Spoken Language Processing as an Early Marker of Language Impairment in Bilingual Children

项目总结/摘要 发育性语言障碍（DLD）影响6-8%的儿童，并对学业，社交和语言能力产生影响。 一生的经济成果。早期识别有DLD风险的儿童对于改善长期营养不良至关重要。 长期成果。然而，对于美国大量的双语儿童来说， 很难辨认识别双语幼儿DLD风险的一个关键挑战是， 衡量标准无法区分语言知识积累方面的延迟-这可能是由于 减少对每种语言的接触-以及语言学习和处理中的“真正”损伤， 可能导致持续的问题。语言处理的措施提供了一个有前途的方法， 在双语人群中识别DLD，因为他们试图捕捉潜在的缺陷，同时最大限度地减少 以前的经验。这项研究将使用细粒度的措施，口语处理比较， 低表达词汇的西班牙语-英语双语幼儿（“晚说话者”，n=40）的表现， 典型的表达词汇（“典型的发展”，n=40），并检查语言之间的关联 两组儿童在生命的第三年的加工和词汇增长。孩子们会被跟踪 纵向从24到36个月，测量词汇量（通过父母报告）和语言处理 （使用眼动追踪）西班牙语和英语。首要目标是确定语言是否 加工效率是双语幼儿DLD的早期标志。Aim 1将使用眼动追踪措施， 比较典型的发展中国家和晚说话的双语幼儿在熟悉的单词识别的表现 在24和30个月。目标2将使用眼动追踪方法来比较典型的发展中国家的表现， 以及24个月和30个月大的晚说话双语幼儿在新单词学习方面的差异。目标3将决定 2岁时语言处理和词汇量的测量可以预测词汇量增长的轨迹 在第三年，在典型的发展和晚说话的双语幼儿中，以及他们的表现 在词汇知识的标准化测试中。工作假设是， 单词识别和新单词学习将改善对语言结果的预测， 词汇量，并将有助于确定双语LT谁仍然延迟在3岁。这是第一个 调查双语晚说话者的语言处理技能，以及这些技能在多大程度上 预测他们的词汇发展。研究目标的完成将为早期研究方法的发展提供信息。 识别双语者的DLD，并将推进对潜在机制的理论理解 更普遍的语言障碍。

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Developmental language disorder (DLD) affects 6-8% of children and has impacts on academic, social, and economic outcomes throughout life. Early identification of children at risk for DLD is critical to improving long- term outcomes. However, for the large number of bilingual children in the United States, early signs of DLD can be difficult to recognize. A key challenge in identifying bilingual toddlers at risk for DLD is that current measures cannot differentiate between delays in accumulated language knowledge – which can result from reduced exposure to each language – and “true” impairments in language learning and processing that are likely to result in persistent problems. Measures of language processing offer a promising approach to identifying DLD in bilingual populations, as they try to capture underlying deficits while minimizing the effects of prior experience. This study will use fine-grained measures of spoken language processing to compare the performance of Spanish-English bilingual toddlers with low expressive vocabularies (“late talkers”, n=40) and typical expressive vocabularies (“typically developing”, n=40), and to examine associations between language processing and vocabulary growth over the third year of life in both groups. Children will be followed longitudinally from 24 to 36 months with measures of vocabulary (via parent report) and language processing (using eye-tracking) in Spanish and English. The overarching goal is to determine whether language processing efficiency is an early marker of DLD in bilingual toddlers. Aim 1 will use eye-tracking measures to compare the performance of typically developing and late-talking bilingual toddlers in familiar word recognition at 24 and 30 months. Aim 2 will use eye-tracking methods to compare the performance of typically developing and late-talking bilingual toddlers in novel word learning at 24 and 30 months. Aim 3 will determine the extent to which measures of language processing and vocabulary at age 2 predict trajectories of vocabulary growth across the 3rd year in both typically developing and late talking bilingual toddlers, as well as their performance in standardized tests of vocabulary knowledge at age 3. The working hypothesis is that measures of familiar word recognition and novel word learning will improve prediction of language outcomes over measures of vocabulary alone, and will help identify bilingual LTs who remain delayed at age 3. This represents the first investigation of the language processing skills of bilingual late talkers, and of the extent to which these skills predict their lexical development. Completion of study aims will inform the development of methods for early identification of DLD in bilinguals and will advance theoretical understandings of the mechanisms underlying language impairments more generally.