Maternal sensitivity to vocabulary development in specific language-impaired and language-normal preschoolers

1997 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Ann Evans ◽  
Susanne Wodar
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Sensitivity ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Vocabulary Test ◽  
Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales ◽  
Peabody Picture Vocabulary ◽  
Normal Children ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Language Impaired ◽  
Impaired Children ◽  
Vineland Adaptive Behavior

ABSTRACTThis study examined mothers' accuracy in predicting the responses their children gave and the scores they achieved on two standardized vocabulary tests. Three groups of 16 mothers and their preschool children (specific language-impaired; age-matched, language-normal; and younger, language-matched, language-normal) completed the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised, Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised, and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. Mothers overestimated their children's standardized receptive and expressive scores, with the exception that the mothers' estimates of the receptive vocabulary scores for language-impaired children did not differ from the actual test scores. Mothers of age-matched normals were best able to predict the labels their children used to name various pictured items. However, the overall estimates by mothers of language-impaired children were more accurate than those by mothers of language-normal children.

The Use of an Invented Language Rule in the Differentiation of Normal and Language-Impaired Spanish-Speaking Children

1991 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 596-603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celeste A. Roseberry ◽  
Phil J. Connell
Keyword(s):  
Language Impairment ◽  
Limited English Proficiency ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Normal Children ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Language Impaired ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
Teaching Procedure ◽  
Impaired Group ◽  
Impaired Children

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the results of a language-teaching procedure could be used to identify specific language-impaired children in a group of bilingual children with limited English proficiency (LEP). An invented morpheme was taught to two groups of LEP children who had been previously identified as normal and specific language-impaired. The language-impaired group learned the morpheme at a slower rate than the normal children, thus allowing the two groups to be differentiated. The approach promises to circumvent many of the obstacles that impede current practices for identifying language impairment in the LEP population.

The acquisition of object names in children with specific language impairment: Action context and word extension

1987 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard G. Schwartz ◽  
Laurence B. Leonard ◽  
Cheryl Messick ◽  
Kathy Chapman
Keyword(s):  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Expressive Language ◽  
Normal Children ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Language Impaired ◽  
Action Context ◽  
Impaired Children ◽  
Unfamiliar Object

ABSTRACTSpecifically-language-impaired children and younger normal children matched for expressive language were presented with unfamiliar object names and referents across five experimental sessions. The objects differed in the degree to which they were associated with actions, and only certain of the object exemplars were named during presentation. Comprehension testing revealed that the specifically-language-impaired children acquired a greater number of object concepts presented in a no-action condition than the normal children. However, their extension of the names to new exemplars was more restricted and less differentiated. Several possible accounts of these findings are evaluated.

Phonological and Spatial Processing Abilities in Language- and Reading-Impaired Children

1988 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 316-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan G. Kamhi ◽  
Hugh W. Catts ◽  
Daria Mauer ◽  
Kenn Apel ◽  
Betholyn F. Gentry
Keyword(s):  
Phonological Processing ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Normal Children ◽  
Language Impaired ◽  
Word Repetition ◽  
Paper Folding ◽  
Syllable Segmentation ◽  
Processing Abilities ◽  
Impaired Children ◽  
Better Than

In the present study, we further examined (see Kamhi & Catts, 1986) the phonological processing abilities of language-impaired (LI) and reading-impaired (RI) children. We also evaluated these children's ability to process spatial information. Subjects were 10 LI, 10 RI, and 10 normal children between the ages of 6:8 and 8:10 years. Each subject was administered eight tasks: four word repetition tasks (monosyllabic, monosyllabic presented in noise, three-item, and multisyllabic), rapid naming, syllable segmentation, paper folding, and form completion. The normal children performed significantly better than both the LI and RI children on all but two tasks: syllable segmentation and repeating words presented in noise. The LI and RI children performed comparably on every task with the exception of the multisyllabic word repetition task. These findings were consistent with those from our previous study (Kamhi & Catts, 1986). The similarities and differences between LI and RI children are discussed.

Arousal and Cognition: Picture Vocabulary Performance and Individual Differences in Physiological Arousal

1980 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 579-582
Author(s):  
Frank H. Farley ◽  
Valerie J. Reynolds
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Physiological Arousal ◽  
Learning Disabled ◽  
Significant Trend ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Vocabulary Test ◽  
Disabled Children ◽  
Peabody Picture Vocabulary ◽  
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test

The contribution of individual differences in physiological arousal to intellective assessment in learning disabled children was studied. Arousal was measured by salivary response and intellective function (receptive vocabulary) by the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. It was predicted that best performance would be found at intermediate levels of arousal. Peabody scores of learning disabled subjects of high, middle, and low arousal showed a non-significant trend in the predicted direction. Reasons for the lack of significance of this hypothesized trend were proposed and needed research outlined.

Early Lexical Acquisition in Children with Specific Language Impairment

1982 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 554-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence B. Leonard ◽  
Richard G. Schwartz ◽  
Kathy Chapman ◽  
Lynne E. Rowan ◽  
Patricia A. Prelock ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Lexical Acquisition ◽  
Normal Children ◽  
Linguistic Development ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Language Impaired ◽  
Similar Tendency

This study examined the characteristics of early lexical acquisition in children with specific language impairment. Sixteen unfamiliar words and referents were exposed across 10 sessions to language-impaired and normal children matched for level of linguistic development. Posttesting revealed similar comprehension-production gaps in the two groups of children. In addition, both groups showed greater comprehension and production of words referring to objects than words referring to actions. However, the language-impaired children's object word bias was not as marked as that of the normal children. For both groups, words containing initial consonants within the children's production repertoires were more likely to be acquired in production than words containing consonants absent from the children's phonologies. A similar tendency was not seen for comprehension.

Lexical Imitation and Acquisition in Language-Impaired Children

1985 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard G. Schwartz ◽  
Laurence B. Leonard
Keyword(s):  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Lexical Acquisition ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Language Impaired ◽  
Impaired Children ◽  
Novel Words

This investigation examined the influence of unsolicited lexical imitation on the comprehension and on the production of novel words by language-impaired children. Subjects were 13 children (2:8–3:1) exhibiting specific language impairment who were presented with 16 unfamiliar words referring to unfamiliar objects or actions over 10 experimental sessions. Unsolicited imitations appeared to facilitate subsequent production of these words on a posttest. This effect was greatest when these words were also produced spontaneously prior to the posttest. Words that were produced imitatively and spontaneously also appeared more frequently in spontaneous usage than words that were only produced spontaneously. No relationship between such imitations and comprehension was observed. These findings suggest that unsolicited imitations benefit children's lexical acquisition primarily by providing them with additional opportunities to produce words that are in the process of being established in their expressive lexicons.

scholarly journals The comprehension of deictic terms in normal and language impaired children

1981 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Mentis
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
The Other ◽  
Developmental Sequence ◽  
Stages Of Development ◽  
Normal Children ◽  
Language Impaired ◽  
Semantic Complexity ◽  
Impaired Group ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Impaired Children

This study examined the comprehension of four pairs of deictic terms in a group of language impaired children and compared their interpretation of these terms with those of non-language impaired children of the same age range. Each group was comprised of ten subjects within the age range of 9,6 to 10,6 years. Two tasks were administered, one to assess the comprehension of the terms here, there, this, and that and the other to assess the comprehension of the terms, come, go, bring and take. The results showed that while the non-language impaired subjects comprehended the full deictic contrast between the pairs of terms tested, the language impaired group did not. A qualitative analysis of the data revealed that the language impaired subjects appeared to follow the same developmental sequence as normal children in their acquisition of these terms and responded by using the same strategies that younger non-language impaired children use at equivalent stages of development. Furthermore, the language impaired subjects appeared to comprehend the deictic terms in a predictable order based on their relative semantic complexity.

Comprehension of Reversible Sentences in Specifically Language-Impaired Children

1990 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather K. J. van der Lely ◽  
Margaret Harris
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Semantic Knowledge ◽  
Vocabulary Test ◽  
Single Word ◽  
Thematic Roles ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Language Impaired ◽  
Impaired Children ◽  
Very High

This study investigated comprehension of reversible sentences in specifically language-impaired (SLI) children. Two experiments, using different paradigms, were undertaken. In Experiment 1, 14 SLI children (aged 4:10–7:10) were compared with children matched on chronological age and language age (LA). Subjects acted out 36 semantically reversible sentences that varied in thematic content (transitives, locatives, and datives) and in the order of thematic roles (canonical and noncanonical). The SLI children performed at a significantly lower level than both control groups. In Experiment 2, the same sentences were presented using a picture-pointing task. A single word vocabulary test preceded the test sentences to assess semantic knowledge of the predicates. Sixteen SLI children were compared with language age controls. No significant differences were found between the performance of the two groups on the vocabulary test, and in general, the results of Experiment 2 supported those of Experiment 1. Analysis of individual children's error patterns identified qualitative differences between the SLI children and the LA controls. The majority of SLI children had a very high proportion of word order errors. The proportion of word order errors of the SLI children, unlike those of the LA controls, was unrelated to language age. These findings are considered in relation to the processes involved in sentence comprehension.

Knowledge of binding in normal and SLI children

1996 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 431-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven L. Franks ◽  
Phil J. Connell
Keyword(s):  
Binding Domain ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Normal Children ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Language Impaired ◽  
Pass Through ◽  
The Mind

ABSTRACTThe properties of reflexives vary across adult languages with respect to (i) the domain in which a reflexive may be bound and (ii) the syntactic positions an appropriate antecedent may occupy. These two issues have been approached in GB theory in various ways, each with specific implications for acquisition. In this paper we examine these implications by testing normal and Specific Language Impaired (SLI) children for evidence of the binding domain and orientation properties of their grammars. The investigation reveals that, contrary to most previous claims, normal children acquiring English pass through a long-distance binding stage. SLI children, however, do not display this pattern, tending instead to behave like very young normal children in requiring the nearest available NP to be the antecedent. We argue that this constitutes an early binding stage not previously identified. Finally, we interpret our findings in terms of a conception of acquisition dubbed the ‘competing grammars’ model, according to which competing incompatible grammars may coexist in the mind of the learner.

scholarly journals Aspects of cohesion, tense and pronoun usage in the discourse of the older language-impaired child

1978 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilary Berger ◽  
Aletta Sinoff
Keyword(s):  
Language Impairment ◽  
Impaired Child ◽  
Normal Children ◽  
Situational Context ◽  
Language Impaired ◽  
Diagnosis And Therapy ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Impaired Children

Aspects of the discourse of 5 language-impaired children and 5 children with no language impairment, aged approximately 9 years, were compared. A film and a story sequence were utilised to elicit narratives on which, measures of cohesion, tense and pronouns were appraised. Measures of cohesion refer  to the ability to indicate appropriately the relations of meaning with regard to situational context. Measures of tense include aspects of tense range and tense continuity. Measures of  pronouns refer  to the anaphoric use of  pronouns with non-ambiguous referents.  The group of language-impaired children was found  to be significantly poorer on measures of  cohesion and pronominal usage than the normal children, whereas a significant difference between the two groups was not revealed on measures of tense. Possible factors  accounting for  these findings  were discussed and implications for the diagnosis and therapy of the older language-impaired child were considered.

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