Gesture,Play,and Language Development of Spanish-Speaking Toddlers With Developmental Language Disorders

Abstract

The purpose of this preliminary study was to (a) examine relationships between the symbolic and language skills of a mixed (developmental language disordered [DLD] and typical language [TL]) Spanish-speaking sample; (b) describe gesture, play, and language skills of DLD and TL groups; (c) compare the development between groups; and (d) explore whether combining symbolic and language measures predict language scores. A major focus of this study was to interpret how this information may be clinically useful, especially for non-Spanish-speaking speech-language pathologists who are responsible for the initial screening, monitoring, and/or assessment of the language development of young Spanish speakers. Analyses revealed that some symbolic skills were significantly associated with language, but group differences were detected only in conventional gesture usage. Conventional gesture and number of different words (NDW) combined significantly predicted language scores. This study showed that play-based approaches provide important developmental information that contributes to screening and assessment decisions.

Keywords

birth to 3 years of age language assessment cultural/linguistic diversity language/linguistics delays/disorders

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2012, August 17). Demographic profile of ASHA members providing bilingual services. Retrieved from http://search.asha.org/default.aspx?q=Demographic%20Profile%20of%20ASHA%20Members%20Providing%20Bilingual%20Services%20August%202012

American Speech-Language Hearing Association. (2013). Issues in ethics: Cultural and linguistic competence. Retrieved from http://www.asha.org/Practice/ethics/Cultural-and-Linguistic-Competence/#sec1.6

Bates

Bretherton

Snyder

Shore

Volterra

(1980). Gestural and vocal symbols at 13 months. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 26, 407–423.

Blake

Myszczyszyn

Jokel

Bebiroglu

(2008). Gestures accompanying speech in specifically language-impaired children and their timing with speech. First Language, 28, 237–253.

Capirci

Iverson

J. M.

Pizzuto

Volterra

(1996). Gestures and words during the transition to two-word speech. Journal of Child language, 23, 645–674.

Capone

N. C.

McGregor

K. K.

(2004). Gesture development: A review for clinical and research practices. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 47, 173–186.

Casby

M. W.

(1997). Symbolic play of children with language impairment: A critical review. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 40, 468–479.

Center for Public Education. (2012). The United States of education: A guide to our changing demographics and their implications for public schools. Available from http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org

Creswell

J. W.

(2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

10.

Desmarais

Sylvestre

Meyer

Bairati

Rouleau

(2008). Systematic review of the literature on characteristics of late-talking toddlers. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 43, 361–389.

11.

Dollaghan

C. A.

Horner

E. A.

(2011). Bilingual language assessment: A meta-analysis of diagnostic accuracy. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 54, 1077–1088.

12.

Durán

L. K.

Cheatham

G. A.

Santos

R. M.

(2011). Evaluating young children who are dual language learners: Gathering and interpreting multiple sources of data to make informed decisions. In McLean

Snyder

(Eds.), Young Exceptional Children Monograph Series 13 (pp. 133–156). Missoula, MT: Division for Early Childhood.

13.

Ellis Weismer

Murray-Branch

Miller

J. F.

(1994). A prospective longitudinal study of language development in late talkers. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 37, 852–867.

14.

Farver

J. M.

Howes

(1993). Cultural differences in American and Mexican mother-child pretend play. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 39, 344–358.

15.

Faul

Erdfelder

Lang

A. G.

Buchner

(2007). G*Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 39, 175–191.

16.

Fenson

(1986). The developmental progression of play. In Gottfried

A. W.

Brown

C. W.

(Eds.), Play interactions: The contribution of play materials and parental involvement to children’s development (pp. 53–66). Lexington, MA: Heath.

17.

Gitlin-Weiner

Sandgrund

Schaefer

C. E.

(2000). Play diagnosis and assessment. New York, NY: Wiley.

18.

Gliner

Morgan

Leech

(2009). Research methods in applied settings: An integrated approach to design and analysis. New York, NY: Routledge.

19.

Greenfield

P. M.

Keller

Fuligni

Maynard

(2003). Cultural pathways through universal development. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 461–490.

20.

Guiberson

Atkins

(2012). Speech-language pathologists’ preparation, practices, and perspectives on serving culturally and linguistically diverse children. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 33, 169–180.

21.

Guiberson

Banerjee

(2012). Evaluating young children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds for special education services. Young Exceptional Children, 15, 33–45.

22.

Guidetti

Nicoladis

(2008). Introduction to special issue: Gestures and communicative development. First Language, 28, 107–115.

23.

Gutiérrez-Clellen

V. F.

Restrepo

M. A.

Bedore

Peña

Anderson

(2000). Language sample analysis in Spanish-speaking children: Methodological considerations. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 31, 88–98.

24.

Gutiérrez-Clellen

V. F.

Simon-Cereijido

(2009). Using language sampling in clinical assessments with bilingual children: Challenges and future directions. Seminars in Speech and Language, 30, 234–245.

25.

Hwa-Froelich

D. A.

(2004). Play assessment for children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Perspectives on Communication Disorders and Sciences in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations, 11, 5–9.

26.

Iverson

J. M.

Braddock

B. A.

(2011). Gesture and motor skill in relation to language in children with language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 54, 72–86.

27.

Iverson

J. M.

Capirci

Volterra

Goldin-Meadow

(2008). Learning to talk in a gesture-rich world: Early communication in Italian vs. American children. First Language, 28, 164–181.

28.

Kayser

Guiberson

(2008). Research considerations. In Kayser

(Ed.), Educating Latino preschool children (pp. 143–157). San Diego, CA: Plural.

29.

Kelly

D. J.

(1998). A clinical synthesis of the “late talker” literature: Implications for service delivery. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 29, 76–84.

30.

Kohnert

(2008). Language disorders in bilingual children and adults. San Diego, CA: Plural.

31.

Leonard

(1998). Children with specific language impairment. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

32.

Lifter

Foster-Sanda

Arzamarski

Briesch

McClure

(2011). Overview of play: Its uses and importance in early intervention/early childhood special education. Infants & Young Children, 24, 225–245.

33.

Linder

(2008). Transdisciplinary play-based assessment and intervention. Baltimore, MD: Brookes.

34.

Miller

J. F.

(Ed.). (1991). Research on child language disorders: A decade of progress: A volume marking the tenth anniversary of the Wisconsin symposium for research on child language disorders. San Antonio, TX: Pro-Ed.

35.

Miller

J. F.

(2008). SALT: Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts [Computer software]. Madison, WI: Language Analysis Laboratory.

36.

Neisworth

J. T.

Bagnato

S. J.

(2011). Using your good judgment: Informed opinion for early intervention. In McLean

Snyder

(Eds.), Young Exceptional Children Monograph Series 13 (pp. 79–91). Missoula, MT: Division for Early Childhood.

37.

Nicoladis

(2002). Some gestures develop in conjunction with spoken language development and others don’t: Evidence from bilingual preschoolers. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 26, 241–266.

38.

Nicoladis

Mayberry

R. I.

Genesee

(1999). Gesture and early bilingual development. Developmental Psychology, 35, 514–526.

39.

Nicolich

L. M.

(1977). Beyond sensorimotor intelligence: Assessment of symbolic maturity through analysis of pretend play. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 23, 89–99.

40.

Olswang

L. B.

Rodriguez

Timler

(1998). Recommending intervention for toddlers with specific language learning difficulties: We may not have all the answers, but we know a lot. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 7(1), 23–32.

41.

Paul

Norbury

C. F.

(2012). Language disorders from infancy through adolescence: Listening, speaking, reading, writing, and communicating. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.

42.

Terrell

B. Y.

Schwartz

R. G.

Prelock

P. A.

Messick

C. K.

(1984). Symbolic play in normal and language-impaired children. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 27, 424–429.

43.

Thal

Tobias

Morrison

(1991). Language and gesture in late talkers: A 1-year follow-up. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 34, 604–612.

44.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2008). Language needs of school-age children. Washington, DC: Author.

45.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2014). Birth to 5: Watch me thrive! A compendium of screening measures for young children. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ecd/watch-me-thrive/families

46.

Vigil

D. C.

Hwa-Froelich

D. A.

(2004). Interaction styles in minority caregivers implications for intervention. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 25, 119–126.

47.

Westby

C. E.

(1980). Assessment of cognitive and language abilities through play. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 11, 154–168.

48.

Westby

C. E.

(2000). A scale for assessing development of children’s play. In Gitlin-Weiner

Sandgrund

Schaefer

C. E.

(Eds.), Play diagnosis and assessment (2nd ed., pp. 131–161). New York, NY: Wiley.

49.

Williams

McLeod

(2012). Speech-language pathologists’ assessment and intervention practices with multilingual children. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 14, 292–305.

50.

Yow

W. Q.

Markman

E. M.

(2011). Young bilingual children’s heightened sensitivity to referential cues. Journal of Cognition and Development, 12, 12–31.

51.

Zigler

Singer

D. G.

Bishop-Josef

S. J.

(2004). Children’s play: The roots of reading. Washington, DC: National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families.

52.

Zimmerman

I. L.

Steiner

V. G.

Pond

R. E.

(2002). Preschool Language Scale, Fourth Edition–Spanish edition. San Antonio, TX: Harcourt Assessment.