Gesture Production in Language Impairment: It's Quality, Not Quantity, That Matters

Phonological and Articulatory Deficits in the Production of Novel Signs in Children With Developmental Language Disorder

PURPOSE

Sign language, like spoken language, incorporates phonological and articulatory (or motor) processing components. Thus, the learning of novel signs, like novel spoken word forms, may be problematic for children with developmental language disorder (DLD). In the present work, we hypothesize that phonological and articulatory deficits in novel sign repetition and learning would differentiate preschool-age children with DLD from their typical peers.

METHOD

Children with DLD (n = 34; aged 4-5 years) and their age-matched typical peers (n = 21) participated. Children were exposed to four novel signs, all iconic, but only two linked to a visual referent. Children imitatively produced these novel signs multiple times. We obtained measures of phonological accuracy and articulatory motion stability as well as of learning of the associated visual referent.

RESULTS

Children with DLD showed an increased number of phonological feature (i.e., handshape, path, and orientation of the hands) errors when compared with their typical peers. While articulatory variability did not overall differentiate children with DLD from typical peers, children with DLD showed instability in one novel sign that obligated bimanual oppositional movement. Semantic aspects of novel sign learning were unaffected in children with DLD.

CONCLUSIONS

Deficits that have been documented in phonological organization of spoken words in children with DLD are also evident in the manual domain. Analyses of hand motion variability suggest that children with DLD do not show a generalized motor deficit, but one that is restricted to the implementation of coordinated and sequential hand motion.

Narrative Abilities at Age 3 Are Associated Positively With Gesture Accuracy but Negatively With Gesture Rate

PURPOSE

Though the frequency of gesture use by infants has been related to the development of different language abilities in the initial stages of language acquisition, less is known about whether this frequency (or "gesture rate") continues to correlate with language measures in later stages of language acquisition, or whether the relation to language skills also depends on the accuracy with which such gestures are produced (or reproduced). This study sets out to explore whether preschoolers' narrative abilities are related to these two variables, namely, gesture rate and gesture accuracy.

METHOD

A total of 31 typically developing 3- to 4-year-old children participated in a multimodal imitation task, a context-based gesture elicitation task, and a narrative retelling task.

RESULTS

Results showed that there was a significant positive correlation between the children's narrative scores and their gesture accuracy scores, whereas higher rates of gesture use did not correlate with higher levels of narrative skill. Further multimodal regression analysis confirmed that gesture accuracy was a positive predictor of narrative performance, and moreover, showed that gesture rate was a negative predictor.

CONCLUSIONS

The fact that both gesture accuracy and gesture rate are strongly and differently linked to oral language abilities supports the claim that language and gesture are highly complex systems, and that complementary measures of gesture performance can help us assess with greater granularity the relationship between gesture and language development. These findings highlight the need to use gesture during clinical assessments as an informative indicator of language development and suggest that future research should further investigate the value of multimodal programs in the treatment of language and communication disorders.

Narrative Performance and Sociopragmatic Abilities in Preschool Children are Linked to Multimodal Imitation Skills

Over recent decades much research has analyzed the relevance of 9- to 20- month-old infants' early imitation skills (object- and language-based imitation) for language development. Yet there have been few systematic comparisons of the joint relevance of these imitative behaviors later on in development. This correlational study investigated whether multimodal imitation (gestural, prosodic, and lexical components) and object-based imitation are related to narratives and sociopragmatics in preschoolers. Thirty-one typically developing 3- to 4-year-old children performed four tasks to assess multimodal imitation, object-based imitation, narrative abilities, and sociopragmatic abilities. Results revealed that both narrative and sociopragmatic skills were significantly related to multimodal imitation, but not to object-based imitation, indicating that preschoolers' ability to imitate socially relevant multimodal cues is strongly related to language and sociocommunicative skills. Therefore, this evidence supports a broader conceptualization of imitation behaviors in the field of language development that systematically integrates prosodic, gestural, and verbal linguistic patterns.

Prelinguistic gesture and developmental abilities: A multi-ethnic comparative study

The present study examined the frequency of gesture use and the relationship between frequency of gesture use and developmental abilities in typically developing 9- to 15-month-old, prelinguistic Hispanic and non-Hispanic White children. Data was collected through parent questionnaires, the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL), and two, 15-min video samples for each participant (semi-structured and structured settings). All video samples were coded for the frequency of the following gestures: total frequency, behavior regulation, social interaction, and joint attention. Results showed that children from both ethnicities used fewer gestures in a semi-structured setting in comparison to a structured setting and non-Hispanic White children produced higher frequencies of behavior regulation gestures and joint attention gestures, but lower frequencies of social interaction gestures. When controlling for ethnicity, gender, and age total frequency of gesture and frequencies of behavior regulation and social interaction were predictive of various developmental abilities. Furthermore, participant gender, age, and ethnicity were significantly related to various developmental abilities explored. These relationships were dependent upon setting. An understanding of the use of gesture and the relationship between gesture use and developmental abilities in prelinguistic children from different ethnic backgrounds has implication for early identification of delays and differences and is important to consider when exploring the connection between gesture and language and whether there are gesture-language, gesture-motor, and/or gesture-cognition integrated systems.

Developmental Paths of Pointing for Various Motives in Infants with and without Language Delay

Pointing is one of the first conventional means of communication and infants have various motives for engaging in it such as imperative, declarative, or informative. Little is known about the developmental paths of producing and understanding these different motives. In our longitudinal study (N = 58) during the second year of life, we experimentally elicited infants' pointing production and comprehension in various settings and under pragmatically valid conditions. We followed two steps in our analyses and assessed the occurrence of canonical index-finger pointing for different motives and the engagement in an ongoing interaction in pursuit of a joint goal revealed by frequency and multimodal utterances. For understanding the developmental paths, we compared two groups: typically developing infants (TD) and infants who have been assessed as having delayed language development (LD). Results showed that the developmental paths differed according to the various motives. When comparing the two groups, for all motives, LD infants produced index-finger pointing 2 months later than TD infants. For the engagement, although the pattern was less consistent across settings, the frequency of pointing was comparable in both groups, but infants with LD used less canonical forms of pointing and made fewer multimodal contributions than TD children.

Phonological characteristics of novel gesture production in children with developmental language disorder: Longitudinal findings

Children with developmental language disorder (DLD; aka specific language impairment) are characterized based on deficits in language, especially morphosyntax, in the absence of other explanatory conditions. However, deficits in speech production, as well as fine and gross motor skill, have also been observed, implicating both the linguistic and motor systems. Situated at the intersection of these domains, and providing insight into both, is manual gesture. In the current work, we asked whether children with DLD showed phonological deficits in the production of novel gestures and whether gesture production at 4 years of age is related to language and motor outcomes two years later. Twenty-eight children (14 with DLD) participated in a two-year longitudinal novel gesture production study. At the first and final time points, language and fine motor skills were measured and gestures were analyzed for phonological feature accuracy, including handshape, path, and orientation. Results indicated that, while early deficits in phonological accuracy did not persist for children with DLD, all children struggled with orientation while handshape was the most accurate. Early handshape and orientation accuracy were also predictive of later language skill, but only for the children with DLD. Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Social Communication and pragmatic skills of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmental Language Disorder

PURPOSE

to assess the pragmatic and social communicative abilities of children with Typical Language Development (TLD), Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD) and Developmental Language Disorder (DLD).

METHODS

Participants were 40 parents and 29 teachers of 40 children ages between 3 and 6 years. Ten children had DLD, ten had ASD and 20 had typical development. All participants answered to the questionnaire of the "Assessment of Pragmatic Language and Social Communication - APLSC - parent and professional reports - beta research version. Data were submitted to statistical analysis.

RESULTS

The assessment tool was useful in identifying the difference in performance of children with different social communicative profiles.

CONCLUSION

Children with ASD presented social and pragmatic impairments that were more significant than those presented by children with DLD. However, both children with ASD and with DLD presented more social pragmatic difficulties than children with TLD.

Task and Material Properties Interactively Affect Softness Explorations Along Different Dimensions

Haptic research has frequently equated softness with the compliance of elastic objects. However, in a recent study we have suggested that compliance is not the only perceived material dimension underlying what is commonly called softness [1 ]. Here, we investigate, whether the different perceptual dimensions of softness affect how materials are haptically explored. Specifically, we tested whether also the task, i.e., the attribute that a material is being judged on, might affect how a material is explored. To this end we selected 15 adjectives and 19 materials that each associate with different softness dimensions for the study. In the experiment, while participants freely explored and rated the materials, we recorded their hand movements. These movements were subsequently categorized into distinct exploratory procedures (EPs) and analyzed in a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The results of this analysis suggest that the pattern of EPs depended not only on the material's softness dimension and the task (i.e., what attributes were rated), but also on an interaction between the two factors. Taken together, our findings support the notion of multiple perceptual dimensions of softness and suggest that participants actively adapt their EPs in a nuanced way when judging a particular softness dimensions for a given material.

Frequency of Gesture Use and Language in Typically Developing Prelinguistic Children

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between frequency of gesture use and language with a consideration for the effect of age and setting on frequency of gesture use in prelinguistic typically developing children.

METHOD

Participants included a total of 54 typically developing infants and toddlers between the ages of 9 months and 15 months separated into two age ranges, 9-12 months and 12-15 months. All participants were administered the Mullen's Scale of Early Learning and two gesture samples were obtained: one sample in a structured setting and the other in an unstructured setting. Gesture samples were coded by research assistants blind to the purpose of the research study and total frequency and frequencies for the following gesture types were calculated: behavior regulation, social interaction, and joint attention (Bruner, 1983).

RESULTS

Results indicated that both age and setting have a significant effect on frequency of gesture use and frequency of gesture is correlated to receptive and expressive language abilities; however, these relationships are dependent upon the gesture type examined.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings further our understanding of the relationship between gesture use and language and support the concept that frequency of gesture is related to language abilities. This is meaningful because gestures are one of the first forms of intentional communication, allowing for early identification of language abilities at a young age.

An investigation into the relationship between Quality of pantomime gestures and visuospatial skills

While children with developmental language disorder or Williams syndrome appear to use hand gestures to compensate for specific cognitive and communicative difficulties, they have different cognitive strength-weakness profiles. Their semantic and visuospatial skills potentially affect gesture quality such as iconicity. The present study focuses on untangling the unique contribution of these skills in the quality of gestures. An explicit gesture elicitation task was presented to 25 participants with developmental language disorder between 7 and 10 years of age, 25 age-matched peers with typical development, and 14 participants with Williams Syndrome (8-23 years). They gestured pictures of objects without using speech (pantomime). The iconicity, semantic richness, and representation technique of the pantomimes were coded. Participants' semantic association and visuospatial skills were formally assessed. Iconicity was slightly lower in individuals with Williams syndrome, which seems related to their visuospatial deficit. While semantic saliency was similar across participant groups, small differences in representation technique were found. Partial correlations showed that visuospatial skills and semantic skills were instrumental in producing clear pantomimes. These findings indicate that clinicians aiming to enhance individuals' natural iconic gestures should consider achieved iconicity, particularly in individuals with low visuospatial skills.

Sprachentwicklung des jungen Kindes

Entwicklungsförderung der Sprache, sei es zu Hause, in Institutionen oder in der Sprachtherapie, erfordert die frühe Erfassung der Sprachkompetenz möglichst aller Kinder im Rahmen präventiver Untersuchungen (wie z. B. den kinderärztlichen Vorsorgeuntersuchungen). Der vorliegende Beitrag fasst dasjenige Wissen zusammen, das der Kinderarzt haben muss, um Kinder mit Risiken für Spracherwerbsverzögerungen oder manifesten Störungen der Sprache in der Praxis zuverlässig erkennen zu können. Außerdem werden die wichtigsten Maßnahmen bei Kindern mit sprachlichen Schwierigkeiten erläutert.

Integrated Communication System: Gesture and Language Acquisition in Typically Developing Children and Children With LD and DLD

Gesture and language development are strongly connected to each other. Two types of gestures in particular are analyzed regarding their role for language acquisition: pointing and iconic gestures. With the present longitudinal study, the predictive values of index-finger pointing at 12 months and the comprehension of iconic gestures at 3;0 years for later language skills in typically developing (TD) children and in children with a language delay (LD) or developmental language disorder (DLD) are examined. Forty-two monolingual German children and their primary caregivers participated in the study and were followed longitudinally from 1;0 to 6;0 years. Within a total of 14 observation sessions, the gestural and language abilities of the children were measured using standardized as well as ad hoc tests, parent questionnaires and semi-natural interactions between the child and their caregivers. At the age of 2;0 years, 10 of the 42 children were identified as having a LD. The ability to point with the extended index finger at 1;0 year is predictive for language skills at 5;0 and 6;0 years. This predictive effect is mediated by the language skills of the children at 3;0 years. The comprehension of iconic gestures at 3;0 years correlates with index-finger pointing at 1;0 year and also with earlier and later language skills. It mediates the predictive value of index-finger pointing at 1;0 year for grammar skills at 5;0 and 6;0 years. Children with LD develop the ability to understand the iconicity in gestures later than TD children and score lower in language tests until the age of 6;0 years. The language differences between these two groups of children persist partially until the age of 5;0 years even when the two children with manifested DLD within the group of children with LD are excluded from analyses. Beyond that age, no differences in the language skills between children with and without a history of LD are found when children with a manifest DLD are excluded. The findings support the assumption of an integrated speech–gesture communication system, which functions similarly in TD children and children with LD or DLD, but with a time delay.

How do parents of school-aged children respond to their children's extending gestures?

Gesture plays an important role in early language development, as how parents respond to their children's gestures may help to facilitate language acquisition. Less is known about whether parental responses facilitate language learning later in childhood and whether responses vary depending on children's language ability. This study explored parental responses to extending gestures in a sample of school-aged children (aged six to eight years) with developmental language disorder, low-language and educational concerns, and typically developing children. Overall there were no group differences in the types of responses parents provided to extending gestures. Parents predominantly responded with positive feedback but also displayed moderate proportions of verbal translations and clarification requests. Within the DLD group, the proportion of parent translations was negatively associated with language ability. Our finding suggests that parent responses serve to enhance communication and engage children in tasks, but there is limited evidence that they support new language learning at this age.