The purpose of this study was to determine whether language-disordered four-year-old children and those with a history of language delay but currently normal functioning would have acquired a significantly lower percentage of 13 grammatical morphemes than children of the same age with normal language skills. Research has shown that there is a consistency of order in which these morphemes are acquired in children with normal language ability. studies have also shown that while language disordered children acquire these grammatical morphemes in a similar order, the process is slowed down. Language disordered children have difficulty with grammatical morpheme development. Not found in the research is information regarding grammatical morpheme development for children with normal language skills but a history of language delay. Does grammatical morpheme development still pose a problem for these children? Is grammatical morpheme development for this population consistent in terms of order of acquisition with normal and language disordered children? Does acquisition of these morphemes still show deficiencies when language skills have progressed into the normal range? Do patterns of grammatical morpheme development demonstrate distinct features for these children? These are the questions that the present investigation sought to answer.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, November, 2009. / Release of full electronic text on OhioLINK has been delayed until December 1, 2011. Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, and San Diego State University, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 135-143).

Thesis (M. Aud.)--University of Canterbury, 2009. / Typescript (photocopy). "February 2009." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 60-67). Also available via the World Wide Web.

The impetus behind this investigation was a little-understood syndrome of retarded language development known as developmental dysphasia. Little agreement exists with respect to the characterization of children classified dysphasic, and even less is known regarding the etiology of this problem. One theoretical position postulates a lag in the maturation of systems relevant to language acquisition. A second position is oriented toward specific deficits which impede the development of language skills in some children. An emerging theme ties the difficulties of dysphasic children to some type of cerebral dysfunction. Another issue concerns the scope of the problems of developmentally dysphasic children. The bulk of research in this area focuses on language-related measures although it has been suggested that the difficulties underlying developmental dysphasia may extend to non-language areas. The paucity of studies of non-language abilities of dysphasic children has contributed to conceptualizations of developmental dysphasia as exclusively a language-related problem. The principal aim of this investigation was to attempt to characterize children with developmental dysphasia within a neuropsychological context, evaluating the adequacy of current theories concerning the etiology of developmental dysphasia and looking at the abilities of dysphasic children in non-language areas. A group of children classified as developmentally dysphasic were compared with groups of normal and brain damaged children on measures of language (Reitan-Indiana Aphasia Screening Test), sensory-perceptual (Reitan-Klove Sensory-Perceptual Examination), and motor (Finger Oscillation Test and grip strength) abilities. A scoring procedure was designed which allowed for the qualitative evaluation of responses as they relate to the integrity of brain functions. Results indicated that children with cerebral damage perform more poorly than do control subjects on measures of normal language and sensory-perceptual and motor abilities, showing evidence of abnormalities across all areas. Children in the dysphasic group performed deficiently in the language area and had difficulties in the sensory-perceptual area. Motor performances of children in the dysphasic group, were substandard when compared to the motor abilities of normal children. These results support a theory of brain dysfunction as a contributing factor in the retarded development of language and other abilities in developmentally dysphasic children.

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

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