Comparison of language impairment, functional communication, and discourse measures in African-American aphasic and normal adults

Aphasiology ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 15 (10-11) ◽  
pp. 1007-1016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna K. Ulatowska ◽  
Gloria S. Olness ◽  
Robert T. Wertz ◽  
Jennifer L. Thompson ◽  
Molly W. Keebler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Functional Communication ◽  
Normal Adults

Interpretation of Fables and Proverbs by African Americans With and Without Aphasia

2001 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna K. Ulatowska ◽  
Robert T. Wertz ◽  
Sandra B. Chapman ◽  
CaSaundra L. Hill ◽  
Jennifer L. Thompson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Normal Group ◽  
Functional Communication ◽  
Performance Information ◽  
African American Adults ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
Picture Description ◽  
Neurologically Normal

There is a paucity of performance information for African American adults with aphasia on appraisal tasks, especially in comparison with performance by neurologically normal African American adults. We administered language impairment, functional communication, and discourse measures to neurologically normal African American adults and African American adults with aphasia. The neurologically normal group performed significantly better on the language impairment measure (Western Aphasia Battery), the functional communication measure (ASHA Functional Assessment of Communication Skills for Adults), providing the lesson in a fable discourse task, and spontaneous interpretation of proverbs. No significant differences between groups were observed on a picture description fable task or in performance on a multiple-choice proverb task. Few significant relationships were observed among measures in the neurologically normal group; however, the group with aphasia displayed a variety of significant relationships in their performance on the language impairment, functional communication, fable lesson, and interpretation of proverbs tasks. The results imply that fable and proverb discourse tasks may be valuable supplemental measures for characterizing communicative competence in African American adults who have aphasia.

Negative Concord in Child African American English

2004 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 212-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
D'Jaris Coles-White
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
American English ◽  
Clinical Importance ◽  
African American English ◽  
Double Negative ◽  
Negative Concord ◽  
Double Negation ◽  
Cross Sectional

In this study, African American English (AAE)-speaking children's comprehension of 2 different types of double negative sentences was examined and contrasted with that of a comparison group of Standard American English (SAE)-speaking children. The first type of double negative, negative concord, involves 2 negative elements in a sentence that are interpreted together as single negation. The second type of double negative, called true double negation, involves 2 negatives that are interpreted as independent negatives. A cross-sectional cohort of 61 (35 AAE, 26 SAE) typically developing children ranging in age from 5;2 (years;months) to 7;11 participated. The children responded to story-based grammatical judgment tasks that required them to differentiate between negative concord and true double negation. Results revealed no statistically significant differences between AAE- and SAE-speaking children in the way they interpreted negative concord and true double negation. However, there were significantly more correct responses to negative concord sentences across combined groups. In particular, the older children (i.e., 7-year-olds) produced more correct responses to negative concord than did the younger group (i.e., 5-year-olds). Explanations for these findings are framed in terms of children's knowledge about sentences with 2 negatives, the constraints affecting the interpretation of 2 negatives that include negative concord, and the clinical importance of negative concord for assessing specific language impairment in child AAE speakers.

Development of Auxiliaries in Young Children Learning African American English

2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandi L. Newkirk-Turner ◽  
Janna B. Oetting ◽  
Ida J. Stockman
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
American English ◽  
African American English ◽  
Surface Form ◽  
Specific Effects ◽  
Modal Auxiliaries ◽  
Over Time

Purpose We examined language samples of young children learning African American English (AAE) to determine if and when their use of auxiliaries shows dialect-universal and dialect-specific effects. Method The data were longitudinal language samples obtained from two children, ages 18 to 36 months, and three children, ages 33 to 51 months. Dialect-universal analyses examined age of first form and early uses of BE, DO, and modal auxiliaries. Dialect-specific analyses focused on rates of overt marking by auxiliary type and syntactic construction and for BE by surface form and succeeding element. Results Initial production of auxiliaries occurred between 19 and 24 months. The children's forms were initially restricted and produced in syntactically simple constructions. Over time, they were expanded in ways that showed their rates of marking to vary by auxiliary type, their rates of BE and DO marking to vary by syntactic construction, and their rates of BE marking to vary by surface form and succeeding element. Conclusions Development of auxiliaries by young children learning AAE shows both dialect-universal and dialect-specific effects. The findings are presented within a development chart to guide clinicians in the assessment of children learning AAE and in the treatment of AAE-speaking children with language impairment.

scholarly journals Children's Marking of Verbal –s by Nonmainstream English Dialect and Clinical Status

2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 604-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesli H. Cleveland ◽  
Janna B. Oetting
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
American English ◽  
Clinical Status ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Linguistic Variables ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Habitual Activity ◽  
English Dialect

Purpose Children's marking of verbal –s was examined by their dialect (African American English [AAE] vs. Southern White English [SWE]) and clinical status (specific language impairment [SLI] vs. typically developing [TD]) and as a function of 4 linguistic variables (verb regularity, negation, expression of a habitual activity, and expression of historical present tense). Method The data were language samples from 57 six-year-olds who varied by their dialect and clinical status (AAE: SLI = 14, TD = 12; SWE: SLI = 12, TD = 19). Results The AAE groups produced lower rates of marking than did the SWE groups, and the SWE SLI group produced lower rates of marking than did the SWE TD group. Although low numbers of verb contexts made it difficult to evaluate the linguistic variables, there was evidence of their influence, especially for verb regularity and negation. The direction and magnitude of the effects were often (but not always) consistent with what has been described in the adult dialect literature. Conclusion Verbal –s can be used to help distinguish children with and without SLI in SWE but not in AAE. Clinicians can apply these findings to other varieties of AAE and SWE and other dialects by considering rates of marking and the effects of linguistic variables on marking.

scholarly journals Two to Tango or the More the Merrier? A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effects of Group Size in Aphasia Conversation Treatment on Standardized Tests

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 1437-1451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gayle DeDe ◽  
Elizabeth Hoover ◽  
Edwin Maas
Keyword(s):  
Standardized Tests ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Outcome Measure ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Functional Communication ◽  
Treatment Groups ◽  
Large Group ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Communication Outcome

Purpose Group conversation treatment has the potential to improve communication and reduce social isolation for people with aphasia. This project examined how 2 conflicting hypotheses—treatment dosage and group dynamics—affect treatment outcomes. Method Forty-eight participants with chronic aphasia were randomly assigned to either a dyad, a large group, or a delayed control group. Conversation group treatment was provided for an hour, twice per week, for 10 weeks. Individual goals were developed by each participant and addressed in the context of thematically oriented conversation treatment. Standardized testing across language domains was completed pretreatment (Time 1), posttreatment (Time 2), at a 6-week maintenance point (Time 3), and at 11-month follow-up for the experimental groups. Results Treatment groups showed greater changes on standardized measures than the control group posttreatment. Dyads showed the most changes on measures of language impairment, whereas changes on the self-reported functional communication measure (Aphasia Communication Outcome Measure) and connected speech task only showed significant changes in the large group. Conclusions This randomized controlled trial on conversation treatment indicated that both treatment groups—but not the delayed control group—showed significant changes on standardized tests. Hence, conversation treatment is associated with changes in measures of language impairment and quality of life. Dyads showed the most changes on measures of language impairment, whereas changes on the functional communication measure (Aphasia Communication Outcome Measure) and discourse production only showed significant changes in the large group. Thus, group size may be associated with effects on different types of outcome measures.

The Effects of Visual Stimuli on the Spoken Narrative Performance of School-Age African American Children

2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 337-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monique T. Mills
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
African American Children ◽  
School Age ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Visual Condition ◽  
Visual Tasks ◽  
American Children ◽  
Narrative Performance ◽  
Mean Length Of Utterance

Purpose This study investigated the fictional narrative performance of school-age African American children across 3 elicitation contexts that differed in the type of visual stimulus presented. Method A total of 54 children in Grades 2 through 5 produced narratives across 3 different visual conditions: no visual, picture sequence, and single picture. Narratives were examined for visual condition differences in expressive elaboration rate, number of different word roots (NDW) rate, mean length of utterance in words, and dialect density. The relationship between diagnostic risk for language impairment and narrative variables was explored. Results Expressive elaboration rate and mean length of utterance in words were higher in the no-visual condition than in either the picture-sequence or the single-picture conditions. NDW rate was higher in the no-visual and picture-sequence conditions than in the single-picture condition. Dialect density performance across visual context depended on the child's grade, so that younger children produced a higher rate of African American English in the no-visual condition than did older children. Diagnostic risk was related to NDW rate and dialect density measure. Conclusion The results suggest the need for narrative elicitation contexts that include verbal as well as visual tasks to fully describe the narrative performance of school-age African American children with typical development.

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