Acquisition of the native language proceeds in a stage-wise manner for both typically developing (TD) children and children with developmental language disorder (DLD). As shown in TD children learning Dutch and German, the ability to establish contextual cohesion serves as the driving force to proceed from a simple, lexical system to a more complex, functional system. It is argued that precisely this ability is challenged in children with DLD. The present book offers an account of the functional linguistic features fit to achieve contextual cohesion in language production. It provides a rationale for practitioners to develop linguistically founded tools to be used in speech therapy.

The field of language disorders often lacks comprehensive resources that address the diverse range of developmental language disorders and provide insights into effective treatment and special education approaches. Many existing books focus on specific disorders or groups of disorders, leaving a gap in knowledge and understanding for academic scholars and professionals seeking a broader perspective. This limitation hampers efforts to support individuals with developmental language disorders and integrate them into schools and society. Developmental Language Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence, edited by Dimitra Katsarou, is a groundbreaking book that fills the void in literature by offering a holistic and inclusive approach to developmental language disorders. Unlike other publications, this edited volume covers a wide range of disorders and provides insights into linguistic approaches, treatment methods, and special education practices. It serves as a comprehensive resource that equips academic scholars, educators, clinicians, therapists, and parents with the knowledge and strategies needed to address developmental language disorders effectively. With chapters authored by experts in the field, the book explores topics such as psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics, etiology, differential diagnosis, genetic syndromes, dyslexia, autism, aphasias, stuttering, psychological problems and language, developmental psychopathology, cognitive and linguistic profiles, special education, therapy, inclusion, and the roles of schools, families, and caregivers. By encompassing this broad range of subjects, the book provides readers with a deep understanding of the complexities of developmental language disorders and offers practical guidance for supporting individuals with language challenges. Developmental Language Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence is an essential resource for academic scholars, professionals, and individuals interested in developmental language disorders. By offering a comprehensive exploration of the subject and highlighting inclusive pedagogical approaches, the book empowers readers to better understand, diagnose, and support individuals with developmental language disorders. With its emphasis on treatment methods and special education practices, this book paves the way for more effective integration of individuals with language challenges into schools and society.

Chapters written by leading authorities offer current perspectives on the origins and development of language disorders. They address the question: How can the child's linguistic environment be restructured so that children at risk can develop important adaptive skills in the domains of self-care, social interaction, and problem solving? This theory-based, but practical book emphasizes the importance of accurate definitions of subtypes for assessment and intervention. It will be of interest to students, researchers, and practitioners in the field of developmental language disorders.

Many children with developmental language disorder (DLD) exhibit difficulties with phonology, i.e. the sounds of language. Children with any degree of hearing impairment (HI) are at an increased risk of problems with spoken language, including phonology. The cause of these difficulties is unknown in children with DLD, and is often assumed to result from reduced hearing acuity in children with HI. Variability in terms of language outcomes is large in both groups, and determining if a child’s language ability is within normal limits or not is problematic. A task that has proven useful in differentiating typical from atypical language development is nonword repetition, in which the child listens to a word form without meaning and repeats it back immediately. Performance in nonword repetition tasks is a potential indicator of language ability in both children with DLD and children with HI. However, it has not been established exactly what the task measures. In the present thesis, the ability to repeat prosodic and segmental features of real words and nonwords was investigated in Swedish-speaking four- to six-year-old children with DLD and HI, as well as in children with normal hearing and typical language development (TLD) (papers I, II and III). Further, relations of word and nonword repetition ability to language and hearing were explored (papers II and III), along with comparisons of phonological and grammatical production between the groups (paper IV). The findings indicated that the prosodic features stress and tonal word accent affect repetition performance in children with DLD, HI, and TLD. In general, the children with DLD and HI achieved lower results than the children with TLD on repetition of segments (consonants and vowels) and prosodic features, but tonal word accent was repeated with relatively high accuracy. Tonal word accent 1 was more accurately repeated than tonal word accent 2 by the DLD and HI children. The children with TLD repeated tonal word accent with few errors, but segments in nonwords with tonal word accent 2 were easier to repeat than segments in nonwords with tonal word accent 1. The results further revealed that the ability of children with DLD to repeat stress in real words is related to expressive grammar, but repetition of prosodic features does not reflect general language knowledge. In contrast, repetition of both segmental and prosodic nonword features may be indicative of receptive vocabulary, phonological production during naming of familiar words, and expressive grammar in children with HI. Repetition performance might be related to the degree of HI before cochlear implantation or fitting of hearing aids. Children with DLD and children with HI demonstrate similar strengths and weaknesses in phonological and grammatical production, despite the fact that they develop language under different conditions—with and without normal hearing. Tonal word accent use and syntax are relatively unimpaired in DLD and HI children. This thesis highlights prosodic and phonological strengths and weaknesses in children who have, or are at risk of, deficits in language and communication abilities. It also supports word and nonword repetition as potential predictors of some aspects of language ability in children with DLD and HI. Further, it emphasizes the importance of taking prosody into account when constructing, or interpreting results from, repetition tasks. Future research aiming to investigate the relationship between prosody in repetition and language, cognition and hearing, should use longitudinal study designs, and include younger children. Studies comparing prosodic and phonological ability in children with DLD and children with HI should employ both quantitative and qualitative analyses.

Developmental language disorders (DLD) occur when a child fails to develop his or her native language often for no apparent reason. Delayed development of speech and/or language is one of the most common reasons for parents of preschool children to seek the advice of their family doctor. Although some children rapidly improve, others have more persistent language difficulties. These long-term deficits can adversely affect academic progress, social relationships and mental well-being.Although DLDs are common, we are still a long way from understanding what causes them and how best to.

Language Development and Language Impairment offers a problem-based introduction to the assessment and treatment of a wide variety of childhood language developmental disorders. Focuses for the most part on the pre-school years, the period during which the foundations for language development are laid Uses a problem-based approach, designed to motivate students to find the information they need to identify and explore learning issues that a particular speech or language issue raises Examines the development of a child’s phonological system, the growth of vocabulary, the development of grammar, and issues related to conversational and narrative competence Integrates information on typical and atypical language development

The fields of neurolinguistics and psycholinguistics often lack comprehensive resources that address the diverse range of developmental language disorders while also providing insights into effective treatments and special education approaches. Many existing books focus on specific disorders or groups of disorders, leaving a gap in knowledge and understanding for academic scholars and professionals seeking a broader perspective. This limitation hampers efforts to support individuals with developmental language disorders and integrate them into schools and society. Childhood Developmental Language Disorders: Role of Inclusion, Families, and Professionals is a groundbreaking book offers a holistic and inclusive approach to developmental language disorders. This edited volume covers a wide range of disorders and provides insights into linguistic approaches, treatment methods, and special education practices. It serves as a comprehensive resource that equips academic scholars, educators, clinicians, therapists, and parents with the knowledge and strategies needed to address developmental language disorders effectively. With chapters authored by experts in the field, the book explores topics such as psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics, etiology, differential diagnosis, genetic syndromes, dyslexia, autism, aphasias, stuttering, psychological problems and language, developmental psychopathology, cognitive and linguistic profiles, special education, therapy, inclusion, and the roles of schools, families, and caregivers.

Although most children learn language relatively quickly, as many as 10 per cent of them are slow to start speaking and are said to have developmental language disorder (DLD). Children with DLD are managed by a variety of different professionals in different countries, are offered different services for different periods of time and are given a variety of different therapeutic treatments. To date, there has been no attempt to evaluate these different practices. Managing Children with Developmental Language Disorder: Theory and Practice Across Europe and Beyond does just this, reporting on the findings of a survey carried out as part of the work of COST Action IS1406, a European research network. Law and colleagues analyse the results of a pan-European survey, looking at how different services are delivered in different counties, at the cultural factors underpinning such services and the theoretical frameworks used to inform practice in different countries. The book also provides a snapshot of international practices in a set of 35 country-specific "vignettes", providing a benchmark for future developments but also calling attention to the work of key practitioners and thinkers in each of the countries investigated. This book will be essential reading for practitioners working with children with language impairments, those commissioning services and policy in the field and students of speech and language therapy.

Communication disabilities are common, although their precise nature and degree of severity vary greatly among individuals. They are among the most handicapping of disabilities because they isolate a person and in so doing restrict social, educational, and occupational opportunities. One of the purposes of this book was to bring together theoretical, practical, and clinical knowledge from several disciplines that bear on language and communication into some reasonably accessible form. The intent is to provide a broad and multi-faceted view of language development and language disorders. Thus, contributions from education, linguistics, psychology, pediatrics, psychiatry, neurology, neuropsychology, and speech therapy are included. They describe our current knowledge of language development, suggest classifications for language pathology, outline what is known of the epidemiology of language difficulties, consider assessment and therapy, alternative communication systems and the impact of the new technology on communication aids. The variety of perspectives that it provides will make it particularly useful to the range of specialists who are concerned with the development of communication skills and language disorders.

Ever since attempts were made to describe and explain normal language development, references to exceptional circumstances have been made. Variations in the conditions under which language is acquired can be regarded as natural experiments, which would not be feasible or ethical under normal circumstances. This can throw light on such questions as: *What language input is necessary for the child to learn language? *What is the relationship between cognition and language? *How independent are different components of language function? *Are there critical periods for language development? *Can we specify necessary and sufficient conditions for language impairment? This book covers a range of exceptional circumstances including: extreme deprivation, twinship, visual and auditory impairments, autism and focal brain damage? Written in a jargon-free style, and including a glossary of linguistic and medical terminology, the book assumes little specialist knowledge. This text is suitable for both students and practitioners in the fields of psycholinguistics, developmental and educational psychology, speech pathology, paediatrics and special education.