{"id":5619,"date":"2022-09-27T15:12:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-27T15:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/?p=5619"},"modified":"2024-07-16T15:19:55","modified_gmt":"2024-07-16T15:19:55","slug":"whats-in-a-word-identifying-language-disorders-earlier-can-set-children-up-for-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/Q3\/whats-in-a-word-identifying-language-disorders-earlier-can-set-children-up-for-success","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s in a word? Identifying language disorders earlier can set children up for success"},"content":{"rendered":"

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. —<\/p> \n

A child\u2019s first word can be a meaningful milestone for parents. But sometimes, children don\u2019t have to say anything at all to teach us about how they develop their earliest vocabularies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Arielle Borovsky, associate professor in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences in Purdue\u2019s College of Health and Human Sciences, studies language development in children \u2013 with an emphasis on the skills that support early word learning and language processing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur ability to communicate affects everything we do, both early and later on in life,\u201d says Borovsky, who also heads the Language Learning and Meaning Acquisition Laboratory<\/a> at Purdue. \u201cWe\u2019re not just talking about children who are not as talkative as their friends. A difficulty in communicating our thoughts and understanding others can have lifelong consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vocabulary development varies among children, making it difficult to have a one-size-fits-all approach to diagnosing language disorders. Through her research, Borovsky is working to\u00a0identify early markers of language and reading disorders in young children<\/a>. One common method Borovsky uses in her lab is eye-tracking technology, which uses a specialized camera to detect the timing and location of a child\u2019s gaze in response to language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Arielle Borovsky<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe use this technology to learn what children understand about their early words without requiring them to provide any kind of verbal or manual response,\u201d Borovsky says. \u201cResponding verbally can be difficult for young children, and particularly for children who do not yet say very many words. These studies give us a new way to measure more of the amazing abilities children have before they can say much to us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Borovsky is interested in developing ways to identify developmental language disorder, which affects 7% of school-age children. Children with developmental language disorder have difficulty understanding or using language but are not affected cognitively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese children are ready and eager to learn, and there is no simple explanation for what they\u2019re experiencing,\u201d Borovsky says. \u201cIt can be hard for children to cope with \u2013 and it can be especially hard as they get older.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eye-tracking technology can help Borovsky observe what children are understanding and predicting when it comes to their vocabularies, even if they\u2019re not verbalizing it quite yet. This technology allows Borovsky\u2019s lab to record and monitor a child\u2019s gaze while they view objects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs we talk about something, we often look at it,\u201d Borovsky says. \u201cBabies do that, too. We\u2019re trying to learn not only about whether they\u2019re understanding words, but how quickly are they understanding them? Do they understand that there are words connected to that particular word?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, if the child hears the word \u201cdog,\u201d Borovsky watches to see if and how quickly the child looks at a photo of a dog on the screen. Borovsky also explores how children understand patterns and can predict certain events \u2013 so in addition to hearing the word \u201cdog,\u201d the child will view related objects to see what they might be predicting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn an experiment, a child might see an image of a dog paired with another image,\u201d she says.  \u201cSometimes that other image is closely related to the dog \u2013 like cat. Other times, it\u2019s an unrelated item like car. How children recognize the word \u201cdog\u201d in these two different conditions tells us about whether they understand that some words are connected \u2013 like dog and cat \u2013 and others are not. Understanding these connections is an important stepping stone in building vocabulary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In one of Borovsky\u2019s recent studies, she found that how children recognize these connections between word meanings reflects connections in the words in that child\u2019s vocabulary. Knowing a neighborhood of related words helped children between 18 to 24 months improve their ability to recognize a spoken word with their object. Borovsky then followed these children in the lab and found that their early vocabulary \u201cstructure\u201d and ability to recognize word meanings predicted later language abilities when the same children turned 3. The work was published in Developmental Psychology<\/a>. Borovsky is now conducting a larger study to try to understand these early language skills in greater detail and over a longer period of time in children\u2019s development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emily Newman and her two children, Noah, 8, and Caleb, 2, have participated in studies with the Language Learning and Meaning Acquisition Laboratory over the last several years. Caleb has most recently participated in a study to understand some of those early indicators of language development over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noah, who deals with stuttering, participated in both research and speech therapy at Purdue. \u201cWhen it comes to child development, so many problems are best dealt with early,\u201d Newman says. \u201cThe longer you wait to help a child who is struggling, the more they get frustrated and overwhelmed with the expectations that are put on them. The earlier there are indicators that a child may struggle on any level, the sooner they can get help and hopefully avoid some of those emotional barriers they might face.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Borovsky has launched a new study, with the hopes of enrolling more than 150 families to understand the natural range of early language learning and at what age concerns about language development might start. Families in Lafayette and Indianapolis can contact Borovsky directly to enroll in the study. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The earlier language disorders can be identified, the earlier children can get the help they need. \u201cIf we can make those diagnoses sooner, we can get them ready for school before they start to struggle in a school setting,\u201d Borovsky says. \u201cWe can help set children up for success before they set foot in a classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Borovsky says that in addition to finding those early markers of children who are at risk for language disorders, it\u2019s also important to have a better understanding of what the normal trajectory is for language development in infants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is it about language that takes children from being a screaming baby at birth to a child having complete conversations with us just a few years later? It\u2019s an amazing time period, and there is a lot of learning taking place \u2013 it\u2019s not something we can do as adults. Having a better idea of what\u2019s going on in their minds will help us help other children both now and down the road.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purdue Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences is a top-ranked department (No. 3 in Speech-Language Pathology and No. 9 in Audiology, 2021 U.S. News & World Report) with research and clinical efforts to mechanistically investigate and treat a variety of hearing, speaking, language and swallowing disorders. Its state-of-the-art research and clinical laboratories facilitate cutting-edge scientific discoveries and a committed engagement with the local community through top-quality clinical service delivery. The department supports the stellar education of its students through four preeminent degree programs. Visit https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/hhs\/slhs\/<\/a> to learn more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Purdue University<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to today\u2019s toughest challenges. Ranked in each of the last five years as one of the 10 Most Innovative universities in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at\u00a0https:\/\/stories.purdue.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n Writer\/Media contact:<\/strong>\u00a0Abbey Nickel,\u00a0nickela@purdue.edu<\/a>\u00a0
Source:<\/strong>\u00a0Arielle Borovsky,\u00a0aborovsky@purdue.edu<\/a>\u00a0 <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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