Abstract
Many individuals with developmental language disorder (DLD) and individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) have social–emotional problems, such as social difficulties, and show signs of aggression, depression, and anxiety. These problems can be partly associated with their executive functions (EFs) and theory of mind (ToM). The difficulties of both groups in EF and ToM may in turn be related to self-directed speech (i.e., overt or covert speech that is directed at the self). Self-directed speech is thought to allow for the construction of non-sensory representations (i.e., representations that do not coincide with direct observation). Such non-sensory representations allow individuals to overcome the limits set upon them by the senses. This ability is constrained by the development of word meaning structure (i.e., the way words are understood). We argue that the greater ability to construct non-sensory representations may result in more enhanced forms of EF and ToM. We conclude that difficulties in EF, ToM, and social–emotional functioning in those with hearing and language problems may be accounted for in terms of word meaning impairments. We propose that word meaning structure and self-directed speech should be considered in assigning EF and ToM treatments to individuals with DLD and those who are D/HH.
Highlights
Individuals with developmental language disorder (DLD) and those who are deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) often have social–emotional problems in addition to their learning problem (Dammeyer, 2010; Marschark et al, 2015; Hubert-Dibon et al, 2016; Conti-Ramsden et al, 2018)
These social–emotional problems have been linked to difficulties in executive functioning (EF; e.g., Pauls and Archibald, 2016 and Botting et al, 2017) and theory of mind (ToM; e.g., Meristo et al, 2007 and Nilsson and de López, 2016)
We extend this hypothesis, by arguing that language problems are reflected by a limited understanding of word meanings, constraining the potential of self-directed speech in supporting EF and ToM
Summary
Individuals with developmental language disorder (DLD) and those who are deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) often have social–emotional problems in addition to their learning problem (Dammeyer, 2010; Marschark et al, 2015; Hubert-Dibon et al, 2016; Conti-Ramsden et al, 2018). A potential explanatory account for the difficulties of individuals with language problems in EF and ToM was suggested by Vygotsky and Luria (1930/1994) These authors traced the origins of self-directed speech to the social dialogue. False belief understanding has been hypothesized to emerge as a result of (social) activity-driven developments (e.g., incidental learning; Marschark and Knoors, 2014) in cognitive functions as diverse as elementary forms of ToM (e.g., joint attention; Tomasello, 2019), EF (e.g., shifting between perspectives of self and other), and language (as a representational format; Frye et al, 1995; Fernyhough, 2008). Systemic concepts embed these sharp, verbally defined categories within a broader system, as it can be realized that one object can belong to multiple categories, depending on the context (Figure 1)
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