This project unites the recent activities of three established research teams in an effort to identify possible delays in the semantic development of children with specific language disorders. Newly designed semantic analysis software will be applied to an existing body of conversational data. Longitudinal samples of spontaneous speech have been collected from thirty language disordered children and matched language-age controls over the last five years. With the aid of Predicate Coding Program 1.2, a SALT spinoff, comprehensive semantic profiles will be generated for each child at each sampling point. These profiles identify the relative frequency with which various types of states and relationships are expressed. Comparisons of these predicate distributions will indicate the ways in which the content of speech samples from the language disordered children does and/or does not resemble that of their peers. Particular attention will be focused on Modality and Experience predicates since prior studies suggest that language disordered children use these terms less often than would be expected for either their language or mental age. If true, this fact could imply (a) that the influence of conceptual resources on language learning may be overridden by other factors, and (b) that language disordered children are failing to exploit the power of language for problem solving. Both implications would invite significant redirection of educational programming. Language disordered children present researchers with a unique opportunity to investigate the developmental relationships between language and other aspects of cognition. Semantic domains provide the best window on these relationships. By drawing togethter the analysis tools, data, and expertise of established researchers, we can conduct the first large-scale, longitudinal study of predicate acquisition in this population with a minimum of effort.
| Johnston, J R; Miller, J; Tallal, P (2001) Use of cognitive state predicates by language-impaired children. Int J Lang Commun Disord 36:349-70 |
| Johnston, J R; Miller, J F; Curtiss, S et al. (1993) Conversations with children who are language impaired: asking questions. J Speech Hear Res 36:973-8 |
