Visual and verbal metaphors among children with typical language and language disorders

Twelve children with language disorders and 12 control subjects were presented with a series of 24 photographic plates from the Metaphoric Triads Test and asked to explain all possible pairings. They also performed a similar task, matched for content, using verbally prepared stimuli. For each trial, one pairing had been designed to make highly probable a metaphoric pairing. Control subjects provided significantly more metaphoric accounts of pairings than children with language disorders, regardless of modality. In addition, photographic plates elicited significantly more metaphoric pairings than verbal preparations. No significant interactions were observed. The findings are discussed from the perspectives of (1) generalized symbolic function and (2) verbal mediation function. The authors call for more research on the role of verbal mediation in metaphoric reasoning.