Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 6, 2026
08:05
Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques
Published on: June 30, 2020
Lexical representations in children with SLI: evidence from a frequency-manipulated gating task
Elina Mainela-Arnold1, Julia L Evans, Jeffry A Coady
1Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Pennsylvania State University, 401K Ford Building, University Park, PA 16802-3100, USA. ezm3@psu.edu
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research : JSLHR
|March 28, 2008
Summary
Children with specific language impairment (SLI) showed difficulty accessing words, unlike typically developing peers. They struggled with word candidates, suggesting less efficient lexical representations, particularly with low-frequency words.
Area of Science:
- Linguistics
- Developmental Psychology
- Speech and Language Pathology
Background:
- Specific Language Impairment (SLI) affects language development in children.
- Lexical representations are crucial for word recognition and access.
- Understanding these representations helps in diagnosing and treating language disorders.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate lexical representations in children with SLI compared to typically developing peers.
- To test the hypothesis of holistic phonological representations in children with SLI.
- To examine the role of word frequency and neighborhood density in word access for children with SLI.
Main Methods:
- A word gating task was used with 32 children (16 with SLI, 16 typically developing), aged 8-12.
- Participants guessed words based on increasing acoustic information (gates).
- Word frequency and neighborhood density were manipulated to assess lexical access efficiency.
Main Results:
- Contrary to predictions, both groups showed similar effects of word frequency and neighborhood density.
- Children with SLI exhibited greater difficulty resolving ambiguity, vacillating between word candidates longer.
- No evidence supported the hypothesis of holistic phonological representations in children with SLI.
Conclusions:
- Children with SLI do not appear to have phonologically holistic lexical representations.
- They are more susceptible to interference from competing words during lexical access.
- Findings suggest a vulnerability in resolving lexical ambiguity for children with SLI.
