The proposed longitudinal study will follow a cohort of 36 children identified at age two as 'slow' in the development of expressive language. The subjects were matched to a group of 36 normal speakers on the basis of age, sex, SES, and race. At 24-32 months these subjects were all given an intensive battery of language, cognitive, and behavioral assessments. These data - already collected - comprise the baseline for the proposed longitudinal study. The purposes of the proposed study are 1) to determine if and when the """"""""slow starters"""""""" move within the normal range of language development, and 2) to identify language, behavioral, and cognitive variables at age two that predict which children with slow language acquisition will go on to show chronic language delay or learning disability in the early school years. The subjects will be seen for four yearly evaluations of language development, and, in the final three years, school readiness and achievement. Analysis of variance will be used to identify factors in the baseline evaluation that differentiate the two groups. These factors will be used as predictors of language and school achievement outcomes, using multiple regression procedures. The results will contribute to a better understanding of the range of normal variation in early language development. They will also aid in making cost-effective decisions about early intervention for toddlers and pre-schoolers who show slow language growth.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01DC000793-02
Application #
3217497
Study Section
Human Development and Aging Subcommittee 3 (HUD)
Project Start
1989-12-01
Project End
1994-11-30
Budget Start
1990-12-01
Budget End
1991-11-30
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
1991
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Portland State University
Department
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
City
Portland
State
OR
Country
United States
Zip Code
97207
Paul, R (1999) Discussion: early speech perception and production. J Commun Disord 32:247-50
Paul, R; Kellogg, L (1997) Temperament in late talkers. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 38:803-11
Paul, R; Murray, C; Clancy, K et al. (1997) Reading and metaphonological outcomes in late talkers. J Speech Lang Hear Res 40:1037-47
Paul, R; Hernandez, R; Taylor, L et al. (1996) Narrative development in late talkers: early school age. J Speech Hear Res 39:1295-303
Paul, R; Alforde, S (1993) Grammatical morpheme acquisition in 4-year-olds with normal, impaired, and late-developing language. J Speech Hear Res 36:1271-5
Paul, R; Lynn, T F; Lohr-Flanders, M (1993) History of middle ear involvement and speech/language development in late talkers. J Speech Hear Res 36:1055-62
Paul, R; Jennings, P (1992) Phonological behavior in toddlers with slow expressive language development. J Speech Hear Res 35:99-107
Paul, R; Looney, S S; Dahm, P S (1991) Communication and socialization skills at ages 2 and 3 in ""late-talking"" young children. J Speech Hear Res 34:858-65
Paul, R; Elwood, T J (1991) Maternal linguistic input to toddlers with slow expressive language development. J Speech Hear Res 34:982-8
Paul, R (1991) Assessing communication skills in toddlers. Clin Commun Disord 1:7-23