Specific language impairment; language system; Developmental disorder
Abstract :
[en] Specific Language Impairment (SLI) is a disorder characterised by slow, abnormal language development.
Most children with this disorder do not present any other cognitive or neurological deficits. There
are many different pathological developmental profiles and switches from one profile to another often
occur. An alternative would be to consider SLI as a generic name covering three developmental language
disorders: developmental verbal dyspraxia, linguistic dysphasia, and pragmatic language impairment.
The underlying cause of SLI is unknown and the numerous studies on the subject suggest that there is
no single cause. We suggest that SLI is the result of an abnormal development of the language system,
occurring when more than one part of the system fails, thus blocking the system’s natural compensation
mechanisms. Since compensation also hinders linguistic evaluation, one possibility for diagnosis and
remediation control is to assess basic cognitive abilities by non-linguistic means whenever possible.
Neurological plausible bases for language and language development should also be taken into account to
offer new hypotheses and research issues for future work on SLI.
Research center :
CNCC
Disciplines :
Theoretical & cognitive psychology Languages & linguistics
Author, co-author :
Parisse, Christophe
Maillart, Christelle ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences cognitives > Logopédie clinique
Language :
English
Title :
Specific language impairment as systemic developmental disorders
Adams A.-M., and Gathercole S.E. Limitations in working memory: implications for language development. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders 35 1 (2000) 95-116
Archibald L.M.D., and Gathercole S.E. The complexities of complex memory span: storage and processing deficits in specific language impairment. Journal of Memory and Language 57 2 (2007) 177-194
Baddeley A. Working memory and language: an overview. Journal of Communication Disorders 36 3 (2003) 189-208
Bavin E.L., Wilson P.H., Maruff P., and Sleeman F. Spatio-visual memory of children with specific language impairment: evidence for generalized processing problems. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders 40 3 (2005) 319-332
Bishop D.V.M. The underlying nature of specific language impairment. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 33 (1992) 3-66
Bishop D.V.M. Specific language impairment: diagnostic dilemmas. In: Verhoeven L., and Van Balkom H. (Eds). Classification of developmental language disorders (2004), Erlbaum, Mahwah, N.J 309-326
Bishop D.V.M. What causes specific language impairment in children?. Current Directions in Psychological Science 15 (2006) 217-221
Bishop D.V.M. Using mismatch negativity to study central auditory processing in developmental language and literacy impairments: where are we, and where should we be going?. Psychological Bulletin 133 4 (2007) 651-672
Bishop D.V.M., Bright P., James C., Bishop S.J., and Van der Lely H.K.J. Grammatical SLI: a distinct subtype of developmental language impairment?. Applied Psycholinguistics 21 2 (2000) 159-181
Bishop D.V.M., Carlyon R.P., Deeks J.M., and Bishop S.J. Auditory temporal processing impairment: neither necessary nor sufficient for causing language impairment in children. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research 42 6 (1999) 1295-1310
Bishop D.V.M., and Edmunson A. Language-impaired four-year-olds: distinguishing transient from persistent impairment. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders 52 (1987) 156-173
Bishop D.V.M., North D., and Donlan C. Nonword repetition as a behavioural marker for inherited language impairment: evidence from a twin study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 36 (1996) 1-13
Bishop D.V.M., and Rosenbloom L. Classification of childhood language disorders. (double issue). In: Yule W., and Rutter M. (Eds). Language development and disorders. Clinics in developmental medicine (1987), MacKeith Press, London 101-102
Bortolini U., Leonard L.B., and Caselli M.C. Specific language impairment in Italian and English: evaluating alternative accounts of grammatical deficits. Language and Cognitive Processes 13 1 (1998) 1-20
Botting N., and Conti Ramsden G. Non-word repetition and language development in children with specific language impairment (SLI). International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders 36 4 (2001) 421-432
Botting N., and Conti-Ramsden G. Characteristics of children with specific language impairment. In: Verhoeven L., and Van Balkom H. (Eds). Classification of developmental language disorders (2004), Erlbaum, Mahwah, N.J 23-38
Coady J.A., Kluender K.R., and Evans J.L. Categorical perception of speech by children with specific language impairments. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research 48 (2005) 944-959
Collette F., and Linden M.V.d. Brain imaging of the central executive component of working memory. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 26 (2002) 105-125
Conti-Ramsden G., Botting N., and Faragher B. Psycholinguistic markers for specific language impairment. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 42 (2001) 741-748
Conti-Ramsden G., Crutchley A., and Botting N. The extent to which psychometric tests differentiate subgroups of children with SLI. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research 40 4 (1997) 765-777
Criddle M.J., and Durkin K. Phonological representation of novel morphemes in children with SLI and typically developing children. Applied Psycholinguistics 22 (2001) 363-382
DeCaro M.S., Thomas R.D., and Beilock S.L. Individual differences in category learning: sometimes less working memory capacity is better than more. Cognition 107 1 (2008) 284-294
Eimas P.D., Siqueland E.R., Jusczyk P.W., and Vigorito J. Speech perception in infants. Science 171 (1971) 303-306
Ellis Weismer S., Evans J., and Hesketh L. An examination of verbal working memory capacity in children with specific language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research 42 (1999) 1249-1260
Ellis Weismer S., Plante E., Jones M., and Tomblin J.B. A functional magnetic resonance imaging investigation of verbal working memory in adolescents with specific language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research 48 (2005) 405-425
Fey M.E., and Loeb D.F. An evaluation of the facilitative effects of inverted yes-no questions on the acquisition of auxiliary verbs. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research 45 1 (2002) 160-174
Fey M.E., Long S.H., and Cleave P.L. Reconsideration of IQ criteria in the definition of specific language impairment. In: Watkins R.V., and Rice M.L. (Eds). SLI in children (1994), Paul H. Brookes Publishing, Baltimore 161-178
Fonteneau, E., & van der Lely, H. K. J. (2008). Electrical brain responses in language-impaired children reveal grammar-specific deficits: PLoS ONE 3(3) (e1832.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0001832).
Friederici A.D. The neural basis of language development and its impairment. Neuron 52 (2006) 941-952
Hauser M.D., Chomsky N., and Fitch W.T. The faculty of language: what is it, who has it, and how did it evolve?. Science 298 (2002) 1569-1579
Hick R., Botting N., and Conti-Ramsden G. Cognitive abilities in children with specific language impairment: consideration of visuo-spatial skills. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders 40 2 (2005) 137-149
Hiskey M.S. The Hiskey-Nebraska test of learning aptitude manual. (Revised) (1966), Baldwin Lincoln, Nebraska
Howard J.H.J., Howard D.V., Japikse K.C., and Eden G.F. Dyslexics are impaired on implicit higher-order sequence learning, but not on implicit spatial context learning. Neuropsychologia 44 (2006) 1131-1144
Hurst J.A., Baraitser M., Auger E., Graham F., and Norrell S. An extended family with a dominantly inherited speech disorder. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology 32 (1990) 347-355
Jarrold C., Baddeley A.D., and Hewes A.K. Verbal short-term memory deficits in Down syndrome: a consequence of problems in rehearsal?. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 41 (2000) 233-244
Jusczyk P.W., Rosner B.S., Cutting J.E., Foard C.F., and Smith L.B. Categorical perception of nonspeech sounds by 2-month-old infants. Perception and Psychophysics 21 (1977) 50-54
Karlsson F. Constraints on multiple initial embedding of clauses. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics 12 1 (2007) 107-118
Korkman M., and Hakkinen-Rihu P. A new classification of developmental language disorders (DLD). Brain and Language 47 1 (1994) 96-116
Leonard C.M., Lombardino L.J., Walsh K., Eckert M.A., Mockler J.L., Rowe L.A., et al. Anatomical risk factors that distinguish dyslexia from SLI predict reading skill in normal children. Journal of Communication Disorders 35 (2002) 501-531
Leonard L.B., Weismer S.E., Miller C.A., Francis D.J., Tomblin J.B., and Kail R.V. Speed of processing, working memory, and language impairment in children. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research 50 (2007) 408-428
Locke J.L. A theory of neurolinguistic development. Brain and Language 58 (1997) 265-326
Maddox W.T., and Ashby F.G. Dissociating explicit and procedural-learning based systems of perceptual category learning. Behavioural Processes 66 3 (2004) 309-332
Manuela F., and Angela D.F. N400-like semantic incongruity effect in 19-month-olds: processing known words in picture contexts. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 16 8 (2004) 1465-1477
McArthur G.M., and Bishop D.V.M. Temporal resolution and frequency discrimination in people with a specific language impairment: behavioural and electrophysiological evidence. In: Hawkins S., and Nguyen N. (Eds). Temporal integration in the perception of speech (2002), The Reprographic Centre, Cambridge, UK
McArthur G.M., and Bishop D.V.M. Which people with specific language impairment have auditory processing deficits?. Cognitive Neuropsychology 21 (2004) 79-94
McDonald R.J., Devan B.D., and Hong N.S. Multiple memory systems: the power of interactions. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory 82 (2004) 333-346
Mizumori S.J.Y., Yeshenko O., Gill K.M., and Davis D.M. Parallel processing across neural systems: implications for a multiple memory system hypothesis. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory 82 (2004) 278-298
Montgomery J.W. Relation of working memory to off-line and real-time sentence processing in children with specific language impairment. Applied Psycholinguistics 21 (2000) 117-148
Montgomery J.W. Working memory and comprehension in children with specific language impairment: what we know so far. Journal of Communication Disorders 36 (2003) 221-231
Montgomery J.W., and Windsor J. Examining the language performances of children with and without specific language impairment: contributions of phonological short-term memory and speed of processing. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research 50 (2007) 778-797
Morse P.A., Molfese D., Laughlin N.K., Linnville S., and Wetzel F. Categorical perception for voicing contrasts in normal and lead-treated rhesus monkeys: electrophysiological indices. Brain and Language 30 1 (1987) 63-80
Nicolson R.I., and Fawcett A.J. Long-term learning in dyslexic children. European Journal Of Cognitive Psychology 12 3 (2000) 357-393
Nicolson R.I., Fawcett A.J., and Dean P. Developmental dyslexia: the cerebellar deficit hypothesis. Trends in Neurosciences 24 9 (2001) 508-511
Paradis J., and Crago M. Tense and temporality: a comparison between children learning a second language and children with SLI. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research 43 (2000) 834-847
Parisse C., and Maillart C. The interplay between phonology and syntax in French-speaking children with specific language impairment. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders 43 4 (2008) 448-472
Poldracka R.A., and Rodriguez P. How do memory systems interact? Evidence from human classification learning. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory 82 (2004) 324-332
Pulvermüller F. The neuroscience of language (2002), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Pulvermüller F. Sequence detectors as a basis of grammar in the brain. Theory in Biosciences 122 1 (2003) 87-103
Rapin I., and Allen D.A. Developmental language disorders: nosologic considerations. In: Kirk U. (Ed). Neuropsychology of language, reading, and spelling (1983), Academic, New York 155-184
Rice M.L., and Wexler K. Extended optional infinitive (EOI) account of specific language impairment. In: MacLaughlin D., and McEwan S. (Eds). Proceedings of the 19th annual Boston University conference on language development Vol. 2 (1995), Cascadilla Press, Somerville, MA 451-462
Richardson J.T.E. Measures of short-term memory: a historical review. Cortex 43 5 (2007) 635-650
Serniclaes W., Van Heghe S., Mousty P., Carré R., and Sprenger-Charolles L. Allophonic mode of speech perception in dyslexia. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 87 (2004) 336-361
Smith E.E., and Grossman M. Multiple systems of category learning. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 32 2 (2008) 249-264
Tallal P., Stark R.E., and Mellits D.U. The relationship between auditory temporal analysis and receptive language development: evidence from studies of developmental language disorder. Neuropsychologia 23 4 (1985) 527-534
Thomas K.M., Hunt R.H., Vizueta N., Sommer T., Durston S., Yang Y., et al. Evidence of developmental differences in implicit sequence learning: an fMRI study of children and adults. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 16 8 (2004) 1339-1351
Tomblin J.B., and Zhang X. Language patterns and etiology in children with specific language impairment. In: Tager-Flusberg H. (Ed). Neurodevelopmental disorders (1999), MIT Press / Bradford Books, Cambridge, MA 361-382
Ullman M.T., and Pierpont E.I. Specific language impairment is not specific to language: the procedural deficit hypothesis. Cortex; A Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior 41 3 (2005) 399-433
van der Lely H.K.J. SLI in children: movement, economy, and deficits in the computational-syntactic system. Language Acquisition 7 (1998) 161-192
van der Lely H.K.J. Learning from grammatical SLI. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 3 8 (1999) 286-288
van der Lely H.K.J., and Ullman M. Past tense morphology in specifically language impaired and normally developing children. Language and Cognitive Processes 16 2/3 (2001) 177-217
Weber C., Hahne A., Friedrich M., and Friederici A.D. Discrimination of word stress in early infant perception: electrophysiological evidence. Cognitive Brain Research 18 (2004) 149-161
Webster R.I., Erdos C., Evans K., Majnemer A., Kehayia E., Thordardottir E., et al. The clinical spectrum of developmental language impairment in school-aged children: language, cognitive, and motor findings. Pediatrics 118 5 (2006) e1541-e1549
Webster R.I., Majnemer A., Platt R.W., and Shevell M.I. Motor function at school age in children with a preschool diagnosis of developmental language impairment. The Journal of Pediatrics 146 1 (2005) 80-85