Specific Language Impairment Research Articles

The Influence of Language and Cognitive Skills on Narrative Retelling for Preschoolers with and without Specific Language Impairment

Objectives: This study aimed to confirm relationships between language skills (vocabulary, sentence comprehension), cognitive skills (episodic buffer) and narrative retelling in typically developing (TD) children and children with specific language impairment (SLI).Methods: A total of 24 children aged 5 to 6 years participated in this study, including SLI (n= 8) and TD (n= 16). Participants completed a vocabulary test, sentence comprehension test, episodic buffer task, and narrative retelling task. Narratives were analyzed for macrostructure (story grammar). An independent sample <i>t</i>-test was used to examine the difference between groups. And correlation and simple regression analysis was conducted to confirm relationships between narrative retelling and other variables in each group.Results: The SLI group showed significantly lower expressive vocabulary, sentence comprehension, episodic buffer, and narrative retelling skills. In the TD group, there was no significant correlation between narrative retelling skills and other variables. However, a significant correlation was revealed between narrative retelling skills and episodic buffer in the SLI group. Also, the episodic buffer significantly predicted the SLI group’s narrative retelling skills.Conclusion: These results confirmed that narrative retelling requires not just language skills but cognitive skills. Therefore, it is important to consider the role of cognitive skills when planning and implementing intervention for children with SLI. Further studies are required to investigate the likelihood that other language or cognitive skills have an impact on narrative skills.

Phonological awareness training and phonological therapy approaches for specific language impairment children with speech sound disorders: a comparative outcome study.

Children with specific language impairment (SLI) might present with speech sound disorder (SSD) and phonological awareness (PA) deficits which put them at risk of potential reading problems. This work aimed to organizean intervention program in Arabic forphonologicaltraining and to assess the effect of PA training versus the phonological therapy (PT) for children with SLI and SSD. The study was carried out on 60 children with comorbid SLI and SSD, aged 5-7 years. Children were equally divided into two groups; each group received language therapy combined with (PT or PA training). Measures of language development, phonological output, and PA were taken before therapy and at 4 month post-therapy for all children. The two therapy groups made nearly the same amount of progress in the development of language and phonological production, with no significant differences regarding language age and percent of consonants correct (PCC). The PA training group progressed more on the PA skills than children who received PT over the same time. PA training could facilitate the development of phonological skills by targeting the child's awareness of phonemes and improving the production of sound patterns.

Auditory Working Memory According to Listening Environment of Typically Developing Children and Specific Language Impaired Children Aged 4 to 5

Purpose: This study aimed to confirm the characteristics of auditory working memory in typically developing children and children with specific language impairment, considering to the listening environment. We also examined differences in the sub-domains of the auditory working memory task, including digit span, competing language processing tasks, blank filling in continuous words, and a single processing load condition task. Methods: The study included a total of 40 children: 20 children with specific language impaired and 20 typically developing children aged 4 to 5 years old living in Busan and Gyeongnam. To examine potential differences in auditory working memory based on listening environments and groups, the auditory working memory task was conducted in both noisy and quiet environments. Results: Children with specific language impairment showed statistically significantly lower auditory working memory than typically developing children, regardless of the presence of noise. In addition, typically developing children performed better noisy environments compared to quiet ones, whereas children with specific language impairment did not show differences in performance depending on the listening environment. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that effective language intervention for children with specific language impairment can be provided if auditory working memory is checked and systematically provided for each sub-domain of auditory working memory. For typically developing children, studying in a noisy environment may improve academic ability and attention.

Longitudinal Grammaticality Judgments of Tense Marking in Complex Questions in Children With and Without Specific Language Impairment, Ages 5-18 Years.

Identification of children with specific language impairment (SLI) can be difficult even though their language can lag that of age peers throughout childhood. A clinical grammar marker featuring tense marking in simple clauses is valid and reliable for young children but is limited by ceiling effects around the age of 8 years. This study evaluated a new, more grammatically challenging complex sentence task in children affected or unaffected with SLI in longitudinal data, ages 5-18 years. Four hundred eighty-three children (213 unaffected, 270 affected) between 5 and 18 years of age participated, following a rolling recruitment longitudinal design encompassing a total of 4,148 observations. The new experimental grammaticality judgment task followed linguistic concepts of syntactic sites for finiteness and movement within complex clauses. Growth modeling methods evaluated group differences over time for four different outcomes; three were hypothesized to evaluate optional omissions of overt finiteness forms in authorized sentence sites, and one evaluated an overt error of tense marking. As in earlier studies of younger children, growth models for the SLI group were consistently lower than the unaffected group, although the growth trajectories across groups did not differ. The results replicated across four item types defined by omissions with minor differences for an item with an overt error of tense marking. Covariates of child nonverbal IQ, mother's education, and child sex did not significantly moderate these effects. The outcomes support the task as having potential screening value for identification of children with SLI and are consistent with linguistic interpretations of task demands.

Comprehension of wh-questions among Jordanian children with autism spectrum disorder and specific language impairment

This study investigates the comprehension of wh-questions among Jordanian Arabic-speaking children by comparing both (subject and object) “which” and “who” questions. The sample consisted of 45 Jordanian children: 15 with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), 15 with specific developmental language impairment (SDLI) and 15 typically developing (TD) children aged between 6 and 8 years. To achieve the objectives of this study, a binary task consisting of pictures with two-figure selection and pictures with three-figure selection was used. To analyze the data, a one-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to examine the comprehension of wh-questions among the three groups. The findings revealed that the ASD and SDLI groups performed better in subject wh-questions compared to object wh-questions. Moreover, the study also found that “which” questions constituted a problem for both ASD and SDLI Jordanian children. In addition, earlier grammatical competence acquired by children with ASD and SDLI (i.e., word order) guides their later wh-question comprehension. ASD and SDLI children showed impairment in answering subject and object questions. Meanwhile, the TD children showed better performance in who and which questions, although they exhibited difficulty in understanding object questions compared to subject questions. The conclusions indicate that the SDLI group performed better than the ASD group in terms of the number of correct answers and comprehension of wh-questions, while The ASD group performed better in the three-figures tasks over the two-figure tasks, in contrast to the children in the other groups, who performed better in the two-figure tasks.

Skull bone acoustics properties in children with specific language disorders

The acoustic properties of the skull OF children with specific language disorders and how they might affect hearing were investigated. Broadband noise was isolated throw 2 procedures first by all tests in the audiology room and second by a tailored isolated helmet with six bone mics attached to skull gaps and spectrally analyzed using a Fast Fourier Transform and in 1/3-octave bands. Energetic peaks were found centered near 63 and 125 Hz, and all on the left side of the skull (e.g., range greater than 10 dB around 900 Hz). Acoustic patterns from each skull were subsequently compared with air and bone conduction sensory thresholds. Individual skull patterns reliably correlated with bone conduction thresholds, but not air conduction thresholds, indicating a possible mediating role of the skull to hearing.

Resting-state EEG alpha rhythm spectral power in children with specific language impairment: a cross-sectional study.

This study investigated EEG alpha rhythm spectral power in children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) and compared it to typically developing children to better understand the electrophysiological characteristics of this disorder. Specifically, we explored resting-state EEG, because there are studies that point to it being linked to speech and language development. EEG recordings of 30 children diagnosed with specific language impairment and 30 typically developing children, aged 4.0-6.11 years, were carried out under eyes closed and eyes open conditions. Differences in alpha rhythm spectral power in relation to brain topography and experimental conditions were calculated. In the eyes closed condition, alpha rhythm spectral power was statistically significantly lower in children with specific language impairment in the left temporal (T5) and occipital electrodes (O1, O2) than in typically developing children. In the eyes open condition, children with SLI showed significantly lower alpha rhythm spectral power in the left temporal (T3, T5), parietal (P3, Pz), and occipital electrodes (O1, O2). There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in relation to the relative change (the difference between average alpha rhythm spectral power during eyes closed condition and average alpha rhythm spectral power during eyes open condition divided by average alpha rhythm spectral power during eyes closed condition) in the alpha rhythm spectral power between the conditions. Lower alpha rhythm spectral power in the left temporal, left, midline parietal, and occipital brain regions could be a valuable electrophysiological marker in children with SLI. Further investigation is needed to examine the connection between EEG alpha spectral power and general processing and memory deficits in patients with SLI.

학령기 단순언어장애 아동의 마음 이론

학령기 단순언어장애 아동의 마음 이론

An Automated Model for Child Language Impairment Prediction Using Hybrid Optimal BiLSTM

Children without obvious disabilities (hearing loss/low intellectual capacity) may have language skill development issues due to specific language impairment (SLI), a communication disorder. The SLI has a significant impact on a child's speaking, listening, reading, and writing abilities. SLI is typically known as development language disorder, developmental dysphasia, or language delay. Recently, machine learning as well as deep learning techniques have been quite effective in predicting the early stage of SLI, analyzing the disorder severity, and predicting the treatment efficiency. Existing approaches primarily exploited auditory indicators to diagnose communication disorders, frequently leaving out hidden information acquired in the temporal domain. To overcome this drawback, an optimized Bidirectional Long Short Term Memory (BiLSTM) architecture is presented in this paper to handle the speech dynamics. The Improved Hybrid Aquila Optimizer and Flow Directional algorithm known as IHAOFDA is integrated with the BiLSTM architecture to optimize the hyperparameters of the BiLSTM structure. When assessed using the information from the SLI children in the Laboratory of Artificial Neural Network Applications (LANNA) dataset, the proposed model performs better. The IHAOFDA-optimized BiLSTM architecture improves accuracy in classifying different severity levels such as mild, moderate, and severe.

Specific Language Impairment and Executive Functions in School-Age Children: A Systematic Review.

This systematic review examines the relationship between specific language impairment (SLI)and executive functions (EFs) in school-agechildren. The study investigates the impact of SLI on EF in comparison to children who develop normally. A total of2,658 articles from three databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Virtual Health Library)were assessed for inclusion. Ultimately, 22 articles were selected for analysis, which contained information on both SLI and EF. The findings indicate that children diagnosed with SLI exhibit deficits, low performance, and, in some cases, significant deterioration in the development of EF when compared to typically developing children in 62%-91% of cases as early as three to four years of age; the most commonly found alterations were in working memory (including phonological, auditory, and visual/verbal memory), followed by deficits in attention, processing speed, inhibition, planning, cognitive flexibility, and internalized speech. We also discuss the close relationship and importance between language and EF in SLI children.

Comparing Anxiety Levels during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Mothers of Children with and without Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

The COVID-19 pandemic undoubtedly burdened families, perhaps even more for parents of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. This research aims to determine the anxiety levels in mothers of children with neurodevelopmental disorders (autism spectrum disorder and specific language impairment) and mothers of typically developed children. The cross-sectional study comprised 280 mothers from the period of the COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia. A confidential survey included main demographic data and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Results revealed that the mean levels of STAI-S and STAI-T are elevated in the observed sample of mothers in the first pandemic wave; the STAI-S level is in the high category (STAI-S mean = 46.69), while STAI-T is in the intermediate category near the cut-off value for the high level (STAI-T mean = 43.04). A statistically significant strong positive correlation between STAI-S and STAI-T is seen (r = 0.802, p = 0.001). GLMM analysis revealed that interactions, rather than independent variables, significantly impact anxiety, implying a complex relationship between the observed variables and STAI. Compared with the results from the pre-pandemic study, our findings reveal that COVID-19 affects mothers of children with and without neurodevelopmental disorders in a complex manner, imposing a need for psychological support, which may positively affect mothers' mental health and the development of their offspring.

An Overview about Specific Language Impairment: Review Article

An Overview about Specific Language Impairment: Review Article

Innovative Family-Based Genetically Informed Series of Analyses of Whole-Exome Data Supports Likely Inheritance for Grammar in Children with Specific Language Impairment.

Individuals with specific language impairment (SLI) struggle with language acquisition despite average non-verbal intelligence and otherwise typical development. One SLI account focuses on grammar acquisition delay. The current study aimed to detect novel rare genetic variants associated with performance on a grammar assessment, the Test of Early Grammatical Impairment (TEGI), in English-speaking children. The TEGI was selected due to its sensitivity and specificity, consistently high heritability estimates, and its absence from all but one molecular genetic study. We performed whole exome sequencing (WES) in eight families with SLI (n = 74 total) and follow-up Sanger sequencing in additional unrelated probands (n = 146). We prioritized rare exonic variants shared by individuals with low TEGI performance (n = 34) from at least two families under two filtering workflows: (1) novel and (2) previously reported candidate genes. Candidate variants were observed on six new genes (PDHA2, PCDHB3, FURIN, NOL6, IQGAP3, and BAHCC1), and two genes previously reported for overall language ability (GLI3 and FLNB). We specifically suggest PCDHB3, a protocadherin gene, and NOL6 are critical for ribosome synthesis, as they are important targets of SLI investigation. The proposed SLI candidate genes associated with TEGI performance emphasize the utility of precise phenotyping and family-based genetic study.

Special Education Representation Trends Vary by Language Status: Evidence of Underrepresentation in Tennessee

Using U.S. state-level data, we report unadjusted and adjusted odds ratio of special education (SPED) trends in Tennessee from 2009 to 2019 for students in Grades 3 to 8 by three language groups: native English speakers (NES), English-proficient bilinguals (EPB), and Current English learners (Current EL). We report trends across all SPED disability categories and across five prevalent disability categories (specific learning disability, specific language impairment, intellectual disability, other health impairments, and autism). The cross-sectional analytic sample included 812,783 students from 28 districts that met the SPED risk ratio threshold set by the state. Results revealed that, compared with NES students, both EPB and Current EL students were generally less likely to receive SPED services, suggesting evidence of language status disparities in SPED representation. Furthermore, findings varied depending on whether adjustments were made to generate odds ratios, especially for higher-incidence disabilities (specific learning disability, specific language impairment, and intellectual disability). Finally, the most severe evidence of underrepresentation was in lower-incidence disabilities (other health impairments and autism). Our results underscore the need for further examination into low rates of SPED identification among learners whose first language is not English (EPB and Current EL). We discuss the contextualized research, practice, and policy implications of our findings.

SEMANTIC AND PRAGMATIC IMPAIRMENTS OF PERSON WITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

Understanding Alzheimer's disease affecting the communication ability can be done through investigating the language impairment of the sufferers. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the language impairments of person with Alzheimer’s disease as represented in The Father movie. It focused on the semantic and pragmatic impairment in the speech produced by Anthony as the main character with Alzheimer’s disease. Qualitative method is employed to get a deep understanding of the language impairments. The findings of this study indicated that the types of semantic impairments found are: errors in verbal fluency, difficulty in word comprehension, empty speech, word retrieval difficulty, semantic paraphasia, and naming difficulty. In addition, the types of pragmatic impairments found are repeating ideas, speaking too loudly, talking excessively at inappropriate times, and deviating from the topic. These findings have important implications for healthcare professionals and caregivers who work with people with Alzheimer's disease. By understanding the specific language impairments experienced by people with this condition, they can develop effective communication strategies that take into account the person's individual needs and abilities. Furthermore, more people can help to support the sufferer of Alzheimer's disease and enhance their well-being and social connections.

Dinlediğini Anlama Testinin Türk Kültürüne Uyarlanması

Introduction: Listening, the first language skill developed by many children, serves as the basis of subsequent language skills. In addition, listening comprehension skills affect reading success in many different groups such as typically developing readers, children with learning disabilities and children with specific language disorders. The purpose of this research is to adapt the listening comprehension measurement tool to Turkish culture. Method: The purpose of this study is to examine the psychometric properties of the measurement tool within the framework of item response theory (IRT) through two-parameter logistic model (2PLM). Among model assumptions, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for unidimensionality Q3 statistics and item characteristic curv for the monotonic increase assumption showing the response probabilities conditional to the ability continuum were examined, respectively. The results for the assumptions were satisfactory. Then, general model-data fit, item-based model-data fit, discrimination parameters, difficulty parameters and information functions were examined with factor loadings. Findings: The results showed that item parameters were in the expected ranges in practical applications, and test information function peaked at lower ability level similar to the original measurement tool. Examining factor loadings, it was shown that they were higher than generally acceptable limit except for 23rd item. When contribution of this item to the model was tested statistically, it was concluded that it would be appropriate to include it in the measurement tool to keep the other items of associated with story block. Moreover, marginal reliability coefficient shows that the measurement results were highly reliable. Discussion: It was concluded that sufficient evidence of validity and reliability was obtained for one-dimensional structure of 36-item form of the measurement tool.

The Intervention of Picture Books on Children with Specific Language Impairment: Progress, Challenges, and Prospects

Compared with ordinary children, children with specific language impairment (SLI) have delayed language development, poor reading comprehension, and greater difficulties in learning. As a widely used teaching intervention method, picture books can promote the development of reading comprehension, oral narrative, emotion, and social communication in the study of language intervention for children with special language impairment. However, the specific mechanism of picture books for children with SLI is still unclear. Therefore, this article sorts out and reviews the language barrier symptoms of specific language impairment, the form of picture book intervention, and the potential mechanism of picture book intervention, and puts forward the current role of picture books in SLI. The challenges faced in the intervention, and a positive outlook on the teaching intervention of picture books in SLI, this research will provide reference and help for the study of picture book intervention in related professional fields and has important guiding significance and reference value for the language correction of SLI children in various countries.

The use of participatory workshops in the development of a new version of the Communication Disability Profile (CDP)

ABSTRACT Background The assessment of people with aphasia (PWA) should include the evaluation of specific language disorders and the impact of these disorders on their activities and participation in society. Due to the lack of assessment tools in Portugal aimed at the activity and participation levels of PWA, it was necessary to translate and adapt an existing instrument, the Communication Disability Profile (CDP), into European Portuguese (EP). The first EP version of the CDP (CDP-EP version 1, released originally in 2012) was further developed in this study. Aims The aim of this study was to validate the content of the CDP for Portuguese PWA using the Participatory Workshops method and to answer the following research question: Does the Portuguese version of the CDP measure the consequences of aphasia in Activity, Participation, Contextual Factors and Emotions in a Portuguese population with aphasia? Methods & Resources An expert panel of eleven PWA was consulted. The adopted methodology (Participatory Workshops) was chosen to foster critical thinking and discussion within the group. Sessions were video recorded and field notes taken. All data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using a topic guide divided in two sections: Form and content. Outcomes & Results The panel considered that the CDP-EP content (clarity, ambiguity, relevance, and extension of the instrument) was relevant and important, and the items reflected PWA’s reality, covering their needs. Though the CDP-EP was considered clear, the Activities (talking, understanding, expression, reading, and writing) and Participation (tasks that people have to do, want to do, and how things are at home; communication difficulty in a person’s daily life, i.e., going shopping, using money in a store, using public transport, getting back to work) sections were considered incomplete. Concerning form (design), the expert panel was unanimous in considering the instrument not suitable for Portuguese PWA and suggested adapting it to the Portuguese society and culture, e.g., as Portugal is primarily homogenous in ethnicity, the multiple cultural scales depicting different cultures/ ethnicities were not considered relevant. Conclusions Although the previous EP version of the CDP (CDP-EP version 1) was considered incomplete, the suggestions proposed by the expert panel consulted have been integrated making the new version of the CDP-EP an instrument able to measure the consequences of aphasia, in terms of Activity, Participation, Contextual Factors and Emotions of Portuguese PWA. Further studies need to be done in order to analyse the psychometric properties of this new version.

학령기 단순언어장애 아동의 반사실적 사고 능력

연구목적: 사실과 반대되는 정보에 근거하여 추론하는 능력은 상대방의 의도를 파악하고 사건의 원인과 결과를 판단하는 데 도움을 주기 때문에 대화를 이해하는 데 도움이 된다. 본 연구는 학령기 단순언어장애 아동이 실제 일어난 사건의 원인과 결과에 상반되는 생각을 할 수 있는지 알아보기 위해 반사실적 사고 능력을 조사하였다. 연구방법: 초등 2-3학년 단순언어장애 아동 17명, 동일언어연령의 일반 아동 17명, 동일생활연령의 일반 아동 17명을 대상으로 실시하였다. 반사실적 사고 과제는 선행 반사실 과제와 결과 반사실 과제로 구성되었다. 선행 반사실 과제의 질문은 아동에게 결과를 바꿀 수 있는 대안을 추론하도록 지시하였고 결과 반사실 과제의 질문은 선행 사건을 바꾸었을 때 달라진 결과를 추론하도록 하였다. 연구결과: 선행 반사실 과제와 결과 반사실 과제 모두에서 단순언어장애 집단이 언어연령일치 집단 및 생활연령일치 집단에 비해 유의미하게 낮은 수행을 보였다. 선행 반사실 과제와 결과 반사실 과제 모두에서 생활연령일치 집단, 언어연령 일치 집단, 단순언어장애 집단 순으로 높은 점수를 얻었다. 세 집단 모두에서 결과 반사실 과제 수행이 선행반사실 과제 수행보다 유의미하게 높았다. 반사실 사고 과제 수행에서 집단과 과제 유형 사이의 상호작용이 통계적으로 유의미하였는데 이는 언어연령일치 집단에서 결과 반사실 과제와 선행 반사실 과제 수행 차이가 다른 두 집단에 비해서 더 두드러진 데에 기인하는 것으로 보였다. 결론: 단순언어장애 아동은 발생한 사건의 반대 사실을 추론하여 사건의 대안을 찾는 데 어려움을 보였다. 이는 단순언어장애 아동들의 언어 사용에 부정적인 영향을 미칠 것이다.

Hesitations in Primary Progressive Aphasia

Hesitations are often used by speakers in spontaneous speech not only to organise and prepare their speech but also to address any obstacles that may arise during delivery. Given the relationship between hesitation phenomena and motor and/or cognitive–linguistic control deficits, characterising the form of hesitation could be potentially useful in diagnosing specific speech and language disorders, such as primary progressive aphasia (PPA). This work aims to analyse the features of hesitations in patients with PPA compared to healthy speakers, with hesitations understood here as those related to speech planning, that is, silent or empty pauses, filled pauses, and lengthened syllables. Forty-three adults took part in this experiment, of whom thirty-two suffered from some form of PPA: thirteen from logopenic PPA (lvPPA), ten from nonfluent PPA (nfvPPA), and nine from semantic PPA (svPPA). The remaining 11 were healthy speakers who served as a control group. An analysis of audio data recorded when participants produced spontaneous speech for a picture description task showed that the frequency of silent pauses, especially those classified as long (>1000 ms) was particularly useful to distinguish PPA participants from healthy controls and also to differentiate among PPA types. This was also true, albeit to a lesser extent, of the frequency of filled pauses and lengthened syllables.