Specific Language impairment is it so specific Anne

Specific Language impairment – is it so specific? Anne E. Baker University of Amsterdam

Overview of this talk • Introduction: SLI • SLI and … - reading problems - ADHD - bilingualism Future work

Collaborators Bilingualism: Elma Blom, N. Çavuş J. de Jong, A. Orgassa, F. Weerman Reading problems: Esther Psarigger, Judith Rispens ADHD: Esther Parigger Thanks to NWO & Marie Curie.

What is SLI? • SLI refers to pervasive impairment in the development of language - in the absence of other problems such as deafness, autism etc. • Grammar is often a problem - in particular Agreement inflection e. g. Janet drive the car. • Pragmatics and semantics can also be affected. • Phonology

SLI and. . . • non-word repetition (NWR) in the literature more than 90% of SLI children perform poorly on the NWR indicating problems with phonological (sound) processing • Reading problems (dyslexia) Approximately 50% of children with SLI diagnosed with developmental dyslexia (Mc. Arthur et al. 2000) What is the relationship?

Results: NWR and dyslexia in SLI (Rispens & Parigger 2008) SLI+DYS TD Only the SLI+DYS is different from TD, p<. 001

SLI and. . . Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? 31% with SLI scored in the (sub)clinical range of the inattention and/or hyperactivity scales (Vv. GK). Do these children perform differently in language and executive functions?

Language Problems (Parigger 2007) Semantic problems: Example: Confuses words of similar meaning ‘screwdriver’ for ‘hammer’. No difference between SLI+ADHD and –ADHD SLI group as whole worse than TD Pragmatic problems: Example: Use of terms like ‘he’ or ‘it’ without making clear what talking about. SLI+ADHD worse than SLI-ADHD All SLI worse than TD

Measures of executive functioning CANTAB Inhibition: Stop Signal Task Attention: Rapid Visual Information Processing Working Memory: Spatial Working Memory Shifting Intra-Extra Dimensional Set Shift

Measures of executive functioning CANTAB Inhibition: Stop Signal Task Attention: Rapid Visual Information Processing Working Memory: Spatial Working Memory Shifting Intra-Extra Dimensional Set Shift Trend only found: SLI+ADHD worse than SLI-ADHD

SLI and bilingualism • Bilingual SLI is SLI in both languages. • SLI in only one language is by definition not possible • But: SLI may have different linguistic manifestations in the two languages How do SLI and bilingualism interact?

Research design A cross-linguistic comparison of grammatical morphology - in the same bilingual children - whose two languages are typologically different (Turkish and Dutch) The aims are: § To identify markers of SLI (adjectival and verbal inflection) § To identify markers of (typical) L 2 development § To gain insight in the interaction of SLI and L 2

(1) Example: adjectival inflection (Dutch) § Kijk, twee messen. ‘Look, two knives’ § Dat is een groot-ø mes en dit is een klein-ø mes ‘That is a big knife and this is a small knife’ § Waar is Kikker? ‘Where is Kikker’ § Kikker zit op het grot-e mes ‘Kikker sits on the big knife’

Dutch SLI and L 2 equivalent to younger TD children Bilingual SLI worse than SLI and L 2

Example: elicitation (lezen ‘to read’) § VO: Antje leest een boek en Jan leest een krant Antje-subj reads-fin a book-obj § OV: Dit is Antje die een boek leest en dat is Jan die een krant leest This is Antje who a book-obj reads-fin and that is Jan who a newspaper-obj reads-fin § INV: Hier lees jij en daar leest Jan Here read-fin you-subj and there reads-fin Jan-subj

Dutch Bilingual SLI worse than L 1 -SLI and L 2 -TD

Turkish verb inflection L 2 -TD no errors bilingual SLI a few

Disentangling bilingualism and SLI • Different linguistc aspects showing up in the two populations: – Verb inflection is a marker of SLI – Gender assignment and Adjectival agreement constitute a marker of L 2 • But the difference between bilingual typical and bilingual SLI on the Dutch measures suggests that there is a cumulative effect at work in the SLI bilingual group

Further work - bilingualism, SLI and executive funtions (Aude Laloi) - Executive functioning in different populations and specific aspects of language

Introduction Explanations for SLI • Specific linguistic component is damaged in part of Universal Grammar • Processing of language is impaired

CONTACT a. e. baker@uva. nl http: //home. medewerker. uva. nl/a. e. baker