The Early Language in Victoria Study (ELVS) has been following the speech and language development of approximately 1900 children born during 2002 in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia) since they were 8 months of age.
Background
ELVS is a longitudinal epidemiological study of the emerging communication, language and literacy skills of children and continues to follow this same group of children as they transition from adolescence to adulthood. ELVS is internationally unique in its coverage from the first year of life and in its depth of data from multi-source informant questionnaires, direct assessment in language-related dimensions (speech, vocabulary, fluency literacy, cognition), psycho-social and educational domains (social, emotional and behavioural development, quality of life, educational achievement, health care utilisation), and linkage to nationally acquired academic achievement data. ELVS was designed to better understand language development, trajectories from infancy through to middle childhood, the emergence of language difficulties, and factors that predict later outcomes.
Previous waves of this project were led by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in collaboration with the University of Melbourne, La Trobe University, Griffith University, and Deakin University. Please visit MCRI for further information about the earlier waves during infancy to middle childhood.
The Current Phase
In 2020, we began Phase II of this project when the participants were completing their final years of formal schooling. This follow up aims to find out more about how language continues to develop during the teenage years and into early adulthood. We re-recruited over 790 parents and 570 young people and will continue to collect multi-source data until 2024.
Phase II is being led by the University of Melbourne. In addition to the University of Melbourne, the current ELVS Investigator Team includes researchers from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Newcastle University, and Griffith University.
Funding
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has funded ELVS since 2002 and continues it's funding in Phase II of this study.
Participating in the ELVS Follow up
You and your parent have been taking part in the ELVS study since you were 8 months old! ELVS has been so important in helping us to better understand how language development shapes children’s social and emotional wellbeing, school achievement, and friendships. We were thrilled to secure funding to continue the ELVS through till the end of 2024 so we can follow ELVS young people until they are 21 years old. We hope to learn more about how language, literacy and numeracy skills can shape young people’s lives as they move into adulthood and begin making decisions about their education, occupation, health, and wellbeing.
Timelines
We would like you and your parent to complete surveys as part of this project at different times. We know young people are busy juggling study, work and social activities! We really appreciate the time you have contributed to complete these surveys and helping to keep ELVS going. All surveys can be completed online in your own time. We will contact you via email when there is a new survey to complete.
Consent survey
When you joined the follow up, we invited you and your parent to complete an online consent survey. Thank you very much for completing this!
Online language activity
At the start of this study, we invited you to complete a short online language task. During this activity, you hear sentences of increasing length and are asked to repeat them. This takes about 10-15 minutes to complete.
We noticed that some participants have not done the online language activity. There’s still time! Having technical difficulties logging in or doing it? We can help! Please contact us for help. Please also let us know if you’d prefer to do the activity over Zoom, and we’ll be in touch to make a time.
Survey Packages
When you left school or were in your final year of schooling, we asked you and your parent to complete a brief survey each (Survey Package 1). A second survey (Survey Package 2) followed, and we will email you a final survey (Survey Package 3) in late 2023. The first and second surveys were timed according to when you were in your final year of school.
The Early Language in Victoria Study (ELVS) is widely published. There are a number of studies nested within ELVS investigating different areas of communication development including: stuttering, autism and bilingual language development.
We are also collaborating internationally with researchers and PhD students at Newcastle University and the University of Eastern Finland.
Data that is deidentified is available to others outside the study team, with appropriate safeguards and structures in line with the ethics approvals we have received and study governance processes. Researchers can visit LifeCourse to view a full list of domains and measures used at each wave of the study.
Researchers and PhD candidates are invited to contact us with any enquiries about accessing ELVS data.
2022
- Levickis P, Gerner B, Krahe M, Reilly S, Eadie P. (2022). The impact of COVID-19 on the Early Language in Victoria Study. Preparing for the future III: Tackling key challenges facing longitudinal population studies in a post-COVID world conference. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.33791.28328.
- Eadie P, Levickis P, Mckean C, Westrupp E, Bavin E, Ware R, Gerner B, Reilly S. (2022). Developing Preschool Language Surveillance Models-Cumulative and Clustering Patterns of Early Life Factors in the Early Language in Victoria Study Cohort. Frontiers in Pediatrics. 10: 18-. doi:10.3389/fped.2022.826817.
2021
- Eadie P, Bavin EL, Bretherton L, Cook F, Gold L, Mensah F, Wake M, Reilly S. (2021). Predictors in infancy for language and academic outcomes at 11 years. Pediatrics. 147(2).
- Cook F, Conway L, Omerovic E, Cahir P, Giallo R, Hiscock H, Mensah F, Bretherton L, Bavin E, Eadie P, Brown S. (2021). Infant regulation: Associations with child language development in a longitudinal cohort. The Journal of Pediatrics. Feb 4.
2020
- Pigdon L, Willmott C, Reilly S, Conti-Ramsden G, Morgan AT. (2020). What predicts nonword repetition performance?. Child Neuropsychology. 26(4):518-33.
- Cook F, Hippmann D, Omerovic E. (2020). The sleep and mental health of gifted children: A prospective, longitudinal, community cohort study. Gifted and Talented International. 35(1):16-26.
- Pigdon L, Willmott C, Reilly S, Conti-Ramsden G, Liegeois F, Connelly A, Morgan AT. (2020). The neural basis of nonword repetition in children with developmental speech or language disorder: An fMRI study. Neuropsychologia. 138:107312.
- Unicomb R, Kefalianos E, Reilly S, Cook F, Morgan A. (2020). Prevalence and features of comorbid stuttering and speech sound disorder at age 4 years. Journal of Communication Disorders. 84:105976.
- Westerveld MF, Paynter J, Brignell A, Reilly S. (2020). No differences in code-related emergent literacy skills in well-matched 4-year-old children with and without ASD. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 50(8):3060-3065.
2019
- Cook F, Giallo R, Hiscock H, Mensah F, Sanchez K, Reilly S. (2019). Infant regulation and child mental health concerns: a longitudinal study. Pediatrics. 143(3):e20180977.
- Pigdon L, Willmott C, Reilly S, Conti-Ramsden G, Gaser C, Connelly A, Morgan AT. (2019). Grey matter volume in developmental speech and language disorder. Brain Structure and Function. 224(9):3387-98.
2018
- Ttofari Eecen K, Eadie P, Morgan AT, Reilly S. (2018). Validation of Dodd's Model for Differential Diagnosis of childhood speech sound disorders: a longitudinal community cohort study. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology. .
- Conway LJ, Levickis PA, Mensah F, Smith JA, Wake M, Reilly S. (2018). The role of joint engagement in the development of language in a community-derived sample of slow-to-talk children. Journal of Child Language. 1–19. doi:10.1017/S030500091800017X.
- Boyce JO, Kilpatrick N, Reilly S, Da Costa A, & Morgan AT. (2018). Receptive and expressive language characteristics of school‐aged children with non‐syndromic cleft lip and/or palate. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders. 53(5), 959-968.
- Eadie P, Conway L, Hallenstein B, Mensah F, McKean C, Reilly S. (2018). Quality of life in children with developmental language disorder. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorder. doi:10.1111/1460-6984.12385.
- Brignell A, Williams K, Jachno K, Prior M, Reilly S, Morgan A. (2018). Patterns and predictors of language development from 4 to 7 years in verbal children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders. 1-4. doi:10.1007/s10803-018-3565-2.
- Matov J, Mensah F, Cook F, Reilly S. (2018). Investigation of the language tasks to include in a short‐language measure for children in the early school years. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders. .
- Reilly S, Cini E, Gold L, Goldfeld S, Law J, Levickis P, Mensah F, Morgan A, Nicholson JM, Le HN, Pezic A. (2018). Data resource profile: The Child LAnguage REpository (CLARE). International Journal of Epidemiology. 47(3):1-11. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyy034.
- Dodd B, Reilly S, Ttofari Eecen K, Morgan AT. (2018). Articulation or phonology? Evidence from longitudinal error data. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics. (11):1027-41.
- Kurth F, Luders E, Pigdon L, Conti‐Ramsden G, Reilly S, Morgan AT. (2018). Altered gray matter volumes in language‐associated regions in children with developmental language disorder and speech sound disorder. Developmental Psychobiology. 60(7):814-24.
- Morgan A, Su M, Reilly S, Conti-Ramsden G, Connelly A, Liégeois FJ. (2018). A brain marker for developmental speech disorders. The Journal of Pediatrics. doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2018.02.043.
2017
- Kefalianos E, Onslow M, Packman A, Vogel A, Pezic A, Mensah F, Conway L, Bavin E, Block S, Reilly S. (2017). The history of stuttering by 7 years of age: Follow-up of a prospective community cohort. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 60(10):2828-2839.
- Kefalianos E, Onslow M, Ukoumunne OC, Block S, Reilly S. (2017). Temperament and early stuttering development: Cross-sectional findings from a community cohort. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 60(4):772-784.
- McKean C, Wraith D, Eadie P, Cook F, Mensah F, Reilly S. (2017). Subgroups in language trajectories from 4 to 11 years: The nature and predictors of stable, improving and decreasing language trajectory groups. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 58(10):1081-1091.
- Carew P, Mensah F, Rance G, Flynn T, Poulakis Z, Wake M. (2017). Mild–moderate congenital hearing loss: Secular trends in outcomes across four systems of detection. Child: Care, Health & Development. 44(1):71-82.
- Watts A, Eadie P, Block S, Mensah F, Reilly S. (2017). Language skills of children during the first 12 months after stuttering onset. Journal of Fluency Disorders. Mar 1;51:39-49.
- McKean C, Reilly S, Bavin EL, Bretherton L, Cini E, Conway L, Cook F, Eadie P, Prior M, Wake M, Mensah F. (2017). Language outcomes at 7 years: Early predictors and co-occurring difficulties. Pediatrics. e20161684. doi:10.1542/peds.2016-1684.
- Levickis P, Sciberras E, McKean C, Conway L, Pezic A, Mensah F, Bavin EL, Bretherton L, Eadie P, Prior M, Reilly S. (2017). Language and social-emotional and behavioural wellbeing from 4 to 7 years: A community-based study. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 1-1. doi:10.1007/s00787-017-1079-7.
- Law J, Charlton J, Dockrell J, Gascoigne M, McKean C, Theakston A. (2017). Early Language Development: Needs, provision, and intervention for preschool children from socio-economically disadvantage backgrounds. Institute of Education-London. .
- Reilly S, Cook F, Bavin EL, Bretherton L, Cahir P, Eadie P, Gold L, Mensah F, Papadopoullos S, Wake M. (2017). Cohort Profile: The Early Language in Victoria Study (ELVS). International Journal of Epidemiology. 1-10. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyx079.
- Luders E, Kurth F, Pigdon L, Conti-Ramsden G, Reilly S, Morgan A. (2017). Atypical callosal morphology in children with speech sound disorder. Neuroscience. 367:211-218.
- Smith KA, Iverach L, O'Brian S, Mensah F, Kefalianos E, Hearne A, Reilly S. (2017). Anxiety in 11-year-old children who stutter: Findings from a prospective longitudinal community sample. International Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research. 60(5):1211-1222.
- Smith KA. (2017). Anxiety and stuttering: Closing the research gaps. Doctoral dissertation. .
2016
- Bavin EL, Reilly S. (2016). Understanding language development in a community sample: The Early Language in Victoria Study (ELVS). Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. 60(7):634.
- Bennetts SK, Mensah FK, Westrupp EM, Hackworth NJ, Reilly S. (2016). The agreement between parent-reported and directly measured child language and parenting behaviors. Frontiers in Psychology. 7:1710. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01710.
- Le HN, Gold L, Mensah F, Eadie P, Bavin EL, Bretherton L, Reilly S. (2016). Service utilisation and costs of language impairment in children: The early language in Victoria Australian population-based study. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. 19(4):360-369.
- McKean C, Law J, Mensah F, Cini E, Eadie P, Frazer K, Reilly S. (2016). Predicting meaningful differences in school-entry language skills from child and family factors measured at 12 months of age. International Journal of Early Childhood. 48(3):329-351.
- Brignell A, Williams K, Prior M, Donath S, Reilly S, Bavin EL, Eadie P, Morgan A. (2016). Parent-reported patterns of loss and gain in communication in 1 to 2-year-old children are not unique to autism spectrum disorder. Autism. 21(3):344-356.
- Watts A, Eadie P, Block S, Mensah F, Reilly S. (2016). Language skills of children during the first 12 months after stuttering onset. Journal of Fluency Disorders. 51:39-49.
- Mueller KL, Murray JC, Michaelson JJ, Christiansen MH, Reilly S, Tomblin JB. (2016). Common genetic variants in FOXP2 are not associated with individual differences in language development. PLoS One. 11(4):e0152576.
2015
- McKean C, Mensah F, Eadie P, Bavin EL, Bretherton L, Cini C, Reilly S. (2015). Levers for language growth: Characteristics and predictors of language trajectories between 4 and 7 years. PLoS One. 10(8):e0134251. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0134251.
- Watts A, Eadie P, Block S, Reilly S. (2015). Language ability of children with and without a history of stuttering: A longitudinal study. International Journal of Speech Language Pathology. 17(1):86-95.
- Vogel AP, Block S, Kefalianos E, Onslow M, Eadie P, Barth B, Conway L, Mundt JC, Reilly S. (2015). Feasibility of automated speech sample collection with stuttering children using interactive voice response (IVR) technology. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. 17(2):115-20.
- Serry T, Castles A, Mensah F, Pezic A, Bavin EL, Eadie P, Prior M, Bretherton L, Reilly S. (2015). Developing a comprehensive model of risk and protective factors that can predict spelling at age seven: Findings from a community sample of Victorian children. Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties. 20(1):83-102.
- Swain N, Eadie P, Prior M, Reilly, S. (2015). Assessing early communication skills at 12 months: A retrospective study of Autism Spectrum Disorder. International Journal of Speech Language Pathology. 50(4):488-498. doi: 10.1111/1460-6984.12150.
2014
- Skeat J, Wake M, Ukoumunne OC, Eadie P, Bretherton L, Reilly S. (2014). Who gets help for pre-school communication problems? Data from a prospective community study. Child: Care, Health & Development. 40(2):215-222.
- Kefalianos E, Onslow M, Ukoumunne O, Block S, Reilly S. (2014). Stuttering, temperament, and anxiety: Data from a community cohort ages 2–4 years. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 57(4):1314-1322.
- Eadie P, Nguyen C, Carlin J, Bavin E, Bretherton L, Reilly S. (2014). Stability of language performance at 4 & 5 years: Measurement and participant variability. International Journal of Speech Language Pathology. 49(2):215-227.
- Eadie P, Morgan A, Ukoumunne OC, Eecen Trofari K, Wake M, Reilly S. (2014). Speech sound disorders at 4 years: Prevalence, co-morbidities, and predictors in a community cohort of children.. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. 7(6):578-584.
- Reilly S, Tomblin B, Law J, McKean C, Mensah F, Morgan A, Goldfeld S, Nicholson JM, Wake M. (2014). Specific language impairment: A convenient label for whom?. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders. 49(4):416-451.
- Predicting autism diagnosis by 7 years of age using parent report of infant social communication skills (2014). Predicting autism diagnosis by 7 years of age using parent report of infant social communication skills. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health. 50(9):693-700.
- Bretherton L, Prior R, Bavin E, Cini E, Eadie P, Reilly S. (2014). Developing relationships between language and behaviour in preschool children from the Early Language in Victoria Study: Implications for intervention. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. 19(1):7-27.
- Smith KA, Iverach L, O’Brian S, Kefalianos E, Reilly S. (2014). Anxiety of children and adolescents who stutter: A review. Journal of Fluency Disorders. 1(40):22-34.
2013
- Reilly S, Kefalianos E, Smith K. (2013). The natural history of stuttering onset and recovery: Data from a longitudinal study. Enfance. (3):275-285.
- Bavin EL, Bretherton L. (2013). The Early Language in Victoria Study (ELVS): Late talkers, predictors and outcomes. Rescorla L, Dale P, (eds.). Late Talkers: From Research to Practice: Language Development, Interventions and Outcomes. Baltimore, USA: Brookes Publishing Co. 3-21.
- Reilly S, Onslow M, Packman A, Cini E, Conway L, Ukoumunne OC, Bavin EL, Prior M, Eadie P, Block S, Wake M. (2013). Natural history of stuttering to 4 years of age: A prospective community-based study. Pediatrics. 132(3):460-467.
- Bretherton L, Prior M, Bavin E, Cini E, Eadie P, Reilly S. (2013). Developing relationships between language and behaviour in preschool children from the Early Language in Victoria Study: Implications for intervention. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. 19(1):7-27.
- Castles A, McLean GM, Bavin EL, Bretherton L, Carlin J, Prior M, Ukoumunne O, Wake M, Reilly S. (2013). Computer use and letter knowledge in pre-school children: A population-based study. Journal of Paediatric Child Health. 49(3):193-198.
2012
- Kefalianos E, Onslow M, Block S, Menzies R, Reilly S. (2012). Early stuttering, temperament and anxiety: Two hypotheses. Journal of Fluency Disorders. 37(3):151-163. doi: 10.1016/j.jfludis.2012.03.002.
- Veness C, Prior M, Bavin EL, Eadie P, Cini E, Reilly S. (2012). Early indicators of autism spectrum disorders at 12 and 24 months of age: A prospective, longitudinal comparative study. Autism. 16(2):163-177.
- Petruccelli N, Bavin EL, Bretherton L. (2012). Children with Specific Language Impairment and resolved late talkers: Working memory profiles at 5 years. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research. 55(6):1690-1703.
2011
- Prior M, Bavin EL, Cini E, Reilly S, Eadie P. (2011). Relationships between language impairment, temperament, behavioural adjustment and maternal factors, in a community sample of preschool children. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders. 46(4):489-494.
- (2011). Profiles of language development in pre-school children: Longitudinal latent class analysis of data from the Early Language in Victoria Study. Child: Care, Health & Development. 38(3):341-349. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2214.2011.01234.
- Prior M, Bavin EL, Ong B. (2011). Predictors of school readiness in five-to six-year-old children from an Australian longitudinal community sample. Educational Psychology. 31(1):3-16.
- Nicholls R, Eadie P, Reilly S. (2011). Monolingual versus multilingual acquisition of English morphology: What can we expect by age three?. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders. 46(4):449-463.
- Skeat J, Gold L, Reilly S, Wake M, Ukoumunne O. (2011). Letter to the Editor: The costs of preschool communication problems: Population study. The Medical Journal of Australia. 195(6):322-23.
2010
- Skeat J, Eadie P, Ukoumunne O, Reilly S. (2010). Predictors of parents seeking help or advice about children's communication development in the early years. Child: Care, Health & Development. 36(6):878-887.
- Reilly S, Wake M, Ukoumunne O, Bavin EL, Prior M, Cini E, Conway L, Eadie P, Bretherton L. (2010). Predicting language outcomes at 4 years: Longitudinal findings from the Early Language in Victoria Study. Pediatrics. 126(6):e1530-7.
- Eadie P, Ukoumunne O, Reilly S, Skeat J, Prior M, Bavin EL. (2010). Assessing early communication behaviours: Structure and validity of the Communication and Symbolic Behaviour Scales-Developmental Profile in 12 month Infants. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders. 45(5):572-585.
2009
- Reilly S, Bavin EL, Bretherton L, Conway L, Eadie P, Cini E, Prior M, Ukoumunne OC, Wake M. (2009). The Early Language in Victoria Study (ELVS): A prospective, longitudinal study of communication skills and expressive vocabulary development at 8, 12 and 24 months. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. 11(5):344-57.
- Skeat J, Wake M, Reilly S, Eadie P, Bretherton L, Bavin EL, Ukoumunne OC. (2009). Predictors of early precocious talking: A prospective population study. Journal of Child Language. 37(5):1109-21.
- Reilly S, Onslow M, Packman A, Wake M, Bavin EL, Prior M, Eadie P, Cini E, Bolzonello C, Ukoumunne OC. (2009). Predicting stuttering onset by the age of 3 years: A prospective, community cohort study. Pediatrics. 123(1):270-7.
2008
- Bavin EL, Prior M, Reilly S, Bretherton L, Williams J, Eadie P, Barrett Y, Ukoumunne OC. (2008). The Early Language in Victoria Study: Predicting vocabulary at age one and two years from gesture and object use. Journal of Child Language. (3):687-701.
- Reilly S, Wake M, Bavin EL, Eadie P, Bretherton L, Prior M. (2008). Letter regarding 'A systematic review of the literature on characteristics of late‐talking toddlers‚ by Desmarais et al'. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders. 43(4):473-475.
- Prior M, Bavin EL, Cini E, Reilly S, Bretherton L, Wake M, Eadie P. (2008). Influences on communicative development at 24 months of age: Child temperament, behaviour problems, and maternal factors. Infant Behavior and Development. 31(2):270-279.
2007
- Reilly S, Wake M, Bavin EL, Prior M, Williams J, Bretherton L, Eadie P, Barrett Y, Ukoumunne OC. (2007). Predicting language at 2 years of age: A prospective community study. Pediatrics. 120(6):e1441-9.
2006
- Reilly S, Eadie P, Bavin EL, Wake M, Prior M, Williams J, Bretherton L, Barrett Y, Ukoumunne OC. (2006). Growth of infant communication between 8 and 12 months: A population study. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health. 42(12):764-770.
ELVS Investigators based at other Universities
Sheena Reilly
Distinguished Professor, Griffith University
Edith Bavin
Professor, La Trobe University
Bonnie Barber
Professor, Griffith University
Robert Ware
Professor, Griffith University
Cristina McKean
Professor, Newcastle University
Email: elvs-study@unimelb.edu.auGet in touch
Phone: +61 480 263 911