SOCIAL COMMUNICATION DEVELOPMENT

Social Communication Development in Infants and Children

Social Communication Development in Infants and Children

Article 1: Screening for Communication and Cognitive Disorders in Infants and Toddlers: Typical and Atypical Language and Cognitive Development in Preschool-aged Children

The article states that Communication occurs when there is an exchange of ideas between a speaker and a listener. It is comprised of several processes, including language (the symbolic representation of thoughts), speech (oral expression using speech sounds to form words), and gestures (i.e., facial expressions, body language).

Cognition includes non-language mental processes such as attention, memory, and problem-solving abilities. As the infant grows and matures, communication and cognition develop and interact with one another. However, communication and cognition are comprised of separate sets of mental functions. It is therefore emphasized that communication impairments are separate and distinct from cognitive impairments. These two types of impairments are often co-morbid. Impairments (i.e., delays or disorders) in communication or cognition occur in approximately 8% of all young children (National Institute of Deafness and Other Communicative Disorders [NIDCD], 2006).

In preschoolers, communication delays and disorders include any atypical comprehension or production of speech sounds (i.e., consonants and vowels), words, phrases, or sentences (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association [ASHA], 2006; Kent, 1994). Children with these conditions may ignore or misunderstand parental instructions and commands. They may have few words, or exhibit unintelligible speech. They may omit many speech sounds or produce unusual combinations of speech sounds. Their vocabulary and grammar develop slowly. They may grunt or point to comment or request rather than attempt to produce words. Some children show disinterest in toys, books, and games that other children their age enjoy. Atypical social interactions with family members and peers are common. Children who are considered shy, withdrawn, or prefer to play alone may be speech and language delayed or disordered. Young children who exhibit aggressive behaviors (e.g., biting, kicking, tantrums) may, in fact, be frustrated due to communication delays or disorders.

Two groups of children display communication delays or disorders without cognitive delays or disorders: (a) children who are 'late talkers' (Weismer, Murray-Branch, & Miller, 1994) and (b) children who have Specific Language Impairment (SLI) (Leonard, 1998). In infancy and toddlerhood, these children exhibit similar communication and social behaviors. However, there are some subtle differences.

Late talkers have better comprehension of spoken language than children with SLI. They tend to understand age-appropriate commands whereas children with SLI may not. Generally, both groups play appropriately with toys, although children with SLI tend to play on a more immature level. Children who are late talkers develop normal language skills during their early school years. Children with SLI have difficulty with language skills throughout their school years and are likely to exhibit reading and learning disabilities as they mature (Weismer et al., 1994).

Children who are late talkers and children with SLI have normal hearing, and age-appropriate nonverbal problem-solving skills. Both groups can assemble age-appropriate puzzles. These children have normal health histories although otitis media with effusion is common.

Article 2: Medical and Psychological Models For Understanding and Intervening ...