Language development from six to twelve

This article has shown that the elementary school years are vital for the growth of linguistic skills. During this period children go from a relatively rudimentary understanding of syntax and grammar to a very sophisticated appreciation of the complexities of language. Syntactic skills also are increasing during these years, particularly the ability to understand factitive verbs and complicated prepositions and conjunctions. Additionally, the child is developing a greater awareness of what language is and how to manipulate and use it. This allows the youngster greater flexibility in dealing with metaphors, poetry, and linguistic interpretation. A child's expressive skills improve during the elementary years; both the ability to narrate events and to provide appropriate information is increasing dramatically. The child progresses from learning to write sentences to producing long term papers and sophisticated reports. Also, it has been shown that children who have problems in these areas are at risk for academic failure and social isolation. Pediatricians play a significant role in identifying children with such problems. Often children are not discovered by teachers who are overwhelmed by large classes or encumbered with a complicated curriculum. Fortunately, physicians come in contact with children regularly and, by asking the right questions and inquiring about school progress, they can often determine if a child needs further assessment. In addition, instruments have been specifically designed to enable physicians to assess the age-appropriateness of a child's linguistic skills. By using specific subtests physicians can quickly determine whether a child's receptive, expressive, or syntactical skills are intact.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)