Dr. Elina Mainela-Arnold Summary

Nature and nurture both play a significant role in language development. Language development refers to how children understand, organise, speak and use words in order to communicate at an effective, age-appropriate level (Karen Kearns, 2013, P.105). For centuries, theorists have been debating the roles of nature versus nurture. Although, each child’s language will develop at their own pace and there will be many individual differences based on culture, ethnicity, health and ability. As well as physical, social, emotional and cognitive development in which will contribute to a child’s language development.

The class I chose to observe was an eighth grade ELA class. There were twenty students in this class, eight of the students were English language learners. The ELL students’ overall WIDA scores ranged from 3.9 to 5.6. A review of the WIDA data indicated that speaking and writing scores for these six students were weaker skill areas in comparison to their overall score, ranging from 3.4 to 4.6.

A phenomenon applicable to the vast field of Speech-Language Pathology, and the foundation of research now and in the future can all be attributed to, difference versus disorder. This concept considers the complexities of those served within the profession and highlights the range of possibilities displayed from an individual, that draws a fine line between a person being labeled as having a dialectal difference or a speech and/or language disorder. A difference can be defined as an alteration in an individual’s speech and/or language that can be attributed to internal and external factors such as race, culture, and the environment in which a person lives. In contrast, a disorder is an actual disability that interferes with a person’s speech

Parker, R. I., Vannest, K. J., & Brown, L. (2009). The improvement rate difference for single-case research. Exceptional Children, 75(2), 135-150.

The second article, A Methodology for Assessing the Functions of Emerging Speech in Children with Developmental Disabilities by Lerman, Parten, Addison, Vorndran, Volkert, & Kodak, 2005 (2005), is about an experimental study aimed to develop and evaluate

Specific language disorders, or SLI, affect approximately 7-8% of children in kindergarten. SLI are diagnosed in children, mostly, age 3 and older. The relatively late diagnosis is done to distinguish the children that have SLI from those who are simply “late talkers”. Some of the characteristics of SLI involve problem in only one area and some with problems in all areas of language. The children who are diagnosed with SLI may have a delayed vocabulary growth, disinterest in engagement in social interactions relevant to their age, difficulty in comprehension and/or production in any of the following: morphology, semantics, phonology, syntax, and pragmatics. For example, a 4.8 year old child that does not engage in social interactions

There may be a recognised syndrome or disorder that causes language difficulty for the child and is not able to communicate with others. The child may have a lack of stimulation and support to provide the rich language experience necessary to develop speech, language and communication skills. For example at school, the setting may not have an enabling environment to stimulate the child’s different interests necessary for acquiring language. The books, music, songs and so on may not stimulate and interest the child.

The purpose of this study was to identify pronounced deficits in the language of children with FASD. There were fifty children in this study. 27 of the children (10 female) with FASD, and 23 typically developing control children (9 females), ages 5-13. The children with FASD had been diagnosed with an alcohol related disorder. This study analyzes language in children with FASD in order to identify deficits and diagnostic measures for these deficits. Two measures were used to test the children on language ability: the Comprehensive Receptive and Expressive Vocabulary Test- Second Edition (CREVT-2) and the Test of Language Development- Third Edition (TOLD-3). The tests were administered and scored. There were no significant differences between the children’s results obtained from the receptive and expressive subtests. However, overall, children with FASD scored lower on the CREVT-2 than the control group. Children with FASD also had lower scores than the control group on relational vocabulary, sentence imitation, word ordering, grammatical comprehension, and malapropisms, which were tested in the TOLD-3 test. Research has been done on children prenatally exposed to alcohol, with and without FASD diagnosis. It is typical for these children to be delayed in fundamental language skills, acquisition, comprehension, speech development,

Research has shown that in areas of social disadvantage, at least 50% of children have delayed language. (Locke, A., Ginsborg, J., and Peers, I. 2002) however, it’s important to note that children and young people from all areas and backgrounds can have delayed language.

Differential diagnosis can be used to determine if an individual has a language disorder or if the issue is due to language differences. A language disorder is when there is a noticeable difference between where a student’s language skills are and where they should be depending on the language development stage. Language disorders can result from heritable language impairment, injuries to the brain, and developmental disabilities. Language differences are the variations in language between people. These differences can be a result of different dialects, gender, genetic predispositions, and language-learning environments.

The clinician will integrate multiple theories that will support a single group of researchers who conducted a case study that proposed the two theories with the purpose of obtaining the most current information regarding language difficulties, social communication difficulties, and the outcomes it provides when working with school-age children. The theories identified during this research were Biological Maturation and Social Interactionism. The clinician will further indicate the relationship between neuronal function in the process of language and the theory selected.

Should the language competence of children from low-SES backgrounds be considered deficient or different? Evaluate the evidence for and against each claim.

The authors provide an overview of issues and research surrounding temperament and how it relates to speech-language development. There have been conflicting views on the exact definition of temperament; however, most researchers agree that temperamental traits are relatively stable over time. As temperament traits interact with the individual’s environmental experiences, personality traits develop (e.g. attitudes, values, self-concept, etc.). The authors identify three models of temperament and how it relates to atypical speech-language development. The disability model proposes that temperament may change due to speech-language disorders, whereas the (pre)disposition or vulnerability model suggests that the onset or changes in speech-language disorders is caused by temperament traits. Finally, the interaction model proposes that the dynamic and complex interaction of disability and vulnerability influence speech-language disorders.

When children experience early speech difficulties they tend to be at risk later on. By being susceptible to language skills early on allows the child (ren) to be more proficiency and react in a way that contributes to them being able to express themselves in a way that causes them to use a variety of different phonemes and at the same time mix and maneuver other language and literacy skills. Numerous studies have found that there is a strong link between language problems, reading and overall academic achievement (Konza, 2006, Snow Burns and Griffin, 1998, Justice and Ezell, 2000).

Woodcock Johnson Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities Revised. It has good high level tasks for specific drill down areas and strong norms including pediatrics /grade level equivalents but is not normed for ABI or other disease categories.