Language and gesture in late talkers.
The relationship between language and symbolic gesture was studied in a group of young children who were in the lowest 10% for language production for their age based on information obtained from language inventories filled out by their parents. On a single scheme imitation task, designed to be a gestural analog of lexical production, subjects performed like controls matched for language production. On a multischeme imitation task, designed to be a gestural analog of syntax, subjects performed like age-matched controls, and significantly better than language-matched controls. Potential reasons for this dissociation are discussed in the context of predictors of early language success or impairment.
D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005868:Gestures; D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior; D007223:Infant; D007697:Kinesics; D007804:Language Development; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D008037:Linguistics; D008297:Male; D013561:Symbolism; D014825:Vocabulary