Several social skills assessment studies have found children with impaired language to also have a deficit in their social skills. These studies have focused on either young children (e.g., preschool) or older children (e.g., elementary or middle school) but rarely included a range of ages in a single study. In addition, many of these studies included a small sample size (< 20 children). It is unclear how the peer relationships of children with language impairment change over time and if these children are included in more relationships as they age. This study examined the relation between language ability and sociometric ratings of 234 mainstreamed school-aged children in three age groups through peer nominations and peer ranking. The change in this relation at different ages and the characteristics associated with child relationships also was investigated. Findings revealed a strong relation between language ability and sociometric status in kindergarten but this relation weakened with age. The positive and negative characteristics associated with peer relationships also changed with age. Play and companionship skills were most important in kindergarten while personality, being a reliable ally, and validation and caring were additional characteristics important to children in fifth and eighth grades. These findings offer a framework to address the intervention for children with language impairment and a social skills deficit. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Communication Disorders in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2008. / October 2, 2008. / Language Ability, Language Impairment, Social Status, School-Aged Children, Social Networks, Peer Relationships, Peer Nomination, Friendship, Language Therapy, Sociometric Status / Includes bibliographical references. / Howard Goldstein, Professor Directing Dissertation; Molly Wasko, Outside Committee Member; Juliann Woods, Committee Member; Carla Wood Jackson, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_180252 |
| Contributors | Schneider, Naomi Jean Bell (authoraut), Goldstein, Howard (professor directing dissertation), Wasko, Molly (outside committee member), Woods, Juliann (committee member), Jackson, Carla Wood (committee member), School of Communication (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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