Language Development Flashcards
Communication
Sending and receiving information; requires active participation of sender and receiver
Language
Arbitrary symbol system used to communicate thoughts and ideas
Basic principle
There are several ways by which we communicate
nonverbal; verbal; graphic
Nonverbal
Social smile, eye gaze of infant
Gesture, facial expressions
Sign language (used by hearing impaired)
Articulation
Verbal/oral/speech component
Production of speech sounds: interaction/motor movements of lips, tongue, hard and soft palate, teeth
Voice
Verbal/oral/speech component
Production of voice quality, pitch, volume, resonance
Fluency
Verbal/oral/speech component
Flow or smoothness of speech production
Language
Verbal/oral/speech component
Rule-governed, generative
Two divisions/components
Receptive
input/understanding
Expressive
output/speaking
Within each component of language consider
- Content
- Form
a. Syntactic
b. Morphologic - Use/pragmatics
- Form
Graphic/Written
Drawing, reading, writing
Development of speech and language requires interaction between
Intact intrinsic mechanisms and favorable environment
Disruption in any one of these areas can impede normal speech/language development
Intact intrinsic mechanisms
Hearing sensitivity
Motor skills
Structural integrity
Perception
Intelligence
Memory
Attention
Emotional status
Ability to relate/interact
General healthFavorable environment
Stimulation/exposure
Reinforcement
Realistic expectations
Disordered Mechanisms
Hearing sensitivity
Deafness, conductive hearing loss, otitis media
Disordered Mechanisms
Motor skills
Needed to manipulate articulators, combine and sequence motor movements
Disordered Mechanisms
Structural integrity
Cleft palate, vocal fold abnormality; sucking, feeding, swallowing
Disordered Mechanisms
Perception
Problems interpreting meaning of sounds (auditory or perceptual disorder)
Disordered Mechanisms
Intelligence
Cognitive limitations interfere with learning and understanding concepts represented by words
Disordered Mechanisms
Memory
inability to learn sounds, sequences of sounds, vocabulary, grammar, syntax
Disordered Mechanisms
Attention
Attention deficits interfere with following directions, receptive and expressive vocabulary development, general information
Disordered Mechanisms
Emotional status
Anxiety, depression interfere with ability to receive, process information
Disordered Mechanisms
Ability to relate or interact
Autistic spectrum
Disordered Mechanisms
General health
Chronic illness interferes with response to stimulation
Disordered Environment
Stimulation/exposure:
Failure to speak with, read to children Failure to expose to rich language and learning experiences
Excessive, inappropriate stimulation (e.g., electronics have become societal problem)
Effect of parents with language disorders
Bilingual environment is NOT a disadvantage, with certain exceptions
Disordered Environment
Reinforcement
Failure to reinforce sounds made in infancy – cooing and babbling
Expanding language produced by child
Disordered Environment
Realistic expectations
Should reflect mechanism and age
Inappropriate expectations can result in stuttering, anxiety, selective mutism
Speech and Language Milestones
Norms help provide approximate general guidelines how skills will develop
Articulation
production of speech sounds
Speech of 2-3 yr old understandable to parents
Speech of 3-4 yr old understandable to strangers
Common articulation problems reduce intelligibility
Consonant substitutions Consonant omissions Reduction of consonant clusters: producing only one consonant Sound to mark a cluster Distortion of sounds: lisp
Fluency
Children between ages 3 and 5 go through period of “normal dysfluency” when language is rapidly developing and expanding. Characterized by tension-free, whole word repetitions: “I see – I see- I see a bird”
Stuttering
repetitions of prolongations that are struggled or tense: “Wh-wh-wh-who is it?”; “Shhhhe’s here,” blocks, pitch increases
Associated behaviors
eye blinking, head or body movement, avoidance
Language
Language development begins with differentiation of crying, continues throughout life
Language (receptive and expressive) develops concurrently in several areas including semantic, syntactic, morphologic, pragmatic
By 5-6 yrs, conversation may be adult-like, but subtle development continues, and reciprocity between oral and written language development (reading and writing) also occurs
Delays in language development can have serious long-term consequences because language
- contributes to abstract thinking
- allows a child to imagine, manipulate, create and share new ideas
- becomes a mental tool to create strategies for mastery of memory, feelings, problem solving
Children with significant speech/language disorders
- may have mental health issues
2. are at high risk for learning disabilities and written language disorders
Pernicious myths about speech/language development
Speech/language development is slow because child is lazy or siblings talk for him
Children outgrow speech/language deficits
Early recognition and therapy are detrimental because they make children self-conscious
Being raised in a bilingual environment has adverse long-term consequences on language development
Seemingly remarkable early language development is a sure sign of superior intelligence and academic success
