Genetic and environmental influence on language impairment in 4-year-old same-sex and opposite-sex twins

BACKGROUND: We investigated the aetiology of language impairment in 579 four-year-old twins with low language performance and their co-twins, members of 160 MZ twin pairs, 131 same-sex DZ pairs and 102 opposite-sex DZ pairs. METHODS: Language impairment in 4-year-olds was defined by scores below the 15th percentile on a general factor derived from an extensive language test battery. Language impairment of different degrees of severity was investigated by using multiple cut-offs below the 15th percentile. RESULTS: DeFries-Fulker extremes analysis indicated that language impairment as measured by the general language scale is under strong genetic influence. In addition, group differences heritability showed an increasing trend (from 38% to 76%) as a function of severity of language impairment. Although more boys are impaired than girls, incorporating opposite-sex DZ pairs into the analysis found neither quantitative nor qualitative differences between boys and girls in genetic and environmental aetiologies. CONCLUSIONS: Language impairment at four years is heritable. This finding replicates previous research on language impairment and extends it by showing that language impairment is heritable in twins selected from a representative community sample. Despite the mean difference between boys and girls, genetic and environmental influences are quantitatively and qualitatively similar for language impairment for boys and girls. For both boys and girls, heritability appears to be greater for more severe language impairment, indicating stronger influence of genes at the lower end of language ability.     

Phonological short-term memory, language and literacy: developmental relationships in early adolescence in young people with SLI

BACKGROUND: Research has consistently documented a relationship between phonological short-term memory skills (STM) and specific language impairment (SLI). This study reports on the development of phonological STM abilities over 3 years in 80 young adolescents with a history of SLI, investigating the nature of the relationship between phonological STM abilities and language and literacy skills, and vice versa. METHODS: Tests of nonverbal ability, expressive and receptive language, reading and nonword repetition were administered at 11 and 14 years of age. RESULTS: There was striking longitudinal stability of phonological STM capacity in young people with SLI. This finding was consistent for the group as a whole, for subgroups, and at the individual level. Regression analyses revealed reciprocal relationships between phonological STM abilities and language/literacy measures. In particular, phonological STM abilities contributed significantly to later expressive language skills and basic reading skills contributed to later phonological STM abilities. Poor phonological STM abilities related to Expressive-Receptive profiles of SLI (ER-SLI) and to the presence of reading difficulties. CONCLUSIONS: Relationships among the processes involved in language, literacy and memory in young adolescents with SLI indicate complex reciprocal interactions across development.     

The relationship between language development and behaviour problems in children with hearing loss

Background:  There are well-replicated findings that link poor development on a range of communication skills with increased behavioural problems. This paper examines this relationship in children with hearing loss.
Method:  One hundred and twenty children with hearing loss (67 boys, 53 girls) and 63 hearing children (37 boys, 26 girls) with a mean age of 8 years from eight districts in Southern England were assessed for receptive and expressive language skills. The relationships between these measures and an aggregate of parent- and teacher-reported behaviour problems in the children were investigated.
Results:  Children with hearing loss had higher levels of behaviour problems compared to hearing children. Once the language abilities of children with hearing loss are taken into account, the negative effects of hearing loss on behaviour disappear.
Conclusions:  Behaviour problems are found more commonly in children with hearing loss and the level of behaviour problems is highest amongst those children with hearing loss with the least developed language capabilities.     

Interdisciplinary and prospective studies necessary to increase insight into developmental language disorders

The study of developmental language disorders is discussed from an interdisciplinary perspective. it is argued that retrospective studies have provided valuable information on developmental language disorders that needs to be integrated into a theoretical model capable of capturing the basic mechanisms of language development.
Conclusion: It is concluded that interdisciplinary and prospective studies and theoretical work are necessary to increase insight into developmental language disorders.     

Severe receptive language disorder in childhood--familial aspects and long-term outcomes: results from a Scottish study

Background and aims

Little is known about the familial characteristics of children with severe receptive specific language impairment (SLI). Affected children are more likely to have long‐term problems than those with expressive SLI but to date they have only been described as small cohorts within SLI populations. We therefore aimed to describe the clinical and familial characteristics of severe receptive SLI as defined by a rigorous phenotype and to establish whether non‐word repetition showed a relationship with language impairment in these families.

Methods

Cross‐sectional study of children who met ICD‐10 (F80.2) criteria for receptive SLI at school entry, their siblings and genetic parents with standardised measures of language and non‐verbal IQ, phonological auditory memory and speech sound inventory.

Results

At a mean of 6 years after school entry with a severe receptive SLI, the 58 participants had a normal mean and standard deviation non‐verbal IQ, but only 3% (two) had attained language measures in the normal range. One third still had severe receptive language impairment. One third of siblings not known to be affected had language levels outside the normal range. Phonological auditory memory was impaired in most family members.

Conclusion

Severe receptive SLI is nearly always associated with an equally severe reduction in expressive language skills. Language impairment in siblings may go undetected and yet they are at high risk. Family members had weak phonological auditory memory skills, suggesting that this could be a marker for language acquisition difficulties. Receptive SLI rarely resolves and trials of therapy are urgently needed.     

COMPREHENSION OF SPOKEN, WRITTEN AND SIGNED SENTENCES IN CHILDHOOD LANGUAGE DISORDERS

Nine children suffering from Landau-Kleffner syndrome and 25 children with developmental expressive disorder were tested for comprehension of the grammatical structure of English in spoken, written and signed (Paget-Gorman) language modalities. It is shown that the comprehension problems of children with landau-Kleffner syndrome are not restricted to spoken language, but are also found when written or signed language is used. Further, in all three language modalities these children show deviant patterns of comprehension consistent with the notion that they treat language as having a sequential rather than a hierarchical structure. However, similar patterns of performance are found in profoundly deaf children, indicating that peripheral auditory deprivation is a sufficient condition for these deviant patterns of comprehension to develop.     

Temperament in Late Talkers

This study examines the temperamental characteristics of children who were identified at age two as being slow in expressive language development, and those of peers with normal language history. When the children were in first grade (approximately age six), parents and clinicians rated subjects' temperamental characteristics, using a standardized temperament assessment instrument. Subjects with a history of slow expressive language development were rated significantly lower on Approach/Withdrawal—indicating shyness, aloofness, or reduced outgoingness—than peers with normal language history. Approach/Withdrawal scores were significantly correlated with average sentence length in spontaneous speech, and this measure also predicted Approach/Withdrawal scores in regression analyses. The clinical and theoretical implications of these findings for early language delay are discussed.     

Sex-specific associations between umbilical cord blood testosterone levels and language delay in early childhood

Background: Preliminary evidence suggests that prenatal testosterone exposure may be associated with language delay. However, no study has examined a large sample of children at multiple time‐points. Methods: Umbilical cord blood samples were obtained at 861 births and analysed for bioavailable testosterone (BioT) concentrations. When participating offspring were 1, 2 and 3 years of age, parents of 767 children (males = 395; females = 372) completed the Infant Monitoring Questionnaire (IMQ), which measures Communication, Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Adaptive and Personal–Social development. Cut‐off scores are available for each scale at each age to identify children with ‘clinically significant’ developmental delays. Chi‐square analyses and generalized estimating equations examined longitudinal associations between sex‐specific quartiles of BioT concentrations and the rate of developmental delay. Results: Significantly more males than females had language delay (Communication scale) at age 1, 2 and 3 years (p‐values ≤. 01). Males were also more likely to be classified as delayed on the Fine‐Motor (p = .04) and Personal–Social (p < .01) scales at age 3 years. Chi‐square analyses found a significant difference between BioT quartiles in the rate of language delay (but not Fine‐Motor and Personal–Social delay) for males (age 3) and females (age 1 and 3). Generalized estimating equations, incorporating a range of sociodemographic and obstetric variables, found that males in the highest BioT quartile were at increased risk for a clinically significant language delay during the first 3 years of life, with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.47 (95% CI: 1.12, 5.47). By contrast, increasing levels of BioT reduced the risk of language delay among females (Quartile 2: OR = 0.23, 95% CI: 0.09, 0.59; Quartile 4: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.21, 0.99). Conclusion: These data suggest that high prenatal testosterone levels are a risk factor for language delay in males, but may be a protective factor for females.     

Development in infants with autism spectrum disorders: a prospective study

BACKGROUND: Autism is rarely diagnosed before three years of age despite evidence suggesting prenatal abnormalities in neurobiological processes. Little is known about when or how development becomes disrupted in the first two years of life in autism. Such information is needed to facilitate early detection and early intervention. METHODS: This prospective study of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) examined development using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) in 87 infants tested at target ages 6, 14, and 24 months. Participants came from infants at high risk (siblings of children with autism) and low risk (no family history of autism) groups. Based on language test scores, Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, and clinical judgment at 24 months of age, participants were categorized as: unaffected, ASD, or language delayed (LD). Longitudinal linear regression and ANOVA models were applied to MSEL raw scores, and estimates were compared between the three diagnostic groups. RESULTS: No statistically significant group differences were detected at 6 months. By 14 months of age, the ASD group performed significantly worse than the unaffected group on all scales except Visual Reception. By 24 months of age, the ASD group performed significantly worse than the unaffected group in all domains, and worse than the language delayed group in Gross Motor, Fine Motor, and Receptive Language. The developmental trajectory of the ASD group was slower than the other groups', and showed a significant decrease in development between the first and second birthdays. CONCLUSIONS: Variations from typical and language delayed development are detectable in many children with ASD using a measure of general development by 24 months of age. Unusual slowing in performance occurred between 14 and 24 months of age in ASD.     

Belief Term Development in Children with Autism, Asperger Syndrome, Specific Language Impairment, and Normal Development: Links to Theory of Mind Development

This study examined the relationship between the development of theory of mind and the development of the belief terms think, know, and guess. Children with autism and Asperger syndrome, matched to children with specific language impairment and normal development, completed false belief, belief term comprehension, and belief term expression tasks. The autistic group's performance on the false belief, belief term comprehension, and belief term expression tasks was significantly poorer than that of the Asperger, language impaired, and normal groups. Across groups an association was found between false belief and belief term performance. Results support a growing body of literature demonstrating links between the development of theory of mind and communicative competence.     

Slipped lips: onset asynchrony detection of auditory-visual language in autism

Background:  It has frequently been suggested that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have deficits in auditory-visual (AV) sensory integration. Studies of language integration have mostly used non-word syllables presented in congruent and incongruent AV combinations and demonstrated reduced influence of visual speech in individuals with ASD. The aim of our study was to test whether adolescents with high-functioning autism are able to integrate AV information of meaningful, phrase-length language in a task of onset asynchrony detection.
Methods:  Participants were 25 adolescents with ASD and 25 typically developing (TD) controls. The stimuli were video clips of complete phrases using simple, commonly occurring words. The clips were digitally manipulated to have the video precede the corresponding audio by 0, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, or 14 video frames, a range of 0–500ms. Participants were shown the video clips in random order and asked to indicate whether each clip was in-synch or not.
Results:  There were no differences between adolescents with ASD and their TD peers in accuracy of onset asynchrony detection at any slip rate.
Conclusion:  These data indicate that adolescents with ASD are able to integrate auditory and visual components in a task of onset asynchrony detection using natural, phrase-length language stimuli. We propose that the meaningful nature of the language stimuli in combination with presentation in a non-distracting environment allowed adolescents with autism spectrum disorder to demonstrate preserved accuracy for bi-modal AV integration.     

Loss of language in early development of autism and specific language impairment

Background: Several authors have highlighted areas of overlap in symptoms and impairment among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and children with specific language impairment (SLI). By contrast, loss of language and broadly defined regression have been reported as relatively specific to autism. We compare the incidence of language loss and language progression of children with autism and SLI. Methods: We used two complementary studies: the Special Needs and Autism Project (SNAP) and the Manchester Language Study (MLS) involving children with SLI. This yielded a combined sample of 368 children (305 males and 63 females) assessed in late childhood for autism, history of language loss, epilepsy, language abilities and nonverbal IQ. Results: language loss occurred in just 1% of children with SLI but in 15% of children classified as having autism or autism spectrum disorder. Loss was more common among children with autism rather than milder ASD and is much less frequently reported when language development is delayed. For children who lost language skills before their first phrases, the phrased speech milestone was postponed but long‐term language skills were not significantly lower than children with autism but without loss. For the few who experienced language loss after acquiring phrased speech, subsequent cognitive performance is more uncertain. Conclusions: Language loss is highly specific to ASD. The underlying developmental abnormality may be more prevalent than raw data might suggest, its possible presence being hidden for children whose language development is delayed.     

Mothers'' Speech to Autistic Children: A Preliminary Causal Analysis

Changes over time in the language patterns of autistic children and their parents were examined during the course of a home-based intervention programme. Although the language used by parents to their autistic children was not deficient, language modification procedures were found to lead to rapid changes in the verbal interaction between parents and children. Parents in the non-intervention, control group showed little change in their communication style. In the experimental group, but not in the control group, a close relationship was found between increases in the use of language-eliciting utterances by their mothers and improvements in children's socialized language. The pattern of association between parent and child language suggested that the main effect was of the parent on the child but that the extent of the child's language handicap constrained what could be achieved by treatment.     

幼儿中文语言词汇发展的研究

目的：通过对中文早期语言与沟通发展量表（CCDI）进行标准化研究，了解北京地区幼儿语言一些类型词汇的发展规律。方法：使用CCDI量表，采用父母报告形式，对1056名16-30个月儿童的语言发展情况进行了研究。CCDI量表中共有799个词，包含了幼儿期经常用到的绝大部分词汇，按照词形和用途将其分为24类，包括11类名词（人称、吃和喝的、身体部分、动物、衣服、车等），其他还有动词、代词、疑问词、数量词、量词、连词、感叹词等。结果：16个月儿童平均会说CCDI量表中79个词汇，其中名词38个，动词21个。30个月儿童平均会说CCDI量表中709个词汇，其中名词334个，会说动词177个。16个月时，幼儿还很少使用代词、疑问词和量词等这些功能词，到19个月以后幼儿才逐渐开始使用，随后发展速度很快，30个月幼儿可平均会说量词16个，代词18个、疑问词10个。多数类型词汇女童较男童超前1-2个月。结论：16-30个月是幼儿词汇的快速发展期，代词、疑问词和量词的使用一般在19个月才开始，以后发展速度很快，30个月的幼儿已经可表达700多个词汇。     

Type of Childcare at 18 Months–II. Relations with Cognitive and Language Development

In a longitudinal study of women and their first-born children the relationship between type of day care experience and cognitive and language development at 18 mths of age was considered. There was a strong association between socio-economic characteristics and type of day care and analyses allowed for this. The results for cognitive development indicate a relationship with mother's education but not with type of day care. For language development the results indicate that children who experience group care were less likely to show much production of different word combinations, but that this was related to the children's language environments.     

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??Language disorders in childhood are the most common developmental disorder. More than half of the preschool language disorders??which lead to learning disabilities and are associated with psychological problem and abnormal social behavior??will continue until school age. Early detection of language disorders is beneficial to early interventio. Early detection of language disorders can be used for dynamic monitoring and screening tool??including language-specific screening scales and developmental screening scale. There are many reasons for language disorder?? leading to different clinical manifestation. Clinicians need to diagnose through language evaluation and other medical examinations.     

Language Comprehension and Expression Among Adolescents Who Have Experienced Childhood Physical Abuse

The present study compared the expressive and receptive language abilities of adolescents who had experienced physical abuse as children with the abilities of a closely matched control group who had not experienced maltreatment. Comprehension abilities of the two groups (as measured on a standard test) did not differ significantly. There were also no significant differences in expressive vocabulary. The syntactic expression of the abused group was significantly more impaired than that of the non-abused group. In addition, two aspects of functional communication were impaired significantly. The abused used significantly less self-related language and also had a significantly greater tendency to engage in self-repetition. The two groups did not differ significantly, however, on several other aspects of functional communication. Explanations of the results are offered. It is also suggested that there are individual differences in the types of problem experienced by the physically abused group.