Abstract
Children with developmental language disorder (DLD; aka specific language impairment) are characterized based on deficits in language, especially morphosyntax, in the absence of other explanatory conditions. However, deficits in speech production, as well as fine and gross motor skill, have also been observed, implicating both the linguistic and motor systems. Situated at the intersection of these domains, and providing insight into both, is manual gesture. In the current work, we asked whether children with DLD showed phonological deficits in the production of novel gestures and whether gesture production at 4 years of age is related to language and motor outcomes two years later. Twenty-eight children (14 with DLD) participated in a two-year longitudinal novel gesture production study. At the first and final time points, language and fine motor skills were measured and gestures were analyzed for phonological feature accuracy, including handshape, path, and orientation. Results indicated that, while early deficits in phonological accuracy did not persist for children with DLD, all children struggled with orientation while handshape was the most accurate. Early handshape and orientation accuracy were also predictive of later language skill, but only for the children with DLD. Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
Highlights
Developmental language disorder (DLD; known as specific language impairment) affects approximately 7% of young children and is characterized as a deficit in language that is not explained by another disorder, such as hearing impairment, intellectual impairment, or autism (Bishop et al, 2017; Leonard, 2014; Tomblin et al, 1997; Tomblin et al, 1996)
This pattern of error type suggests that the form deficits observed in the gestures of children with DLD may stem from phonological feature errors
Language ability of the children with DLD was compared to their typical development (TD) peers to assess performance at time point one and at time point three
Summary
Developmental language disorder (DLD; known as specific language impairment) affects approximately 7% of young children and is characterized as a deficit in language that is not explained by another disorder, such as hearing impairment, intellectual impairment, or autism (Bishop et al, 2017; Leonard, 2014; Tomblin et al, 1997; Tomblin et al, 1996). Hill and colleagues (1998) identified form errors associated with hand orientation and positioning in relation to the body in the elicited and imitated gestures of children with DLD. This pattern of error type suggests that the form deficits observed in the gestures of children with DLD may stem from phonological feature errors. A subset of the error types reported by Hill and her colleagues (1998) can be linked to deficits in phonological form—for example, the “external configuration” error, in which the child did not accurately represent the distance between the hand and the body, can be interpreted as a location error, but could reflect a motor-based deficit. Other error types were judged as apraxic errors such as clumsiness or delayed imitation
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