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PubMed2000

The influence of premorbid language skills and behavior on language recovery in children with verbal auditory agnosia.

Previous studies of children with Landau-Kleffner syndrome and related language-epilepsy syndromes have focused on the relationship of seizure control to language recovery. We examined the effect of premorbid language skills and behavior, as well as some characteristics of clinical seizures and electroencephalograms, on language recovery in a retrospective study of 67 children with the severe receptive and expressive language disorder, verbal auditory agnosia. Fifty-eight percent of these children had seizures, 76% were autistic, and 24% had a history of language regression after showing previously normal language skills. The duration of language loss was not influenced by the persistence of clinical seizures. Premorbid language and behavior were more predictive of language recovery in these children. Most children with normal early language (acquired verbal auditory agnosia) had onset of language loss after age 3 years, in contrast to those with abnormal early language. Children with acquired verbal auditory agnosia were more likely to show fluctuations in language skills than those in other groups. Autistic children were more likely to begin having seizures before age 3 years, and had a longer duration of language loss and lower educational placement at time of last follow-up than those with normal behavior. This study emphasizes the importance of assessing premorbid language and behavior in predicting recovery of language skills in children with language-epilepsy syndromes.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Sign language: its history and contribution to the understanding of the biological nature of language.

CONCLUSION: The development of conceptualization of a biological basis of language during the 20th century has come about, in part, through the appreciation of the central nervous system's ability to utilize varied sensory inputs, and particularly vision, to develop language. OBJECTIVE: Sign language has been a part of the linguistic experience from prehistory to the present day. Data suggest that human language may have originated as a visual language and became primarily auditory with the later development of our voice/speech tract. Sign language may be categorized into two types. The first is used by individuals who have auditory/oral language and the signs are used for special situations, such as communication in a monastery in which there is a vow of silence. The second is used by those who do not have access to auditory/oral language, namely the deaf. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The history of the two forms of sign language and the development of the concept of the biological basis of language are reviewed from the fourth century BC to the present day. RESULTS: Sign languages of the deaf have been recognized since at least the fourth century BC. The codification of a monastic sign language occurred in the seventh to eighth centuries AD. Probable synergy between the two forms of sign language occurred in the 16th century. Among other developments, the Abbey de L'Epée introduced, in the 18th century, an oral syntax, French, into a sign language based upon indigenous signs of the deaf and newly created signs. During the 19th century, the concept of a "critical" period for the acquisition of language developed; this was an important stimulus for the exploration of the biological basis of language. The introduction of techniques, e.g. evoked potentials and functional MRI, during the 20th century allowed study of the brain functions associated with language.

Brain↗

PubMed2005

Right hemisphere language mapping in patients with bilateral language.

PURPOSE: The configuration of language cortex in the dominant left hemisphere has been well described in the literature. However, language representation in the right hemisphere, particularly in patients with some degree of bilateral language, remains unclear. Herein, we report six patients who underwent electrocortical stimulation (ECS) for language mapping following implantation of a right subdural electrode array (SEA). METHODS: The medical records of six bilateral language patients with right SEA implantation at the Minnesota Epilepsy Group between January 1996 and July 2004 were retrospectively reviewed. Language lateralization was based on the results of the intracarotid amobarbital procedure performed preoperatively. Anatomical localization of the SEA for each patient was verified using colored photographs of the cortical surface before and after SEA placement and by review of MRI scans taken with the SEA in place. Frontal and temporal language areas were identified by errors in any language modality including automatic speech, reading, naming, repetition, and comprehension during ECS. RESULTS: Language maps revealed the presence of frontal and/or temporal language areas analogous to the classic essential language areas of the dominant left hemisphere in four of six patients. One patient had a widespread distribution of single-language-error sites over the right temporal lobe. One patient had a silent language map. CONCLUSION: Our results identified the presence of language cortex in the right hemisphere in five of six patients classified with bilateral language based on intracarotid amobarbital procedure. These areas are assumed to be accessory language zones in relation to the left hemisphere. Further exploratory studies are needed to evaluate their clinical significance.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Language-association cortex asymmetry in autism and specific language impairment.

Language deficits are among the core impairments of autism. We previously reported asymmetry reversal of frontal language cortex in boys with autism. Specific language impairment (SLI) and autism share similar language deficits and may share genetic links. This study evaluated asymmetry of frontal language cortex in a new, independent sample of right-handed boys, including a new sample of boys with autism and a group of boys with SLI. The boys with autism were divided into those with language impairment (ALI) and those with normal language ability (ALN). Subjects (right-handed, aged 6.2-13.4 years) included 22 boys with autism (16 ALI and 6 ALN), 9 boys with a history of or present SLI, and 11 normal controls. MRI brain scans were segmented into grey and white matter; then the cerebral cortex was parcellated into 48 gyral-based divisions per hemisphere. Group differences in volumetric asymmetry were predicted a priori in language-related regions in inferior lateral frontal (Broca's area) and posterior superior temporal cortex. Language impaired boys with autism and SLI both had significant reversal of asymmetry in frontal language-related cortex; larger on the right side in both groups of language impaired boys and larger on the left in both unimpaired language groups, strengthening a phenotypic link between ALI and SLI. Thus, we replicated the observation of reversed asymmetry in frontal language cortex reported previously in an independent autism sample, and observed similar reversal in boys with SLI, further strengthening a phenotypic link between SLI and a subgroup of autism. Linguistically unimpaired boys with autism had similar asymmetry compared with the control group, suggesting that Broca's area asymmetry reversal is related more to language impairment than specifically to autism diagnosis.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Atypical language cortex in the left temporal lobe: relationship to bilateral language.

BACKGROUND: The intracarotid amobarbital procedure (IAP) is widely used in the preoperative evaluation for epilepsy surgery to lateralize language dominance and memory functions. However, language mapping has most often been accomplished with cortical brain stimulation. OBJECTIVE: To examine left temporal lobe language cortex representation using this technique in patients with bilateral language (BL) as compared with patients with left language dominance (LD). METHODS: The language maps of each patient were reviewed retrospectively. Group I consisted of 10 patients with BL and Group II consisted of 10 matched control patients with LD. Each stimulation trial included a brief assessment of confrontation naming, automatic speech, reading, repetition, and comprehension. Clusters of errors that included comprehension, repetition, and naming defined primary temporal lobe language areas. RESULTS: Mapping revealed two distinct language areas in 60% of patients in Group I and 10% in Group II (p = 0.019). In Group I, two patients had both language areas in the same gyrus (either the superior or the middle temporal gyrus), whereas two showed one language area each in the superior and middle temporal gyri and the remaining two had one in the superior temporal gyrus and the other intermixed between the superior and middle temporal gyri. In Group II, both language areas were intermixed between the superior and middle temporal gyri. CONCLUSIONS: Bilateral language (BL) representation in the intracarotid amobarbital procedure is frequently associated with more than one noncontiguous language area in the left temporal lobe. A careful search for multiple language areas, particularly in patients with BL, is prudent prior to surgical resection.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Effect of awareness of language law on language access in the health care setting.

BACKGROUND: Federal law obligates health care providers receiving federal funding to ensure language access to limited English-proficient (LEP) individuals who cannot communicate with their provider. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether LEP individual awareness of this law improved language access through interpreter utilization. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: In June 2003, a telephone survey of 1,200 Californians was conducted in 11 non-English languages. MEASUREMENTS: The survey included items on English proficiency, awareness of language law, health care utilization, and communication methods. Language access was defined as having a provider who speaks the individual's language (language-concordant) or utilizing an interpreter. RESULTS: There were 1,000 LEP participants, of whom 371 (37%) were aware of the language law. Four hundred and ninety-one (49%) of LEP participants had a language-concordant provider. Of the remaining 509 LEP participants without a language-concordant provider, 111 (22%) reported interpreter utilization in the health care setting. After controlling for age, gender, education, income, insurance status, years in the United States, health care utilization, and level of English proficiency, awareness of law was not associated with interpreter utilization (odds ratio [OR] 0.66; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.38, 1.17; P=.16), but was associated with having a language-concordant provider (OR 1.64; 95% CI 1.19, 2.26; P=.003). CONCLUSION: Awareness of language law is not sufficient to resolve language barriers for LEP individuals. Provider and organization level barriers to language access must be addressed.

Communication↗

PubMed1995

Language dominance in patients with early childhood tumors near left hemisphere language areas.

RATIONALE: Language function often develops in the right hemisphere following an acute left hemispheric insult in early childhood. Little is known, however, about lateralization of language function in patients with early childhood tumors near potential left hemisphere language areas. Issues of language dominance are important in the strategy for resection of left temporal and frontal tumors. METHODS: We studied 12 patients who had determination of hemispheric language dominance by the intracarotid amobarbital procedure prior to resection of a left inferolateral frontal or left mid or posterior temporal tumor that (1) was near a classic language area and (2) first manifested with partial seizures by age 6 years (mean, 3.7). RESULTS: Hemispheric language dominance was left in 10 patients (83%), right in one patient, and bilateral in one patient. Six patients with left temporal tumors had localization of Wernicke's area with cortical stimulation, and in five the language area was posterior to the tumor. In one patient, the tumor infiltrated Wernicke's area. Eleven of the 12 patients had complete tumor resection (mean age at operation, 11.8 years) and were seizure-free at follow-up (mean, 3.1 years). Neuropsychological testing showed a tendency for improved language function after operation, and no patient had new overt language deficits. CONCLUSIONS: Early low-grade left frontal and temporal tumors usually did not result in transfer of language dominance to the contralateral hemisphere. Tumors may grow slowly along with the developing brain in young children, with continued left hemisphere language development in regions separate from the neoplasm. Successful tumor resection can be accomplished, but it may require cortical stimulation for localization and sparing of nearby language areas.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Assessing the comprehension and production of language in young children: an account of the Reynell Developmental Language Scales III.

The Reynell Developmental Language Scales III have been designed to test the language abilities of children from 18 months to 7 years. They have been standardized on a large, representative sample of children in the United Kingdom and thereby provide a robust measure of language achievement. These Scales provide clinicians with the means of comparing the performance of children who have been referred for therapy, or who are in therapy, with the performance of a large group of normally developing children. The Scales reflect the developmental progression of normal child language in the early years, focusing on key features of child language acquisition at different stages as well as on features which are known to distinguish language impaired-children from language-normal children. While not claiming that the tests are fully comprehensive, the authors maintain that they afford the clinician with a means of looking at components of language while also gaining some insights into the child's ability to integrate vocabulary and grammar. It is recognized that no test can fully assess every aspect of language; essentially a test must be practical in terms of design and, for screening purposes, sufficiently comprehensive to be used with a large section of children referred. In addition to fulfilling these criteria, the Scales have been designed to provide some diagnostic indicators of areas of difficulty. The aims of the original Scales were to provide a measure of verbal ability that could be compared with mental age, and to provide separate scores for production and comprehension. These aims have also been realized in the new version. Additionally a test has been provided that is consonant with information gained from the intensive research in the field of child language that has taken place since the original Scales were devised. The Scales can reveal information about a child's language abilities not readily available from observation and serve a useful function in both identifying disorder and evaluating therapy. Clinicians are increasingly being asked to demonstrate effectiveness of therapy but are hampered by inappropriate outcome measures (Law 1997). It is hoped that the RDLS III provides a test that is valid and reliable and one that can contribute to both the characterization of speech and language disorders and the measurement of treatment efficacy.

Child↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of input rate and age on the real-time language processing of children with specific language impairment.

BACKGROUND: School-age children with specific language impairment (SLI) exhibit slower real-time (i.e. immediate) language processing relative to same-age peers. The offline sentence comprehension of children with SLI can be improved when the input is slowed down. Although this finding suggests that a slower input delivery facilitates these children's language processing, such an interpretation is premature, as there are no data directly addressing the issue. Additionally, while typically developing (TD) children demonstrate age-related improvements in language processing (i.e. they become faster processors), it is unclear whether children with SLI show the same developmental improvement. AIMS: It was investigated whether a reduced input rate can enhance the online language processing of children with SLI. If it does, their reaction time (RT) for recognizing words embedded in sentences delivered at a slow rate should be faster relative to words in normal- and fast-rate sentences. For TD children, RT should be unaffected by rate manipulation, as their language-processing system is sufficiently robust to handle such a simple input manipulation. A secondary aim was to provide preliminary data on the developmental course of language processing proficiency in children with SLI. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Twenty school-age children with SLI and 20 age-matched TD children completed a word recognition RT task. Children monitored simple sentences for a target word and made a timed response immediately upon recognizing the target. Sentences were presented at 'normal', 'slow' and 'fast' speaking rates. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: There was a significant group by input rate interaction. Children with SLI, relative to TD peers, yielded significantly slower RT for normal- and fast-rate sentences, but faster RT for slow-rate sentences. Within-group analyses showed the children with SLI produced the fastest RT for slow-rate sentences and the slowest RT for fast-rate sentences. The TD children showed the opposite response pattern: the fastest RT for fast-rate sentences and the slowest RT for slow-rate sentences. Age also had a significant effect. Regardless of language status, older children produced faster RT than younger children. Interestingly, even the oldest children with SLI still demonstrated significantly slower RT than the youngest TD children. CONCLUSIONS: The real-time language processing of children with SLI can be facilitated when the material is presented at a slower rate. A slower rate apparently allows these children time to allocate their attentional resources more effectively to the various processing operations supporting comprehension. Additionally, the language proficiency of children with SLI improves with age. However, older children with SLI are still slower than their youngest TD peers, suggesting that the language-processing apparatus of children with SLI operates even more inefficiently than what their receptive language knowledge might otherwise predict.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2004

Functional separation of languages in the bilingual brain: a comparison of electrical stimulation language mapping in 25 bilingual patients and 117 monolingual control patients.

OBJECT: The aim of this investigation was to address three questions in bilingualism research: 1) are multiple languages functionally separated within the bilingual brain; 2) are these languages similarly organized; and 3) does language organization in bilinguals mirror that in monolinguals? 9: During awake dominant-hemisphere craniotomy in each of 25 bilingual patients, the authors mapped both languages by using identical object-naming stimuli. Essential sites for primary (L1) and secondary (L2) languages were compared. Sites were photographically recorded and plotted onto an anatomically referenced grid system. Language organization in bilinguals was then compared with that in 117 monolinguals and 11 monolingual children. CONCLUSIONS: The authors found distinct language-specific sites as well as shared sites that support both languages. The L1 and L2 representations were similar in total cortical extent but significantly different in anatomical distribution. The L2-specific sites were located exclusively in the posterior temporal and parietal regions, whereas the L1 and shared sites could be found throughout the mapped regions. Bilinguals possessed seven perisylvian language zones, in which L2 sites were significantly underrepresented when compared with the distribution of language sites in monolinguals. These L2-restricted zones overlapped the primary language areas found in monolingual children, indicating that these zones become dedicated to L1 processing. These findings support three conclusions. First, it is necessary to map both languages in bilinguals because L1 and L2 sites are functionally distinct. Second, differences exist in the organization of L1 and L2 sites, with L2-specific sites located exclusively in the posterior temporal and parietal lobes. Third, language organization comparisons in bilingual and monolingual brains demonstrate the presence of L2-restricted zones, which are dedicated to L1.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Real-time language processing in school-age children with specific language impairment.

BACKGROUND: School-age children with specific language impairment (SLI) exhibit slower real-time (i.e. immediate) language processing relative to same-age peers and younger, language-matched peers. Results of the few studies that have been done seem to indicate that the slower language processing of children with SLI is due to inefficient higher-order linguistic processing and not to difficulties with more basic acoustic-phonetic processing. However, this claim requires further experimental verification. AIMS: It was investigated whether the real-time language processing deficit of children with SLI arises from inferior acoustic-phonetic processing, inefficient linguistic processing, or both poor sensory processing and linguistic processing. If these children's impaired online language processing is due to inferior acoustic-phonetic processing, then their reaction time (RT) for recognizing words presented in list fashion should be significantly longer relative to control children's RT. If, however, their impaired language processing relates to inefficient linguistic processing, then, relative to control children, their RT for word-list-presented words should be comparable and their sentence-embedded word-recognition RT should be significantly longer. METHODS & PROCEDURES: Sixteen school-age children with SLI, 16 age-matched (CA) typically developing children, and 16 receptive-syntax matched (RS) children completed two word-recognition RT tasks. In one task, children monitored word lists for the occurrence of a target word (isolated lexical processing task). In the second task, children monitored simple sentences for a target word (sentence-embedded lexical processing task). In both tasks, children made a timed response immediately upon recognizing the target. OUTCOMES & RESULTS: Children with SLI and CA children showed comparable RT in the isolated lexical processing task and both were faster than RS children. In the sentence-processing task, children with SLI were slower at lexical processing than CA and RS children, with CA children demonstrating the fastest processing. CONCLUSIONS: The real-time language processing of children with SLI appears to be attributable to inefficient higher-order linguistic processing operations and not to inferior acoustic-phonetic processing. The slower language processing of children with SLI relative to younger, language-matched children suggests that the language mechanism of children with SLI operates more slowly than what might otherwise be predicted by their linguistic competence.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The neural representation of language in users of American Sign Language.

UNLABELLED: Studies of American Sign Language (ASL) offer unique insights into the fundamental properties of human language. Neurolinguistic studies explore the effects of left and right hemisphere lesions on the production and comprehension of signed language. Following damage to the left hemisphere perisylvian regions, signers, like users of spoken languages, exhibit frank aphasic disturbances. Sign language paraphasia illustrates the linguistic specificity of impairment. A case study involving cortical stimulation mapping (CSM) in a deaf signer provides evidence for the specialization of Broca's area in sign language production. The effects of right hemisphere damage highlight the specialized properties of sign language use. Data from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of deaf signers confirm the importance of left hemisphere language structures in the use of signed language, but also reveal the contributions of right hemisphere regions to the processing of ASL. These studies provide new insights into the complementary roles of biology and environment in language representation in the human brain. LEARNING OUTCOMES: As a result of this activity, the participant will read studies of aphasia in users of signed language and a discussion of neurolinguistic studies of paraphasia in ASL. The participant will examine the role of the right hemisphere in language use and findings from a functional imaging study of sentence processing in ASL and English.

Aphasia, Broca↗

PubMed2002

[Citation rates of medical German-language journals in English-language papers - do they correlate with the Impact Factor, and who cites?].

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Several publications are warning that the German language is no longer needed for transmission of scientific data. One of the causes may be the Impact Factor (IF), which appears to be derived predominantly from Anglo-American journals. The aim of this study was to check actual international attention paid to German-language journals, i. e. their citation frequencies in English-language papers. Are these citing rates in English-language articles correlated to the IF, and from where do citing articles originate? METHODS: Of 25 arbitrarily selected >85 % German-language medical journals, IF as well as language distributions of citing articles were determined by searching publication years 1995 - 2000 in Science Citation Index (SCI). MEDLINE and EMBASE were used as supplementary retrieval systems. RESULTS: (i) The sample journals displayed an average IF = 0.357. A 99 % correlation (Pearson factor r = 0.987; n = 25) was observed between our >> constructed<< IF 2000 and IF published in Journal Citation Report 2000. This proves Stegmann's IF determination method to be valid. On the average, 53 % German-language and 45 % English-language articles between 1995 - 2000 cited the 1995 - 1999' contributions of the studied journals. No correlation was observed between IF vs. rates of citing articles in English (r <0.1). 64 % of citing English-language articles showed corporate sources in Germany/ Austria/ Switzerland, and 13.5 % authors' institutions in USA. CONCLUSIONS: (i) An IF >/=1 is, obviously, very hard to attain by German-language journals. ISI's differentiation between Citing vs. Cited-only Journals (the latter often serving as MEDLINE/ EMBASE sources) during derivation of IF appears unjustified. (ii) English now serves as the predominant communication language in sciences in German-speaking countries, but has not supplanted the German language. Our study reveals remarkable international attention rates remaining.

Bibliometrics↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Citation rates of medical German-language journals in English-language papers--do they correlate with the impact factor, and who cites? (reprint)].

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Several publications are warning that the German language is no longer needed for transmission of scientific data. One of the causes may be the Impact Factor (IF), which appears to be derived predominantly from Anglo-American journals. The aim of this study was to check actual international attention paid to German-language journals, i. e. their citation frequencies in English-language papers. Are these citing rates in English-language articles correlated to the IF, and from where do citing articles originate? METHODS: Of 25 arbitrarily selected > 85 % German-language medical journals, IF as well as language distributions of citing articles were determined by searching publication years 1995 - 2000 in Science Citation Index (SCI). MEDLINE and EMBASE were used as supplementary retrieval systems. RESULTS: (i) The sample journals displayed an average IF = 0.357. A 99 % correlation (Pearson factor r = 0.987; n = 25) was observed between our "constructed" IF 2000 and IF published in Journal Citation Report 2000. This proves Stegmann's IF determination method to be valid. On the average, 53 % German-language and 45 % English-language articles between 1995 - 2000 cited the 1995 - 1999' contributions of the studied journals. No correlation was observed between IF vs. rates of citing articles in English (r < 0.1). 64 % of citing English-language articles showed corporate sources in Germany/Austria/Switzerland, and 13.5 % authors' institutions in USA. CONCLUSIONS: (i) An IF >/= 1 is, obviously, very hard to attain by German-language journals. ISI's differentiation between Citing vs. Cited-only Journals (the latter often serving as MEDLINE/EMBASE sources) during derivation of IF appears unjustified. (ii) English now serves as the predominant communication language in sciences in German-speaking countries, but has not supplanted the German language. Our study reveals remarkable international attention rates remaining.

English Abstract↗

PubMed2001

Bilingual signed and spoken language acquisition from birth: implications for the mechanisms underlying early bilingual language acquisition.

Divergent hypotheses exist concerning the types of knowledge underlying early bilingualism, with some portraying a troubled course marred by language delays and confusion, and others portraying one that is largely unremarkable. We studied the extraordinary case of bilingual acquisition across two modalities to examine these hypotheses. Three children acquiring Langues des Signes Québécoise and French, and three children acquiring French and English (ages at onset approximately 1;0, 2;6 and 3;6 per group) were videotaped regularly over one year while we empirically manipulated novel and familiar speakers of each child's two languages. The results revealed that both groups achieved their early linguistic milestones in each of their languages at the same time (and similarly to monolinguals), produced a substantial number of semantically corresponding words in each of their two languages from their very first words or signs (translation equivalents), and demonstrated sensitivity to the interlocutor's language by altering their language choices. Children did mix their languages to varying degrees, and some persisted in using a language that was not the primary language of the addressee, but the propensity to do both was directly related to their parents' mixing rates, in combination with their own developing language preference. The signing-speaking bilinguals did exploit the modality possibilities, and they did simultaneously mix their signs and speech, but in semantically principled and highly constrained ways. It is concluded that the capacity to differentiate between two languages is well in place prior to first words, and it is hypothesized that this capacity may result from biological mechanisms that permit the discovery of early phonological representations. Reasons why paradoxical views of bilingual acquisition have persisted are also offered.

Child, Preschool↗

PubMed1997

Language background, proficiency in English, and selection for language development.

With a diverse language background profile in an Australian medical student population, teaching interventions are necessary for students whose English language proficiency is not adequate for the study of medicine. This paper describes the screening of written and aural English language proficiency in 143 first year undergraduate students using a standardized instrument. Students identified as experiencing language difficulties were subsequently assessed by interview and allocated to faculty-based Language Development Programme. Students with the greatest need for language support participated in a full 2 year programme. Those requiring less assistance were offered more limited support in the form of specific modules within the programme. Students allocated to the full programme were significantly weaker in language proficiency compared to those offered specific modules and those not offered a placement. The information gathered during the structured interview is valuable in establishing for medical educators specific areas in which language-related teaching for students who require it can be directed. Future research is required to evaluate the effectiveness of faculty-based language interventions in terms of improvement in language proficiency over time and the effect of any improvements in language proficiency on academic and clinical performance.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The play and language behavior of mothers with and without dyslexia and its association to their toddlers' language development.

The play and language behavior of mothers with (n = 49) and without (n = 49) specific reading disabilities (RD) was investigated during play with their 14-month-old children. The contribution of maternal behavior to the language development of their children was examined. The children's receptive and expressive language skills were assessed longitudinally at 14, 18, and 30 months, using the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories and the Reynell Developmental Language Scales. Children with and without familial risk for RD did not differ from each other in any play or language measures at these ages. No group differences were found for mothers' manifestations of nonsymbolic play and language. However, the typically reading (TR) mothers produced significantly more symbolic play and language in play interactions with their child than did the mothers with RD. The correspondence between mother-child symbolic play and maternal play-related language was also higher for the TR group than it was for the RD group. The mothers' symbolic play did not show any relation to their children's language development, but their expressions of symbolic language did show a relationship. The mothers' child-directed symbolic language contributed significantly toward the comprehension skills of 14- and 18-month-olds in the RD group. This association, however, was lower at 30 months, at which point it was reliably present for the first time in the TR group.

Child Language↗

PubMed1998

Language, achievement, and cognitive processing in psychiatrically disturbed children with previously identified and unsuspected language impairments.

This study examined the language, achievement, and cognitive characteristics of 380 children, aged 7 to 14 years, consecutively referred to child psychiatric services. Among those children referred solely for psychiatric problems, 40% had a language impairment that had never been suspected. Children with previously identified and unsuspected language impairments were similar with respect to receptive and expressive language and on measures of cognitive processing. Although both groups of children with language impairments exhibited poorer academic achievement than children with normal language, children with previously identified language impairments had the lowest achievement. The milder achievement problems of children with unsuspected language impairment may explain why their problems had not been suspected. Both the clinical and theoretical implications of the findings are discussed. Heightened awareness concerning the high frequency of language impairment and other cognitive processing problems in children referred for psychiatric assessment and treatment should lead to more systematic examination of language functioning and evaluation of the impact of language and communication functioning on therapeutic outcomes.

Adolescent↗