Identifying Children with Specific Language Impairment: Behind the Science with Laurence Leonard

Video created for the ASHA #CREdLibrary

An interview with Laurence B. Leonard, Purdue University.

In a look "Behind the Science," Laurence Leonard talks about some of the challenges and emerging research trends related to identification of children with specific language impairment.

[tanw.]

Wow. This is my daughter I'm so happy to have found this page

[Jamex]

It makes sense that the genotype for SLI would be multifactorial and that there would be no single gene that causes it because unlike a normal disorder like diabetes where we can narrow down the disorder to an impairment of a single cellular function, language is complex and on its own requires a number of processes and cell types working in tandem to produce normal language. An impairment in any of these processes could affect an individual's ability to comprehend or reproduce language. As an adult whose struggled with SLI, not only has it impacted my social abilities, resulting in periodic bouts of depression and social isolation, despite the fact that I seem to know what I'm talking about, I have trouble demonstrating it, and am unable to pursue a formal education. I've spent the last five years trying to get a proper assessment, but with an almost non functioning auditory memory, and an inability to quote or reproduce language from memory, I'm forced to paraphrase in all cases, and simple lecture styles that depend on memorizing lists or filling in the missing words (despite having very little practical application in the real world) are impossible for me. Even simple term recall is difficult, but If I'm given the opportunity to learn from a functional perspective, and to develop an intuitive understanding of the science, I can retain that functional understanding and apply it with relative ease. On a Wechsler Memory Scale, even though my general memory falls in the 23rd percentile, and my Auditory Immediate memory falls on the 18th, Working memory far outpaces that, scaling on the 98th percentile. I'm fascinated by molecular biology, genetics, material science, quantum chromodynamics, quantum electrodynamics, etc, and can learn these topics with ease on my own, but will never have the opportunity to exercise this knowledge because I can't conform to the basic standards of education required to even learn at this level in school. At this point in my life, after dropping out of a college (5 years and still nothing), I've accepted that I'll probably never earn the income required to even pay for that level of education, and will probably spend the rest of my life on disability (which fortunately I already have). Intelligent kids are slipping through the cracks, and it's not just those kids who are missing out. There are capable and inventive minds out there that are quashed for being different, and society as a whole looses what those different perspective have to offer.

[Lionsden]

Since many of these children were skipped over because there wasn’t much focus on their language formation while growing up in the 70’s, why is there no present information to help them? Everything I’ve seen while researching information concerning SLI has been geared only toward children. Why?