The detection and monitoring of comprehension errors by preschool children with and without language impairment

J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2008 Oct;51(5):1227-43. doi: 10.1044/1092-4388(2008/07-0136). Epub 2008 Aug 26.

Abstract

Purpose: In this study, the authors examined emerging comprehension monitoring, including error detection, evaluation, and correction within the context of story understanding in preschool children with and without language impairment.

Method: Thirty-seven children between the ages of 30 and 61 months completed an online comprehension monitoring task. There were 3 groups: 10 children with language impairment, 13 typically developing children who were matched for age, and 14 typically developing children who were matched for receptive vocabulary.

Results: Analyses of variance revealed that children with language impairment attained significantly lower scores on the comprehension monitoring task than both age-matched and language-matched groups.

Conclusion: The skills underlying successful comprehension monitoring that may be affected in young children with language impairment are discussed.

MeSH terms

  • Child, Preschool
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Language Development Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Language Tests*
  • Male
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Semantics
  • Speech Perception*
  • Verbal Learning
  • Vocabulary