TY - JOUR
T1 - Late talking, typical talking, and weak language skills at middle childhood
AU - Poll, Gerard H.
AU - Miller, Carol A.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank Bruce Tomblin and Katharine Donnelly Adams and helpful comments and suggestions for this study. This research was supported by funding from the Center for Language Science at The Pennsylvania State University and by award F31DC010960 from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders . The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. This study was conducted by the NICHD Early Child Care Research Network supported by NICHD through a cooperative agreement that calls for scientific collaboration between the grantees and the NICHD staff.
PY - 2013/8
Y1 - 2013/8
N2 - To better understand early predictors of weak language and academic abilities, we identified children with and without weak abilities at age 8. We then looked back at age 2 vocabulary and word combining, and evaluated these measures as predictors of age 8 outcomes. More than 60% of children with weak oral language abilities at 8 were not late talkers at 2. However, no word combining at 2 was a significant risk factor for poor oral language, reading comprehension, and math outcomes at 8. The association of no word combining with age 8 reading comprehension and math ability was mediated by age 8 oral language ability. The findings indicate that children take different developmental pathways to weak language abilities in middle childhood. One begins with a delayed onset of language. A second begins with language measures in the typical range, but ends with language ability falling well below typical peers.
AB - To better understand early predictors of weak language and academic abilities, we identified children with and without weak abilities at age 8. We then looked back at age 2 vocabulary and word combining, and evaluated these measures as predictors of age 8 outcomes. More than 60% of children with weak oral language abilities at 8 were not late talkers at 2. However, no word combining at 2 was a significant risk factor for poor oral language, reading comprehension, and math outcomes at 8. The association of no word combining with age 8 reading comprehension and math ability was mediated by age 8 oral language ability. The findings indicate that children take different developmental pathways to weak language abilities in middle childhood. One begins with a delayed onset of language. A second begins with language measures in the typical range, but ends with language ability falling well below typical peers.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84881529429&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84881529429&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.lindif.2013.01.008
DO - 10.1016/j.lindif.2013.01.008
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84881529429
SN - 1041-6080
VL - 26
SP - 177
EP - 184
JO - Learning and Individual Differences
JF - Learning and Individual Differences
ER -