Language Development and Language Impairment: A Problem–Based Introduction

This is an extremely useful book. The overviews of each major aspect of typical language learning from infancy through to the school years are detailed and accessible and provide an excellent basis for the approach to the various problems with language learning than can arise in atypical development. It provides an excellent resource for the teaching of both typical and atypical language development.
Elena Lieven, University of Manchester

In this engaging and accessible book, Fletcher and O Toole provide an up–to–date and comprehensive overview of research into language development, demonstrating how the effortless achievement of learning to speak and understand is actually accomplished. Vignettes of children using language support the key points in each chapter, making this a useful source book for all those who work with young children.
Usha Goswami, University of Cambridge

I m sure this will become a favorite text for students of speech–language therapy. The problem–based approach is perfect for helping bridge the gap between research and practice. Highly recommended.
Dorothy Bishop, University of Oxford

Language Development and Language Impairment offers a problem–based introduction to language impairment in the preschool years, from the vantage point of typical language development. The authors begin with an overview of issues in the study of language development, and an introduction to some of the causes of language impairment. This is followed by a thorough examination of the infrastructure for speech and language laid down in the first year of life, and the potential for speech or language deficits should the trajectory of development in this period be deflected, diverted, or delayed. Subsequent chapters deal separately with development and impairment in the sound system, in the acquisition of vocabulary, in the grammatical system, and in conversation and narrative. Chapters are organized around a series of problems case histories, datasets, quotations, conversations, etc. which serve to focus the discussion of a specific topic in typical development or impairment. By considering in detail the major features of the foundational years of language development, Language Development and Language Impairment offers invaluable insights into the optimal and sub–optimal evolution of a child s linguistic competence.

Companion Website vii

Preface ix

1 Overview 1

1.1 The Effects of Preschool Language Impairment 1

1.2 The Ambient Language 3

1.3 Typical Language Development 9

1.4 Atypical Language Development 21

2 The First Year of Life 33

2.1 Introduction 33

2.2 Social Development and Language Learning 35

2.3 Cognitive Development and Language Development 53

2.4 Speech Production in Infancy 61

2.5 Speech Perception in Infancy 71

2.6 Further Problems 80

3 Sounds 91

3.1 The Learning Task 91

3.2 The Role of Perception 94

3.3 The Production of Vowels 102

3.4 The Production of Consonants 114

3.5 Further Problems 127

4 Words 133

4.1 Early Vocabulary Development 133

4.2 Learning to Label: First Steps 138

4.3 Building a Lexicon 148

4.4 Lexical Growth and Individual Differences 152

4.5 Beyond Nouns 157

4.6 A Bridge to Syntax 163

4.7 Further Problems 166

5 Combining Words 175

5.1 Introduction 175

5.2 Transcribing and Analyzing Language Samples 177

5.3 Verb Forms 193

5.4 Interrogatives: Asking Questions 201

5.5 Complex Sentences 212

5.6 Further Problems 223

6 Beyond the Sentence 229

6.1 Introduction 229

6.2 Early Pragmatic Competence 231

6.3 Discourse Skills 1: Conversations 235

6.4 Discourse Skills 2: Telling Stories 250

6.5 Presupposition 256

6.6 Pragmatic Language Difficulties: Implications for Treatment 258

6.7 Further Problems 261

Appendix 1: The International Phonetic Alphabet 269

Appendix 2: Reliability and Validity 271

Appendix 3: Sensitivity and Specificity 275

Appendix 4: Techniques for Exploring Speech Perception in Infants 277

Appendix 5: Grammatical Analysis Using the LARSP Profile 279

Index 291

Paul Fletcher is Emeritus Professor, Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University College Cork,
Ireland, where he was previously Professor. He has also held professorships at the University of Hong Kong and Reading University.

Ciara O Toole is Lecturer in Speech and Language Therapy at the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University College Cork, Ireland. Her teaching and research interests are in the area of pediatric communication development and disorders. She has a particular interest in bilingual language acquisition.