Receptive Language Deficits Research Articles

Specific language impairment as a period of extended optional infinitive.

English-speaking children with specific language impairment (SLI) are known to have particular difficulty with the acquisition of grammatical morphemes that carry tense and agreement features, such as the past tense -ed and third-person singular present -s. In this study, an Extended Optional Infinitive (EOI) account of SLI is evaluated. In this account, -ed, -s, BE, and DO are regarded as finiteness markers. This model predicts that finiteness markers are omitted for an extended period of time for nonimpaired children, and that this period will be extended for a longer time in children with SLI. At the same time, it predicts that if finiteness markers are present, they will be used correctly. These predictions are tested in this study. Subjects were 18 5-year-old children with SLI with expressive and receptive language deficits and two comparison groups of children developing language normally: 22 CA-equivalent (5N) and 20 younger, MLU-equivalent children (3N). It was found that the children with SLI used nonfinite forms of lexical verbs, or omitted BE and DO, more frequently than children in the 5N and 3N groups. At the same time, like the normally developing children, when the children with SLI marked finiteness, they did so appropriately. Most strikingly, the SLI group was highly accurate in marking agreement on BE and DO forms. The findings are discussed in terms of the predictions of the EOI model, in comparison to other models of the grammatical limitations of children with SLI.

The relationship between auditory temporal analysis and receptive language development: Evidence from studies of developmental language disorder

The relationship between sensory, perceptual and motor abilities and receptive language abilities was studied in developmental dysphasic children. The tests administered included experimental auditory, visual and cross-modal perceptual tests. In addition, a battery of neurodevelopmental “soft sign” sensory, perceptual and motor tests were also given. Demographic and case history data were collected. Receptive language was derived based upon a battery of standardized language tests. Multivariate analyses were employed to examine the relationship between receptive language and sensory, perceptual and motor abilities. Results demonstrated that auditory perceptual variables, specifically those requiring rapid temporal analysis, were most highly correlated with the degree of receptive language deficit of the dysphasic children.

Persistent auditory language deficits in adults with learning disabilities.

To the casual observer, learning disabled adults' oral language appears adequate. When they enter college, heavy demands are placed on both receptive and expressive oral language abilities, but typically only reading and written language abilities are assessed. Dr. Blalock describes below the auditory processing, receptive, and expressive language deficits she found in her study of 80 LD adults and how they themselves observed the effects of these deficits on their performance in a variety of settings; academic, social, and vocational. Because oral language is not evaluated consistently in LD adults entering college LD programs, her findings have significant implications for assessment and program development at the college level if inroads are to be made in the improvement of the most severe and widespread deficit in LD adults, namely, the deficit in written language. Of 80 young adults diagnosed as having learning disabilities, 63 were found to have oral language and/or auditory processing deficits. These problems included deficits in auditory discrimination, comprehension, memory, auditory recall, oral formulation, and pronunciation of multisyllabic words. Problems in metalinguistic abilities were seen most frequently. These residual auditory deficits were reported to interfere with social and vocational functioning as well as with academic performance.