CSAD 125 #6

CSAD 125 Lecture #6

Language Disorders

Systems of Language

  • Review of affected systems in Jax's speech may include:

    • Phonology

    • Morphology

    • Syntax

    • Semantics

    • Pragmatics

    • Prosody

    • Form, Content, Use categorization.

Modalities of Assessment

  • Four categories assessed:

    • Verbal expression

    • Written expression

    • Auditory comprehension

    • Reading comprehension

  • Relevant language components: phonology, syntax, morphology, pragmatics, prosody, semantics.

Language Disorders Overview

  • Language impairment may occur alongside other developmental issues.

  • Common diagnostic categories for language disorders include:

    • A. Intellectual Disability (ID)

    • B. Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) (Specific Language Impairment)

    • C. Language Learning Disability (LLD)

    • D. Pervasive Development Disorder/Autism Spectrum Disorder (PDD/ASD)

    • E. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

    • F. Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA)

    • G. Other Language Impairments

Typical Language Learning Development

  • Critical skills:

    • Perception of sequenced acoustic events.

    • Active attention, responsiveness, anticipation of stimuli.

    • Symbol use: understanding and creating symbols in language.

    • Syntax invention from environmental language exposure.

    • Mental energy to execute language tasks.

    • Interaction and communication competencies.

Information Processing

Interplay between cognitive and language

  • Information processing affects language acquisition and use, encompassing cognitive-communication.

  • Profiles of information processing:

    • Vary among individuals due to brain structure or learned experiences.

    • Affects attention, organization, and rule development.

Information Processing Steps

  1. Attention

  2. Discrimination

  3. Organization

  4. Memory/Retrieval

Attention

  • Automatic brain activation; focus creation.

  • Poor attention can lead to missed stimuli and discrimination difficulties.

Discrimination

  • Ability to identify similarity/dissimilarity of stimuli from competing options.

Working Memory

  • Active information processing location.

  • Sufficiency in capacity is vital for handling complex information.

Organization

  • Categorizing information for storage and retrieval.

  • Effective organization leads to improved memory and retrieval through associative networks.

Memory/Retrieval

  • Storing and accessing learned information.

  • Growth of storage capacity and retrieval accuracy with maturity.

Long-Term Memory

  • Organized storage for information retrieval.

Advanced Information Processing Concepts

  • Be aware of simultaneous processing levels as cognitive and linguistic skills develop.

  • Bottom-Up Processing: Involves new concepts processed at a basic level.

  • Top-Down Processing: Higher-level processing utilizing stored knowledge.

Executive Function

  • Governs planning, cognitive flexibility, and remembering strategies.

Executive Dysfunction

Characteristic Problems

  • Recalling information.

  • Planning, organizing, and sequencing challenges.

  • Difficulty integrating or associating information.

Resulting Behavioral Issues

  • Disorganization and impulse control issues.

  • Problems following multi-step directions and defining goals.

Information Processing Summary

  • Poor processing resources may inhibit automatic language analysis, leading to reliance on bottom-up processing rather than efficient top-down methods.

Diagnostic Categories Overview

  • Language deficits present across various disabilities:

  • Tailored assessments needed as children may have cross-category profiles.

Intellectual Disability (ID)

Definition

  • Originates before age 18; significant limitations in intellectual functioning.

Characteristics

  • Sub-average intellectual functioning (IQ < 68).

  • Must exhibit limitations in two or more adaptive areas.

Normal Curve Review

  • Percentages of scores within standard deviations from the mean.

  • Implications for qualifying for speech services based on language scores.

ID Language Characteristics

  • Language typically the most impaired area.

  • Slower developmental sequence compared to typically developing peers.

  • Less mature forms used even at matched mental age.

Specific Language Areas for ID

  1. Pragmatics: Delayed, less dominant in conversations.

  2. Semantics: More concrete understanding; slow vocabulary growth.

  3. Syntax/Morphology: Similar development to peers, but at a slower rate.

  4. Phonology: Similar to typically developing peers but use immature forms.

  5. Comprehension: Poorer skills, especially memory recall and reliance on context.

Possible Causal Factors of ID

Biological Factors

  • Genetic, chromosomal issues, maternal infections, toxins, among others.

Social-Environmental Factors

  • Interactive variables affecting development, including deprivation and lack of care.

Processing Factors

  • Cognitive and processing ability differences from typically developing peers, affecting learning capability.