Preschool language disorders and subsequent language and academic difficulties

doi:10.1016/0021-9924(80)90033-7

Journal of Communication Disorders

Volume 13, Issue 2, March 1980, Pages 159-170

https://doi.org/10.1016/0021-9924(80)90033-7 Get rights and content

Abstract

Sixty-three language-disordered children first evaluated in their preschool years were followed four to five years after initial diagnosis. At follow-up approximately 40% of these children continued to present speech and language problems and approximately 40% presented other learning problems. Preschool levels of language comprehension, formulation, semantics, syntax, phonology, and speech production were found to be moderately correlated to subsequent class placement in the elementary grades. Duration of preschool therapy was not related to either the severity of preschool language disorder or to any subsequent speech, language, or academic abilities. Duration of school therapy was related to severity of phonologic deficit as rated during the preschool years and to all follow-up ratings for speech, language, and academic abilities.

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Les troubles du langage oral constituent un problème de santé publique du fait de leur fréquence et de leurs conséquences négatives sur les apprentissages scolaires et sur l’épanouissement psychosocial de l’enfant. L’objectif de la présente étude est de déterminer la prévalence des difficultés du langage et des troubles qui y sont associés chez les enfants de trois ans et demi.
Nous avons procédé à la passation, chez 165 enfants intégrés dans les jardins d’enfants de Sfax (Tunisie), du questionnaire de Chevrie-Muller.
Des difficultés du langage et/ou du comportement (score au QLC ≥ 14) ont été relevées dans 17,55 % des cas. Les difficultés langagières (difficultés en production orale et/ou en compréhension) représentaient 16,36 % des cas. Les enfants appartenant à ce groupe présentaient significativement plus de troubles du comportement et de difficultés attentionnelles et motrices par rapport au groupe sans difficultés de langage.
Cette étude a permis d’objectiver la fréquence élevée des difficultés de langage et des troubles du comportement ainsi que des difficultés motrices et attentionnelles associées chez les enfants de trois ans et demi. D’où l’intérêt de la sensibilisation des enseignants à ces difficultés afin de les repérer à temps, d’y remédier et d’aider l’enfant au niveau des apprentissages scolaires ultérieurs.
Oral language is the principal communication tool that develops in close interaction with the development of intelligence and thought. It is logical to think that early difficulties with language are harmful for a good acquisition of school learning. Therefore, the detection of oral language disorders in children 3 to 6 years must be systematic in order to identify these problems as soon as possible and treat them early. In Tunisia, there are few studies that have focused on evaluating the frequency of language disorders in clinical population; but there are still no publications on screening for language disorders in general population. This survey aimed to determine the prevalence of language and behavior problems in children aged 3.5 years to 3 years 9 months and frequenting kindergartens by using the questionnaire of Chevrie-Muller (QLC_3.5).
The study was cross-sectional, carried out in 13 kindergartens in the city of Sfax (Tunisia) for a period of two months (November and December 2012). All the children aged between 3.5 years and 3 years 9 months and whose parents consent to participate to this study were included. We have collected 165 children for whom the QLC_3.5 was completed by kindergarten's teachers.
Among these children, 17.55% had language difficulties and/or behavior problems (Score at QLC_3.5 ≥ 14), 75.15% had no difficulties (Score between 0 and 9 at QLC_3.5) and 7.3% were to monitor and review (Score between 10 and 13). The principal component analysis, which identifies four partial scores had showed difficulties in oral production in 16.36% of cases, difficulties in comprehension in 9.1% of cases, difficulties in motor skills and attention as well as behavioral problems in 16.36% of cases for each score. According to this analysis, we have identified two groups: a first group of children with language difficulties (difficulties in oral production and/or in comprehension), which represented 16.36% of cases (27 children) and a second group without language difficulties. The comparison between the two groups underlined that children with language difficulties exhibited much more associated problems. Indeed, motor skills and attentions difficulties were noted in 59.3% in the first group vs. 7.97% in the second group, and behavior problems were observed in 48.1% in the first group vs. 10.14% in the second one (P < 10⁻³).
The results of this study confirm the high prevalence of language difficulties in children aged between 3.5 years and 3 years 9 months and point out the common association with behavioral disorders and attentional difficulties. Thereby, the sensibilisation of teachers taking care of children in this age group is crucial to identify those who have language problems early in order to improve their healthcare management and to help them in later school learning.
Object clitics in Cypriot Greek children with SLI
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Citation Excerpt :
Unfortunately, there are no more recent data we know of available on the percentage of identified language-impaired populations. For many individuals, language deficits persist much into later childhood, adolescence, and even adulthood (e.g., Aram and Nation, 1980; Paul et al., 1983; Nippold and Fey, 1983; Ullman and Gopnik, 1994). In addition, follow-up studies have shown that language problems are also associated with social difficulties which are still evident in adolescence and adulthood (Clegg et al., 2005) as well as general learning difficulties (Snowling et al., 2001).
This study investigates the production and placement of direct object clitic pronouns in children with specific language impairment (SLI). A total of 38 bilectal children were divided into four groups: two groups of children with SLI and two groups of age-matched typically developing children; 5-year-olds in the younger and 7-year-olds in the older groups. The goals of the study were (i) to investigate whether object clitics could serve as a clinical marker for Cypriot Greek-speaking children with SLI, (ii) to explore whether there are any quantitative and/or qualitative differences between typical language development and SLI, and (iii) to determine possible differences between the age groups. The design of the experiment aimed to shed some light on the question whether children with SLI exhibit difficulties with clitic production in the context assessed. The results reported here do not support the cross-linguistic finding that clitic production could serve as a clinical marker for SLI in Cypriot Greek. However, what seems to be at stake is clitic (mis)placement, and the findings provide some evidence that there is more than meets the eye concerning the theoretical discussion around the use of clitics in Greek Cypriot children's language development.
Fricatives at 18 months as a measure for predicting vocabulary and grammar at 24 and 30 months
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Language develops at variable rates in young children, yet markers for different developmental trajectories, have not been identified. Production of fricatives in words may be one marker because they are later developing sounds and contribute to syntactic production. We examined whether children who produced fricatives in words by 18 months had better vocabulary and grammar scores at 18, 24, and 30 months than children who did not.
The expressive language skills of 37 toddlers who did and did not produce fricatives in words by 18 months of age were compared at 18, 24 and 30 months of age.
Expressive vocabulary scores and the use of grammatical markers were significantly better for children who produced fricatives by 18 months than for those who did not. This effect was consistent across scores at 18, 24, and 30 months. The total number of consonants and total number of fricatives produced at 18 months did not significantly predict expressive vocabulary scores.
Because the children who produced fricatives by 18 months demonstrated better expressive language skills than their peers who did not produce fricatives by 18 months, the early production of fricatives by toddlers may be a marker of a faster expressive language developmental trajectory.
Learning outcomes: Readers will: (1) describe the relationship between early phonological development and early expressive lexical development, (2) describe the role of perceptual and motor development in speech sound the acquisition, and (3) describe the potential relationship between the production of fricatives and expressive language development.
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Citation Excerpt :
Both speech and language impairment are associated with problems learning to read (Aram & Hall, 1989; Bashir & Scavuzzo, 1992; Bird, Bishop, & Freeman, 1995; Bishop & Adams, 1990; Lewis, Freebairn, & Taylor, 2000; Nathan, Stackhouse, Goulandris, & Snowling, 2004; Rvachew & Grawburg, 2006; Schuele, 2004). Further, preschoolers with language impairment demonstrate persistently depressed academic achievement, greater grade retention, and lower rates of post-secondary school attendance than their peers with typical development (Aram & Nation, 1980; Catts, Fey, Tomblin, & Zhang, 2002; Hall & Tomblin, 1978). Given these risk factors, it is important to address the oral language and early literacy skills of children with DSLI during the preschool years and to increase their ability to benefit from reading and writing instruction in elementary school.
The purpose of this investigation was to examine the efficacy of a new preschool oral language and early literacy curriculum package (Teaching Early Literacy and Language [TELL]) for children with developmental speech and/or language impairment (DSLI) either as a primary (e.g., specific to speech and/or language) or secondary impairment (e.g., developmental delay that includes DSLI). Participants included 118 children (30 females, 88 males, M age = 53.58 months) with DLSI and their 29 preschool teachers. The design was a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with assignment to experimental versus contrast conditions at the classroom level. Teachers in TELL classes received formal training, in-class support, and mentoring to implement the curriculum. Dependent measures for the children included scores on the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Preschool 2nd edition (CELF-P2), the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening for Preschool (PALS-PreK), the Renfrew Bus Story (BUS), and a receptive and expressive vocabulary measure developed for this investigation (VOCAB). Results indicated that when compared to the contrast group, children in the TELL condition demonstrated greater gains on the phonological awareness subtest of the CELF-P2, the sentence length score of the BUS, the letter sounds, beginning sound awareness, and rhyme awareness subtests of the PALS-PreK, and VOCAB. Results suggest that the TELL curriculum package has promise for promoting gains in early literacy and oral language skills in preschool children with DLSI.
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Preschool language disorders and subsequent language and academic difficulties

Abstract

The development and prognosis of dysphasia in children

Language, Reading and Learning Disabilities

Language Disorders of Children

Central Processing Dysfunction in Children

Aphasia in Children

A follow-up study of children with articulation and language disorders

J. Speech and Hearings Dis.

The language continuum

Bull. Orton Soc.

Learning Disabilities: Educational Principles

The Syndrome of Specific Dyslexia

Experiments in reading

Scientific American

Interactive Language Development Teaching

Aphasic Children