Powerpoint lectures

Note: Dr. Tomblin has written a book chapter that summarizes many of the research findings. It is entitled Validating diagnostic standards for specific language impairment using adolescent outcomes. It was published in the textbook, Understanding Developmental Language Disorders: From Theory to Practice, edited by C.F. Norbury, J.B. Tomblin and D.V.M. Bishop (2008, Psychology Press). It is reproduced here as a pdf.
Adlof, S., Catts, H. & Little, T. (2006). Should the simple view of reading include a fluency component? Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 19, 933-958.
Barth, A., Catts, H.W., & Anthony, J. (in press). The component skills underlying reading fluency in adolescent readers: A latent variable analysis. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal.
Catts, H. & Hogan, T. (2003). Language basis of reading disabilities and implications for early identification and remediation. Reading Psychology, 24, 223-246.
Catts, H. (2003). Language impairments and reading disabilities. In R. D. Kent (Ed.) MIT encyclopedia of communication sciences and disorders, Cambridge, MS; MIT Press.
Catts, H., Adlof, S., & Ellis Weismer, S. (2006). Language deficits in poor comprehenders: A case for the simple view of reading. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 49, 278-293.
Catts, H., Adlof, S., Hogan, T., & Ellis Weismer, S. (2005). Are specific language impairment and dyslexia distinct disorders? Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 48, 1378-1396. (Editor's Award)
Catts, H., Fey, M., Zhang, X., & Tomblin, J.B. (1999). Language basis of reading and reading disabilities: Evidence from a longitudinal study. Scientific Studies of Reading, 3, 331-361.
Catts, H., Fey, M.E., & Proctor-Williams, K. (2000). The relationship between language and reading: Preliminary results from a longitudinal investigation. Logopedics, Phoniatrics, Vocology, 25, 38-50.
Catts, H., Fey, M.E., Tomblin, J.B., & Zhang, Z. (2002). A longitudinal investigation of reading outcomes in children with language impairments. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 45, 1142-1157.
Catts, H., Fey, M.E., Zhang, X., & Tomblin, J.B. (2001). Estimating risk for future reading difficulties in kindergarten children: A research-based model and its clinical implications. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 32, 38-50. (Editor's Award)
Catts, H., Gillispie, M., Leonard, L., Kail, R., & Miller, C. (2002). The role of speed of processing, rapid naming, and phonological awareness in reading achievement. Journal of Learning Disabilities,35, 509-524.
Catts, H. (1997). Early identification of reading disabilities. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 28, 86-89.
Catts, H. & Kamhi, A. (1999). Classifying reading disabilities. In H. Catts & A. Kamhi (Eds.). Language and Reading Disabilities. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Catts, H. & Kamhi, A. (1999). Defining reading disabilities. In H. Catts & A. Kamhi (Eds.). Language and Reading Disabilities. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Catts, H. & Kamhi, H. (1999) (Eds.). Language and reading disabilities. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Catts, H., Bridges, M., Little, T. & Tomblin, J.B. (2008). Reading achievement growth in children with language impairments. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 51, 722-738.
Durham, R., Farkas, G. Hammer, C., Tomblin, J. B., Catts, H. (2007). Kindergarten oral language skill: A key variable in the intergenerational transmission of socioeconomic status. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility. 25, 294-305.
Ellis Weismer, S. (2000). Language intervention for children with developmental language delay. In D. Bishop & L. Leonard (Eds.), Speech and language impairments: From theory to practice, 157-176. Psychology Press.
Ellis Weismer, S. (2004). Memory and processing capacity. In R. Kent (Ed.), MIT Encyclopedia of Communication Disorders (pp. 349-352). Boston: MIT Press.
Ellis Weismer, S. (2005). Speech perception in specific language impairment (pp. 567-588). D. Pisoni and R. Remez (Eds.), Handbook of Speech Perception. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers.
Ellis Weismer, S., & Thordardottir, E.T. (2002). Cognition and language. In P. Accardo, A. Capute, & B. Rogers (Eds.), Disorders of Language Development (pp. 21-37). Timonium, MD: York Press, Inc.
Ellis Weismer, S., Evans, J., & Hesketh, L. (1999). An examination of verbal working memory capacity in children with specific language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research, 42, 1249-1260.
Ellis Weismer, S., Plante, E., Jones, M., & Tomblin, J.B. (2005). A functional magnetic resonance imaging investigation of verbal working memory in adolescents with specific language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 48, 405-425.
Ellis Weismer, S., Tomblin, J.B., Zhang, X., Buckwalter, P., Chynoweth, J. G. & Jones, M. (2000). Nonword repetition performance in school-age children with and without language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 43, 865-878.
Fey, M.E., Catts, H., Proctor-Williams, K., Tomblin, J.B., & Zhang, X. (2004). Oral and written story composition skills of children with language impairment: A longitudinal investigation. Journal of Speech-Language-Hearing Research, 47, 1301-1318.
Finneran, D., Leonard, L., & Miller, C. (in press). Speech disruptions in the sentence formulation of school-age children with specific language impairment. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders.
Finstack, L.H., Fey, M.E., & Catts, H. (2006). Pronominal reference skills of second and fourth grader children with language impairment. Journal of Communication Disorders, 39, 232-248.
Francis, D.J., Fletcher, J.M., Catts, H., & Tomblin, J.B. (2005). Dimensions affecting the as ses sment of reading comprehension. In S.G. Paris & S.A. Stahl (Eds.), Children's reading comprehension and as ses sment. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Guo, L., Tomblin, J. B., Samelson, V. (2008) Pauses in the narratives of English speaking children with specific language impairment. Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research. 51, 722-738.
Gutiérrez-Clellen, V., Calderón, J., & Ellis Weismer, S. (2004). Verbal working memory in bilingual children. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 47, 863-876.
Hammer, C. S., Tomblin, J. B., Zhang, X., & Weiss, A., (2001). Relationship between parenting behaviours and specific language impairment in children. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 36, 185-205.
Hewitt, L. E., Hammer, C. S., Yont, K. M., & Tomblin, J. B. (2005). Language sampling for kindergarten children with and without SLI: Mean length of utterance, IPSYN, and NDW. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 38, 197-213
Hogan, T.P., Catts, H., & Little, T. (2005). The relationship between phonological awareness and reading: Implications for the as ses sment of phonological awareness. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in the Schools, 36, 285-293.
Kail, R.V., and Miller, C.A. (2006). Developmental change in processing speed: Domain specificity and stability. Journal of Cognition and Development, 7 (1), 119-137
Kamhi, A. & Catts, H. (in press). The language basis of reading: Implications of classification and treatment of children with reading disabilities. In Bulter, K.&Silliman, E. (Eds.) Speaking, Reading, and Writing in Children with Language and Learning Disabilities: New Paradigms in Research and Practice.
Karasinski, C., & Ellis Weismer, S. Comprehension of inferences in discourse processing by adolescents with and without language impairment. To be submitted to JSLHR
Larrivee, L. & Catts, H. (1999). Word recognition problems in children with expressive phonological disorders. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology.
Law, J., Tomblin, J. & Zhang, X. (2008) Characterizing the growth trajectories of language impaired children between seven and eleven years. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 51, 739-749.
Leonard, L., Ellis Weismer, S., Miller, C., Francis, D., Tomblin, J. B., & Kail, R. V. (2007). Speed of processing, working memory, and language impairment in children. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 50, 408-428.
Leonard, L., Miller, C., & Finneran, D. (in press). Grammatical morpheme effects on sentence processing by school-aged adolescents with specific language impairment. Language and Cognitive Processes.
Lubbker, B., & Tomblin, J. B. (1998) The epidemiology of language disorders, Topics in Language Disorders, 19, 1-26.
McMurray, B. Samelson, V., Lee, S., & Tomblin, J. B. (submitted) Eye-movements and spoken word recognition in Language Impairment: In search of the computational locus of individual differences. Cognitive Science.
Miller, C.A., Leonard, L.B., and Finneran, D. (2008). Grammaticality judgments in adolescents with and without language impairment. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 43 (3), 346-360.
Miller, C.A., and Gilbert, E. (2008). Comparison of performance on two nonverbal intelligence tests by adolescents with and without language impairment. Journal of Communication Disorders, 41, 358-371.
Miller, C. A., Kail, R., Leonard, L. B., and Tomblin, J. B. (2001). Speed of processing in children with specific language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 44, 416-433.
Miller, C., Leonard, L., & Finneran, D. (2008). Grammaticality judgements in adolescents with and without language impairment. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 43, 346-360.
Miller, C., Leonard, L., Kail, R., Zhang, X., Tomblin, J. B., & Francis, D. (2006). Response time in fourteen-year-olds with language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 49, 713-728.
Nippold, M. A., Mansfield, T. C., Billow, J. L., & Tomblin, J. B. (2008). Expository discourse in adolescents with language impairments: Examining syntactic development. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 17, 356-366.
Nippold, M. A., Mansfield, T. C., Billow, J. L., & Tomblin, J. B. (2008). Syntactic development investigation. Manuscript in revision.
Norbury, C, Tomblin, J. B, Bishop, D.V.M. (2008) Understanding Developmental Language Disorders. Psychology Press.
O'Brien, E. Zhang, X., Tomblin, J. B., & Murray, J. (2003) Linkage and association of SLI to the FOXP2 region of 7q31. American Journal of Human Genetics. 72, 1536-1543..
Rice, M.L. (in press). A unified model of specific and general language delay: Grammatical tense as a clinical marker of unexpected variation. To appear in Y. Levy & J. Schaeffer (Eds.), Language competence across populations: Toward a definition of SLI. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Rice, M. Tomblin, J. B., Marquis, J., Richman, A., Zhang, X., & Hoffman, L. (2004). Grammatical tense deficits in children with SLI and nonspecific language impairment: Relationships with nonverbal IQ over time. Journal of Speech Language Hearing Research., 47, 816-834, 2004.
Ruser, T., Arin, D. Dowd, M. Putnam, S., Winklosky, B., Rosen-Sheidley, B., Tomblin, B., Tager-Flusberg, H. & Folstein, S. (2007). Communicative competence in parents of children with autism and parents of children with specific language impairment. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.37, 1323-1316.
Scheffner Hammer, C. Pennock-Roman, M., Rzasa, S., & Tomblin, J. B. (2002). An analysis of the Test of Language Development-Primary for item bias. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 11, 274-284.
Shriberg, L.D., Tomblin, J. B., & McSweeny, J. L. (1999). Prevalence of speech delay in 6-year-old children and comorbidity with language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 42, 1461-1481.
Tomblin, J. B., Smith, E., & Zhang, X. (1997). Epidemiology of specific language impairment: Prenatal and perinatal risk factors. Journal of Communication Disorders, 30, 325-344.
Tomblin, J. B., Records, N., & Zhang, X. (1996). A system for the diagnosis of specific language impairment in kindergarten children. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 39,1284-1294.
Tomblin, J. B., Hammer, C., & Zhang, X. (1998). The association of parental tobacco use and specific language impairment. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 33, 357-368.
Tomblin, J. B., Records, N. L., Buckwalter, P., Zhang, X., Smith, E., & O'Brian, M. (1997). The prevalence of specific language impairment in kindergarten children. Journal of Speech Language Hearing Research, 40, 1245-1260.
Tomblin, J. B. & Zhang, X. (1999). Are children with SLI a unique group of language learners? In H. Tager-Flusberg (Ed.), Neurodevelopmental Disorders: contributions to a New Framework from the Cognitive Neurosciences. (361-382). Cambridge MA: MIT Press.
Tomblin, J. B., & Pandich, J. (1999). What Can We Learn from Children with Exceptional Language Development? Lessons from Children with Specific Language Impairment. Trends in Cognitive Science 3,283-285.
Tomblin, J.B., Zhang, X., Buckwalter, P., & Catts, H. (2000). The association of reading disability, behavioral disorders, and specific language impairment in second grade children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 41, 473-482.
Tomblin, J.B., Zhang, X., Weiss, A., Catts, H., & Ellis Weismer, S. (2004). Dimensions of individual differences in communication skills among primary grade children. In M.L. Rice & S.F. Warren (Eds.), Developmental language disorders: From phenotypes to etiologies (pp.53-76). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Tomblin, J. B.. (2004) Literacy as an outcome of language development and its impact on child's psychosocial and emotional development. In Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development. Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development Website, http://www.excellence-earlychildhood.ca/liste_theme.asp?lang=EN&act=32
Tomblin, J. B., Hafeman, L. L., & O' Brien, M., (2003). Autism and autistic behaviors in siblings of children with language impairment. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders. 38, 235-250.
Tomblin, J. B., Mainela-Arnold, E. & Zhang, X. (2007) Procedural learning in adolescents with and without specific language impairment. Language Learning and Development.3, 269-293.
Tomblin, J. B. (in press) The EpiSLI database: A publically available data base on speech and language. Language Speech Hearing Services in Schools.
Tomblin, J. B. & Zhang, X., (2006) The dimensionality of language ability: An application of item response theory. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research., 49, 1193-1208.
Tomblin, J. B., (2006) A normativist account of language based learning disability. Learning Disabilities: Research and Practice, 21, 8-18.
Tomblin, J. B. & Samelson, V. (2005) The course and outcome of Specific Language Impairment. Frequencies, 17, 21-26.
Tomblin, J. B., Zhang, X., Buckwalter, P., & O'Brien, M. (2003) The stability of primary language disorder: Four years after kindergarten diagnosis. Journal of Speech Language Hearing Research. 46, 1283-1296
Tomblin, J. B., Zhang, X., & Catts, H. (2000). The association of reading disorder and behavioral disorders among second grade children with and without specific language impairment. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 41, 473-482.
Weber-Fox, C., Hampton, A., Spruill, J., Leonard, L., & Tomblin, B. (in press). Rapid temporal processing and natural speech sentence processing in adolescents with language impairments: Evidence from event-related brain potentials. [Target journal: Journal of Speech, Language, & Hearing Research].
Zhang, X. & Tomblin, J. B. (2003) Explaining and Controlling Regression to the Mean in Longitudinal Research Designs. Journal of Speech Language Hearing Research. 46, 1340-1351.
Zhang, X. and Tomblin, J.B., ( 2000). The Association of intervention receipt with speech-language profiles and social demographic variables. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 9, 345-357.
Zhang, X., & Tomblin, J. B. (1999). Can children with language impairment be accurately identified using temporal processing measures? A simulation study. Brain and Language. 65, 395-403.
Description
of work
Our
objective within this longitudinal study has been to advance our understanding
of the nature of spoken language impairment in general, with a particular
emphasis on Specific Language Impairment (SLI). This research has been concerned
with three related issues.
Individual
Differences in Language Acquisition
The first domain begins with the obvious: Children differ with respect to
their capacity to acquire language. Thus, there are individual differences
among children in the rate, and possibly the kind of language acquisition.
This research program examines these individual differences in language acquisition
across development. Therefore, we will be able to measure individual differences
in growth rates and patterns of growth across several domains of spoken and
written language.
Individual differences are necessary conditions for any notion of abnormal function; however, we contend that individual differences by themselves do not constitute impairment. Furthermore, the nature of the individual differences - whether they are qualitative or quantitative differences are often assumed to provide evidence of disease. However, eye color and blood types are qualitative forms of individual differences that are not construed to be disease. In order for some form of individual differences to be viewed as an impairment it is necessary for these differences to impact negatively on the person's life.
Social/Functional
Costs
If we are to claim that children with certain language skills present
language impairment it is necessary for us to show that there are negative
outcomes associated with these language skills. Thus, a second domain of the
proposed research recognizes that language enables individuals in our society
to meet many of the demands society places upon them. Failure to meet these
demands, due to limitations in language proficiency leads to undesirable outcomes
in life function. One of the most prominent impairments is reading. We are
continuing to examine this relationship between spoken and written language.
In so doing, we hope to provide better explanations regarding the contributions
of spoken language to reading disorders, and furthermore, to provide a means
to evaluate diagnostic standards for spoken language disorder.
Causation
The
third domain of our research recognizes a need to examine prominent theories
concerned with the causes of those individual differences that comprise language
impairment. We recognize that the etiology of language impairment is likely
complex and varied. Thus, the adequacy of explanatory accounts of SLI may
be influenced by the manner in which the diagnosis is made and thus there
may be subtypes of SLI that can be revealed when important causal factors
are examined in association with different clinical manifestations including
differential patterns of growth. Within the research proposed are several
studies designed to examine prominent theoretical explanations of SLI that
derive from cognitive psychology. These theoretical accounts of SLI predict
that the language deficits of these children can be found in limitations in
general purpose cognitive systems that are particularly crucial, but not unique
to language development. These systems concern limited capacities in memory
and attention and/or speed of information processing. An alternate account
of SLI has been that these language problems are rooted in language specific
cognitive systems.
Our research program is also providing important insights into the role of language as a causal agent for reading impairment and also the effect of reading on later spoken language. Thus, within the limits of an observational design, we will be examining the relationship between spoken language and reading as potential reciprocal determinants. The direction of this influence is likely to shift across development such that spoken language at school entry may affect later reading development.
Longitudinal Study Description
|
Cohort Characteristics. The longitudinal cohort that has provided the participants for this research was obtained from a large sample of kindergarten-age children who participated in a cross-sectional epidemiologic study of SLI. A description of the sampling methods for the original cross-sectional sample can be found in Tomblin, et al. (1997) and the methods for selection of the longitudinal sample is provided in Tomblin, Zhang, & Buckwalter (2000). The members of this cohort, who initially consisted of 604 children, had been diagnosed with respect to language impairment when they were in kindergarten. These children were then re-evaluated two, four, eight and now ten years after kindergarten. Figure 1 provides sample size, age and the years in which these children participated at each observation. This figure shows that the observation interval covered a two-year time span. This is due to the fact that the participants were initially sampled over a two-year time period thus at any time, the total cohort covers a two-year age range. This allows us to distribute the burden of data collection for any interval over a two-year time period. |
![]() Figure 1. Ages and calendar years when cohort members were observed. Values at each observation year represent number of children in the two cohorts. |
The last complete data set was obtained at Year Eight and thus we do not have summary data for Year Ten at this time.
Measures Obtained During First 10 Years. During the course of this
longitudinal study the members of this cohort have been systematically observed
in order to document their listening, speaking, reading, and writing development.
Additionally, we have obtained information from parents and teachers concerning
their academic, behavioral, mental and physical health. During the current
year we are also obtaining self-report information. The data we have gathered
characterize the development of our cohort children between kindergarten and
10th grade. This database is substantial, containing over 2,215 variables.
In addition to data that pertains to the children in the cohort, the parents
have provided data concerning themselves, their rearing practices, and certain
home characteristics. The teachers have also provided data concerning the
nature of the classroom and curriculum.
Some of the posters that explore the language development of children with SLI over time are linked below in pdf. An Adobe Acrobat viewer is necessary to read these files. Need to download this free viewer? Others may have links to PowerPoint files.
Ellis Weismer, S. and Thordardottir, E. (1999, April). Verbal Working Memory Abilities of School-Age Children with and without Language Impairment. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Presentations