Experimental Word Learning in Children With and Without Language Impairment

Experimental Word Learning in Children With Normal Development and Children With Language Impairment

The purpose of this study is to compare the performances of normally developing children and children with Language Impairment (LI) in three different experimental settings designed to promote vocabulary acquisition. This comparison will also provide evidence to support different intervention approaches designed to increase vocabulary abilities, which has been proved to be one of the major deficits of young children with LI.

Inclusion Criteria:

• For GP subjects: - diagnosis of Language Impairment
• enrolled in language therapy
• age between 3:0 (years:months) and 3:11
• For GC subjects: - normal performance in a language screening procedure
• normal performance in an expressive vocabulary test

Exclusion Criteria:

• For GP subjects: - hearing impairments
• diagnosed neurological or behavioral conditions
• major cognitive impairment
• For GC subjects: - communication complaints from caregivers
• history of previous enrollment in language therapy