Is the Syntax Development of Dysphasic Children Deviant and Why? New Findings to an Old Question

1990 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannelore Grimm ◽  
Sabine Weinert
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Language Deficits ◽  
Processing Strategies ◽  
New Findings ◽  
Normal Language ◽  
Language Input

The present study addresses three main issues: First, it considers whether the syntax development of dysphasic preschoolers is adequately described as being a purely quantitative retardation or whether there are qualitative differences as well. Second, the suggestion put forward by Grimm (1987) that the syntactic deficits of dysphasic children result from deficient language processing strategies is further explored. Third, it asks whether the language deficits are related to specific structural and interactional aspects of the language input. We examined two groups of children with comparable levels of language development: 8 dysphasic children, ages 3:9 to 4:8 years, and 8 control children, ages 2:1 to 2:11 years, who showed normal language development. The empirical evidence suggested that the dysphasic children’s syntax development was not only delayed but also deviant, and that the children’s deviant syntax structures were the result of insufficient language processing and could not be traced back to structural characteristics of the sentences used by their mothers.

The Token and Reporter's Tests

1985 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 244-255
Author(s):  
Penelope K. Hall ◽  
Linda S. Jordan
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Language Disorders ◽  
Language Assessment ◽  
Assessment Instruments ◽  
Token Test ◽  
Normal Language

The performance of 123 language-disordered children on the DeRenzi and Faglioni form of the Token Test and the DeRenzi and Ferrari Reporter's Test were analyzed using two scoring conventions, and then compared with the performances of children with presumed normal language development. Correlations with other commonly used language assessment instruments are cited. Use of the Token and Reporter's Tests with children exhibiting language disorders is suggested.

Foundations of Language Development in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Infants

2020 ◽  
pp. 19-32
Author(s):  
Dani Levine ◽  
Daniela Avelar ◽  
Roberta Michnick Golinkoff ◽  
Kathy Hirsh-Pasek ◽  
Derek M. Houston
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Cochlear Implants ◽  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Hard Of Hearing ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Hearing Devices ◽  
Language Input ◽  
Hearing Children

Copious evidence indicates that, even in the first year of life, children’s language development is beginning and is impacted by a wide array of cognitive and social processes. The extent to which these processes are dependent on early language input is a critical concern for most deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children, who, unlike hearing children, are usually not immersed in a language-rich environment until effective interventions, such as hearing aids or cochlear implants, are implemented. Importantly, some cognitive and social processes are not dependent on the early availability of language input and begin to develop before children are fitted for hearing aids or cochlear implants. Interventions involving parent training may be helpful for enhancing social underpinnings of language and for maximizing DHH children’s language learning once effective hearing devices are in place. Similarly, cognitive training for DHH children may also provide benefit to bolster language development.

Internal Consistency of the Northwestern Syntax Screening Test

1975 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Ratusnik ◽  
Roy A. Koenigsknecht
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Internal Consistency ◽  
Screening Test ◽  
Item Analysis ◽  
Language Impaired ◽  
Normal Intelligence ◽  
Mental Age ◽  
Normal Language ◽  
Mentally Retarded Children ◽  
Reliability Coefficients

This study was designed to evaluate the usefulness of the 40 receptive and 40 expressive items of the Northwestern Syntax Screening Test. Twenty preschoolers with normal language development, 20 preschoolers functioning within the range of normal intelligence diagnosed as language impaired, and 20 mentally retarded children comprised the three subject groups. The subjects were equated for mental age. Stable Hoyt’s reliability coefficients indicated that the Northwestern Syntax Screening Test assessed consistently the syntax and morphology used by children with atypical language development. Detailed item analysis revealed the strengths and weaknesses of both receptive and expressive items.

Cognition and Communication

1997 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 964-974 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith R. Johnston ◽  
Linda B. Smith ◽  
Peggy Box
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Object Type ◽  
Attentional Capacity ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Normal Language

Ten children with specific language impairment and 10 children with normal language development were asked to describe objects so that a listener could select them. Each trial targeted two out of a group of three toys. The targeted objects were identical or were similar in size or color. Children in the two groups did not differ in referential success, although children in both groups found the size items more difficult. Content analysis of the messages did reveal differences in the referential strategies used most frequently. Children with specific language impairment were more likely to mention the attributes of each object separately, rather than to describe the characteristics common to a pair of objects. Children in both groups talked about separate objects more often when talking about size than about color or object type. Use of this strategy could indicate the effects of attentional capacity on children's solutions to communication tasks.

scholarly journals Efecto de la Escolarización en la Producción de Relaciones Causales y Contracausales: Evidencia Psicolingüística para el Ámbito Educativo

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 258
Author(s):  
Gabriela Mariel Zunino
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Semantic Relations ◽  
Practical Application ◽  
Discourse Comprehension ◽  
Educational Processes ◽  
Different Characteristics ◽  
Different Levels

In order to promote the practical application of psycholinguistic data in educational fields and expecting that this transfer would enhance the development of both the pedagogical field and the investigation in experimental psycholinguistics, we present two experiments to analyse the production of semantic relations in discourse, especially the causality/countercausality dimension. We found that the pattern of causal advantage is cross-wise and consistent in subjects with different levels of formal education, so it could be a suitable scaffold to develop other aspects of discourse comprehension and production. We compare our results with previous findings about discourse comprehension and interpret the data in the framework of educational processes. To use of empirical evidence about language processing on educational fields allows not only to review specific issues such as the characteristics of teaching materials, but also to improve educational process in a comprehensive way, making possible to adapt different approaches to populations with different characteristics.

The Unfolding of Cognitive Effort During Sentence Processing: Pupillometric Evidence From People With and Without Aphasia

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Laura Roche Chapman ◽  
Brooke Hallowell
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Time Windows ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Task Engagement ◽  
The Body ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Language Deficits ◽  
Pupillary Responses

Purpose: Arousal and cognitive effort are relevant yet often overlooked components of attention during language processing. Pupillometry can be used to provide a psychophysiological index of arousal and cognitive effort. Given that much is unknown regarding the relationship between cognition and language deficits seen in people with aphasia (PWA), pupillometry may be uniquely suited to explore those relationships. The purpose of this study was to examine arousal and the time course of the allocation of cognitive effort related to sentence processing in people with and without aphasia. Method: Nineteen PWA and age- and education-matched control participants listened to relatively easy (subject-relative) and relatively difficult (object-relative) sentences and were required to answer occasional comprehension questions. Tonic and phasic pupillary responses were used to index arousal and the unfolding of cognitive effort, respectively, while sentences were processed. Group differences in tonic and phasic responses were examined. Results: Group differences were observed for both tonic and phasic responses. PWA exhibited greater overall arousal throughout the task compared with controls, as evidenced by larger tonic pupil responses. Controls exhibited more effort (greater phasic responses) for difficult compared with easy sentences; PWA did not. Group differences in phasic responses were apparent during end-of-sentence and postsentence time windows. Conclusions: Results indicate that the attentional state of PWA in this study was not consistently supportive of adequate task engagement. PWA in our sample may have relatively limited attentional capacity or may have challenges with allocating existing capacity in ways that support adequate task engagement and performance. This work adds to the body of evidence supporting the validity of pupillometric tasks for the study of aphasia and contributes to a better understanding of the nature of language deficits in aphasia. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.16959376

Remediating Humor Comprehension Deficits in Language-Impaired Students

1992 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecile C. Spector
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Language Impaired ◽  
Normal Language ◽  
Impaired Children

Language-impaired children and adolescents, in general, have been found to have significantly poorer comprehension of humor than their peers with normal language development. This paper discusses sources of difficulty for these students in understanding the various aspects of humor and describes general and specific techniques for remediating comprehension deficits.

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