The ability of children with specific language impairment to access and participate in an ongoing interaction

This study investigated the ability of 6 children with specific language impairment (SLI), ages 8;10 to 12;5 (years; months), to enter and participate in an ongoing dyadic interaction. Performance was compared to that of 6 chronological age-matched (CA) peers and 6 language-similar (LS) peers. All children in the LS and CA groups successfully accessed the interaction, and most did so quickly. Two children from the SLI group did not access, and the 4 remaining subjects required varying amounts of time to access. Following successful access, the triadic interactions of subjects were examined. The accessing children with SLI talked significantly less, were addressed significantly less, and collaborated less than either of the partners within their triads. Few significant differences were observed between LS or CA children and their partners.