Child Language Disorders Exam 1

Content

semantics

what we say

Form

phonology, morphology, and syntax

how we say it

Use

pragmatics

why

Language Disorder

impaired comprehension and/or use of spoken, written, and/or other symbol systems. The disorder may involve the form of language, the content of language, and/or the function of language in communication in any combination.

Developmental Language Disorder

the language disorder is the primary disorder OR coincides with ADHD

Associated Langauge Disorder

language disorder is the secondary disorder to another condition like autism or down syndrome

Etiology of Developmental Language Disorder

neurodevelopment disorder, biological factors, environmental factors, and cognitive factors

Biological Factors

genetics

variations in symmetry and organization of language cortex

Environmental Factors

family history

socioeconomic status

Cognitive Factors

auditory processing

working memory

Developmental Approach to Assessment and Intervention

based on current pace/sequence of development

Is the child meeting appropriate developmental milestones?

Is the child meeting milestones in the typical sequence?

Areas of Development

Motor, cognitive, and social-emotional

Gross Motor Development

6 months: rolling over

9 months: sitting independently

12 months: pulls up to stand, walks holding furniture, drinks from cup

15 months: taking steps independently

18 months: walking independently and scribbles

24 months: runs, walks up stairs, kicks

Gesture Development

deictic gestures: 8-12 months, request, draw attention to referent, gain/maintain interaction

representational/iconic gestures: 12-18 months, convey aspects of referent's meaning, nodding head, arms out like airplane

emblem gestures: 2+ years, high five, thumbs up, and vary across cultures

Cognitive Development

sensorimotor period: birth-2 years, reactive, sensory input to motor action

preoperational period: 2-7 years, more emotional awareness, playing with items how they are supposed to be used, more complex play, social language, understand various viewpoints, sense of time.

concrete period: 7-11 years, problem-solving, more abstract thinking

formal operational: abstract thought, hypothetical reasoning, forming sense of self

Social-Emotional Development

social interaction, emotional awareness, self-regulation

Order of language development

1. use

2. content

3. form

Perlocutionary (preintentional)

vocalizations, cries, gestures and reflexive

Illocutionary (intentional)

purpose, goal-directed, persistence, and termination once goal is achieved

Locutionary (symbolic)

begin to use symbolic behavior (words, signs, symbols)

Development of Joint Attention

responding to joint attention (follow gaze, head turn, point)

initiating joint attention (eye contact, gestures)

Semantic Development

fast mapping, slow mapping (frequency/quality of exposures), overextension, underextension

Fast Mapping

learning new words after minimal exposure

Slow Mapping

extended and repeated exposure to learn new ideas and words

Overextension

label a broader category of objects

Underextension

uses a label too narrowly

Phonology Awareness

syllable awareness, onset-rime awareness, and phoneme awareness

Morpheme

smallest unit of language that carries meaning

Bound Morphemes

derivational and inflectional

Derivational Morphemes

change part of speech

prefix (un, pre, in, trans)

suffix (ly, est, er)

Inflectional Morphemes

change tense

(s, 's, ing, ed)

Syntax (form)

declarative, negative, interrogative, embedding, conjoining

Pragmatics (use)

intentional and symbolic communication, develop various social intentions, extend topic continuation, narratives, indirect requesting, communication repair

Schema of Conversation

1. initiation and topic establishment

2. navigation of turns

3. resolution and closure

Comprehension

generally precedes production

Emergent Literacy

interest in signs, understand meaning on print, attend to structure of print, phonological awareness, invented spelling, book conventions

Literacy Development

alphabet knowledge, sight words, decoding, spelling, story grammar, develop fluency and comprehension

Late Language Emergence: Things to Look out for

understanding language, using gestures, learning new words, and symbolic play

Characteristics of Deficits in Content

limited vocabulary, slow learning new vocabulary, and more difficulty with abstract concepts

Verb Difficulty

will effect sentence production, have difficulty with -wh questions, seen a lot in children with language disorders

Difficulties with Word Learning

limited imitation, persist in over/underextension, require more frequent exposures/repetitions, difficulty with fast mapping, slower rate of growth, difficulties acquiring word relationships

cocktail party speech

Early Indicators of Morpho-Syntax Difficulty

late/slow acquisition of word combinations, limited MLU, difficulty comprehending grammatical morphemes

Morphological Errors

omission/misuse

Difficulty with Morphological Awareness

derivational and inflectional morphemes

Difficulty recognizing/correction grammatical errors

can cause later difficulty with literacy decoding/comprehension

Syntactic Errors

difficulty comprehending syntax, restricted variety of sentences used, role of working memory

Pragmatics Deficits

cultural variation can impact

Storytelling

lack cohesion, lack sequencing of evidence/story grammar, omit key components, difficulty understanding listener's perspective

Intellectual Disability

significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior

slower to develop pace, slower to develop intentional communication, shorter less complex sentences, difficulty with clarification

Adaptive Behavior

conceptual skills, social skills, practical skills

Conceptual Skills

language and literacy, time, number concepts

Social Skills

self-esteem, social problem-solving, follow rules

Practical Skills

ADLs, occupational, healthcare, travel, schedules, money

Down Syndrome

Trisomy 21, developmental delays in fine and gross motor skills, reduced speech intelligibility, conductive hearing loss, other impaired systems

difficulty acquiring/comprehending syntax, shorter and less complex sentences, first words delayed, slower growth of expressive vocab, receptive better than expressive

Trisomy 21

3 genes in the 21st gene

Hypotonia

size of tongue relative to oral cavity

Microglasia

oral cavity is smaller so might seem like a larger tongue but it isn't

Williams Syndrome

neurodevelopment disorder resulting from genetic condition, global developmental delays, difficulty with visual-spatial construction

delays in babbling, difficulty with relational vocabulary, difficulties with joint attention and less contingent responses

Fragile X Syndrome

genetic disorder, often co-occurs with autism or intellectual disability, otitis media, seizures, ADD/ADHD

reduced expressive vocab, difficulty with use/comprehension of morpho-syntax, repetitive speech, echolalia, preservation, stereotyped phrases

Visual Impairment

limited gestures, impacts joint attention and development of intentionality, pragmatics impairments, focus on early social-communicative exchanges

Hearing Impairment

characterized by degree and type

delayed and limited babbling, initial syllable deletion/final syllable deletion, impaired intelligibility, reduced speech rate, frequent pauses, inappropriate use of stress

Otitis Media

may impact early language development but should not have long term impact

Auditory Processing Disorder

impacts phonological awareness

Deaf-Blind

tactile ASL, finger spelling, AAC that involves brail

TBI

early speech post injury is often dysarthric, nonfluent

sparse language production or excess speech production

nonliteral language, inferences, impulsive responses

CP

caused by injury to developing nervous system, motor disorder that often leads to dysarthria, can impact hearing or vision

limited vocab, slower pace of development, omission of morphemes

Selective Mutism

anxiety disorder, child doesn't speak in specific situations

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Prenatal Exposure to Toxins

impacts physical development and CNS

difficulties with attention, memory, and other cognitive development

Autism

highly variable, slower to establish intentional/symbolic communication, short sentences, vocab reduced

Gestalt Language Processing

values echolalia and supports autistic communication of all forms...controversial

ADHD

may co-occur with DLD, can have typical language, may have difficulty with rapid naming, difficulty with initiation, difficulty with frequent interruptions, difficulty with maintaining topic

Culture

ways of thinking, talking, understanding, and relating to others that are characteristics of groups of people with a shared history

Cultural Responsiveness

understanding and appropriately including and responding to a combination of cultural variables

Cultural Humility

self-reflection of beliefs and cultural identities in order to understand the beliefs and cultures of others

Cultural Competence

ability to interact with people from different cultural backgrounds

Bilingual

each of their two languages at least some of the time on a consistent basis

Dual Language Learners

learning 2 languages simultaneously from infancy or learning a second language after the first language

English Language Learners

early in the process of learning English as a second language

Simultaneous

similar rates of development, code-switching, learning phonemes in both languages

Sequential

silent period, language transfer, maybe some language loss

Unified Competition Model

language learning as a process of attending to converging cues and resolving the use of competing cues

learners attempt to transfer as much knowledge as possible from the first to the second language

entrenchment, resonance, misconnection, negative transfer (challenges)

Entrenchment

the process by which linguistic structures become deeply ingrained in a person's mental representation of language

Resonance

contextualized intervention, cues support other cues

Contextualized Intervention

intervention not on its own. in play, stories, or anything relevant to client

Misconnection

difficulty in recognizing relationships across sentence forms or semantic categories

Proceduralization

making linguistic targets explicit

Chunking

division of input into functional phrases or constructions

Negative Transfer

impedes learning when learners falsely assume that both language work in precisely the same way

Positive Transfer

facilitates learning when forms are similar

Language Difference

no further assessments, supports provided by ELL services or bilingual programs

Linguistic Bias

language used during testing and/or expected of the child

Cultural Bias

activities or items that do not correspond with the child's experiences

Translator

translate written documents into the home language

Interpreter

interprets oral communication between the clinician and client and family

Early Intervention Services

services for infants, toddlers, and families when children who have or at higher likelihood to experience developmental delay, disability, or other health condition that impacts typical development

EIS Screening Measures

ages and stages questionnaire, batelle developmental inventory, infant/toddler checklist, MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory

Dynamic Assessment

interactive approach to evaluating a child's learning potential by observing their ability to learn and apply new skills with support

Most important question when approaching assessment

What can the child do?

Strength-Based Assessment

focuses on identifying and leveraging a child's existing abilities, talents, and positive attributes to support their development and learning

Prelinguistic Skills Assessed

intentionality, social referencing, range of communication functions, gestures