Language Disorders Final Exam Study Guide Help

What is the Social Interactionist Theory?

Proposes that the child’s biological readiness to learn language interacts with the child’s environmental experiences with language to bring about language development

What is the Behaviorists Theory?

Idea that language is a human behavior that can be shaped by reinforcement

What is the Nativist/Cognitivist Theory?

Hypothesizes that human brains are innately wired to learn language and that hearing spoken language triggers the activation of a universal grammar

When do children typically produce their first words?

12 to 15 months

When do children begin combining two words?

By 18 to 24 months with a vocabulary of at least 50 words or more

What is the correspondence between MLU and age?

MLU and age should match up

Ex.

MLU of 2 by 2 years old

MLU of 3 by 3 years old

MLU of 4 by 4 years old

MLU of 5 by 5 years old

(there can be some variance)

What are the hallmark signs of Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)?

Characterized by persistent difficulties in acquiring and using language despite otherwise typical development. -

• limited vocabulary

• slow word learning

• difficulty combining words and morphemes

• persistent grammatical errors beyond the expected age

• poor narrative skills

• challenges following directions

Why is a hearing screening necessary in language evaluation?

To rule out hearing loss, since even mild hearing impairment can cause delayed speech and language.

Why is an oral mech exam necessary?

To check structure and function of oral mechanism (tongue, palate, jaw). Weakness or abnormality may affect articulation and speech clarity.

What is one advantage of standardized language assessments?

Provide norm-referenced scores that allow comparison to peers and eligibility decisions.

What is one disadvantage of standardized assessments?

May not reflect natural communication, and can be biased against diverse populations.

What is one advantage of language sampling?

Captures authentic communication in natural contexts, revealing pragmatic and syntactic skills.

What is one disadvantage of language sampling?

Requires time and expertise to analyze; less standardized for eligibility.

What is the mean standard score on most language tests?

100, representing average performance.

What score is one SD below the mean?

85, often considered “low average.”

What percentile rank often qualifies a child for therapy?

Below the 7th-10th percentile

What does criterion-referenced testing measure?

Specific skills against benchmarks (e.g., vocabulary checklist), useful for progress monitoring.

What does dynamic assessment measure?

Learning potential via test–teach–retest, helpful for distinguishing difference vs. disorder.

What do developmental scales provide?

Comparison to developmental milestones, guiding intervention planning

What do norm-referenced tests provide?

Comparison to peers, used for eligibility and diagnosis.

What skills are assessed in McCune (1995) and Nicolich (1977) play frameworks?

Symbolic play, representational thought, sequencing of actions.

Example of symbolic play in assessment?

Child pretends to feed a doll, showing representational ability.

How do play assessment results guide intervention?

Deficits in symbolic play suggest targeting representational language and narrative skills.

Give an example of Agent + Action.

Mommy go

Give an example of Action + Object.

Eat cookie

Give an example of Attribute + Entity

Big ball

Give an example of Possessor + Possession.

My toy

When is clinician-directed intervention most useful?

Structured, clinician-led drills for explicit teaching; best for severe deficits. Example: Drill practice on plural –s (“One cat… two cats”).

When is (child) client-directed intervention most useful?

Play-based, child-led learning; best for toddlers or pragmatic goals. Example: Farm play, modeling plurals naturally (“Two cows are eating”).

What is a hybrid approach?

Combines structure with child engagement; balances precision and generalization. Example: Focused stimulation in play, repeatedly modeling target forms.

What is an example of a joint action routine and what does it teach?

“Pat-a-cake” → teaches rhythm, anticipation, and joint attention.

Predictable, structured interaction teaching turn-taking and sequencing.

What is parallel talk?

The adult narrates what the child is doing, seeing, or experiencing in real time.

If a child is stacking blocks, the clinician says: “You’re putting the red block on top. Now you’re reaching for the blue one.”

What is expansion?

Adults verbally expand on child’s utterance to increase length or complexity

For example, the child says ‘doggie’ and the dad says, “big doggie”

What is expatiation?

Adult’s responses add new information to the child’s utterance

For example, the child says “bus” when he sees a bus pass, and mom says “the bus is going to school to pick up the children”

What is a recast?

Providing adult model of child’s utterance.

Child: I eated my cereal.

Dad: I ate my cereal.

What are communication temptations?

Situations designed to motivate communication, like putting a toy in a clear box to elicit request.

What are the three major characteristics of indirect language stimulation?

• Child-centered

• Non-demanding

• Model-focused

Example script for present progressive with dollhouse?

“The mommy is cooking. The baby is sleeping. The daddy is eating. The dog is running. The girl is playing.”

Example of labeling?

Child says “Doggy” when shown a picture.

Example of requesting action?

Child says “Up!” when wanting to be lifted.

What is an example of protesting?

Child says “No!” when offered unwanted item.

A child has a MLU of 2.2 and no morphemes → which morpheme would you teach?

Present progressive –ing, as it’s one of Brown’s earliest morphemes.

Which pronouns to teach first?

I, it, this, that → then teach → My, mine, me, you

early pronouns tied to self and familiar others.

Next pronouns to teach after, “I, it, this, that, my, mine, me, you”?

Your, yours, he, she, we, these, those → expanding to possessives and third-person references.

What is Zone of Proximal Development?

The distance between a child’s current level of independent functioning and potential level of performance.

When might >1 SD above mean indicate a disorder?

If speech is overly verbose or pragmatically inappropriate, suggesting social communication disorder.

What indicates word-finding problems?

Frequent pauses, fillers (“um”), circumlocutions (“the thing you eat with”).

What indicates syntactic organization difficulty?

Grammatical errors, incomplete sentences, poor word order, difficulty combining ideas.

What is self-talk?

The adult narrates their own actions, thoughts, or experiences.

While pouring juice, the clinician says: “I’m opening the carton. I’m pouring the juice into the cup. Now I’m drinking.”