He was a physician who introduced early distinctions between different forms of language impairment and is credited with some of the earliest descriptions of language disorders, including developmental language difficulties.
Who was Adolph Kussmaul
A language disorder involves impaired comprehension and/or use of spoken, written, and/or other symbol systems. It may affect the components of language—Form (phonology, morphology, syntax), Content (semantics), and/or Use (pragmatics)—in any combination.
What is a language disorder
At this age, an infant produces early vocalizations (e.g., throat sounds), quiets or smiles in response to voices, and produces different sounds to express comfort or distress.
What speech and language development occurs at 0-3 month
During this stage, a child observes other children playing but does not engage directly with them.
What is Onlooker (Spectator) Play (~2 years)
Reduced eye contact, echolalia, limited interest in peers, repetitive play behaviors (e.g., lining up toys), and sensory preferences may be associated with neurodevelopmental differences.
What are some signs or neurological differences
He proposed that language competence is an innate human capacity and distinguished between underlying linguistic knowledge and observable language performance.
Who is Noam Chomsky
Form Content Function
What are the three components of language?
At this age, an infant responds to sounds by vocalizing, strings vowels together during babbling (“ah,” “eh,” “oh”), takes turns vocalizing with caregivers, responds to their name, expresses joy or displeasure through sound, and begins consonant babbling (e.g., /m/, /b/).
What is the speech and language development of a 6 months old
Unoccupied play is typically birth–3 months, but the description should emphasize non-purposeful movement, not “discovering how the body moves” (which leans slightly later).
Unoccupied Play (Birth-3 Months)
Typical language development is progressive; loss of previously acquired skills is atypical.
Why is regression in language development considered a red flag across ages?
These researchers proposed a foundational model describing language as consisting of three interrelated components—Form, Content, and Use—which continues to guide assessment and intervention.
Who were Bloom & Lahey
This is the system that governs the meanings of words and sentences
What is semantics
At this age a baby Responds to simple spoken requests Uses simple gestures, like shaking head “no” or waving “bye-bye” Makes sounds with changes in tone (sounds more like speech) Says “mama” and “dada” and exclamations like “uh-oh!” Tries to say words you say
What is 1 year old
At this stage, children play near one another, often using the same equipment or materials, but engage in different activities without coordination or shared goals.
What is Parallel Play (2–3 years)
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disability (ID), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), hearing loss, learning disabilities, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and emotional/behavioral disorders may co-occur with language disorders.
What are co-occurring conditions that may occur with a language disorder.
These two neurologists studied the relationship of the brain to language in adults.
Who are Paul Broca and Carl Wernicke
This perspective emphasizes growth and utility, focusing on how a disorder affects daily functional activities within the child’s environment.
What is Functional (Naturalistic) Perspective
A child at this level is understood by most listeners, answers yes/no and open-ended questions, retells simple stories or events, follows 1–2 step directions, and listens to and understands age-appropriate stories read aloud.
What are skills seen in Kindergarten
At this stage, children play together with shared goals, rules, and roles, showing interest in both the activity and the peers involved.
What is Cooperative Play (4+5 Years)
A child produces distorted speech sounds but demonstrates age-appropriate vocabulary, grammar, and comprehension. This profile most strongly suggests difficulty with:
What is speech production rather than language?
An educator of the deaf, she created a technique called the association method. She used this technique to teach language to the “aphasic children”. Additionally, she sought to differentiate two type of language disorders in children. She termed the disorders expressive or motor aphasia and receptive or sensory aphasia.
Who is Mildred A. McGinnis
Genetic, neurological, prenatal, postnatal, cognitive, environmental, behavioral, and traumatic factors are examples of etiologies associated with language disorders.
What are etiologies of language disorders
At this age, a child:
• Follows multi-step directions, understands basic spatial and descriptive concepts, uses pronouns appropriately (e.g., he, she, they), produces grammatically complete sentences, tells simple stories or recounts events, is understood by unfamiliar listeners most of the time
What are the skills of a four years old
At this stage, children engage in play with peers, sharing materials and interacting, but without organized roles or rules.
What is Associative Play (3–4 years)
Functional communication is considered alongside standardized test results when identifying a language disorder.
What functional impact reflects how language difficulties affect daily participation, not just test performance?