte- og hjelpetiltak for en mangfoldig målgruppe: kommunikasjons- og språkforstyrrelser, lese- og skrivevansker, matematikkvansker, utviklingshemming, hørsels- og synsvansker, fysisk-motoriske funksjonshemminger, psykososial sårbarhet, migrasjonsrelaterte vansker, autisme og barn og unge med stort læringspotensial. Spesialpedagogikk i barnehage og skole: barnehage, grunnskole, videregående opplæring og skolelivsmestring. Boka retter seg primært til bachelor- og masterstudenter i spesialpedagogikk og studenter i lærerutdanningene, men er også velegnet i pedagogikk-, sosial- og helsefagene. Forfatterne er rekruttert fra de fremste studie- og forskningsmiljøene i Norge.

• Hokstad, Silje & Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegård (2024). Corrigendum: Stuttering in individuals with Down syndrome: a systematic review of earlier research (Frontiers in Psychology, (2023), 14, (1176743), 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1176743). Frontiers in Psychology. 15. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1440913. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Engevik, Liv Inger; Hokstad, Silje & Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegård (2023). Språktiltak for elevar med Down syndrom. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Hokstad, Silje & Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegård (2023). Språktiltak for elevar med Down syndrom. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegård; Haraldseid, Ingrid T; Hokstad, Silje & Linn, Guttormsen (2021). Stuttering in an Age Cohort of Children with Down Syndrome, one hour talk. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Hokstad, Silje; Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegård; Yauss, Scott; Karoline, Hoff & Ane, Melle (2021). Stuttering in Children with Down syndrome. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard; Hokstad, Silje & Engevik, Liv Inger (2020). DSL+: Bildebøker og systematisk arbeid med ord. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Hokstad, Silje; Lemons, Christopher; Smith, Elizabeth & Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard (2019). Individual variation in intervention outcomes - preliminary results from the Down syndrome LanguagePlus-project. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Engevik, Liv Inger; Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard & Hokstad, Silje (2019). Presentasjon av språkintervensjonen DSL+. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Engevik, Liv Inger; Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard & Hokstad, Silje (2019). Foreløpige funn fra DSL+-prosjektet. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Engevik, Liv Inger; Smith, Elizabeth; Hokstad, Silje & Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard (2018). The impact of scripted book-sharing used in the DSL+-intervention on literal and inferential language skills among first graders with Down syndrome. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Smith, Elizabeth; Hokstad, Silje & Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard (2018). A systematic review of language interventions for children with Down syndrome. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard; Smith, Elisabeth; Hokstad, Silje & Engevik, Liv Inger (2018). The effect of The Down Syndrome LanguagePlus (DSL+) Intervention; a digital intervention for improving vocabulary. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Background: Vocabulary is shown to be a bottleneck for academic and social development. Children with Down syndrome are at risk for impaired cognitive development, including weaknesses in vocabulary. The DSL + intervention aims to be an effective vocabulary intervention for first graders who have Down syndrome. Design: The effect of the intervention is measured through a two wave randomized controlled trial with a total of 102first graders with Down syndrome randomly divided into two groups. Language tests are carried out before, during and after the intervention. In addition individual training sessions on iPad are tracked, and audio files are collected from expressive tasks. Methods: A novel 15/30 week daily vocabulary intervention was developed specifically for this project. The intervention includes an app, built on research-based knowledge about learning and language acquisition in children with Down syndrome. The app consists of digital picture books and structured language training tasks and is used to stimulate teacher-student and student-student dialogues as well as individual systematic training. The student is first given individual lessons; in this way students are familiarized with the story and related vocabulary, preparing them to participate when the picture book is subsequently implemented in the mainstream classroom. The mainstream school teachers and special educators receive online training in order to optimize the implementation quality. Results: The final data from the project will be collected in June 2018. The knowledge revealed from this study will be presented as results from Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with latent variables assessing both the direct and the indirect effect of the intervention. Implications: The results of the intervention are expected to have important practical, theoretical and methodological implications in the field of language development in children with Down syndrome, design of interventions, and the field of digital learning tools worldwide.

• Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard & Hokstad, Silje (2018). Alternativ og supplerende kommunikasjon. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Hokstad, Silje & Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard (2018). Generalisering av ordkunnskap. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Engevik, Liv Inger; Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard & Hokstad, Silje (2018). Bildeboklesing. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Engevik, Liv Inger; Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard & Hokstad, Silje (2018). Motivasjon. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard & Hokstad, Silje (2018). Relasjonsord, kategorier og ord i bruk. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Hokstad, Silje & Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard (2018). Grammatikk. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard; Engevik, Liv Inger & Hokstad, Silje (2018). Kartlegging. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Hokstad, Silje; Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard & Engevik, Liv Inger (2018). Systematisk trening. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Engevik, Liv Inger & Hokstad, Silje (2018). Bildebokdialogar frå DSL+-prosjektet: Foreløpige funn. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Hokstad, Silje; Smith, Elizabeth & Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard (2018). Implementation Quality in Language Interventions for Children with Down Syndrome Preliminary findings from a systematic review of pervious research. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Engevik, Liv Inger; Hokstad, Silje & Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard (2017). Lærerseminar/opplæring DSL+ (kull nr. 2). Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Hokstad, Silje; Smith, Liz & Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard (2017). Findings from a systematic review of language interventions for children with Down syndrome. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Liz, Smith; Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard; Hokstad, Silje; Mjøberg, Anne Grethe; Sckanke, Håkon & Engedal, Håvard (2017). Motivation in children with Down syndrome: A systematic review. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Hokstad, Silje (2017). Utviklingen av visuelt materiale til DSL+-prosjektet – et spesialpedagogisk perspektiv. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Hokstad, Silje (2017). Implementation Quality in Language Interventions for Children with Down Syndrome. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Engevik, Liv Inger; Hokstad, Silje & Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard (2016). Lærerseminar/opplæring DSL+. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard; Engevik, Liv Inger & Hokstad, Silje (2016). Ny språkapp for barn med Down sydnrom. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard; Smith, Liz; Engevik, Liv Inger & Hokstad, Silje (2016). The DSL+ - an effective vocabulary intervention? Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Hokstad, Silje (2016). Research quality in Implementation of Language Interventions A poster presentation on a structured literature review - UV fakultetets 20-årsjubileum. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Hokstad, Silje (2016). Research quality in Implementation of Language Interventions A poster presentation on a structured literature review (international conference). Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Hokstad, Silje & Smith, Liz (2016). Testing the direct effect of a vocabulary intervention. Breakfast seminar hosted by the Oslo Assessment and Learning Lab. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Hokstad, Silje & Smith, Liz (2015). The Down Syndrome Language Plus Project: Investigating optimal routes for the design of iPad tasks, to support vocabulary in children with Down syndrome. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Hokstad, Silje (2026). Language and Speech in Six-year-old Norwegian Children with Down Syndrome; Two Systematic Reviews and Two Empirical Studies. Universitetet i Oslo. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Children with Down syndrome experience pervasive problems with communication that affect their daily life functioning. Even though their skills within language and speech are extensively described in research literature there are identified knowledge gaps in related areas, including language intervention and the occurrence and characteristics of stuttering in this population. The aim of this thesis is therefore to gain more knowledge about the efficacy of language intervention and the occurrence and characteristics of stuttering in children with Down syndrome. Knowledge within these two areas is important because language proficiency and speech fluency impact children’s communicative success and advancement in this knowledge base has the potential to contribute to improved special education services for children with Down syndrome. This thesis is an article-based thesis and consists of an extended abstract and four peer reviewed scientific articles, including a systematic review and meta-analysis of language interventions for children with Down syndrome, a Randomized Controlled Trial of the Down syndrome LanguagePlus-intervention, a report on stuttering behavior and the relationship between stuttering behavior and language ability in a national age cohort of Norwegian first-graders with Down syndrome, and a systematic review of research on the occurrence and characteristics of stuttering in individuals with Down syndrome. An overarching problem formulation and two sub-questions which are based on the research questions in these four scientific articles leads the discussion of this extended abstract. The overarching problem formulation is “how can special educators approach the speech and language needs of young children with Down syndrome?” The first sub-question is, “under which circumstances can language interventions for children with Down syndrome be effective in real world educational contexts?” And the second sub-question is, “how can capacities and demands within the linguistic domain impact the occurrence of stuttering in children with Down syndrome?”. In this extended abstract I synthesize and discuss the overall findings of this thesis, considering its empirical and theoretical background and methodological approaches. The findings from the four scientific articles are discussed in relation to the overarching problem formulation and the two sub-questions of the extended abstract.

• Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard; Hokstad, Silje; Engevik, Liv Inger & Smith, Liz (2019). Final Report - The Down Syndrome LanguagePlus Project (DSL+). Universitetet i Oslo. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Hokstad, Silje (2017). Implementation Quality in Language Intervention Research A systematic review of previous studies of children with Down syndrome. Universitetet i Oslo. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Hokstad, Silje; Engevik, Liv Inger; Smith, Liz; Kristensen, Jarl Kleppe; Høibo, Ingrid Holmboe & Mjøberg, Anne Grethe [Vis alle 8 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2017). Lærerveiledning DSL+ del 2. 7Letras. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegaard; Smith, Liz; Engevik, Liv Inger; Hokstad, Silje; Mjøberg, Anne Grethe & Høibo, Ingrid Holmboe [Vis alle 7 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2016). Lærerveiledning DSL+, del 1. Universitetet i Oslo. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv

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