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PubMed1992

Characteristics of children with specific language impairment attending language units.

The characteristics of children with specific language impairment (SLI) attending four language units in the north-west of England are examined. The present study involved 15 children with SLI and two sets of control groups: a same-age group and an MLU-matched group (MLU = mean length of utterance). Results are discussed in terms of the following questions: Do children with SLI attending language units fit the classic definition of SLI? Can children with SLI be categorised as having expressive versus receptive language problems? What other aspects of educational attainment such as reading, maths and science are affected by SLI? The paper ends with implications for future research.

Child↗
PubMed1982

Language onset and concomitant speech and language problems in subgroups of stutterers and their siblings.

Time of language onset and frequencies of speech and language problems were examined in stutterers and their nonstuttering siblings. These families were grouped according to six characteristics of the index stutterer: sex, recovery or persistence of stuttering, and positive or negative family history of stuttering. Stutterers and their nonstuttering same-sex siblings were found to be distributed identically in early, average, and late categories of language onset. Comparisons of six subgroups of stutterers and their respective nonstuttering siblings showed no significant differences in the number of their reported articulation problems. Stutterers who were reported to be late talkers did not differ from their nonstuttering siblings in the frequency of their articulation problems, but these two groups had significantly higher frequencies of articulation problems than did stutterers who were early or average talkers and their siblings.

Articulation Disorders↗
PubMed1978

Computer-assisted analysis of written language: assessing the written language of deaf children.

Methods for assessing the written language of deaf students are reviewed. The merits and shortcomings of various objective indicators that have traditionally been used are discussed. These include various measures of total output, such as total number of words or sentences, and simple measures of diversity of usage such as the type-token ratio. There have been several attempts in recent years to include objective measures of syntactic complexity as part of an overall language assessment program. The use of a computer to assist teachers in the derivation of such syntactic measures is described. Two illustrative examples are provided. The first shows how the computer system performs a detailed syntactic analysis on a typical sentence taken from the written language of a deaf child. The second example shows how the system provides a summary analysis of several sentences in a theme. A statistical count of the syntactic forms used in the written language sample is provided at the end of the analysis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Topic manipulation and conversational participation as a function of familiarity in school-age language-impaired and normal language peers.

This study investigated the topic manipulation skills and conversational participation of school-age language-impaired children (LI) in interactions with normal language peers. The subjects consisted of eight dyads of a normal language child and a language-impaired child balanced for approximate age and sex. They ranged in age from 5.11 to 7.11 years of age. The subjects participated in two conversations in order to explore the effects of familiarity on conversational participation. The subjects were unfamiliar with each other before the study began. Fifteen to twenty minutes of discourse were taped, transcribed, and analyzed for the number and proportion of topics maintained, topics introduced, topics reintroduced, topics shaded, and the number and proportion of back channel responses produced in Session 1 and Session 2. A behavioral measure was included to clarify whether conversational nonassertiveness was related to a behavioral style of interaction. No significant differences were found between the LI children and the normal children for the number and proportion of topics maintained, topics introduced, or topics shaded. However, the LI subjects did produce significantly more topic reintroductions than the normal subjects. The number and proportion of back channel responses was not found to differ significantly between the two groups. A familiarity effect was demonstrated by a reduction in the number of utterances produced in Session 2 as compared to Session 1 as the children interacted less in the second conversation. Several interpretations of the results are discussed.

Child↗
PubMed1990

Modifications of speech language levels by preservice educators based on language features.

Increased efforts to mainstream handicapped learners have been accompanied by a growing concern for the ability of mainstream educators to accommodate the special needs of these students. A particular concern involves the ability of mainstream educators to adjust their levels of spoken language when conversing with hearing-impaired learners. The present study compared the language levels produced by preservice educators with either high or low levels of previous experience with hearing-impaired individuals. Results indicated that (1) neither group adjusted their spoken language to levels understood by two hearing-impaired women and (2) members of the high experience group produced higher language levels than members of the low experience group. Discussion of these results focuses on implications for interactions with hearing-impaired learners.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

The roles of language processing in a spoken language interface.

This paper provides an overview of the colloquium's discussion session on natural language understanding, which followed presentations by M. Bates [Bates, M. (1995) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92, 9977-9982] and R. C. Moore [Moore, R. C. (1995) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92, 9983-9988]. The paper reviews the dual role of language processing in providing understanding of the spoken input and an additional source of constraint in the recognition process. To date, language processing has successfully provided understanding but has provided only limited (and computationally expensive) constraint. As a result, most current systems use a loosely coupled, unidirectional interface, such as N-best or a word network, with natural language constraints as a postprocess, to filter or resort the recognizer output. However, the level of discourse context provides significant constraint on what people can talk about and how things can be referred to; when the system becomes an active participant, it can influence this order. But sources of discourse constraint have not been extensively explored, in part because these effects can only be seen by studying systems in the context of their use in interactive problem solving. This paper argues that we need to study interactive systems to understand what kinds of applications are appropriate for the current state of technology and how the technology can move from the laboratory toward real applications.

Communication↗
PubMed1983

[Contribution of the right hemisphere to language in aphasic patients. Disappearance of this language after a right-sided lesion].

Assessments vary as to the contribution of the right hemisphere to language in aphasic patients. Results of a clinicopathologic study in two right-handed subjects with aphasia are reported. The lesions involved the territories of the left middle and anterior cerebral arteries. Oral productions in one case, studied during the three weeks of survival, were limited to automatic series, recitation of a fable, and completion of sentences. Follow-up in the other case was possible during 2 years of language rehabilitation. At the end of this period, repetition of an echolalic type was possible; a propositional expression had appeared, reduced to substantives and verb infinitives; denomination was possible but rich in semantic paraphasias. A second infarction in the right sylvian region caused the recovered language to disappear and to be replaced by an abolition of all communication. Proof was thus obtained that the progress accomplished was dependent on the right hemisphere. These findings are discussed in the light of observations of patients following left hemispherectomy and of the capacity of the right hemisphere to generate language as demonstrated in patients after commissurotomy. A dynamic interpretation of the taking over of expression by the right hemisphere during some aphasias is proposed.

Aphasia↗
PubMed1995

Conflict resolution abilities of children with specific language impairment and children with normal language.

This study explored the conflict resolution ability of 30 children with specific language impairment (SLI) and 30 children with normal language (NL) in grades 3 through 7. The children participated in a hypothetical problem-solving activity in which an imaginary conflict was presented and a hypothetical solution was required. They also engaged in role enactments of conflicts. The children with SLI suggested fewer types of strategies to resolve hypothetical conflicts than their peers with NL. The groups did not differ in the number of strategy types used in the role-enactment contexts. The children with receptive and expressive SLI performed more poorly than the children with primarily expressive language deficits only on the role-enactment task. Similarities and differences in types of strategy used by the children with SLI and those with NL were found in both tasks. Explanations are offered for these findings.

Child↗
PubMed1990

Quantifying language development from birth to 3 years using the Early Language Milestone Scale.

A point-scoring technique for the Early Language Milestone Scale is described. Normative data based on the original 1982 cross-sectional sample and validation data based on a separate longitudinal sample are presented. Mean Early Language Milestone Scale point scores, standard deviations, and percentile equivalents for raw point scores are presented for all ages from birth to 36 months. Correlations between point scores on the Early Language Milestone Scale and scores on other standardized developmental tests such as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities are presented. The clinical and research advantages of this point-scoring technique are presented and compared with the original pass/fail scoring method.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1989

Early Language Milestone Scale and language screening of young children.

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the use of the Early Language Milestone Scale (ELM) in screening language skills in young children. In this study, 657 children from birth to 36 months of age were evaluated with the ELM. The overall failure rate was 8%. Children who failed the ELM screening were evaluated with the Sequenced Inventory of Communication Development (SICD) that was used as the "gold standard" for diagnosing language disorders. In the 12-month age and younger group, there was poor agreement between the ELM Scale and the SICD. For infants 13 to 24 months of age, there was moderately good agreement between the SICD and a second ELM that was administered 1 to 2 weeks after the initial screening. In the 25- to 36-month age group, there was excellent agreement between the SICD and a rescreen ELM. The agreement between the two instruments indicated that the rescreen ELM correctly classified 79% of the 13- to 24-month-old infants and 89% of the 25- to 36-month-old toddlers.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1988

Speech following sign language training in autistic children with minimal verbal language.

This study was carried out to test the main and interaction effects of training condition and pretreatment-elicited verbal imitation ability when predicting spoken language use during language training of 60 minimally verbal autistic children. Subjects were randomly assigned to Speech Alone, Sign Alone, Simultaneous Presentation of Sign and Speech, and Alternating Presentation of Sign and Speech training conditions. Speech Alone, Simultaneous Presentation, and Alternating Presentation condition facilitated more child-initiated speech during treatment than did the Sign Alone condition. Regardless of training condition, pretreatment verbal imitation ability positively predicted the size of child-initiated spoken vocabulary observed during training. Exploratory analyses indicated that, in addition to verbal imitation, pretreatment age and IQ may also predict spoken language developed during training.

Autistic Disorder↗
PubMed1994

Communicative skills in children with specific language impairments: a comparison with their language-matched siblings.

The purpose of this study was to compare the pragmatic skills of five children with Specific Language Impairments (SLI) and their Mean Length of Utterance-matched younger siblings, thus in part controlling for home language environment and expressive language level. Data were videotaped as mother-child free play in the home. Children's communicative acts were coded on three levels (social interchange, speech act, and conversational). Analysis of each level separately indicated generally comparable performance within sibling pairs. However, when the three levels were integrated into a measure of pragmatic flexibility, the children with SLI were found to demonstrate a more varied repertoire than their younger, normally developing siblings.

Child↗
PubMed1989

Language laterality in Navajo reservation children: dichotic test results depend on the language context of the testing.

Language lateralization in 40 Navajo and 20 Anglo fifth graders was assessed via the Dichotic Consonant-Vowel Task (DCVT). One group of Navajo children was tested by an experimenter who spoke only Navajo with them. The other Navajo group and the Anglo group were tested by an experimenter who spoke only English to them. Strong right ear advantages (REAs) were obtained for the Anglo group and for the Navajo group tested by the Navajo-speaking experimenter. The Navajo group tested by the English-speaking experimenter showed minimal, nonsignificant REAs. Previous findings of an absence of REAs in Native American children failed to consider the possibility that this might occur only when the experimenter does not speak the dominant language of the children. Our results are not consistent with the view that Native Americans are more right hemisphere dominant as a function of an "appositional" mode of language and thought.

Arizona↗
PubMed1993

The relation of maternal language to variation in rate and style of language acquisition.

The main thrust of this paper is to question whether in earlier studies the 'motherese hypothesis' has been adequately tested. The present study first explores concurrent relations between maternal and child language at an early age, using the Snyder, Bates & Bretherton (1981) questionnaire to assess vocabulary at 1;1. With a large sample of 45 subjects, videotaped at 1;1 and 1;8, it was possible to analyse earlier talkers separately from later talkers. The results indicate pre-existing differences between the mothers of earlier and later talkers as early as 1;1--some 5 months before other studies have examined the possible facilitative effects of 'motherese'. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, when the sample was divided according to stylistic preference at 1;8, several associations between maternal language at 1;1 and MLU at 1;8 emerged for the non-expressive group which were non-existent for the expressive group. These results imply that earlier studies may have been looking for the effectiveness of maternal input too late. Moreover, it may continue to be difficult to demonstrate consistent effects of child-directed speech as long as researchers continue to ignore individual differences in style of language acquisition.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1990

The identification of language impairment in the selection of specifically language-impaired subjects.

This review focused on the methods used to identify language impairment in specifically language-impaired subjects participating in 72 research studies that were described in four journals from 1983 to 1988. The single most frequent source of information used in the identification process was found to be test data. There was, however, considerable variability and, often, a lack of clarity regarding the specific number and identity of tests used. More specific findings on test use indicated that researchers routinely assessed both expressive and receptive language and that they used incomplete tests. When test scores used in identification and selection were examined, there was a wide range of score types, and age-equivalent scores were by far the most common and often the only type of score utilized. Conclusions are drawn regarding the impact of these findings on the interpretation and generalizability of this research literature.

Child↗
PubMed1992

Delay versus deviance in the language acquisition of language-impaired children.

To investigate the issue of delay versus deviance in the language acquisition of language-impaired (LI) children, the order of acquisition of a set of linguistic structures and the relationship obtaining between one structure and another were examined in comprehension and production over a 5-year period in a group of LI and language-matched normal children. The results demonstrated a marked similarity between groups, both in the point at which mastery of individual structures was achieved and in the overall patterns of acquisition demonstrated. These data suggest that LI children are constructing grammars based on the same rules and principles as those of linguistically normal control subjects, and that their linguistic impairments may be principally processing, not representational, in nature.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1994

Social valence in children with specific language impairment during imitation-based and conversation-based language intervention.

This study investigated the level of social valence and type of social behaviors expressed in 15 children with specific language impairment as they engaged in typical language intervention activities during conversation-based and imitation-based language programs. These programs were both applied to each child over a period of several weeks. Videotapes of treatment sessions were analyzed for the presence of five verbal and 11 nonverbal behaviors selected to measure social valence. In addition, the child's level of social valence was scored on a three-point rating scale. The results showed that although both types of treatments were predominantly associated with positive social valence ratings and a high frequency of smiling, laughing, and engagement in the activities, a significantly higher number of these positive ratings and behaviors were noted within conversation-based treatment. In contrast, although negative social valence ratings and expressions of boredom or dislike were very rare, these were observed more frequently under imitation-based treatment. There was a significantly higher rate of verbal initiations in the conversation-based treatment, and a significantly higher rate of quiet, passive participation in the imitation-based treatment. The findings are discussed in relation to treatment selection and viable strategies for assessing treatment acceptability in children.

Child Language↗