title: Expressive language and cognitive development: diversity and complexity of children's productions.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Objective and systematized analysis of cognitive and expressive language development.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To characterize expressive language and cognitive development considering the diversity and complexity of children's productions.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study involved 20 subjects (10 male and 10 female), who were adequate for gestational age and birth weight and had no pre, peri or post natal intercurrences. Participants were submitted to 30-minute sessions, once a month, for the observation of expressive language and cognitive development. The observations were made during the period that went from eight to 18 months of age, using the material and application procedures suggested by the PELCDO-r.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The amount of different schemes, gestures and verbalizations that children were capable of producing (diversity and complexity) are presented and analyzed considering each one of the 30-minute sessions as well as the overall total during the period of observation (from eight to 18 months).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The PELCDO-r allowed the characterization of expressive language and cognitive development by means of the objective observation of this process concerning the diversity and complexity of subjects' productions, considering the period between the fourth phase of sensorimotor stage and the beginning of preoperational stage.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisioterapia, Fonoaudiologia e Terapia Ocupacional, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo.
authors.forename: Fabíola Custódio
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Flabiano
authors.forename: Karina Elena Bernardis
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Bühler
authors.forename: Suelly Cecilia Olivan
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Limongi
mesh_terms: D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002663:Child Language; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D013997:Time Factors