The Relationship Between Gesture and Speech in Preschool Children with Expressive Specific Language Impairment and Typically Developing Children

Abstract

Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between gesture and speech in the preschool children with expressive language impairment (E-SLI). Methods Thirty-six preschool children-12 E-SLI, 12 typically developing children matched for chronological age (CA-TD), and 12 typically developing children matched for language age (LA-TD)- completed a picture naming task and a description task. Three-way mixed analysis of variance was used to analyze the modality of expression, the types of gestures, and the semantic relationship between gestures and co-occurring speech. Results The frequency of ‘speech + gesture’ in children with E-SLI was significantly higher than in CA-TD children. In addition, the frequency of ‘only speech’ and ‘speech + gesture’ in children with E-SLI was similar to that in LA-TD children. In terms of the gesture types, children with E-SLI used significantly more deictic gestures than CA-TD children did. Further, the frequency of representational gestures in children with E-SLI was similar to that of LA-TD children. Conclusion In educational and clinical settings, it is important to acknowledge that the gestures accompanying with limited verbal expression in children with E-SLI deliver additional semantic information. Therefore, it is essential for educators and clinicians to carefully examine the use of gestures when treating children with E-SLI . Keywords: speech & gesture, expressive specific language impairment, nonverbal communication