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Relationships between language and gesture in normally developing and late-talking toddlers
1Department of Communicative Disorders, College of Health and Human Services, San Diego State University, CA 92182-0151.
Journal of Speech and Hearing Research
|February 1, 1994
Summary
Toddlers with specific expressive language delay demonstrated comparable gesture production to peers matched for age and comprehension. Their gesture abilities align with developmental expectations, suggesting specific expressive language delay does not broadly impact gestural skills.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Linguistics
- Child Development
Background:
- Specific expressive language delay (ELD) affects toddlers' spoken language abilities.
- Gesture production is a key component of early communication development.
- Understanding gesture use in ELD provides insights into broader developmental trajectories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare gesture production in toddlers with ELD to matched control groups.
- To investigate spontaneous versus imitated gesture use in toddlers with ELD.
- To explore the relationship between gesture and language development in ELD.
Main Methods:
- Seventeen toddlers with ELD (18-33 months) were assessed.
- Comparison with two control groups: one matched for language production, another for age and comprehension.
- Measures included spontaneous and imitated gesture production, and parent-reported gesture use.
Main Results:
- Toddlers with ELD showed similar gesture production to age/comprehension-matched controls.
- ELD toddlers performed like language-matched controls on early communicative gestures.
- All groups produced more imitated than spontaneous gestures, especially symbolic gestures.
Conclusions:
- Gesture production in toddlers with ELD is largely comparable to peers.
- Findings support the Local Homology Model in understanding ELD.
- Gesture development may follow different trajectories than expressive language in some toddlers.