SLP Praxis - Language Development

Birth to 3 months

Developmental milestones:

- startle response to loud sound

- visually tracks (moves eyes) to source of sound

- attends to and turns head to voice/sound source

- smiles reflexively

- cries for assistance

- quiets when picked up

- ceases activity or coos back when someone talks

- vocalizes vowels (predominantly)

4-6 months

responds by raising arms when mother says come here

moves or looks toward family members when they are named (where's daddy)

explores vocal mechanism through vocal play such growling, squealing, yelling, making raspberries

begins to produce adult-like vowels

begins marginal babbling; produces double syllables (baba)

varies pitch of vocalizations

responds to name (5 months)

vocalizes pleasure and displeasure

varies volume, pitch, and rate of vocalization

7-9 months

looks at common objects when the object name spoken

comprehends no

begins to use gestural language, shakes head for no

wide range of sound combination

uses inflected vocal play, intonation pattern

imitates intonation and speech sounds by others

uses variegated babbling (mabamaba-9 months)

uncovers hidden toy

10-12 months

understands 10+ words, first words, obeys some commands, object permanence, recognizes own name, jabbers loudly, vocal play

perlocutionary behavior

Signals have an effect on the listener/observer but lack communicative intent (e.g., when infants smile reflexively, an observer may smile back or laugh).

illocutionary behavior

9 - 10 months

Signaling to carry out some socially organized action (e.g., pointing and laughing); uses intentional communication.

locutionary stage

time around 12 months and older when a child begins using words to communicate

Joint Reference

ability to focus on objects as directed by another person (first by eye contact then by pointing and naming)

Syntax 12-18 months

1 word sentences (1 word reflects complex idea)

MLU 1-2

plus vocal and body cues

50 words by 18 months

Syntax 18-24 months

begin to put 2 words together

2 years: 3-4 word responses and use "and"

Semantic 1-2 years

18 months: understands 200 words

uses nominals and verbs, semantic relations, overextensions

follow 1 step directions

point 1-5 body parts

Syntax 3-4 Years

complex verb phrases, embedded forms, mostly complete sentences, MLU 3-5, "do" insertions, negation, beginning complex and compound sentences

Semantics 3-4 years

comprehends 4200 word by 48 months

uses 900-1000 words

ask how/why/when, opposites

self info

pronouns

concepts

Morphology 3-4 years

uses irregular plural forms, third person singular, present tense (he runs), simple regular plural forms (boys), possessive markers consistently (the boy's clothes), contracted forms of modals (can't)

uses are and am in sentences and is at beginning of sentences

uses inflection to convert adjective to causative (sharp, sharpen)

begins to use reflexive pronouns (myself) and conjunction because (43-48 months)

Pragmatics of 3-4 Years

can maintain convo w/o losing track of topic

modify speech to suit listener's needs

uses requesting

uses conversational devices such as boundary markers (hi, bye), calls (Hey mommy), accompaniments (Here you are), politeness markers

uses communicative functions such as role playing and jokes

Syntax 4-5 years

MLU= 4.5-7.0

speaks in complete sentences

interprets complex sentences

8% of sentences are incomplete by 5

uses future tense and passive voice

uses 'if and so' in sentences

Semantics of 4-5 Years

comprehends up to 9600 words by 5

expressive vocab 1500-2000 words

uses concrete meanings and words and some abstracts ideas appropriately

can name items in a category

uses why, how, and most pronouns including possessives

answers simple when questions

begins to understand left from right

demands explanations with frequent use of why

identifies past and future verbs

Morphology of 4-5 Years

uses comparatives (bigger, nicer, taller)

uses could and would in sentences

uses irregular plurals fairly consistently

Pragmatics 4-5 years

topic maintenance over successive utterances

egocentric monologues

indirect speech acts

tell jokes and riddles

Syntax of 5-6 Years

MLU 6.0-8.0

uses present, past, and future tense consistently

uses conjunction to string words together

asks "how questions"

uses a language form that approximates the adult model

decreases grammatical errors in sentences

vocab is more sophisicated

comprehends verb tenses in the passive voice

Semantics of 5-6 Years

comprehends 13,000-15,000 words by 6

knows spatial relations and prepositions

can distinguish alike, same, different

distinguishes right and left in self, not others

knows address and most opposites

can state similarities and differences in objects

knows function of body parts

understand concepts like yesterday, tomorrow, first and last

tells long stories

defines objects by use, compositions

Morphology of 5-6 Years

knows passive form of verbs and indefinite pronouns (any, anybody)

uses irregular plurals, possessives, negatives, and all pronouns consistently

uses superlative -est

begins to use adverbial word endings (-ly)

Pragmatics of 5-6 years

understands humor, surprise

uses expressions like "thank you"

can differentiate 80% between polite and impolite utterances

often asks permission to use objects that belong to others

contributes to adult conversation

corrects potential errors by modify the message

Syntax 6-7 years

MLU of 7.3 words

uses embedding more frequently

uses reflexive pronouns

begins to use perfect tense forms (have, had)

has full use of passive voice

Semantics 6-7 years

comprehends 20,000-26,000 words

prints alphabet and numerals from previously printed model

understand seasons and what happens in each

recites the alphabet sequentially

names capital letters

forms letter left to right (reversals and inversions are common)

rote counts to 100

tells time related to specific daily schedule

Morphology of 6-7 Years

begins to gerunds (noun form produced by adding -ing to a verb infinitive ie. fish becomes fishing)

acquires use of derivational morphemes (change verb to a noun ie catch becomes catcher)

improves correct use of irregular past tense and plurals

uses irregular comparatives (good, better, best)

uses most morphological markers fairly consistently

Pragmatics of 6-7 Years

apt to use slang or mild profanity

becomes aware of mistakes in other's speech

Syntax of 7-8 Years

MLU 7.0-9.0

uses predominately complex tense forms

Semantics 7-8 years

interprets jokes and riddles literally

uses some figurative language

retells a story keeping the main ideas in order

uses details when describing

creates conversation suggested by a picture

anticipates story endings

enjoys telling stories and anecdotes

Morphology of 7-8 Years

uses most irregular verb forms with some mistakes with irregular past tense

uses superlatives (biggest, prettiest)

uses adverbs regularly

Pragmatics of 7-8 Years

initiates, maintains conversation in small groups

role plays to take listener's point of view

appropriately uses non linguistic and nonverbal behaviors (posture)

can sustain topic with conversational turns but topics tend to be concrete (8 years)

between 8-11 conversation topics start to be abstract

Skinner's system of behavioral analysis

language is social and acquired through stimulation, response, and reinforcement

language NOT acquired by an innate knowledge of the universal rules of grammar

cause-effect units of verbal behavior

mands: requests

tacts: stimulated by physical objects/events

echoics: imitative

autoclitics: secondary that comment on or clarify cayse of primary verbal behaviors

intraverbals: determined by prior verbal behaviors

Chomsky's nativist theory

transformational generative theory of grammar

children born with language acquisition device (LAD)

born with innate capacity to learn language

effect of Chomsky's nativist theory

few implications for assessment and treatment

therapy should focus on syntax

Aspects of nativist theory

lang competence, performance, surface and deep structure, transformation

Language competence vs. language performance

Chomsky described:

competence:knowledge of rules of universal grammar is innate (learns language by environment)

performance: actual production of language is imperfect because of factors (fatigue, distraction)

surface structure vs deep structure

surface structure is what the sentence literally means whereas the deep structure is the implied meaning. A single sentence can have two different surface structure and a single surface structure can have two deep meanings

Cognitive theory

variant of nativist theory

emphasized cognition

language is just one aspect of cognition and intellectual ability

language is not innate

cognitive theory effects

clinicians must assess cognitive precursors to language and facilitate the development of precursors prior to addressing language difficulties

Strong cognition hypothesis

There are cognitive abilities that are essential prerequisites to language skills.

Piaget's stages of cognitive development

sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational

Sensorimotor

0-2 years

6 sub-stages (0-2m, 2-4m, 4-8m, 8-12m, 12-18m, 18-24m)

developmental milestones

Preoperational

2-7 years

includes attempts to effectively categorize/classify language and allowing perception to guide thought and language

Preoperational stages

preconceptual: 2-4 yr

intuitive: 4-7 yr

concrete operational stage

7-11 yr

includes child becoming more aware of others and improved conversational skills

formal operational

11 years

"adult-like" use of language

Weak cognition hypothesis

cognition accounts for some but not all language abilities

some language and cognitive abilities develop simultaneously

information processing theory

encode stimuli from the environment, operates on the interpretations, stores the results in memory

primarily concerned with how language is learned and steps to handle the information