Is txting ruining language?

The short answer is No. It is additive, not subtractive. A friend gave me a heads up on this Ted Talk by linguist John McWhorter. The big idea is that texting isn't writing! It is "fingered" speech. It is looser, natural, less formal than writing. And it has its own rules and conventions -- highly creative! Language nerds: hang in there until minute 7:00 for his meta analysis of LoL and the use of the slash.

Auditory Processing Disorder, Really?

School-based Speech Language Pathologists often encounter children with multiple diagnoses, such as dyslexia, attention deficit disorder, and auditory processing disorder (APD). Auditory processing disorder is a problem with processing auditory information in the presence of intact peripheral hearing. It is considered to be a central nervous system disorder. It is a controversial diagnosis, so controversial in fact, that many graduate programs don't teach courses about it, or discuss it as part of the standard curriculum (mine included).

So what exactly is auditory processing disorder, and how should the diagnosis factor into an intervention strategy for a child who has language-based learning disorders?  My graduate school friend and colleague Stephanie Adam sent me a copy of Dr. Alan Kamhi’s article “What Speech-Language Pathologists Need to Know About Auditory Processing Disorder” a down-to-earth discussion of the disorder by a researcher who studies reading disability, phonological disorders, and clinical decision making.

Kamhi remarks that although APD can be “one of the most appealing” diagnostic explanations for a child who seems to have language processing difficulties, the clinician should beware of interventions that target language processing skills. These “offer the promise of improving language and learning deficits without having to directly target the specific knowledge skills required to be a proficient speaker, listener, reader, and writer.”

He also points out that APD is a controversial diagnosis even among audiologists. Audiologists disagree about APD’s diagnostic criteria, and they disagree about appropriate test protocols (behavioral measures? electroacoustic measures? electrophysiological measures?). They even disagree that it is a distinct clinical entity. A systematic review of the evidence conducted in 2007 by an ASHA committee found “no compelling evidence” that auditory interventions provided any benefit to language, academic, or auditory outcomes for children with a diagnosis of APD.

Kamhi comments that the "theoretical and clinical problems with APD suggest that it may be more appropriate to view auditory deficits as a processing deficit that may occur with common developmental disorders (e.g., specific language impairment, dyslexia, ADHD) rather than as a distinct clinical entity."

So where does this leave Speech Language Pathologists working in the trenches? Kamhi's recommendation is to do a thorough assessment of the child's speech, language and literacy abilities "just as you would for any other child," and "consider other reasons for listening and comprehension difficulties, such as limitations in working memory, attention, motivation, language and conceptual knowledge, and inferencing abilities."

Finally, he recommends targeting skills over underlying processes when goal planning. In other words, target language-based skills such as reading, writing, and spelling, or executive function skills such as planning and problem solving strategies. (And of course, keep your mind open and stay on top of the research and effective interventions.)

You can download a copy of Dr. Kamhi's excellent article on his faculty webpage at University of North Carolina-Greensboro.

Poem: On a Child Beginning to Talk

I ran across this poem last week printed in the Financial Times, of all places. An English poet in the Renaissance observes a toddler babbling ("rocking a word in mouth yet undefiled") and playing with speech sounds. It is spooky to peer through this 400 year old window at language development in a child! Things haven't changed much.

Methinks 'tis pretty sport to hear a child
Rocking a word in mouth yet undefiled;
The tender racket rudely plays the sound,
Which, weakly bandied, cannot back rebound.
And the soft air the softer roof doth kiss,
With a sweet dying and a pretty miss,
Which hears no answer yet from the white rank
Of teeth, not risen from their coral bank.
The alphabet is searched for letters soft,
To try a word before it can be wrought;
And, when it slideth forth, it goes as nice
As when a man doth walk upon the ice.

Thomas Bastard (1566-1618)

From Ode to Childhood: Poetry to Celebrate the Child

Dyslexia Doesn't Mean Reversing Letters and Digits

Before I became a Speech Language Pathologist I thought that dyslexia meant that you confused letters and numbers, like reading a lowercase "d" as a "b," or transposing digits in a phone number. This conception doesn't begin to do justice to how deep and fascinating dyslexia really is. A definition floated by the International Dyslexia Association does a good job of simplifying dyslexia without sacrificing any of its complexity:

"Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and / or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge."

One of the key words is "specific," which is used to describe something that is not consistent with a larger profile of strengths and weaknesses. Specific language impairment is used to describe language difficulties that exist in the evidence of no associated cognitive weakness (e.g. normal intelligence).

So, a specific learning disability exists in the evidence of normal (or greater) intelligence and effective teaching. It is unexpected. It doesn't add up in relation to the individual's other strengths.

(Hat tip to Dr. Charles Haynes, who posted this definition on the ASHA Language Learning and Education SIG discussion board.)

həlo wərld

This is a blog about speech pathology for parents of children with communication disorders.

I am a pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist who moved to Seattle after a graduating from University of Iowa. I did my Clinical Fellowship at an agency in rural Washington, where I worked in early intervention with kids from birth to three. I'm grateful to all those families who let me enter their homes and share their journeys with me. They taught me so much.

I've worked in private clinics and will soon be working in the schools.

First posting!

Hello World, or as linguists code it phonetically:

həlo wərld