Overview
This is a small-scale treatment study designed to determine which teaching methods result in the best learning. Treatment focuses on helping children with a developmental language disorder learn parts of grammar. Preschool children will receive assessments to determine whether they have a developmental language disorder and what parts of grammar they have not mastered. Children will receive one-on-one behavioral treatment over a six week period. Half of the children will be first taught a grammatical form they sometimes use and then one they rarely use. The other half will start with a grammatical form they rarely use. The study seeks to determine whether starting with something children sometimes use correctly (an easier part of speech) will speed later learning of something that is harder for them. The children's ability to use the grammatical forms taught to them will be assessed throughout the treatment period and approximately six weeks after treatment ends.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria:
- Native English speaking
- Passed a pure-tone hearing screening
- 4-6 years of age
- SPELT-P2 (language) test score of < 87
- K-ABC-II Nonverbal Scale (cognition) test score of >75
- Sufficient morpheme errors to serve as treatment and control targets
- Articulations skills sufficient to judge use of language targets
- Able to attend treatment daily
Exclusion Criteria:
- Parent report of other handicapping conditions
- Clinical signs of other disorders
- Enrolled in outside treatment