title: Attention and word learning in toddlers who are late talkers.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine attention allocation in toddlers who were late talkers and toddlers with typical language development while they were engaged in a word-learning task in order to determine if differences exist. Two-year-olds who were late talkers (11) and typically developing toddlers (11) were taught twelve novel pseudo-words for unfamiliar objects over ten training sessions. The toddlers' attention allocation during the word-learning sessions was measured as well as their comprehension of the newly learned words. Late talkers showed reduced attention allocation to objects during word-training sessions, and also comprehended fewer of the novel words than toddlers with typical language development. Attention allocation was found to be a stronger predictor of word learning as compared to cognition and auditory comprehension. Reduced attention allocation may contribute to the early lexical delay characteristic in late talkers.
authors.affiliation: Hunter College,City University of New York.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Macroy-Higgins
authors.affiliation: New York City Department of Education.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Montemarano
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D003071:Cognition; D032882:Comprehension; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007804:Language Development; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D012660:Semantics; D014706:Verbal Learning; D014825:Vocabulary