Language, cognition and autism.
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Adolescent↗
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Results for “Language Development Disorders”
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Changes in language development among autistic and peer children in segregated and integrated preschool settings.
Five young children with autism enrolled in a segregated class, five other children with autism in an integrated class, and four normally developing peer children in the integrated class were compared for developmental changes in language ability as measured by the Preschool Language Scale before and after training. The results, based on Mann-Whitney U tests, showed that (a) all of the children as a group made better than normative progress in rate of language development, (b) the scores of the autistic children were significantly lower than the peers before and after treatment, and (c) there were no significant differences in changes in language ability between the autistic children in the segregated and integrated classes.
Autistic Disorder↗
A comparison of language characteristics of mentally retarded adults with fragile X syndrome and those with nonspecific mental retardation and autism.
Fragile X syndrome is a recently identified form of mental retardation that is associated with a chromosomal abnormality and inherited in an X-linked manner. Previous studies have suggested that distinctive speech and language characteristics are associated with the syndrome. Twelve adult male residents of an institution for the retarded (aged 23 to 51 years) were compared on a series of speech and language measures to 12 adult males with nonspecific forms of MR who were residents of the same institution and were matched on age and IQ. A second contrast group consisted of similarly matched autistic men. Results revealed that there were no significant differences among the groups' performance, with the exception of increased rates of echolalia in the autistic group. A nonsignificant trend toward poorer performance on expressive measures on the part of the fragile X group was noted. The implications of these findings for further research on the syndrome are discussed.
Adult↗
The effects of two levels of linguistic constraint on echolalia and generative language production in children with autism.
The effects of specific types of adult antecedent utterances (high vs. low constraint) on the verbal behaviors produced by three subjects with autism were examined. Adult utterance types were differentiated in terms of the amount of control the adults exhibited in their verbal interactions with the subjects during a free play setting. Videotaped interactions were analyzed and coded according to a predetermined categorical system. The results of this investigation suggest that the level of linguistic constraint exerted on the child interactants during naturalistic play sessions affected their communicative output. The overall findings suggest that (a) adult high constraint utterances elicited more verbal utterances in general, as well as a majority of the subjects' echolalia; (b) adult low constraint utterances elicited more subject high constraint utterances; and (c) the degree of constraint of adult utterances did not appear to influence the mean lengths of subjects' utterances. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for educational interventions, and suggestions are made for future research concerning the dynamics of echolalia in interactive contexts.
Autistic Disorder↗
Phenotypic profiles of language-impaired children based on genetic/family history.
Although etiological influences in developmental language impairment (dysphasia) are not well defined, a significant increase of family aggregation for the disorder has been reported. We report data from a large cohort of language-impaired (LI) children participating in the San Diego longitudinal study in which we examined whether children with or without positive family histories show different phenotypic profiles. Due to the longitudinal design of the study, questions pertaining to change over time are also addressed. Second, a subgroup of the most impaired children were reevaluated to obtain additional information pertaining to family history and phenotypic outcome. Approximately 70% of the LI children met criteria for inclusion as family history positive, with fathers reporting a history of language or learning problems one and a half to two times as frequently as mothers. LI children with or without a positive family history were not significantly different on language skills or IQ. However, subjects having a positive family history for developmental language/learning problems were significantly lower in socioeconomic status and were rated by parents and teachers as having more attention-related behavior problems than their family history negative counterparts. Similarly, family history positive LI children performed more poorly on standardized academic tests as well as on tests of auditory processing and attention.
Child↗
Neologisms and idiosyncratic language in autistic speakers.
Language samples from matched groups of 80 autistic, mentally handicapped, and normally developing children were coded for the presence of neologisms and/or idiosyncratic language use. Cognitive, social, or linguistic factors that might account for these errors were identified and assessed. More autistic subjects used neologisms and idiosyncratic language than age- and language skill-matched control groups. No single factor or combination of factors was responsible for this difference. Across diagnostic groups, similar patterns of error were noted, except that the autistic subjects were more likely to use words inappropriately that had no phonological or semantic similarity to the intended English word. For the autistic groups, the frequency of idiosyncratic language increased with language complexity. In contrast, such errors decreased with language skill in the mentally handicapped group. Theoretical implications for determining the nature and source of the language disorder associated with autism are discussed.
Adolescent↗
Conversational skills of individuals with fragile-X syndrome: a comparison with autism and Down syndrome.
The conversational skills of 18 individuals with fragile-X syndrome (FXS) were compared with those of two other matched groups with autism and Down syndrome. The FXS group used more eliciting forms in conversation than those with Down syndrome, and also used partial self-repetition more often than the other two groups. The Down syndrome group had more speech dysfluencies than those with autism, but not more than those with FXS. The autistic group used more inappropriate phrases. Qualitative analysis of behavioral phenotype may reveal differences in communicative organization among subgroups whose retardation is based on different genotypes. In addition, analysis of verbal strategies during conversation suggests important differences between individuals with FXS and autism.
Adolescent↗
Conversational analyses of males with fragile X, Down syndrome, and autism: comparison of the emergence of deviant language.
Deviant, repetitive language of 33 males (9 with Down syndrome, 12 with fragile X (fra[X]) syndrome, and 12 with autism) was analyzed within three conversational contexts: direct responses, initiation of new material, and topic maintenance. Results indicated that males with fra(X) manifest deviant, repetitive language that is distinct from males with either Down syndrome or autism. Thus, the deviant repetitive language of males with fra(X) cannot be accounted for by either their level of adaptive functioning or autistic-like behaviors per se. Possible explanations for this etiologically specific language deviance were discussed.
Adolescent↗
Handedness and sex of children with developmental language disorders.
The handedness and sex of 4- and 5-year-old children with developmental language disorders were studied through a comparison of language disordered children and a normal control group and through a comparison of six linguistically homogeneous subgroups of language disordered children. Differences between the handedness of a generalized language disordered group and a normal control group were not found, possibly due to the multiple etiologies of developmental language disorders. Children with severe language disorders, however, were non-right-handed more often than children with mild language disorders. Furthermore, certain types of linguistic deficits were associated with non-right-handedness, whereas age and cognitive abilities were not. Males were more often language disordered than females; however, sex ratios did not significantly differ among the subgroups, possibly due to the small number of language disordered females in this study. Implications for cerebral laterality in developmental language disorders are discussed.
Child, Preschool↗
Language sample collection and analysis: interview compared to freeplay assessment contexts.
Spontaneous language samples elicited during freeplay and interview contexts were compared for 10 children who were specifically language impaired (SLI). Clinician-child videotaped interactions were analyzed for both structural and conversational behaviors. The results indicated that the interview was a reliable and valid assessment context, eliciting the same profile of behaviors as the freeplay context without altering diagnostic classifications. Most behaviors occurred significantly more often during the interview than during the freeplay context, indicating further that interviews are an efficient language sampling alternative for assessment purposes with elementary school-aged children with language disorders.
Child↗
Relation between receptive language and cognitive maturity in persons with mental retardation.
We examined the correlations between receptive language level and performance on indices of nonverbal cognitive functioning for 20 persons with mental retardation and for 20 children without mental retardation matched to them on nonverbal MA. The correlations suggested that the retarded group focused on the formal, sequential properties of language. The correlations also suggested that the nondisabled group placed less emphasis on the formal, sequential properties of language and more on semantic, conceptual properties. These differences in approach may explain why the persons with mental retardation did poorly on the task of understanding spoken language compared to the children without mental retardation.
Adolescent↗
The effects of chronic middle ear effusion on speech and language development -- a descriptive study.
In this study, the speech and language skills of children with histories of chronic middle ear effusion were analyzed. Forty-seven children between the ages of one year eleven months and five years five months were given a battery of speech and language tests in the course of a diagnostic evaluation. All the children had been referred to speech pathology by a physician because of a suspected communication disorder. All subjects had histories of three or more episodes of middle era effusion, with the first episode occurring prior to 18 months of age. All medical records were checked and in-depth case histories were obtained in order to rule out other possible complicating factors that might have contributed to a speech and language delay. The results of this study revealed essentially age-appropriate receptive language skills in this group of children. Expressive language and articulatory skills were significantly below chronological age level expectation, indicating the possible serious effects of chronic middle ear effusion on speech and language development.
Child, Preschool↗
Pragmatic language skills of students with language and/or learning disabilities: a quantitative synthesis.
A meta-analytic review of 33 studies investigating the pragmatic language skills of 3- to 12-year-old students with language disorders, language-learning disabilities, or learning disabilities as compared with the pragmatic language skills of nondisabled peers was conducted. The students with language and/or learning disabilities demonstrated consistent and pervasive pragmatic deficits in conversation compared to non-disordered peers (mean effect size = -0.52; SE = 0.06) across settings, conversational partners, age groups, and types of pragmatic skills measured. The pragmatic differences between the students with language or learning disabilities and control groups could not be accounted for by differences in study methodology or design. Furthermore, these pragmatic deficits appeared to be more attributable to underlying language deficits than to insufficient social knowledge. These findings are consistent with the perspective that students with learning disabilities can also be described as language disordered, and that children with language disorders experience a continuum of language failure that may be manifested in different ways as they progress through school.
Child↗
[Behavioral development of children recovering from severe malnutrition].
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Child, Preschool↗
Intellectual, behavioral, and linguistic characteristics of three children with 18p- syndrome.
Developmental characteristics of three girls with 18p- syndrome are described, with detailed history and results of psychological and speech/language evaluations completed at various ages. Results suggest that some children with 18p- syndrome have average abilities in selected areas, despite previous reports that these children have mild to severe mental retardation. Two of the three girls had more severe deficits in linguistic, as opposed to nonlinguistic, abilities. All had similar difficulties with speech articulation. It is suggested that children with speech/language delays who have physical features associated with this syndrome have chromosome analysis performed. It is also recommended that children identified as having 18p- syndrome be referred for comprehensive developmental assessments and remedial special education programming before a specific prognosis is determined.
Articulation Disorders↗
Children with language disorders: natural history and academic success.
Children with developmental language disorders pose specific and unique problems for educators. This article addresses the continuing academic vulnerability of these children during the school years. We advance the position that their academic vulnerability results from the lifelong need to acquire language, to learn with language, and to apply language knowledge for academic learning and social development. Issues are addressed that relate to persistence of language deficits and learning in school.
Achievement↗
The effect of pictured visual cues on elicited sentence imitation.
In one experiment language-normal 6 1/2-year-old and 4 1/2-year-old children (N = 68) were asked to imitate sentences with or without pictured visual cues. In a second experiment groups of language-disordered children (N = 43) also 4 1/2 and 6 1/2 years of age were asked to imitate sentences with and without pictured visual cues. In both experiments there was no significant difference in the syntactical and grammatical quality of elicited imitations between conditions. Older children performed better than young children in both experiments. It was concluded that pictured visual cues do not affect the syntactical and grammatical quality of language-normal and language-disordered children's elicited sentence imitations.
Child↗
Speech and language impairment and psychiatric risk. Toward a model of neurodevelopmental immaturity.
This article examines the relationship between speech and language impairment and psychiatric disorders in children. Recent research on the prevalence and correlates of speech and language impairment is reviewed. The natural history and classification of speech and language impairment is explored and the implications for clinical practice, theory, and research are discussed.
Child↗