Lecture on Preschool Language Development

Overview

• Focus on preschool language, specifically phonological awareness
• Typical development expectations
  • Increase in vocabulary (understanding and production)
  • Use of decontextualized language
  • Hone decontextualized language skills for school success

Cognitive Linguistic Development

Theory of Mind (ToM)

• Understanding one's own and others' mental/emotional states
• Interrelated with language development
• Skills progression:
  1. Understanding different desires
  2. Sensitivity to diverse beliefs
  3. Recognizing unknown truths
  4. Understanding false beliefs
  5. Understanding hidden emotions
  6. Understanding sarcasm

Morphosyntax and Semantics

• Morphosyntax development (36-60 months)
  • 36 months: 4-5 word sentences
  • 56-60 months: 5-8 word sentences
• Semantic development
  • Use pronouns, learn new words through fast/slow mapping
  • Vocabulary by 56-60 months: 2000 words
• Verb morphology is crucial for identifying DLD

Language Disorders in Preschoolers

• Impacts academic language foundations
• Risk for school failure
• Difficulty with narrative structure, comprehension, retrieval, following directions
• Red flags for Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)
• Overlap with executive function difficulties

Self-Directed Speech (SDS)

• Supports self-regulation
• Development from overt to internalized by age 7
• Impact on children with DLD

Executive Function and Language

• Cognitive-linguistic interplay
• Enhancing executive function skills improves language and vice versa
• Self-directed speech aids self-regulation

General Interventions for Preschoolers

• Model self-talk in therapy
• Use conversational recasts to correct errors
• Focus on moving skills from external to internal
• Morphological interventions (prefixes, suffixes, words)

Phonological Awareness

• Sensitivity to sound structure of words
• Causal link to early reading
• Different from phonics

Phonological Awareness Tasks

• Simple tasks: syllable division, rhyming, matching sounds
• Complex tasks: phonemic awareness, segmentation, blending

Phonics

• Building from graphemes to words
• Requires phonological awareness as a foundation

Children with Language Impairments

• Increased risk for reading disabilities
• Importance of early intervention
• Phonological awareness tied to reading success

Role of SLPs

• Supporting literacy and language skills
• Collaborative role with other professionals

Phonological Awareness Treatment

• Integrating tasks into therapy
• Use games and activities to reinforce concepts
• Supporting phonological awareness in speech sound disorders

Conclusion

• Importance of early intervention in phonological awareness
• Prevention and support to minimize risk of reading disorders
• Screening and support strategies

This concludes the lecture notes. Review additional readings in the course material for further understanding.