Language Impairments and Related Disorders

These flashcards cover key terms and definitions related to language impairments, their causes, types, impacts, and intervention strategies.

Specific Language Impairment (SLI)

A primary language disorder observed in the absence of any other known cause, affecting around 7% of the population.

Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)

Describes a problem with language, specifically a disruption of spoken language abilities.

Exclusionary criteria for SLI

Factors like hearing level, emotional/behavioral status, intellectual status, neurological status, speech motor skills, and reading level used to determine if a language impairment is due to SLI.

Working Memory

The ability to hold and manipulate information in mind, an important aspect of cognitive function.

Theory of Mind

The ability to understand that others have thoughts and feelings that may differ from one's own, often challenging for children with SLI.

Polysemous

Having multiple meanings; for example, the word 'record' can refer to both a vinyl record and the action of recording.

Non-Specific Language Impairment (NLI)

A type of language impairment that may occur alongside other impairments, indicating potential worse long-term outcomes.

Floortime

An intervention strategy that involves engaging children in play on their level to build connections and language skills.

Enhanced Milieu Teaching

A naturalistic, conversation-based intervention that uses child interests to model and prompt language in everyday contexts.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)

A range of effects that can occur in an individual whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy, leading to physical and developmental issues.

True or False: Brain Injury is the leading cause of death and disability for American children and teens

True.

Developmental Disability

A group of conditions characterized by physical or mental impairments beginning before age 22 that affect daily functioning.

Intellectual Disability (ID)

A term used for mental retardation, which includes both cognitive performance and adaptive behavior metrics.

Emergent Literacy

Development of knowledge of print and sound prior to formal reading and writing instruction.

Narrative Skills

The ability to create stories, which include beginning, middle, and end, crucial for effective communication.

Medical Complications

Various medical complications can lead to language impairments.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Damage to brain function due to physical trauma.

Stroke

Reduction of blood flow to the brain leading to cell death, impacting communication abilities.

Deprivation

Lack of exposure to language.

Neglect

Insufficient emotional and physical care, leading to developmental delays.

No Access to Community Speakers

Lack of interaction with speakers of the language which hinders practice and application.

Lack of Emotional Stability

Emotional distress can inhibit language development.

Undiagnosed Hearing Loss

Unrecognized hearing deficits can result in language deficits since children may not hear language properly.

Toxin Exposure

Environmental exposures, such as lead or mercury, can affect cognitive and language development.

Genetics

Certain genotypes may predispose individuals to language impairments.

Idiopathic

Cases where the cause of language impairment is unknown, often referred to as 'we don't know' or based on one's own pathology.

Specific Language Impairment (SLI)

A primary language disorder observed without any known cause.

Prevalence of SLI

Affects approximately 7% of the population.

Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)

A generalized term describing problems with language development, particularly the disruption of spoken language abilities.

Exclusionary Criteria for SLI - Hearing Level

Individuals must fail to pass a hearing screening in the frequency range of 250-6000Hz.

Exclusionary Criteria for SLI - Emotional/Behavioral Status

History of severe behavioral, emotional, or adjustment problems is considered.

Exclusionary Criteria for SLI - Intellectual Status

Individuals typically have a performance scale IQ less than 85.

Exclusionary Criteria for DLD

An IQ score between 85-100 is diagnosed, while below 85 indicates SLI.

Exclusionary Criteria for SLI - Neurological Status

Neurological assessments must indicate typical development without impairments.

Exclusionary Criteria for SLI - Speech Motor Skills

Assessments should reveal adequate speech motor skills.

Exclusionary Criteria for SLI - Reading Level

Establishes minimum proficiency in reading skills.

It's Not SLI If

A clear explanation for the deficit exists.

Theoretical Approaches to SLI - Linguistic Explanation

Focuses on deficits in working memory and short-term memory, particularly morphosyntactic skills, leading to discrepancies in language abilities.

Theoretical Approaches to SLI - Information Processing Explanation

Introduces the connectionist theory highlighting cognitive differences among children with SLI.

Theoretical Approaches to SLI - Cognitive Explanation

Based on the constructionist view where language and cognition are seen as reciprocal and interlinked.

Working Memory

The capacity to hold and manipulate information over short periods.

Example Task for Working Memory

Reversing given number sequences such as '3458' to '8543.'

Importance of Working Memory

Pertinent for managing social interactions and language processing tasks.

Theory of Mind and SLI

Refers to the ability to understand that others have different perspectives and thoughts.

Example of Theory of Mind

Drawing what a teacher sees versus what they see themselves exemplifies differing perceptions.

Non-Mainstream American English (NMAE) and Language Impairment

Understanding dialect differences in language development.

Importance of Identifying Language Disorders

Importance of identifying actual language disorders versus dialectal differences to provide appropriate support without stigmatization.

Early Signs of SLI Identification

Late Talker: A child around age 2 having no spoken language.

Significant vocabulary limitations

Identified by short utterances and impoverished grammatical structures.

Symptoms of SLI

Include short utterances with a lack of verbs, missing inflectional morphemes, and vocabulary skewing towards concrete terms.

Difficulty in word learning

Particularly with abstract terms and multiple meanings (polysemous words).

Struggles with constructing complex sentences

Characterized by typical use of telegraphic speech and choppiness.

Hallmark symptom of SLI

Challenges in appropriately using bound morphemes.

Vulnerability to bullying

Due to challenges in assertiveness and social discourse, including difficulties in interactions with peers.

Impact of SLI on Language Use

Children tend to struggle with appropriate peer communication, have difficulties understanding language used by others, and show limited expansion beyond simple sentence structures.

Late Talkers vs SLI

All children diagnosed with SLI fall into the late talker category, but it's critical not to prematurely diagnose children learning language at a slower pace.

Non-Specific Language Impairment (NLI)

Children may experience language impairments alongside other impairments across different domains.

Long-term Outcomes of NLI

Evidence suggests worse outcomes for children with NLI compared to SLI.

NLI Verbal IQ

Lower.

NLI Nonverbal IQ

Lower and atypical.

SLI Verbal IQ

Lower.

SLI Nonverbal IQ

Normal range and typical.

Role of Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs)

Includes modeling appropriate language use and facilitating supportive parent-child interactions.

Scaffolding

Assisting children through structured interventions.

Contingent Responses

Engaging in responsive conversations with children.

Recasting

Providing adult models for children's utterances.

Expansion

Building the length and complexity of utterances.

Listening

Fostering attention-giving interactions to support language acquisition.

Cultural Considerations

Recognition that expectations about 'normal' behavior differ across cultures and can affect perceptions and responses to language impairments.

Floortime

Meaningful interactions developed through play, seeing what interests the child, and nurturing connections per DIR methodology.

Hanen Approach

Directs attention to contingent responses and motivation based on children's cues and play.

OWL Method

Observe, Wait, and Listen approach to facilitating communication.

Single-Word Utterances Categories

Aim for varied content categories including nominals/nouns, action words (verbs), modifiers, personal-social words, and function words.

Two-Word Utterances

Typical structures include: Agent + Action, Agent + Object, Possessor + Possession, Demonstrative + Entity, Action + Locative, Action + Object, Entity + Attribute, Disappearance.

Agent + Action

Example: 'Mama go.'

Agent + Object

Example: 'Dada cookie.'

Possessor + Possession

Example: 'My dolly.'

Demonstrative + Entity

Example: 'That cup.'

Action + Locative

Example: 'Sit here.'

Action + Object

Example: 'Push truck.'

Entity + Attribute

Example: 'Soup hot.'

Disappearance

Example: 'All gone.'

Auxiliary Verb Construction

Used for generating specific verb forms for varied grammatical contexts (e.g., questions, negatives, emphatic statements).

Progression of Auxiliary Verbs

Begins with simple aids like 'can, will/can't, won't' and evolves to semi-auxiliaries such as 'gonna, wanna, gotta'.

Developmental Sentence Scoring (DSS)

Evaluates syntactical structures utilized by the child.

Mean Length of Utterance (MLU)

Assesses the complexity of utterances via morpheme counting.

Brown's Stages

Normative framework to gauge developmental language change.

Developmental Disabilities

Refers to various impairments beginning before age 22 affecting abilities in at least three domains: Self-care, Communication, Learning, Mobility, Decision-making, Independent living, Money management.

Intellectual Disability

Diagnostic criteria revolve around cognitive and adaptive behavior performance.

Etiologies of Intellectual Disability

Includes Chromosomal Anomalies and Genetic Conditions.

Chromosomal Anomalies

E.g., Down Syndrome (extra chromosome 21).

Williams Syndrome

Characterized by a friendly demeanor and strong memory for faces.

Fragile X Syndrome

Common inherited cause requiring gene expression to function properly.

Prader-Willi Syndrome

Affects appetite regulation and physical tone.

Cri-du-chat Syndrome

Characterized by atypical crying and slow growth.

Impact of Brain Injury on Communication

Includes direct effects like paraphasia, anomia, and motor speech disorders.

Primary Brain Injury

Immediate damage due to impact.

Secondary Brain Injury

Complications that arise days or weeks post-injury due to inflammation or lack of healing.

Role of SLPs in NICU

Includes feeding, communication support, pre-literacy support, caregiver education, and counseling.

Definition of Disability for EI

Any child under the age of 3 needing services due to a developmental delay or a high-risk condition.