On-Line Individual Differences in Statistical Learning Predict Language Processing

Considerable individual differences in language ability exist among normally developing children and adults. Whereas past research have attributed such differences to variations in verbal working memory or experience with language, we test the hypothesis that individual differences in statistical learning may be associated with differential language performance. We employ a novel paradigm for studying statistical learning on-line, combining a serial-reaction time task with artificial grammar learning. This task offers insights into both the timecourse of and individual differences in statistical learning. Experiment 1 charts the micro-level trajectory for statistical learning of nonadjacent dependencies and provides an on-line index of individual differences therein. In Experiment 2, these differences are then shown to predict variations in participants’ on-line processing of long-distance dependencies involving center-embedded relative clauses. The findings suggest that individual differences in the ability to learn from experience through statistical learning may contribute to variations in linguistic performance

Characterizing the Growth Trajectories of Language-Impaired Children Between 7 and 11 Years of Age

A number of different systems have been suggested for classifying language impairment in children but, to date, no one system has been widely accepted. Method: This paper outlines an alternative system looking for distinct patterns of change in receptive language skills across time, involving a secondary analysis of children identified as having specific language impairment. Participants: The participants were 184 children age-assessed at 3 time points-7, 8, and 11 years of age. Results: The pattern of receptive language development is highly predictable. The dominant pattern of growth is consistent with declining rates of growth over time for all children. The primary way in which the children differ is with respect to their initial severity. The testing of the 2 classification systems revealed some statistically significant differences among the subtypes with regard to the shape of the growth rates, but the effect sizes associated with these differences were very small. Thus, it is possible to conclude that beyond the dominant pattern of growth, some subtypes of language impairment at 7 years of age showed only subtle differences in receptive language change across time. The results are discussed in terms of the sample selection and the age of the children who were studied. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.CIHR51pub75

Evaluating Phonological Processing Skills in Children With Prelingual Deafness Who Use Cochlear Implants

This study investigated the phonological processing skills of 29 children with prelingual, profound hearing loss with 4 years of cochlear implant experience. Results were group matched with regard to word-reading ability and mother’s educational level with the performance of 29 hearing children. Results revealed that it is possible to obtain a valid measure of phonological processing (PP) skills in children using CIs. They could complete rhyming tasks and were able to complete sound-based tasks using standard test materials provided by a commercial test distributor. The CI children completed tasks measuring PP, but there were performance differences between the CI users and the hearing children. The process of learning phonological awareness (PA) for the children with CIs was characterized by a longer, more protracted learning phase than their counterparts with hearing. Tests of phonological memory skills indicated that when the tasks were controlled for presentation method and response modality, there were no differences between the performance of children with CIs and their counterparts with hearing. Tests of rapid naming revealed that there were no differences between rapid letter and number naming between the two groups. Results yielded a possible PP test battery for children with CI experience

Defining language impairments in a subgroup of children with autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is diagnosed on the basis of core impairments in pragmatic language skills, which are found across all ages and subtypes. In contrast, there is significant heterogeneity in language phenotypes, ranging from nonverbal to superior linguistic abilities, as defined on standardized tests of vocabulary and grammatical knowledge. The majority of children are verbal but impaired in language, relative to age-matched peers. One hypothesis is that this subgroup has ASD and co-morbid specific language impairment (SLI). An experiment was conducted comparing children with ASD to children with SLI and typically developing controls on aspects of language processing that have been shown to be impaired in children with SLI: repetition of nonsense words. Patterns of performance among the children with ASD and language impairment were similar to those with SLI, and contrasted with the children with ASD and no language impairment and typical controls, providing further evidence for the hypothesis that a subgroup of children with ASD has co-morbid SLI. The findings are discussed in the context of brain imaging studies that have explored the neural bases of language impairment in ASD and SLI, and overlap in the genes associated with elevated risk for these disorders.M01 RR00533 - NCRR NIH HHS; R01 DC10290 - NIDCD NIH HHS; U19 DC03610 - NIDCD NIH HH

The roles of specialist provision for children with specific speech and language difficulties in England and Wales: a model for inclusion?

Children with specific speech and language difficulties pose a challenge to the education and health systems. In addition to their language difficulties they are also at risk of literacy and social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. The main support for children with more severe difficulties has been enhanced provision in mainstream schools (language units or integrated resources) and special schools. The move to an inclusive education system challenges this tradition. The present paper reports the results of interviews with heads of language units/integrated resources and headteachers of special schools (n=57) as part of a larger study within England and Wales. Their views are considered with reference to criteria for entry to specialist provision, the development of collaborative practice between teachers, teaching assistants and speech and language therapists, and the implications for inclusive education

The impact of sound field systems on learning and attention in elementary school classrooms

Purpose: An evaluation of the installation and use of sound field systems (SFS) was carried out to investigate their impact on teaching and learning in elementary school classrooms. Methods: The evaluation included acoustic surveys of classrooms, questionnaire surveys of students and teachers and experimental testing of students with and without the use of SFS. Students ’ perceptions of classroom environments and objective data evaluating change in performance on cognitive and academic assessments with amplification over a six month period are reported. Results: Teachers were positive about the use of SFS in improving children’s listening and attention to verbal instructions. Over time students in amplified classrooms did not differ from those in nonamplified classrooms in their reports of listening conditions, nor did their performance differ in measures of numeracy, reading or spelling. Use of SFS in the classrooms resulted in significantly larger gains in performance in the number of correct items on the nonverbal measure of speed of processing and the measure of listening comprehension. Analysis controlling for classroom acoustics indicated that students ’ listening comprehension score

More or less likely to offend? Young adults with a history of identified Developmental Language Disorder

Background: There is now substantial literature demonstrating that a disproportionate number of young people who come into contact with youth justice services evidence unidentified language difficulties. These young people, therefore, have received little or no professional input in this area. Conversely, there is a dearth of research pertaining to criminality outcomes among those individuals with identified developmental language disorders who have received such interventions. Aims: The paper examines police-initiated contact and substance use outcomes of young adults with a history of identified developmental language disorders (DLD) versus age matched peers (AMPs). Additionally, self-reported rule breaking behaviours and aggression are considered. We hypothesise that early identification/intervention reduces engagement with risky behaviour such as substance and alcohol use as well as offending-related behaviours. Methods & Procedures: Adversarial police-initiated contacts were examined in 84 young adults with a history of DLD and 88 AMPs. Rule-breaking and aggression were evaluated using the Achenbach Adult Self-Report for ages 18-59. Outcomes & Results: Adults with a history of DLD, who received targeted intervention during their school years, reported less contact with their local police service compared to AMPs at age 24. Comparable proportions of both groups reported current alcohol consumption but group differences were found relating to alcohol use. No group differences in rule breaking behaviours were found but the DLD group was found to have a statistically significant higher raw score on the aggressive behaviour scale. Conclusions & Implications: There is a need for early identification of children with DLD. Early intervention aimed at ameliorating such difficulties could possibly have distal outcomes in relation to offending

Dynamic assessment of word learning skills of preschool children with primary language impairment

Dynamic assessment has been shown to have considerable theoretical and clinical significance in the assessment of socially disadvantaged and culturally and linguistically diverse children. In this study it is used to enhance assessment of pre-school children with primary language impairment. The purpose of the study was to determine whether a dynamic assessment (DA) has the potential to enhance the predictive capacity of a static measure of receptive vocabulary in pre-school children. Forty pre-school children were assessed using the static British Picture Vocabulary Scale (BPVS), a DA of word learning potential and an assessment of non-verbal cognitive ability. Thirty-seven children were followed up 6 months later and re-assessed using the BPVS. Although the predictive capacity of the static measure was found to be substantial, the DA increased this significantly especially for children with static scores below the 25th centile. The DA of children's word learning has the potential to add value to the static assessment of the child with low language skills, to predict subsequent receptive vocabulary skills and to increase the chance of correctly identifying children in need of ongoing support

Convergent genetic linkage and associations to language, speech and reading measures in families of probands with Specific Language Impairment

We analyzed genetic linkage and association of measures of language, speech and reading phenotypes to candidate regions in a single set of families ascertained for SLI. Sib-pair and family-based analyses were carried out for candidate gene loci for Reading Disability (RD) on chromosomes 1p36, 3p12-q13, 6p22, and 15q21, and the speech-language candidate region on 7q31 in a sample of 322 participants ascertained for Specific Language Impairment (SLI). Replication or suggestive replication of linkage was obtained in all of these regions, but the evidence suggests that the genetic influences may not be identical for the three domains. In particular, linkage analysis replicated the influence of genes on chromosome 6p for all three domains, but association analysis indicated that only one of the candidate genes for reading disability, KIAA0319, had a strong effect on language phenotypes. The findings are consistent with a multiple gene model of the comorbidity between language impairments and reading disability and have implications for neurocognitive developmental models and maturational processes