Auditory brain-stem responses in children with previous otitis media.

The auditory brain-stem responses (ABRs) of 18 children who received tympanostomy tubes due to well-documented history of otitis media with effusion (OME) were compared with a matched control group with little or no history of effusion. The subjects in the OME group had significantly longer ABR latencies for waves III and V, with the most compelling delay for wave III and the III-I interwave interval. Although wave I prolongation in the OME group was not significant, the possible contribution of a peripheral effect on the latencies of waves III and V was investigated. The typical gender effect for the ABR latencies was unaltered in the OME group, and there was no group by gender interaction. We suggest that although the data support increased ABR latencies for children with a history of OME, they do not establish a causal relationship.

Linguistic and nonlinguistic features of style in normal and language-impaired children.

This study explored two questions concerning the language-learning styles described in recent investigations of early child language. The first question was whether features suggestive of language-learning style, for example, extent of pronoun use, jargon-like speech, formulaic speech, and certain play behaviors occurred in clusters consistent with the specific lexical distribution patterns of young normal children delineated by Nelson (1973). The second portion of the study addressed whether language-impaired children could be characterized as reflecting the same language-learning styles attributed to normal children. Eight children, four normally-developing and four language-impaired, were classified as "referential" or "expressive" speakers on the basis of their lexical distribution. For both the normal and language-impaired children, linguistic features suggested in the literature as correlating to one or another language-learning style were found to exist in clusters consistent with the children's pattern of lexical distribution. In addition, analyses of videotaped samples coded for the focus and context of the normal and language-impaired children's play behaviors revealed object-based and social-interaction-based activities that were generally consistent with the children's lexical distribution.

Performative and presuppositional skills in language-disordered and normal children.

The presuppositional and performative abilities of language-disordered and normal children were compared, controlling for the children's ability to use the lexical items required in the experimental tasks. Subjects were 36 children, 18 normal and 18 language-disordered, functioning at a single-word level of linguistic development. Results revealed that both the language-disordered and the normal children showed a tendency to encode changing rather than unchanging situational elements. The two groups of children also demonstrated similar levels of imperative and declarative performance intent. For both groups, performative and presuppositional behaviors were usually in the form of word productions. Discrepancies between the findings of this and other investigations are discussed with respect to the size of the children's lexicons, their expressive command of the lexicon, chronological age, and representational skills.

Inappropriate word extensions in the speech of young language-disordered children.

The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of inappropriate word extensions in the spontaneous speech of young language-disordered children, and how these extensions should be characterized. Inappropriate word extensions were identified and tested, first in a production task and then in a comprehension task for nine language-disordered children (age 2:8 to 3:4). Results indicated that the percentage of inappropriate word extensions seen in the speech of these children was comparable to that seen in normal children at the same level of linguistic development. As with normal children, these inappropriate word extensions reflected varying levels of lexical knowledge. The findings of this study are discussed in terms of their clinical applicability for lexical training with language-disordered children.

Early lexical acquisition in children with specific language impairment.

This study examined the characteristics of early lexical acquisition in children with specific language impairment. Sixteen unfamiliar words and referents were exposed across 10 sessions to language-impaired and normal children matched for level of linguistic development. Posttesting revealed similar comprehension-production gaps in the two groups of children. In addition, both groups showed greater comprehension and production of words referring to objects than words referring to objects than words referring to actions. However, the language-impaired children's object word bias was not as marked as that of the normal children. For both groups, words containing initial consonants within the children's production repertoires were more likely to be acquired in production than words containing consonants absent from the children's phonologies. A similar tendency was not seen for comprehension.