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ERIC Number: EJ1013870
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Oct
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1092-4388
EISSN: N/A
Developmental Change Is Key to Understanding Primary Language Impairment: The Case of Phonotactic Probability and Nonword Repetition
McKean, Cristina; Letts, Carolyn; Howard, David
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, v56 n5 p1579-1594 Oct 2013
Purpose: In this study, the authors aimed to explore the relationship between lexical and phonological knowledge in children with primary language impairment (PLI) through the application of a developmental methodology. Specifically, they tested whether there is evidence for an impairment in the process of phonological abstraction in this group of children over and above that which would be predicted by their vocabulary growth. Method: The authors measured developmental change in the abilities of typically developing (TD) children ("n" = 38, chronological age [CA] = 3;0-5;6 [years; months]) and those with PLI ("n" = 13, CA = 3;0-6;6 and 4;6-8;0) to repeat nonwords with high and low phonotactic probability (PP) to uncover group differences in the process of abstraction of phonological representations. Results: Cross-sectional developmental trajectories of change in nonword repetition abilities were compared across CA and vocabulary growth. Unlike TD children, the children with PLI did not evince a narrowing gap in the influence of PP across development, and they reached a plateau in their development. Conclusion: These results suggest slowed emergence of phonological representations in PLI, with a plateau in the development of lexical-phonological representations. This plateau may represent entrenchment and "fixing" due to a missed critical period and/or atypical word learning biases in PLI.
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). 10801 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. Tel: 800-638-8255; Fax: 301-571-0457; e-mail: subscribe@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.asha.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A