توسعه توانایی مورفوسینتاکتیک در جمعیت های آتیپیک: دریافت سوالات برچسب در کودکان مبتلا به ضایعات کانونی زودرس و کودکان مبتلا به اختلالات خاص زبان

We examined the development of some features of morphosyntactic ability, specifically the acquisition of auxiliaries and use of agreement marking, along with sentence processing capacity. We used a conceptually simple task called the Tags Question Task, which is a method for evaluating a number of language processes in the production of a commonly used, familiar linguistic device. We compared the performance of children with early focal lesions (N=21), children with specific-language impairment (N=24), and typically developing children (N=24) matched in age and nonverbal ability; additional analyses involved comparisons of children matched on performance level. The data converge to support a “delayed” development of language behavior in our clinical groups, as overall patterns of performance and age-related changes on individual tag features and tag questions were strikingly similar in all three groups across a number of methods of comparison. Implications for theories of the development of brain–language relationships as they pertain to early focal brain damage, specific-language impairment, and the language acquisition process in typically developing children are discussed.